31/07/2013 BBC Oxford News

Hello and welcome to South Today from Oxford. In tonight's

programme: Tough rules for landlords, but are tenants paying

the price? Claims a system set up to clamp down on rogue landlords in

Oxford isn't working. And the robotics suit that helped Clare

Lomas compete third marathon could help others -- complete the

marathon. Alexis Green is 24 hours away from

making her debut at glorious Letting agents in Oxford say

stringent rules introduced by the council two years ago to flush out

rogue landlords are penalising young tenants and failing to stop

offenders. Owners of larger homes who want to let their property need

a licence, which can only be When Environmental Health officers

visited this house they found 14 people sleeping several to a room,

mould on the walls, faulty appliances and cockroaches. There

are four bedrooms and different sex people sharing bedrooms who are not

related to each other. Minimum fire precautions in the kitchen.

rules in Oxford are more stringent than elsewhere. In most places,

five unrelated people counts as a shared house but the property has

to be three stories. In Oxford, if any three people are in a property

it counts as multiple occupation -- occupation and it leads a nice

since. -- it needs a licence. Good landlords say they have to carry

out thousands of pounds of work. As well as the expense, planning

permission may be needed and it is enough to stop some landlords

letting more together which means fewer houses on the rental market.

Other landlords are ignoring the rules. The council estimates there

are 5,000 shed houses in Oxford and around one third are without a loss

-- a licence. We have seen an enormous drop in complaints about

the management of properties, nuisance and rubbish in the gardens

and a sort of thing. Improvements have been delivered to over 90% of

properties and we have taken Paul landaus out of the market.

house in Marsden back has to improve. But it is an extreme case

and most landlords say they are not against providing good

accommodation but that the Police have charged three men after

a 24-year-old man was seriously injured in a fight outside a

takeaway in Oxford on Monday night. It happened outside the Taste of

Jamaica on Cowley Road in Littlemore. The men, who are all in

their twenties, have been charged with violent disorder and

possession of an offensive weapon. Extra police patrols are continuing

in the area. More than �750,000 is to be spent

installing more electric car charging points across our region.

Most of the Government money - around �500,000 - will go to Milton

Keynes with other councils and Oxford Brookes University all

planning to install points. The government's funding the additional

charging points, even though some of those that already exist are

barely used. New models are coming through for all major manufacturers

and the demand is there. One of the inhibitions it is, can I'd charge

my car? So we have to make sure the points are there so they can.

Businesses in Oxford could suffer if plans to introduce tougher

restrictions on lorries are to be introduced. The Freight Transport

Association means low emission Soames could cripple the city

centre. It is one of a range of measures to cut pollution on which

Oxford City Council is consulting. -- Consulting. From the sound of it,

some new and expensive types of vehicles might be required. All

delivering two out of town large retail developments, given the

choice, most people would choose to go where the costs are lower.

It is known as a famous suit worn by Clare Lomas and it can help

people who are paralysed to walk. Researchers at Stoke Mandeville are

carrying out the first study in the UK to see how much the seat can

improve patients' fitness and independence.

Just over a year ago, Jason couldn't field his legs. He had

suffered a spinal injury and a paralysed him from the hips down.

He is now able to stand and walk and for the first time in a year,

he is able to properly cuddled his wife. Absolutely brilliant standing

up. At first it was a bit wobbly, but after a couple of goes you just

have to get a rhythm going and it is really good. Ian Benson is a

senior physiotherapist and is conducting the study here. Because

Jason is so new to the harness, Ian controls it with a device on his

wrist. It can eventually help him go up and down the stairs. It is by

no means a cure and it is not an alternative to a wheelchair. It is

an alternative form of exercise and it can be used to benefit many

aspects of spinal injuries. In 2012, player Lomas was the first person

to use it expose skeleton t do the London Marathon. It took her

several days but it change the way people thought about spinal

injuries. This will look at the spinal -- psychological impact of

helping people stand again. It is exciting to see the effect so. We

try to measure how long the excitement lasts. We measure these

feelings over a period of 10 weeks and see if the feelings last.

kit costs over �85,000 at the moment. It is too expensive to let

patients take it home but it is hoped that when the study is

complete, more people like Jason can use it to walk in the future.

Amazing. James Cracknell has moved a step closer to becoming an MEP.

He has been selected to stand for the Conservatives at next May's

European elections. Current Tory MEPs represent Swindon and the

south-west. I used to be a lawyer and now I am a politician. We can

all make a change. It is good that people come to politics having done

something other than politics. They can be very valuable.

Izzy Taylor has been called up to compete in the European three-day

Event Championships. The mother of two will represent Great Britain in

Sweden later this summer. She has been in the British top 10 but now

is her chance for a big audience. Riding is in how Platt. The lease

of dedication have paid off as she fulfilled her ambition to represent

her country. Tell us about getting the call up. I was on my way to

Chesil down when I was phoned. It was really exciting. I have had a

good, but not exceptional season. It was a pleasant surprise. Over

the past 18 months, with a strong string of horses to her name she

has consistently been placed in the top 10. Here she was competing at

Badminton Horse trials. She will take this course to the

championships. What does she hope for with her senior debut? I would

like to come home and be proud of what we have done and hopefully be

good enough to be in the reckoning and do everyone proud. Talking

about juggling your commitments as a professional athlete with a

mum...? They come a lot to the events which they enjoy it and I

have a huge amount of help from my family and everyone around me which

makes it possible. Between now and September it is business as usual,

competing and fine-tuning her European right. For Kostas