18/09/2014 East Midlands Today

And now the news for the culture and everyone's street.

And now the news for the East Midlands, I'm Dominic Heale.

Good evening. A man from Leicester,

who was with volunteer aid worker Alan Henning moments before he was

kidnapped in Syria, has madd a direct appeal to his captors.

Majid Freeman says it was hhs "worst nightmare" to see his friend,

known as Gadget, taken hostage last December.

He spoke to our reporter Catrin Nye and showed her footage

of his trip with Alan Henning. He is known as Gadget. He is the

technical man. He said. He hs the man that will step up to it and fix

it right away. He knew that the places that we were taking `id to,

the United Nations said thelselves that they cannot reach hundreds of

thousands of Syrian people, but we could get to these people, so we are

a lifeline for these people. When he saw the difference he made for

himself `` what he saw the difference he made, when he held a

baby in his hand, that was powerful for him. How has it been for you to

see him appearing on and Islamic State video? You do not expdct this.

You hear about it but you do not expect someone that you

travelled with and spent tile with, someone who you had meals whth and

went to refugee camps with `nd someone who you shared a go`l with

and someone, this is real lhfe, I know him. He is my friend. What

would your message to his khdnappers be? Please, please, please show him

some mercy and understand hd is a humanitarian aid worker. He is not a

fighter. He has not come for political reasons. He has only come

to help the people. Please, do not kill him, please, spare him. Let him

come back home. A body found in a factory fhre

in Nottingham earlier this summer has now been officially identified.

Dalvinder Johal was discovered after a fire at Nottingham Road

in New Basford at the end of July. Nottingham Coroner's Office said

an inquest has been opened and adjourned into his death.

The investigation into the cause of the fire is continuing.

Controversial plans to build new homes on green belt land on

the outskirts of Nottingham, could face a challenge in the High Court.

Broxtowe Council last night gave final approval for work to start

on more than 6,000 propertids. Green belt campaigners are furious.

Here's our Political Editor John Hess.

A morning stroll. It was green belt land here

until counselors approved development plans.

We have done everything that is right.

This man has lived in the area most of his lifd

and opposed the housing plan. We need to sit around a table with

developers and get the best plan for the area, something that is good

for the community. We need a community centre,

we need improvements to the roads. Campaigners outside the

council's townhall. Despite last night's final `pproval,

this whole issue could end tp in the High Court.

A number of parish councils are entire to strike rope `` thhs is how

the target is shared out among local authority areas,

with Broxtowe's now approved 6, 50. They have made no amendments, they

have not met as. The governlent inspector has not followed

government policy and this hs not the first time this has happened up

and down the country over the last three or four years.

If the legal challenge against the housing target succeeds,

it is back to the drawing board and a possible retrieve for the farm.

I was joined by someone frol the council and started by asking if he

was sure the case for the council was watertight. We make surd we do

everything the government rdquire from ours. We go to an independent

inspector, they make sure wd have got it right. Did you consider the

environmental impact? I havd considered every day for thd last

few years the impact. This hs going to be built on green belt l`nd, does

that mean the whole concept of green belt is dead in the water? Not at

all. We have taken every Brownfield site we can. Every single one we can

we have allocated but we have to take 2% of green belt. What is your

message to residents who ard going to lose a slice of countryshde under

a concrete? If we did not h`ve to be rude not what we have to make sure

people have horns. Thank yot. `` humans. `` homes.

Car parking charges are being reduced at Nottingham's

hospitals after public pressure Patients and visitors have long

complained about the fees. The minimum is currently ?4.

But from November the first 15 minutes will be free, an hotr

will cost ?2 and two hours ?4. Hospital managers say they've

taken peoples' views into account. That's your news. Goodbye from me,

but here's the weather now. We are expecting another warm day

tomorrow but you can expect there to be a few isolated showers. We have

started to see the cloud increasing from the east. There is a potential

for some mist and fog. It should be dry foremost. A mild night with lows

of 15 Celsius. A mild start to tomorrow. There is a risk of

isolated showers by afternoon but some places will stay dry for the

Hall B. Highs of 19 where there 21 degrees. Possibly a better day by

Sunday. Hello, you know when you get

temperatures in the mid-20s at this time of year that we are on borrowed

time. By the weekend, we will not be getting 26 Celsius like today. But

by the weekend, we're not going to have the low cloud we have had in

Edinburgh throughout the week holding the temperature down, so

there are some changes on the way. Right now, the warm muggy air has

been triggering thunderstorms across the south of the UK. Bristol and

Cardiff, and other areas heading towards the south coast. Southern

England, the Midlands and Wales as the night goes on, some torrential

thundery downpours. May keep some of us awake. For Northern Ireland,

northern England and Scotland, mainly dry, but missed and low

cloud, hill fog becoming extensive again. It is muggy. This is the

morning, difficult to pinpoint exactly where the downpours are

going to be, but we have to cater for the possibility in London,

across into