25/04/2014 BBC Oxford News

firepower in military exercises. That is all from the BBC News

firepower in military exercises. Hello and welcome to South Today

from Oxford. In tonight's programme: An

alternative route for HS2. The high`speed trains would go through a

15 mile tunnel rather than running on a line that would cut through the

countryside. Also tonight: Their five`year fight to get their son out

of jail in the Philippines. Gerald and Mary Taylor have spent

?18,000 trying to clear their son Kevin's name.

How technology designed Oxford is helping the world's most powerful

radio telescope to explore the depths of space And later on: the

cargo destined for the Caribbean, why 30 high`performance cars are on

their way to Jeremy Clarkson in Barbados.

Good evening. An alternative route has been

suggested for the controversial High Speed two rail line. It would

preserve more of the Chilterns. Councils in Buckinghamshire have

unveiled a plan which involves a longer tunnel rather than cutting

through the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Our reporter Paul

Scoins has spent the day at Westminster and told me more about

what's being proposed. The current plans involve a mixture

of tunnelling, opening track and is covered railway cuttings. Today's

proposals announced at a press conference in Westminster that we

see a radical departure. All 50 miles of the track would be

tunnelled underground, all of the Chiltern Area of Outstanding Natural

Beauty would be tunnelled as well. It would put an additional one point

eight ?5 billion on the cost but it would be completed more quickly ``

?1.85 billion. There is an alternative route, a far better

route, not only in the immediate sense it would then I is

disruption, `` it would minimise disruption, but it would have a much

reduced whole life cost. How likely is this to happen?

MPs debate the next stage on Monday, that is going to grant it planning

permission, it is almost guaranteed to go through. What this launched

today was time to give those MPs a little something to think about over

the summary says, those tunnels will be debated in October when they will

have more discussion. One local MP says she wants to stay from the idea

of a tunnel in her colleagues minds. I hope they will look at this

carefully first if they have two support the HS2 Bill, I hope they

will also support a telling option to protect the environment ``

tunnelling. I would ask them to look carefully at the project. I still do

not think it is the answer. I spoke to the company earlier and

they have given consideration to the tunnel but felt the current plans

were the best balance between design, cost and environmental

impact. More than 50 animals have been

seized by the RSPCA in Oxfordshire following a raid by officers at a

site previously closed down because of animal cruelty. Police and the

RSPCA have searched the former site of Crunchy's, an animal rescue

centre in Longworth. It was closed following a previous investigation

in 2012. The owner, Angela Russell, was jailed for six months for animal

neglect. A woman's been detained in hospital

indefinitely after admitting driving onto a level crossing in

Oxfordshire. Heather Bister pleaded guilty to endangering safety on the

railways without intent. The 43`year`old, from Banbury, was

driving a car that was hit by a train at the Sandy Lane crossing in

Yarton last November. People working in pubs and clubs are

being offered training by Thames Valley Police Police to help spot

the signs of child grooming. The new scheme has been set up a year after

seven men were jailed for their part in a sexual exploitation ring in

Oxford. Many of their victims had been given drink and drugs. The new

training will help door staff and barmen look out for young people at

risk. A retired couple from Swindon say

the fight to free their son from a foreign jail has cost them their all

their savings and affected their health. Gerald and Mary Taylor's son

Kevin has been in prison in the Philippines for five years, waiting

for a trial. They say they've spent ?18,000 fighting his case and trying

to prove his innocence. Victoria Cook has been to meet them.

For five years Gerald and Mary Taylor from Swindon have been

battling to free their 48`year`old son Kevin from prison in the

Philippines. He's accused of being involved in illegal immigration and

cheating Filipinos who paid him to help them fill out forms and apply

for visas. Gerald and Mary insist he and his partner are innocent. They

just want him to have a fair trial. If he has done what they say he did,

they have got to put him on trial, and he has got to take his chances

on whatever sentence he gets. But don't do it this way, this is not

right. They say the case, which has still

not come to trial, has cost them their savings, nearly ?20,000, and

damaged their health. They say it's driven them, and their son, to

nervous breakdown. I do get depressed. Just sat here

with my hands tied. We feel sometimes we are in prison because

we cannot go anywhere, we cannot do anything, as such. Like retired

people are supposed to be. The retired couple say they've

received no help from official sources, the only help they've had

has been from a charity, Prisoners Abroad. The conditions are extremely

harsh. There is a great deal of overcrowding. Between 30 and 60

people in a cell. There is very little food and water provided.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says it's aware of Kevin's arrest

and continue to provide consular assistance. As yet there is no date

set for his trial. New pictures have been released of

the ?400 million redevelopment of the Westgate shopping centre in

Oxford. The change has been talked about for 25 years. People are now

being asked for their views on the plans for the new centre. Five firms

of architects are working together on the designs which will be

submitted for planning permission later this year. The consultation

runs until next Wednesday and is being held inside the existing

shopping centre. The Earl and Countess of Wessex have

been visiting Oxfordshire today. After visiting Dorchester they met

military reserve forces and Cadets at a lunch at the Edward Brooks

barracks in Abingdon. The Earl handed out an award to Oxfordshire

County Council recognising its commitment to employing and

supporting staff that serve within Britain's Reserve Armed Forces. The

reserves are a part of the whole integrated force. 32,000 will be

reservists. They have played an essential part of the whole force,

ready to deploy whenever required. A team of scientists in Oxford have

produced a new piece of technology which is going to help operate the

largest and most sensitive radio telescope on earth. It's based in

South Africa and will collect signals from the depths of the

universe, possibly from the first stars and galaxies formed after the

Big Bang. Jessica Cooper reports. To see the furthest galaxies you

need telescopes like this. In the centre a crucial piece of kit. It

doesn't look complicated but the cooling technology in here is about

to help scientists see further into space than ever before. The dishes

sit, in soaring temperatures, in the middle of the South African desert.

It cools the very heart of the radio telescope. The receiver. The

receiver is the bit that receives all the information, the radio

waves, from the depths of space. Once the telescopes are up and

running they'll scan space for sound waves collecting vast amounts of

data. For the 30`year`old Oxford business behind the unit, it's an

exciting time. To be able to supply systems for a project like this, it

is the next big hadron Collider, we are proud to be part of it.

Everything we make here we sourced locally. We have it manufactured

locally. It is a great thing for the community.

This project has been funded by governments across the world. And

it's hoped it'll expand. Eventually over the next 15 years there could

be more than 3,000 dishes gathering information to tell us more about

what's out there. With speeds of up to 90 miles an

hour and crashes a necessary requirement, stock car racing

wouldn't be many parents first choice hobby for their children. But

for the Harris family, who live near Banbury, stock car racing is in the

blood. Sinead Carroll went to meet them.

The countryside hasn't been quite as peaceful since the Harris family

moved in. Eat, sleep, live, breathe, everything stock car racing. It

dominates family life. It all started with dad, Mike, a former

racer, wife Sharon has one, `` charity competitions and elder son

Tom is a world champion and Catherine has taken up the sport.

Even the Jamie US terrible but it is an avid supporter. For Tom, stockcar

racing isn't just a hobby, making and fixing these guys is his

full`time job. He got to love the full`time job. He got to love the

adrenaline, when you're in the cars, the people are surround you,

get the family closer together. Catherine started on bikes, now she

races in the manys. I am not a girly girl, I don't like girly stuff.

Quite a few girls do it and I wanted to as well. When they are not

raising the family farming at home near Banbury. A lot of people caught

stockcar structures, but far from it, they are a purpose`built racing

car. But you will find there are a lot of farmers involved in stockcar

racing. This weekend is another race for Tom and Catherine. There will be

plenty of family support. That is all for the moment, I will

have a headless just before eight o'clock. `` ever headlines.

May. Still to come: Why the banana docks

in Portsmouth are preparing a little treat for Clarkson in Barbados.

It was the first new fire station to be built in Berkshire in 20 years.

But the BBC has discovered the new ?1.5 million building in Wokingham

has serious structural problems which could be hugely expensive to

put right. It's not the only capital project presenting challenges for

the Fire Service. Following the excitement of its

grand opening in 2011, cracks have appeared on the concrete floor,

there are problems with the roof and the main doors to not work properly.

It has not been built well enough, there are serious structural

problems which will need to be corrected. Not the kind of

structural problems which are putting people in imminent danger.

The fire station is being used safely, so we do not have an

immediate problem but the building has have worked on to make sure it

is able to service the needs of our firefighters and the communities

they look after in the long`term. A full investigation is underway. This

station cost ?1.5 million to build and is going to cost a lot to put it

right. It is crucial that it is established who is responsible and

taxpayers will not want to pay for taxpayers will not want to pay for

it. 15 miles away, Berkshire's brand`new Fire Service HQ should be

open by now. It will host the first joint control room, but there have

been delays. This new build follows the abandonment of nine new control

centres across the UK at a cost of ?0.5 billion. The problem was the

technology was never got right. That was an important lesson which we

have done well to learn in the way we have handled this project, so the

delay is unfortunate but I think justifiable on the basis of how

important that technology is. It's the HQ is late than problematic ``

better. A teacher who showed pupils how to

cut themselves with craft knives so they could paint in their own blood

has been allowed to carry on teaching. Sandra Kennedy had

admitted matters got out of hand during the lesson at the Ringwood

Waldorf School in March last year, when 13 pupils cut themselves. She

was suspended and later resigned. The National College of Teaching and

Leadership found Sandra Kennedy guilty of unacceptable professional

conduct, but said it was an "isolated mistake".

There are many who think the decision should have been taken

years ago but permission has now been granted to demolish the former

3M building in Bracknell. Over the decades, it had deteriorated from

icon to eyesore and its removal will be an important step in the

regeneration of the town centre. It is pretty much the one thing

Bracknell is known for these days. The 3M building. The town's most

iconic building, Winchester house, is on borrowed time. The council has

said it can be demolished. It is the building you see in town every day,

you see at four miles. Do you like it? No. I think they have left it

too late for Bracknell. They should too late for Bracknell. They should

have done it years ago. It will be very modern. That could go either

way. More than 300 new flats will be built on the site. It will set above

retail block with a new underpass running through the middle. Is this

a departure from Bracknell as a centre of industry? We have always

said the town centre would be the heart of our economy. It is not just

about shopping. It is about eating, people coming to visit. We have

large companies and we want them to come and use this as... . The 3M

building featured heavily when we asked users to suggest the most

loved and hated building. Some inspire and some do not, but by far

and away the most heated seems to be the Castlemilk halls of residence in

Oxford. We will be looking at these in the coming months. Keep your

suggestions coming. For the moment, watch this space.

We are trying to find out what are the most popular and heated

buildings in the south. the most popular and heated

Are they selling, Saints? Now done deals. They have come out

and said, you might have been doing the papers about multi`million pound

deals, that is not the case. Insisting there is no deal in place

to sell any players back injury.

Saints face Everton in tomorrow's early kick off at St Mary's. In

League One, Swindon hope to keep their play`off hopes alive with a

win at Notts County, MK Dons go to Rotherham. In League Two,

Portsmouth's manager`in`waiting Andy Awford goes for a sixth win out of

six on the road at Bury for resurgent Pompey. Oxford have to win

against Accrington and hope York lose if their play`off chances are

to stay alive. There's full commentary of all the games on BBC

local radio. We'll break down what it all means going into the final

week of the season on Late Kick Off which is back on Monday night. We'll

also talk Saints and the World Cup with former Southampton midfielder

Matthew Oakley who is among our special guests.

Sholing Football Club will play at Wembley in the biggest match in

their history in a fortnight's time. Today some of staff at the club had

a look around and got their hands on a look around and got their hands on

the trophy. They lame`duck against their opponents at the National

Stadium, calling on football fans to get behind them. Tickets cost just

?15 for adults. Surrey Storm hope to complete a

season at the top of British netball this weekend. They take on

Manchester Thunder in the grand final of the Super League in

Worcester tomorrow night. The Storm went unbeaten in the regular season

before winning their play`off semi final. It's a repeat of the 2012

final, which Manchester won. It's a big weekend of play`off

matches for some of the south's rugby union sides. And one of the

teams looking to create a piece of history is Chichester. They're

looking to reach the National League for the first time in their 130`year

existence. The West Sussex club have a home promotion play`off tomorrow

against Eton Manor. Spectacular, expensive and very,

very fast. That was the unusual cargo being prepared for a banana

boat at Portsmouth docks this morning. 30 high performance cars

were loaded into containers for the voyage to Barbados. They're going to

be taking part in a special festival organised by the team behind Top

Gear. Welcome to the glamorous world of

high performance motoring on a rain swept banana boat dock in Portsmouth

harbour. The cars are going to the Caribbean for a Top Gear Festival

next month. The live festivals are a commercial spin off from the TV

programme and have already been held in Australia, South Africa and

Poland. Now the Barbados Tourist Board have signed up in a three`year

deal. Interestingly, Jeremy Clarkson once visited the island to see

whether he'd rather spend his money running a BMW for a year, or taking

a Caribbean holiday. No, this is definitely better, definitely. So,

Top Gear Festival, Barbados, it is our first time in Barbados. It is a

live celebration of everything about motoring. It is all in the spirit of

Top Gear. We have Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond of

course. We have the Stig, Lewis Hamilton, all sorts going on. For

the dockyard workers, this has been a real treat. Getting to grips with

some of the world's finest supercars. This is an Enzo Ferrari.

It's worth somewhere around ?1.5 million and fitting it into a

container takes nerves of steel. I have recently lost a little bit of

weight. I think if I was a stone or two heavier I would be borderline

getting out of the window. It is very tight. What is it like to

drive? Very noisy. Not so much fun on a day like today but hopefully in

Barbados it will be a little bit nicer. Ships like this bring over 30

million bananas at a time to Portsmouth. But this particular

return load is going to be worth a lot more. It is quite high. A banana

cargo could be ?3 or ?4 million. The collective value of the 30 odd

vehicles we are shipping out for Top Gear is somewhere north of ?10 or

?12 million. It is quite a substantial value but we do carry a

lot of other valuable cargo from time to time as well. It's not all

glamour. A flotilla of Reliant Robins are going for the car

football event. I like the fact they have some of

the yellow cards next to the red cards. `` cars.

It is fairly unsettled for the weekend, a lot of rain on the cards,

but there will be some warm sunshine at times.

Further rain on the cards for the first part of the night and through

the early hours of the morning the rain will gradually led not `` edge

northwards. There could be funded the rain with the rain band moving

northwards. The next band of rain starts to arrive by dawn tomorrow,

fairly heavy rain. In the last 24 hours in parts of Hampshire we have

seen just over an in shop rainfall. This could cause localised flooding,

so stay tuned to your local radio station. Temperatures in towns and

cities down to eight or nine Celsius. There could be a lot of

surface water on the roads. There will be a brief dryer interlude

where we will see some sunshine before the next batch of showers

starts coming in from the west later. And late afternoon we will

start to see some sunshine. Winds are pretty blustery. Under these

showers and a possibility with temperatures falling to 7`9dC.

Sunday there is low pressure along the south coast and it is moving but

we will still see some showers, some sunshine to be had but it will start

to feel a bit better towards the afternoon on Friday, sorry Sunday.

Heavy showers, the old rumble of thunder, but there will be some

sunny spells and it will feel pleasantly warm in the sunshine with

temperatures reaching 15 or 16 Celsius. And unsettled weekend.

Showers through the weekend, Monday they risk of showers, unsettled into

Wednesday. We were spoiled the other week with

the lovely weather. We have more at 8pm and 10:25pm.