17/11/2011 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today, with Kylie Pentelow and me, Dominic

Heale. Our top story tonight: The Mayor of Leicester's pay rise -

now Number Ten steps in. Sir Peter Soulsby could be payed

100,000 a year. The Government says he'd be wrong to take it.

Hardworking taxpayers are seeing their income and living standards

under pressure. And Sir Peter thinks it's a good idea to increase

his pay! Also, the hospital charging

disabled patients and visitors for parking. I thought that was the

reason for the disabled badge. So you didn't pay.

Plus, New York, New York. The first ever direct flight from here to the

Big Apple. And we have got choirs, tables with

award winners and even athletes ready to do their thing. It can

only be the BBC East Midlands Good evening, welcome to Thursday's

programme. First tonight, the continuing row over a mayor and his

proposed pay package of �100,000. It's the equivalent of an 80% pay

rise. Today, Leicester's mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, said he wants to

consult further before reaching any final decision on his pay packet.

The Government says he shouldn't bother. He should just turn it down.

Here's our political editor, John Hess.

This is a city where a political row is fast resembling the Mad

Hatter's Tea Party. Leicester's mayor, said Peter Salsbury, was

today dusting down a portrait of one of his predecessors. There is

nothing new about politicians and cash. His proposed pay packet

recommended by an independent panel at �100,000 has caused a storm.

is inevitably controversial in terms of the savage cuts we are

seeing. It is no more than recommendations at this stage.

Boris Johnson gets �145,000. The mayor of Mansfield is paid �53,000.

The Doncaster mayor cut his own pay in half. He now gets �32,000. So

what is Peter Mackworth? He should show some moral gumption and say,

even if this is a recommendation, I am not going to take it. That is

for the people of Leicester to decide. It is certainly the case

that as a result of having an elected mayor, I have managed to do

away with the office of chief executive, whose salary in total

was costing the council �250,000. In this particular role, who is

holding the winning cards? Peter Max says it will be up to the

people of Leicester in a further round of consultation. -- Sir Peter

Soulsby says. He needs to do more for our city. There are places in

the public sector which could use that money better. That is far too

much. I would say inner. We have not got anything that I have said

or recommended myself, and I have not got anything that the council

has decided on. The final decision is being deferred until the New

year. This pay row could turn on its head all over again.

Next tonight, hospital bosses have been defending their decision to

charge disabled drivers for parking. Blue Badge holders will no longer

be exempt from the fees. Managers at Kings Mill and Newark Hospitals

in Nottinghamshire insist the change is all about being fair and

not about raising money. But the local MP is urging the hospital to

reconsider, as Simon Hare reports. Parking in a disabled spot here at

Kings Mill Hospital used to be free. That was for Blue Badge holders.

Now it will set you back one pound 50 for up to an hour and �3 for up

to four hours. It is disgraceful. Nobody asks to be disabled. And you

get appointments. Nobody comes to you, you have to go to them. What

can you do? At the moment, only kidney dialysis and cancer patients

will not have to pay. Those will be along with certain patients on

certain benefits. But the hospitals say the new charges are not

motivated by making money. It is not about income, it is about

equity, having a fair charging policy. But it will earn you more

money? Possibly, but it is about having a fair policy and

maintaining our high quality and fair car-parks. I thought that was

the reason for the disabled batch. So that you didn't pay. -- the

disabled badge. But you don't get anything free at the centre either.

All parking charges are wrong, but this one introduced last week seems

particularly wrong to me and I am urging them to reconsider.

Disability Nottinghamshire says it has received calls from people

worried about the new charges and it penalises the disabled because

they have to make more trips to of spittle than others. But hospitals

say it is the first time in four years they have looked at their

parking charges. So, should disabled drivers have to

pay for their hospital parking? email or tweet to the addresses on

your screen. We'll try to read some of them out at the end of the

Still to come on the programme, what a difference a year makes. We

catch up with the heart patient whose life was saved by a robotic

But next tonight, news of a massive boost for employment in the East

Midlands tonight, with the prospect of more than 2,000 jobs being

created. The vehicle testing and research company MIRA has been

given the go-ahead for a �300 million redevelopment of its site

near Hinckley, in Leicestershire, as Simon Ward reports.

With unemployment increasing, the planning approval to redevelop the

site is a major boost for jobs and investment in our region. More than

30 companies involved in transport technology are involved here, with

MIRA being the largest. They said the creation of thousands of new

jobs is not just hype. They are genuine jobs and over the ten-year

period, this is probably a conservative estimate. We have

already created over 165 positions here at MIRA in the last year. It

involves apprenticeships and graduate trainee schemes right up

to engineers. The development includes almost �20 million from

the Regional Growth Fund from the Government. It is hoped many local

people will find jobs here in the next few years. With so many young

people unemployed, we have got to fight back, and I see this as part

of it. We have got to get young people motivated and trained and

get them into jobs, and this could not have come at a more important

time. I very much hope local schools, colleges and training

facilities will look to this facility and tried to get young

people up and running so they are fit and trained and motivated to

come into work and come into the first class, world-class work this

opportunity opened up for everybody. The work going on here has been

approved but now the entire 850 acres site and Rhodes will be

improved, with the latest phase starting next year. In the Second

World War, this was RAF Linley, where Second World War bombers and

Spitfires flew on missions. Now, with the latest development, the

latest technology will continue to be developed here.

Some good news there. Meanwhile, jobs are also being

created in the region's pharmacuetical industry. Dozens of

small firms have sprung up from the closure of a major Leicestershire

company almost two years ago. Here's Anthony Bartram.

The business of drug discovery in the UK is taking a worrying turn.

In 18 months, this multi-billion pound industry has shed over 4,000

jobs. Astra Zeneca's decision to close its research centre in

Loughborough forced hundreds of staff to take a long, hard look at

their futures. Top scientists have now decided to set up their own

companies. Where there is threat, there is also opportunity. I wanted

to do something like this for a while and I feel it was a

springboard to actually set this up. He is one of 6 ex-employees who has

helped set up this BioCity. Scientists, along with business

experts, hot set-up at the centre. If they each grid to the scale of

some of the other companies we had here, we could put back half of

those jobs. -- if they each Grove. That would be a great thing to

achieve. If 700 people work for many companies here. Seven years

down the line, this is what they are aiming for. Growing from five

to 60 staff. �500 million is the turnover each year. It turns over

the engines of discovery and development. The big pharmaceutical

companies are now developing. BioCity continues to grow, building

new laboratories and encouraging new companies to move in. And that

is providing a safe passage for those who have found themselves on

the wrong end of a larger company contracting last year but on the

right end of a new of one expanding today. -- eight new were one.

Three men have been arrested in connection with a fire at a factory

in Derbyshire. More than 30 firefighters were called to the

blaze at Breaston yesterday afternoon. All three men were

arrested on suspicion of the production of cannabis after police

found what they believe to be cannabis-growing equipment inside

the factory. They remain in custody and are being questioned by

officers. The Bush, if it is cannabis, will burn and burn

readily. They are packed and are close and they ignite readily, and

because they are in these shelters, the fire remains undetected until

it gets serious. It reached the roof and people saw smoke and

flames coming out of what they think is an empty building or

fabrication works. The former leader of Derby City

Council has been bound over to keep the peace after an assault charge

against him was dropped. Harvey Jennings had been due to stand

trial today for allegedly attacking his former wife, Jane, just days

before the local elections last May. He was forced to stand down as

Conservative leader but he remains a city councillor. Both he and his

ex-wife were ordered by the judge to behave for the next six months.

The judge went on to describe him as being a man of good character.

The effect of this prosecution has been profound and long-lasting. Mr

Jennings hopes matters may now be put behind him and everybody else.

And that everybody be reconciled between family members.

The prospect of regular direct flights from here to New York has

moved a step closer. A plane bound for the Big Apple took off this

morning, with all the seats snapped up months ago. The airport

authorities believe there could be huge demand for more flights to

America, as James Roberson reports. New York, New York, so good that

all the razzmatazz was laid on for the first ever flight from East

Midlands to the Red Apple. There may have been the red carpet,

bagels, fizz and orange juice, but it was the relative bargain price

of this flight that tempted the Christmas shopaholics, and they

were snapped up. A shopping, going to the theatre and a bit more

shopping! It was a weekend in London or New York for the 21st.

And the East Midlands did it. Everybody I spoke to said, are you

going from the East Midlands? Nobody knows about it. More of it!

We should see more. All 210 seats on the plane was sold. Do you think

there will be more flights like this? We will look at the feedback

and then see where we can operate again. As the aeroplane prepared

for take-off, the airport authorities were also considering

other flight to America. It is a question of proving the demand to

the airline. We know it is there. We have 600 people in the region

flying to America but they are not using the airport. They are going

to Gatwick or Heathrow. It is making sure those passengers can

fly from this airport. A long way to go for some shopping!

But worth it! He was the first patient in the

world to have an innovative heart procedure. Patrick Flood from Derby

used to suffer chest pains, breathlessness and black-outs

because of an irregular heart rhythm. Then he had an operation

where surgeons used a robotic arm alongside a 3D mapping system. One

year on, it has made a real difference, as our health

correspondent, Rob Sissons, reports. Patrick was a constant medication

at home for his life-threatening irregular heart rhythm. Atrial

fibrillation is a common heart condition. What a difference,

though, 12 months can make. His life under a cloud is now a

horrible memory. Virtually blacking out almost on a daily basis. Almost

in a permanent fibrillation, they call it, when your heart is like

that. It is a thing of the past and I am Tokyo recovered. No pain,

fainting, giddiness. -- I am totally recovered. Pat propofol

owes his life to this robotic arm. It is part of a 3D mapping system

at hospital. -- Patrick owes his life. As you can imagine, it is

delicate work. Mm matter. The hard wall is thin, so we have to be

careful. Since this, 29 other patients have undergone the

procedure with the robot. The robot is steadier than a human hand,

which is usually used in the conventional operation. When it

comes to guiding catheters to the heart. The added benefit of the

robotic technique is that it gives us the precision over all we can do

by hand. Immensely privileged to see that I can access this at the

point of need. The arm even has a name. It is the Spanish word for

friend. Now for a different approach to

tackling crime that you could say really gets to the root of the

problem. The Royal Horticultural Society claims community gardening

projects can improve neighbourhoods and reduce the number of offences

committed. And there's a really good example of that right here in

the East Midlands. Mel Coles reports from a community gardening

scheme in Nottingham. It might be November but there is

still plenty to do at Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens. Set up

nearly 10 years ago, it is now a key part of the neighbourhood.

can't be a bad thing that people are living in a community which is

beautiful. People come to visit and look at the hanging baskets and the

tomatoes growing in the streets. That for me has to impact on crime

and how people look after the neighbourhood and how they feel

about the neighbourhood in which they live. The report suggests

garden in is the glue that binds and builds neighbourhoods.

Something the volunteers agree with wholeheartedly. It has had a very

positive effect on the community because it is some way people are

proud of. A lot of people come around and they buy the produce.

grow different kinds of vegetables from all over the world and it

really encourages good neighbours and it is great. I like to come

down and volunteer and I have been volunteering for six years now.

Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens is not resting on its laurels. A

new concert trading futures building is going up to encourage

even more people to get involved. - - a new conservation trading

futures building. But impressive tomatoes!

It's an exciting night for our sports team. It's the big one - the

BBC East Midlands Sports Awards at Loughborough University, as glitzy

and dramatic as ever, and Colin is there with the team.

Not quite providing the glitz but I am really looking forward to this

evening. We are just about ready here in the sports hall. Take a

look around you. The tables are ready for the VIPs. Many have

arrived already out of the athletes because they are so excited. And

down here are the awards, including the big ones of the unsung hero and

our BBC East Midlands Sports personality. And we put on an awful

lot of entertainment for people here as well. As well as

recognising the very best sports people and coaches from around the

region. Let's give you a taster of what people will see this evening.

We will have a BMX floor show by one of the UK's but very, very best.

He is called Keelan Phillips and earlier, he was showing off to

Natalie. This is Keelan Phillips. He is a

BMX rider and a world-class one. This is the cliffhanger, just one

of the tricks he will be doing tonight. He has been on the X

Factor, Blue Peter and the Channel 4 concrete circus. You have done a

lot? I guess so! A lot of shows and demonstrations over the world.

can the audience tonight expect to see? I am doing a three-minute show

so I will be showing them lots of tricks. Hopefully nothing like it.

What is your big event next year? will be at the opening ceremony of

the Olympics. The Olympics has introduced BMX racing, which is so

good for BMX. How do you train for these shows? You are number one but

you win contests as well as performing? Yes. If I haven't got a

day where I am performing, I will be training and on my bike. Keeping

fit. One more trick for us? What is this one? Keelan is just one of the

acts we have here tonight at the Sports Awards at Loughborough

University. Now back over to Colin, with another. Yes. Let's meet

another of the key people here this evening. Sam Hunter will come in

and join us just before we bring you some sports news. Spectacular

entrance there. And you will be putting on a full performance later

on? Yes. I will be on the pommel horse in front of everybody and I

am privileged to be asked to do it. You spend so much time over in the

hall over there and you never get a chance to show us what you can do?

Yes. I am looking forward to showing everybody the work we do

next door in the gym. It is a state-of-the-art facility with

doctors and Visios on hand. Hopefully, the work we do will pay

off next year at the Olympics. talk about these facilities. How

much difference does it make to you? A massive difference. I have

been here for the last few years and my gymnastics have gone from

strength to strength. Hopefully next year, it will pay off. I was

going to ask you about that. There is an Olympics theme? And you have

all the squad? Yes. It is a childhood dream. I am looking

forward to it. It is an exciting time. Hopefully you will be back

next year and part of the exhibition. Thank you very much

indeed. That is Sam Hunter, who has a real chance of going to the

Olympics. Onto the sports news, and Martin

Guptill will return as Derbyshire's overseas cricketer until the middle

of June. And the Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cotterill says he's

not tempted to rush Dexter Blackstock into action any time

soon. The striker has spent a year on the sidelines because of a knee

injury, but played in a behind- closed-doors game earlier in the

week. There is no point in throwing him back in if we feel he is not

there. But as I say, he has every day of the week to knock on my door,

not literally! But he is a great lad and he wants to be back. We

have to make sure we bring him back at the right time. You can feel it

building up. There is quite a hush in here even with the crowds. There

is the stage where the awards will be presented from. You can see

highlights on BBC East Midlands Today tomorrow, and you want to

watch, because they will be doing something spectacular with that

high jump. You are all looking forward to it, aren't you? Yes!

This time tomorrow another big night will be getting underway.

Here's a clue! Children in Need, of course. And in this region, the

main event will be happening live at Loughborough University. A very

popular venue by the look of it! Your hosts will be Anne Davies and

CBBC's Sam and Mark. There'll be a special Children in Need choir.

CHILDREN SINGING. Nearly 200 children from schools including

Loughborough Endowed Schools and Lancaster Boys' School from

Leicester. The plan is for a unique live link-up with 12 other choirs

around the UK. A lot of hard work has gone into an event that

promises to be a real spectacle. Great! Time to read some of your

messages you send us about that disabled parking and having to pay

for it. Stacey's says, I don't think anybody should have to pay

for hospital parking. It is a stealth tax on the ill and their

relatives. Disabled drivers get more than

enough motoring help like mobility allowances. Not paying tax, etc.

That is from Sean. And Elaine says, Derby already

charges for Blue Badge holders. They should pay the same as non-

disabled users. Thank you for your messages. Time

Thank you. We have had nice sunny skies over the East Midlands today.

November has so far been much milder, about three degrees above

average. Around half the rainfall we usually expect but the cloudy

skies that of very typical, those we have had, that is for sure.

Staying mild with that breeze, but today was an exception, because we

did not get the usual skies for November. They were sunny instead.

David took this lovely picture in Nottingham. Send your pictures to

the address above. Let's take a look at the forecast. Another

weather front is working its way into the West, but for us, we will

see the cloud building in from the West, most of us staying dry with

the exception of a few spots over the Peak District. Temperatures

will stay mild and the breeze will increase. Temperatures dipping to

around eight degrees. Tomorrow, a much brighter start because we will

see those clear skies with us from the word go. Sunshine as we go

through the course of tomorrow, with temperatures still on the mild

side, but a breezy day overall. Temperatures potentially getting up

to 14 degrees, which is pretty good going for the middle of November.

As we head to the weekend, we are staying mainly dry if you are out

and about. Saturday will cloud Arafat a bit and on Sunday, eight