0:00:00 > 0:00:01Now it's time for the news wherever you are.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Good evening from BBC London News, I'm Victoria Hollins.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Tens of thousands of people are expected
0:00:18 > 0:00:20in Central London this evening
0:00:20 > 0:00:23to see in the New Year watching a giant firework display.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Security has been reviewed for the all-ticket event
0:00:25 > 0:00:27following terror attacks in the capital earlier this year.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Scotland Yard says a proportionate number of police officers
0:00:29 > 0:00:31will be on duty to reflect the threat level.
0:00:31 > 0:00:38As Frankie McCamley reports, final preparations are under way.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42With 2018 just around the corner, and hundreds of thousands expected
0:00:42 > 0:00:46along the banks of the River Thames, the final countdown and preparations
0:00:46 > 0:00:49ahead of the fireworks have begun.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52It's not just event organisers who are expecting it to be busy -
0:00:52 > 0:00:56emergency services are also preparing for the night ahead.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59We've seen over the years the number of people that are affected
0:00:59 > 0:01:04by alcohol has increased, so to bring down the burden
0:01:04 > 0:01:07on the NHS, we're working in partnership with London Ambulance
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Service so we can treat more people on the streets and not put them
0:01:10 > 0:01:14into the already overstretched A&E departments.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Each of these mobile treatment centres are geared up to be
0:01:16 > 0:01:19liked an A&E department, treating people with minor injuries
0:01:19 > 0:01:23to those who may need resuscitating.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25The fleet of nine of these are expecting to help
0:01:25 > 0:01:28around 400 people tonight.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31This year, the city has witnessed a series of terror attacks,
0:01:31 > 0:01:32including one on Westminster Bridge,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36where people will be watching the fireworks.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40In response, police say security has been reviewed.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Be reassured the Metropolitan Police Service
0:01:42 > 0:01:45and our emergency service partners are here to look after you,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48it is safe to come to London on this New Year's Eve.
0:01:48 > 0:01:49But please be alert, don't be alarmed.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52If you see things you think look out of place or are
0:01:52 > 0:01:55suspicious, please tell us.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57And after all this, heading home,
0:01:57 > 0:02:01disruption is expected on some rail lines, with strikes going ahead.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04The advice - check before you travel,
0:02:04 > 0:02:08and enjoy London's skyline in lights once again.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12Frankie McCamley, BBC London News.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Police are asking for the public's help to identify
0:02:14 > 0:02:17a man who was found collapsed outside a London hospital.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20The man was found around half past four on Boxing Day outside
0:02:20 > 0:02:24University College Hospital.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27He'd suffered a heart attack and is currently in an induced coma.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Police are keen to trace his family as soon as possible
0:02:29 > 0:02:34and say he may be homeless.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36A crackdown on basement extensions is under way in London.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Thousands have been built,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40giving homeowners more room without moving.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44But there have also been complaints from some neighbours
0:02:44 > 0:02:46about cracks in their walls, and following a building collapse
0:02:46 > 0:02:49in Barnes, Richmond Borough Council is the latest to take action.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53Gareth Furby reports.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55We're under a semidetached house in Twickenham.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58By the spring, this will be a new basement
0:02:58 > 0:03:05that's cost around £700,000.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Utility room, there's a large TV room,
0:03:07 > 0:03:09and there's another bathroom and habitable space.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12This one company has built more than a thousand basements in London.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15To the homeowners, it brings more space without moving,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19and until recently, under planning law, new basements
0:03:19 > 0:03:23have been a permitted development because they're under the house.
0:03:23 > 0:03:30But now Richmond Council is the latest to get tough.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32So what this crackdown will do is ensure that
0:03:32 > 0:03:34all developments of basements have to have planning permission.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37There's no doubt, when completed, the results can be impressive.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42But sometimes things can go wrong.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Two years ago, a Georgian house in Barnes collapsed,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48and a basement was under construction.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Councillor Seymour was the borough's mayor when it happened.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55It's something which was very visibly a scar
0:03:55 > 0:03:58on a very beautiful borough.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Even now, this house hasn't been rebuilt,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and it's still not clear what the cause was.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05But soon all new basements and basement extensions
0:04:05 > 0:04:11in the Borough of Richmond will require planning permission.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15If they apply the rules and enforce them, it'll be good news.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18If they don't, and they haven't up until now, then it will be useless
0:04:18 > 0:04:23and just a sticking plaster over what is a major, major problem.
0:04:23 > 0:04:29We were not necessarily aware that a basement was being dug -
0:04:29 > 0:04:31if it's done on permitted development,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33they don't need to come to us to tell us about it.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37And that's what you're changing.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39That is the fundamental thing that's changing now,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41that we will be aware of them,
0:04:41 > 0:04:47and therefore be able to impose for enforce the regulations.
0:04:47 > 0:04:48The contractor responsible for this project
0:04:48 > 0:04:50welcomes the new requirements.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52We don't really see it as a crackdown,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54we welcome the additional scrutiny.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59This all really comes from a safety,
0:04:59 > 0:05:00from a health-and-safety point of view.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03The new regime is due to start in Richmond from April.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Gareth Furby, BBC London News.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Let's see how the weather is shaping up for New Year,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11here's Georgina Burnett.
0:05:12 > 0:05:13Good evening.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15If you are planning to celebrate out and about,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17you might want some wet weather gear to cover
0:05:17 > 0:05:19up your sequins, as we are expecting a few squally showers.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Not as much wind around as there has been, but still
0:05:22 > 0:05:24fairly heavy where they fall, and temperatures getting down
0:05:24 > 0:05:27to around about 4 degrees Celsius, but quite fast moving.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29So for New Year's Day itself, dry at first,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31but then this rain pushing through from the west.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33That's going to be fairly heavy at times, clearing
0:05:33 > 0:05:36for the afternoon to give us a drier, brighter end to the day,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39though, with highs of eight Celsius, so a little cooler than today.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43But we continue with a rather wet and windy theme for a few days,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46rain or showers never too far away, and certainly not much in the way
0:05:46 > 0:05:50of sunshine to start the year.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52That's it from the BBC London News team for 2017.
0:05:52 > 0:05:53We're back tomorrow evening.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Wishing you a very happy New Year, goodbye.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Good evening. New Year's Eve has been a pretty stormy affairs so far
0:06:13 > 0:06:18for many parts of the British Isles thanks to this alert here, Storm
0:06:18 > 0:06:24Dylan, now pulling out into the North Sea. Prospects do look little
0:06:24 > 0:06:29more calm towards New Year, but still more showers for the
0:06:29 > 0:06:32south-west of England, Wales, the Midlands and eastern England for a
0:06:32 > 0:06:35time. The winds considerably lighter across Scotland and Northern
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Ireland, some showers in the West, but for the celebrations in
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Edinburgh it should be a fine story with clear skies. Still some showers
0:06:43 > 0:06:47around midnight across the north-east of England and East
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Anglia, but hopefully a dry story in London, as we make our way down
0:06:51 > 0:06:53towards the south coast,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56towards the south coast, but Devon, Cornwall, South Wales, heavy
0:06:56 > 0:07:02downpours if you are heading out and about. Quite a chilly feel, seven or
0:07:02 > 0:07:058 degrees. On into New Year's Day, still a lot showers around, an area
0:07:05 > 0:07:09of low pressure to the south to contend with, that could bring some
0:07:09 > 0:07:12pretty stormy weather into southern coastal counties through the first
0:07:12 > 0:07:17half of New Year's Day, strong winds potentially heavy rain as well, but
0:07:17 > 0:07:20that will rattle off towards the continent quite quickly, so some
0:07:20 > 0:07:28afternoon sunshine. The worst of the showers. In Scotland and Northern
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Ireland. Clear skies with sunshine further