30/09/2014 BBC Oxford News

Good evening. BBC Two, but now on BBC One, it s

A flypast has been held as the RAF Benson said goodbye to

The aircraft is being handed over to the Royal Navy,

Up to 1,000 personnel will leave the base in the next two ye`rs.

Here's our Business Correspondent, Alastair Fee.

Together with His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, thex came

RAF Benson has two Merlin Squadrons.

Today saw 78 Squadron disbanded and handed to the newly formed 846 Naval

Air Squadron, part of the Commando Helicopter Force of the Roy`l Navy.

We have known this day is coming for some time, but it is a celebration

of the history of the squadron. It is sad to see it go, but to hand it

over to such a bunch of fridnds is a relief. It was announced thdy would

cease to be an RAF asset and moved over to the Navy as part of a

wide`ranging series of cuts. In order to complete that move, all

these aircraft will require a Wii fit so their blades can fold and fit

on shifts. The marlins have seen plenty of action in recent xears.

They helped bring troops hole from Iraq in 2008, but their most

important role came later, with ground troops vulnerable in

Afghanistan, RAF Benson's mdrlins were called in to help out. Now a

new chapter. For those on b`sic has served with the merlins, thhs marks

a crossroads. I have served with 78 Squadron, I have done five tours out

to Afghanistan. It is a gre`t aircraft to fly. There will be a lot

of change. People are heading in lots of different directions. For

me, it is an opportunity to do something different. Over the next

two years, RAF Benson will lose hundreds of people. Until the

government confirms who will be coming to replace the merlins, the

skies will be quieter, and so will the villages and towns of

Oxfordshire. Concerns have been raised that dirty

flood water and rotting food left in homes flooded

by a burst water main in Oxford last It was one

of the points put to Thames Water at a heated drop`in session for those

affected on Normandy Crescent. A week ago a burst water mahn

devastated more than 20 homds This was

the first chance many had h`d to speak to Thames Water directly,

and emotions were running hhgh. I want to do quite regular checks

are not happening on these pipe works. There is a duty of c`re and

we have been failed. The flood water may have gone, but

there's concern nothing's bden done The water has been there, there is

food rotting, the stench is horrendous. It then becomes a public

health issue. The Lockhart family is

among 75 people who've been put up in hotels temporarily, but could be

out of their homes for many months. The children are getting stressed.

She is not eating well. Thames Water says

a forensic investigation's tnderway to identify what caused

the pipe to fail and says it's trying to address individual issues

as quickly as possible. A new road, designed to easd

congestion in part of Aylesbury has opened to traffic seven years

after work on it first started. The road has cost ?11 million,

but it hasn't been paid Instead, housing developers

have footed the bill. It's been built

between the new Buckingham Park These roads take the bulk of traffic

wanting to pass through the town. It's understandable then th`t

they've been known to backup. Whether it will cut through

the queues will only be known once This junction has been a notorious

problem junction four years. This is where the main Alpha 41 that passes

through the heart of Aylesbtry joined the road from Buckingham

This new link road is designed to reduce the pressure here. This road

is open. Money that local

authorities don't have. So it's the housing builders

who've had to pay. The road has taken seven

years to complete. From when work started at Btckingham

Park, to the north of Aylesbury to now that work at Berryfidlds to

the west is at an advanced stage. There are growing calls to hurry

through a similar scheme to Thousands

of homes are planned there too. Developers will need to help

meet the cost, meaning any I urge the county council to

prioritise the completion of an Eastern relief road, and thdn go on

to see if they can deliver the complete bypass that the residents

of Aylesbury and the surrounding areas are crying out for.

So, development and infrastructure, a difficult balance it seems to

It's the last day for people affected by HS2 to have

their say over compensation for the planned High Speed railway line

Campaign groups claim more than 170,000 homes will be affected

by the route and only 3,000 are likely to get compensation.

If approved, work will start in 2017.

The deadline for comments is just before midnight.

Bright green binbags, designed to blend in with hedges, have been

The sacks have a leaf pattern on them.

They were out for collection on the hedge`free Cornmarket Street.

Their appearance is likely to be a one`off as there are no plans to

replace the traditional rubbish sacks the moment.

Good evening. A lot of low cloud, mist and fog during the night, and

outbreaks of patchy light r`in and drizzle. There will be some dry

periods as well with temper`tures falling to 15 Celsius. A dalp and

dreary start to tomorrow, btt things will improve. That cloud will

clear, as will those channels, and we will see some sunny spells

developed. The risk of a shower during the afternoon, with

temperatures reaching 20 Celsius. The winds are fairly light. Looking

ahead, there will be a lot of cloud first thing each day. Writer sunny

spells will develop. The risk of a shower on Thursday and Wedndsday. A

dry day on Friday. Next, thd National

breezy through Saturday afternoon with a change in the temperature.

More information on that now with Alex.

Good evening. It's farewell fair weather September. A very warm

month. Incredibly dry. Why so? All to do with the jet stream. Mostly to

the north and the fast-moving ribbon of the air has been searing the

pressures from the UK. If you are after more boisterous autumn

whether, it need it to drive southwards and