:00:10. > :00:14.This is East Midlands Today with Geeta Pendse and me, Dominic Heale.
:00:15. > :00:22.Tonight: Villagers dig in for a fight over a giant quarry. They say
:00:23. > :00:27.the sand and gravel quarry, one of the country's biggest would be a
:00:28. > :00:31.catastrophe. When you look `t the landscape and how beautiful it says,
:00:32. > :00:37.that is all going to be destroyed if we do not do something about it And
:00:38. > :00:48.the RSPCA talk about the culture of violence. From a cat being strangled
:00:49. > :00:54.to death during a domestic hncident to a dog being kicked to de`th in a
:00:55. > :01:03.cellar and being left to rot in a bag. The football fixtures come out
:01:04. > :01:08.today. And why reading a bus timetable in Leicester is rdally a
:01:09. > :01:17.tall order. It is really bad. We are not sure. I cannot see it.
:01:18. > :01:24.Good evening. Welcome to thd programme. First tonight: Vhllagers
:01:25. > :01:27.are fighting plans to develop one of the country's largest sand `nd
:01:28. > :01:31.gravel quarries just a few hundred metres from their homes. Thdy say it
:01:32. > :01:35.will be catastrophic for wildlife and the environment. The 80`hectare
:01:36. > :01:38.site will stretch from the village of Barton In Fabis in
:01:39. > :01:43.Nottinghamshire to the borddr of the Attenborough Nature reserve and over
:01:44. > :01:47.to Clifton. Our reporter Qudntin Rayner is at the proposed shte for
:01:48. > :01:49.us this evening. Quentin, jtst give us an idea of how big this puarry
:01:50. > :02:03.site could be. Well, put simply, it is as far as
:02:04. > :02:11.the eye can see. What we ard talking about here is an area that hs
:02:12. > :02:15.equivalent to 200 football pitches. It will stretch as far as the nature
:02:16. > :02:22.reserve that you can see behind me and it will cover this area you can
:02:23. > :02:28.see now. It will go as far `s those woods in the distance. Objectors say
:02:29. > :02:34.it will destroy all the wildlife year. The County Council sax they
:02:35. > :02:38.have no choice but to consider this site. Barton In Fabis is le`ding an
:02:39. > :02:41.army to fight this proposed quarry. Villagers and Ramblers trying to
:02:42. > :02:44.defend what they regard as ` precious piece of countryside for
:02:45. > :02:52.people and wildlife. It feels like we are under attack. We havd had the
:02:53. > :02:56.A453 widening, a tram put in, a housing development and now they
:02:57. > :02:59.want to dig up this land as well. When you look at the landsc`pe here,
:03:00. > :03:03.how beautiful it is, this is going to be destroyed if we do not do
:03:04. > :03:16.something about it. To be bombarded with something that is just so
:03:17. > :03:18.unbelievable, it is just unreal The council says it has a statutory
:03:19. > :03:22.responsibility to identify lineral reserves for the future and this is
:03:23. > :03:25.one they must consider. We `re advised by the government to find
:03:26. > :03:28.sites for mineral extraction, we have defined sites for up to 40
:03:29. > :03:32.million tonnes of sand and gravel extraction for the year 2030, that
:03:33. > :03:44.will be used for projects stch as houses, roads and rail projdcts ``
:03:45. > :03:48.by the year. If approved, three million tonnes of sand and gravel
:03:49. > :03:52.will be excavated from the site This is catastrophic for thhs part
:03:53. > :03:55.of Nottingham. It is being stolen from under our noses. We have a
:03:56. > :03:58.nature reserve just across the river there and the valley is used by
:03:59. > :04:11.birds, 75 types of conservation concern. It is also a flood
:04:12. > :04:16.protection area which protects properties downstream. Lettdrs will
:04:17. > :04:27.be dropping through letter boxes in the next few days. Let's he`r more
:04:28. > :04:32.now from one man who is not only a villagers here but also a professor
:04:33. > :04:38.of environmental management at the University of Nottingham. Thank you
:04:39. > :04:44.for joining us. The County Council is obliged to find this 49 lillion
:04:45. > :04:54.tonnes of sand and gravel, ht has to be here so why not Barton? Ht has
:04:55. > :05:04.criteria it users to select sites. If you apply those criteria there is
:05:05. > :05:08.too much to use `` lose. Whx do you consider it such a flood risk if
:05:09. > :05:16.they develop a quarry here? There are two things we can agree with the
:05:17. > :05:24.council about. Climate change will increase the risk of flooding and
:05:25. > :05:31.quarrying on this site will affect properties. It is a functional flood
:05:32. > :05:36.plain which stores water in times of flood and releases it gentlx. That
:05:37. > :05:41.protects people further down the stream. It performs an important
:05:42. > :05:50.function for free which is why nature is so important. Quarrying
:05:51. > :05:55.will disrupt that. The local MP has written to the County Counchl and
:05:56. > :06:01.expressed his strong objecthons to this proposal. The County Council
:06:02. > :06:06.are saying very strongly th`t they are still a long, long way from any
:06:07. > :06:10.final decision. They are pl`nning team will come here tomorrow to meet
:06:11. > :06:16.with the parish council. Judging from what I have heard from the
:06:17. > :06:23.villagers today, I think thdy are guaranteed to hear a of strong views
:06:24. > :06:25.at that meeting. Still to come, in the red. The hospitals oper`ting
:06:26. > :06:28.under the country's biggest financial deficit. Figures released
:06:29. > :06:31.today show Leicester's hosphtals had a shortfall last year of allost ?40
:06:32. > :06:41.million. We'll have all the details later. Before that, the RSPCA says
:06:42. > :06:45.reports of animal cruelty h`ve gone up in the East Midlands despite the
:06:46. > :06:52.number of convictions actually going down. The charity has warned that
:06:53. > :07:05.there's a worrying increase in a culture of violence against animals.
:07:06. > :07:07.James Roberson can tell us lore This five`year`old Staffordshire
:07:08. > :07:13.bull terrier is the picture of health now but when his owndr reborn
:07:14. > :07:25.ten two years ago he looked like a puppy, he was so neglected `nd
:07:26. > :07:31.emaciated before the RSPCA find him. They had been starved for ehght
:07:32. > :07:36.weeks, left abandoned withott water, without food. Left in his own mess,
:07:37. > :07:43.absolutely skin and bone, it was awful. While this dog has a happy
:07:44. > :07:55.ending the RSPCA said they `re witnessing more and more crtelty to
:07:56. > :08:01.animals. Dogs are left starving they are left in properties when
:08:02. > :08:06.people move out. There was ` car `` cat strangled to death during a
:08:07. > :08:15.domestic dispute. A dog was kicked to death in a cellar and left to rot
:08:16. > :08:23.in a bag. While episodes of cruelty are up, overall conviction rates are
:08:24. > :08:29.down. Convictions here dropped from 44 to 18 in Nottinghamshire. In
:08:30. > :08:38.Derbyshire 35 to 27. In Leicestershire the rose frol eight
:08:39. > :08:42.to 18. I think animals are `n easy target for some people, it hs in
:08:43. > :08:48.their demeanour. It has somdthing to do with the way we live in lodern
:08:49. > :08:54.society I am sure but we nedd to get back to true values and what an
:08:55. > :09:02.animal means for more `` most people which is a companion for life. This
:09:03. > :09:08.man rescued this captain from a bag he found it in today in Nottingham.
:09:09. > :09:13.He means to have it as a frhend for life. Police have offered a ?5, 00
:09:14. > :09:16.reward to find the body of ` man who's been missing for almost six
:09:17. > :09:18.months. Bogdan Nawrocki, a 22`year`old Polish citizen who lived
:09:19. > :09:21.in Nottingham, disappeared from his Radford home in January. Police
:09:22. > :09:24.began a murder inquiry thred months later and have carried out hntensive
:09:25. > :09:27.searches of properties incltding an abandoned factory. A 27`year`old man
:09:28. > :09:31.has been charged with murder. Four others have also been arrested but
:09:32. > :09:34.released on bail Some of thd students affected by a blood test
:09:35. > :09:44.scare at the University of Derby are now seeking compensation. Wd need
:09:45. > :09:48.people to come forward for the right reasons. When people do comd forward
:09:49. > :09:51.we have lots of experience of helping people and guiding them
:09:52. > :10:22.through our processes, if ndcessary, through to court. Police have named
:10:23. > :10:26.two men who died in a plane crash at the weekend. The light aircraft came
:10:27. > :10:28.down in a field near the M1 motorway in Nottinghamshire on Saturday
:10:29. > :10:31.afternoon. 70`year`old John Gill from Belper and 76`year`old Robert
:10:32. > :10:34.Eaves from Selston died at the scene. Police say no medical
:10:35. > :10:51.conditions in the men contrhbuted to the crash. An air accident
:10:52. > :10:54.investigation is continuing. Some of the students affected by a blood
:10:55. > :10:57.test scare at the Universitx of Derby are now seeking compensation.
:10:58. > :11:01.It comes after more than 600 people were given blood tests by a health
:11:02. > :11:04.care worker who was later found to be re`using syringe barrels. Letters
:11:05. > :11:07.were sent warning students they might be at risk of diseases like
:11:08. > :11:22.hepatitis and HIV. Several have now begun legal action. The hospital
:11:23. > :11:29.trust has been operating under a biggest deficit of any in the
:11:30. > :11:35.country. Late last year, managers admitted cost control had bden poor.
:11:36. > :11:41.As a health economy and at the trust we could have done better. The
:11:42. > :11:45.clinical commissioning groups are working out better ways of leeting
:11:46. > :11:54.challenges of access, patient quality and finances. Why is it in
:11:55. > :11:59.this situation? The trust s`ys it has not received as much money as it
:12:00. > :12:05.was expecting from other parts of the NHS. More nurses are nedded on
:12:06. > :12:08.wards. The MP and shadow he`lth minister who released the fhgures
:12:09. > :12:14.also blames the government reorganisation of the health
:12:15. > :12:19.service. It does not make sdnse to cut services in the community and at
:12:20. > :12:25.home so people end up in hospital. It does not make sense to rdorganise
:12:26. > :12:28.backroom NHS structures and have an even more complicated systel when
:12:29. > :12:36.what people want is changes to the system they rely on. One in three
:12:37. > :12:43.trusts are now said to be in debt. So, what is the treatment? Well in
:12:44. > :12:48.Leicester, it is long`term recuperation. The trust says it has
:12:49. > :12:56.a plan in place to get back to financial fitness but that will take
:12:57. > :13:00.a number of years. In a statement issued this evening the Dep`rtment
:13:01. > :13:04.of Health says the government has made tough decisions on the economy
:13:05. > :13:10.but at the same time we havd increased the NHS budget in real
:13:11. > :13:15.terms. It goes on to say it is essential trusts have a tight
:13:16. > :13:18.financial grip and insure the live within their means. Deliverhng
:13:19. > :13:35.services and balancing the books must go hand`in`hand. Next, the
:13:36. > :13:38.changing face of our high streets: And a new picture of exactlx what's
:13:39. > :13:41.happening to city centres and town centres here in the East Midlands
:13:42. > :13:44.has been released today. Thd background story is that Brhtain's
:13:45. > :13:48.high streets are struggling. Fewer and fewer of us go to city centres
:13:49. > :13:51.and town centres. Today's strvey by the Association Of Town And City
:13:52. > :13:55.Management charts the changds taking place. The biggest change is the
:13:56. > :13:57.rise of the convenience store ` the small shop run by a national
:13:58. > :14:00.supermarket chain. The supermarket chains have rebooted the old corner
:14:01. > :14:04.shop to service 24/7 customdr demand. And the East Midlands is the
:14:05. > :14:07.hotspot for them. Between 2004 and 2012, our region saw a seven fold
:14:08. > :14:11.growth in convenience stores. That's nearly double the growth in any
:14:12. > :14:14.other region. Increasingly, we are seeing supermarkets on our high
:14:15. > :14:19.street which actually compldte the left the high Street during the 90s
:14:20. > :14:23.and 80s, going out of town. They are coming back and that the long`term
:14:24. > :14:26.sustainable position to be hn. The East Midlands has also seen the
:14:27. > :14:29.biggest increase in cafes, `nd restaurants. Again, it's thd big
:14:30. > :14:31.chains behind it, especiallx coffee brands. One phenomenon during and
:14:32. > :14:35.after the economic downturn has been the charity shop. The East Lidlands
:14:36. > :14:38.has seen the third biggest hncrease in the UK of these shops in the High
:14:39. > :15:05.Street. The ATCM believes it's because there's a
:15:06. > :15:08.is the high street as we know it dead? It could be brought b`ck but
:15:09. > :15:11.it needs a lot of interventhon from central government or from the local
:15:12. > :15:15.council to promote the high street. I think some of the places the high
:15:16. > :15:18.street attracts like bookies and charity shops can be detrimdntal to
:15:19. > :15:21.what the high street is all about. It is about shopping, peopld,
:15:22. > :15:29.enjoying the journey when they come shopping. It is about having that
:15:30. > :15:35.mix of hospitality and leistre so that people have got a reason to go
:15:36. > :15:36.to the town centre. Not just to do shopping, but to spend time with
:15:37. > :17:01.friends. Leicester. Some are fine but many
:17:02. > :17:05.have been stuck on lamp hosts. The shape of the lamp posts has been
:17:06. > :17:12.blamed for why some of the information is ten feet up hn the
:17:13. > :17:17.year. The principle is good but they have just not thought it through. I
:17:18. > :17:22.am six foot one and I can jtst about see the early`morning displ`ys. Dumb
:17:23. > :17:29.one shorter than me could not see them at all without a step ladder. I
:17:30. > :17:41.was thinking and looking at the time but I can see it is a compldte waste
:17:42. > :17:45.of time. `` someone shorter than me. There are hopes the council will
:17:46. > :17:52.rethink this and make sure these are displayed at the proper height.
:17:53. > :18:03.Still to come. We have strawberries with a twist. This business was
:18:04. > :18:06.providing a bumper crop while also providing training opportunhties for
:18:07. > :18:10.people with disabilities. The weather looks great for the rest of
:18:11. > :18:26.the week, I will tell you more later. Much excitement to do with
:18:27. > :18:30.football in the sport. Leicdster City manager Nigel Pearson says they
:18:31. > :18:33.face a big challenge when they play Everton, on the opening day of the
:18:34. > :18:36.Premier League season. The fixtures were out today and the Foxes open
:18:37. > :18:40.their first top`flight camp`ign in a decade, on Saturday 16th August
:18:41. > :18:43.Leicester are at home to Evdrton and the next four games will sed City go
:18:44. > :18:47.to Chelsea, meet Arsenal at home, Stoke away and then Manchester
:18:48. > :19:00.United at home. The first fhve games then a mouth`watering prospdct for
:19:01. > :19:05.fans. Wow, that is welcome to the Premier League. If they can get any
:19:06. > :19:08.points out of the first fivd games they will do really, really well but
:19:09. > :19:15.that is what they have to expect being with the big boys. We could do
:19:16. > :19:19.with some games at the start of the season but the way it is gohng they
:19:20. > :19:25.are strong. I am happy with some nice home games. They are vdry
:19:26. > :19:28.difficult but you never know, it is the best time to have the e`rly
:19:29. > :19:35.fixtures against the good shdes early on. I am glad they ard at home
:19:36. > :19:42.for the first game, it means my husband will have to be working and
:19:43. > :19:44.he is not travelling. In thd Championship Derby start thd new
:19:45. > :19:47.season as the bookies second favourites for promotion with a home
:19:48. > :19:50.tie against newly`promoted Rotherham United on Saturday ninth August But
:19:51. > :19:53.it's the two games against Nottingham Forest which nattrally
:19:54. > :19:59.catch the eye according to Rams first team coach Paul Simpson. Derby
:20:00. > :20:01.are at the City Ground on Sdptember 13th and Forest visit the Ipro
:20:02. > :20:04.Stadium on January 7th.Notthngham Forest start life under the
:20:05. > :20:22.management of Stuart Pearce with a home game to Blackpool. `` January
:20:23. > :20:35.17th. We have to perform and get the right result. Nottingham Forest
:20:36. > :20:38.start life under the managelent of Stuart Pearce with a home g`me to
:20:39. > :20:41.Blackpool. First team coach Brian Easwick knows England boss Roy
:20:42. > :20:45.Hodgson because he was part of the international set`up for eight years
:20:46. > :20:48.but says he can't wait for the game to start in the Championship. I
:20:49. > :20:50.think coming back into club football beat your buyers are really looking
:20:51. > :20:54.forward to working with the players on a daily basis. In League One
:20:55. > :20:56.Notts County begin the season with a trip to Preston, meanwhile Lansfield
:20:57. > :20:59.are away at Northampton. Onto cricket, where Leicestershire lost
:21:00. > :21:02.their third consecutive County Championship match after gohng down
:21:03. > :21:07.by 234 runs to Worcestershire at Grace Road. The Foxes were set 04
:21:08. > :21:11.to win, resuming on 20 without loss this morning. But spin`bowldr Saeed
:21:12. > :21:14.Ajmal ripped through the Leicestershire batting line`up,
:21:15. > :21:20.taking six wickets in the fhnal five overs as they slipped from 045 for
:21:21. > :21:25.four to 169 all out. And Derbyshire lost too at home to Surrey by ten
:21:26. > :21:29.wickets today. It took the visitors less than half an hour this morning
:21:30. > :21:34.to knock off the 21 runs thdy required for victory in thehr second
:21:35. > :21:40.innings. Now, it's exactly five weeks to go until the start of the
:21:41. > :21:43.Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. And today, swimmers from Loughborough
:21:44. > :21:48.were the first to pick up their England kits from St Georges Park.
:21:49. > :22:07.World Champion Liam Tancock invited Kirsty Edwards for an exclusive peak
:22:08. > :22:11.behind the scenes. This is the moment it all becomes very bare
:22:12. > :22:17.will. The Commonwealth Games will be here before day now it. Ill macro
:22:18. > :22:23.definitely. Got the selection there. 35 days away in the kit and
:22:24. > :22:31.everybody is stepping out. H cannot wait. To come even trying on the kit
:22:32. > :22:38.makes it feel a more real and give you a buzz for the last few weeks of
:22:39. > :22:44.training. It is a huge oper`tion. 26,000 items to be handed ott to
:22:45. > :22:50.over 500 members of team England all arriving over the next couple of
:22:51. > :22:54.weeks from 17 different sports. The athlete's kit gets whipped `way to
:22:55. > :23:00.be altered and packed away ready for the exciting journey. We re`lly are
:23:01. > :23:06.on the final countdown and xou can see the excitement of the athletes
:23:07. > :23:12.when they arrive here. It is great to see the athletes enjoying the
:23:13. > :23:16.experience. The athletes ard getting everything from opening cerdmony
:23:17. > :23:23.blazers to Greenway, it is written after all! And this is what they
:23:24. > :23:45.will be waiting on the poditm if they are lucky enough. `` blazers to
:23:46. > :23:49.rain we are. `` we are. `` wear I cannot wait to get out therd and
:23:50. > :23:57.represent England and make dveryone proud hopefully. Great to h`ve a
:23:58. > :24:02.home games again on home sohl. Yes, thank you. I think they shotld
:24:03. > :24:04.introduce heels on the poditm, very stylish! Well, the Commonwe`lth
:24:05. > :24:08.Games and the football World Cup aren't the only big sports dvent
:24:09. > :24:10.this summer. With the start of the Wimbledon Tennis Championshhps just
:24:11. > :24:13.days away, one business in Nottinghamshire expects to see
:24:14. > :24:17.plenty of demand for strawbdrries in the next few weeks. The good weather
:24:18. > :24:20.means Brooke Farm in Linby has seen a bumper crop this summer and is
:24:21. > :24:24.encouraging people to come `nd pick their own. But, it's more than just
:24:25. > :24:31.a business, as Navtej Johal explains. Picking strawberrhes on a
:24:32. > :24:37.summers day but this is not your typical farm. This farm is `
:24:38. > :24:43.commercial enterprise but rtn by the County Council to train people with
:24:44. > :24:49.learning disabilities. This man is one of the many volunteers who has
:24:50. > :24:55.benefited from the scheme. Four years ago I came here and I am
:24:56. > :25:01.really enjoying it so much. It is like a family. I really havd really
:25:02. > :25:04.enjoyed it this year. With Wimbledon starting next week, they ard very
:25:05. > :25:13.busy picking their biggest drop in years. It is a good growing spring
:25:14. > :25:17.year for us so it looks likd we will have a really good crop. We would
:25:18. > :25:22.like people to come in and pick the strawberries, it is a good crop at
:25:23. > :25:29.the moment. I'd macro it is something this couple have been
:25:30. > :25:33.coming to do for decades. Ddpict here because they are English
:25:34. > :25:39.strawberries, we love the idea of picking your own because yot can eat
:25:40. > :25:46.a few while picking. Pick for and eat one! English properties are the
:25:47. > :25:50.best, he is right. Will it be sunshine while you eat your
:25:51. > :25:54.strawberries? Yes, there will be sunshine. You can pick your
:25:55. > :26:02.strawberries at the weekend as it is set to remain dry and settldd. I
:26:03. > :26:07.have to rather vocal wrens next to me in the sunshine. If you would
:26:08. > :26:12.like any pictures to be sent to us you can send them online. It will
:26:13. > :26:17.remain settled for the rest of the week but more in the way of Cloud
:26:18. > :26:22.first thing tomorrow morning. That breaks to bring some decent spells
:26:23. > :26:26.of sunshine during the afternoon. High pressure is in charge for the
:26:27. > :26:32.moment. That will keep us dry but not necessarily wall`to`wall
:26:33. > :26:38.sunshine. A fairly pleasant evening with plenty of sunny spells to be
:26:39. > :26:42.had before it gets dark. Cldar skies but Cloud will increase as we go
:26:43. > :26:49.through the night. It is mild with lows of 14 Celsius. A cloudx start
:26:50. > :26:54.to Thursday with a few spots of light rain or drizzle possible but
:26:55. > :27:00.for most of ours it will be a dry morning and much like today, that
:27:01. > :27:04.cloud really starts to break up as we go into the afternoon and then we
:27:05. > :27:09.will see long spells of sunshine. In that sunshine it will be fedling
:27:10. > :27:16.warm yet again. Plenty of stnshine around during the evening tomorrow.
:27:17. > :27:20.Then Friday, a similar storx yet again. More in the way of Cloud
:27:21. > :27:26.through the morning but that breaks up to give sunny spells through the
:27:27. > :27:33.afternoon. A similar story `cross the weekend. Not much changd to the
:27:34. > :27:38.weather at the moment. Therd will be variable amounts of Cloud. Ht is
:27:39. > :27:44.like the meteorological Grotndhog Day! I shall be back with the leak
:27:45. > :28:21.news. Goodbye. Goodbye. DRUMSTICKS TAP ONE`TWO`THREE`FOUR
:28:22. > :28:25.Hello, Glastonbury.