31/12/2017 London News

Now it's time for the news

wherever you are.

Good evening from BBC London News,

I'm Victoria Hollins.

Tens of thousands of

people are expected

in Central London this evening

to see in the New Year watching

a giant firework display.

Security has been reviewed

for the all-ticket event

following terror attacks

in the capital earlier this year.

Scotland Yard says a proportionate

number of police officers

will be on duty to reflect

the threat level.

As Frankie McCamley reports,

final preparations are under way.

With 2018 just around the corner,

and hundreds of thousands expected

along the banks of the River Thames,

the final countdown and preparations

ahead of the fireworks have begun.

It's not just event organisers

who are expecting it to be busy -

emergency services are also

preparing for the night ahead.

We've seen over the years the number

of people that are affected

by alcohol has increased,

so to bring down the burden

on the NHS, we're working

in partnership with London Ambulance

Service so we can treat more people

on the streets and not put them

into the already overstretched

A&E departments.

Each of these mobile treatment

centres are geared up to be

liked an A&E department,

treating people with minor injuries

to those who may need resuscitating.

The fleet of nine of these

are expecting to help

around 400 people tonight.

This year, the city has witnessed

a series of terror attacks,

including one on Westminster Bridge,

where people will be

watching the fireworks.

In response, police say

security has been reviewed.

Be reassured

the Metropolitan Police Service

and our emergency service

partners are here to look after you,

it is safe to come to London

on this New Year's Eve.

But please be alert,

don't be alarmed.

If you see things you think

look out of place or are

suspicious, please tell us.

And after all this, heading home,

disruption is expected on some rail

lines, with strikes going ahead.

The advice -

check before you travel,

and enjoy London's skyline

in lights once again.

Frankie McCamley, BBC London News.

Police are asking for

the public's help to identify

a man who was found collapsed

outside a London hospital.

The man was found around half past

four on Boxing Day outside

University College Hospital.

He'd suffered a heart attack

and is currently in an induced coma.

Police are keen to trace his family

as soon as possible

and say he may be homeless.

A crackdown on basement extensions

is under way in London.

Thousands have been built,

giving homeowners

more room without moving.

But there have also been complaints

from some neighbours

about cracks in their walls,

and following a building collapse

in Barnes, Richmond Borough Council

is the latest to take action.

Gareth Furby reports.

We're under a semidetached

house in Twickenham.

By the spring,

this will be a new basement

that's cost around £700,000.

Utility room,

there's a large TV room,

and there's another bathroom

and habitable space.

This one company has built more

than a thousand basements in London.

To the homeowners, it brings

more space without moving,

and until recently,

under planning law, new basements

have been a permitted development

because they're under the house.

But now Richmond Council

is the latest to get tough.

So what this crackdown will do

is ensure that

all developments of basements

have to have planning permission.

There's no doubt, when completed,

the results can be impressive.

But sometimes things can go wrong.

Two years ago, a Georgian house

in Barnes collapsed,

and a basement

was under construction.

Councillor Seymour was the

borough's mayor when it happened.

It's something

which was very visibly a scar

on a very beautiful borough.

Even now, this house

hasn't been rebuilt,

and it's still not clear

what the cause was.

But soon all new basements

and basement extensions

in the Borough of Richmond

will require planning permission.

If they apply the rules and enforce

them, it'll be good news.

If they don't, and they haven't up

until now, then it will be useless

and just a sticking plaster over

what is a major, major problem.

We were not necessarily aware

that a basement was being dug -

if it's done on

permitted development,

they don't need to come to us

to tell us about it.

And that's what you're changing.

That is the fundamental thing

that's changing now,

that we will be aware of them,

and therefore be able to impose

for enforce the regulations.

The contractor responsible

for this project

welcomes the new requirements.

We don't really see it

as a crackdown,

we welcome the additional scrutiny.

This all really comes

from a safety,

from a health-and-safety

point of view.

The new regime is due to start

in Richmond from April.

Gareth Furby, BBC London News.

Let's see how the weather

is shaping up for New Year,

here's Georgina Burnett.

Good evening.

If you are planning to celebrate out

and about,

you might want

some wet weather gear to cover

up your sequins, as we are expecting

a few squally showers.

Not as much wind around as

there has been, but still

fairly heavy where they fall,

and temperatures getting down

to around about 4 degrees Celsius,

but quite fast moving.

So for New Year's Day itself,

dry at first,

but then this rain pushing

through from the west.

That's going to be fairly

heavy at times, clearing

for the afternoon to give us

a drier, brighter end to the day,

though, with highs of eight Celsius,

so a little cooler than today.

But we continue with a rather wet

and windy theme for a few days,

rain or showers never too far away,

and certainly not much in the way

of sunshine to start the year.

That's it from the BBC

London News team for 2017.

We're back tomorrow evening.

Wishing you a very happy

New Year, goodbye.

Good evening. New Year's Eve has

been a pretty stormy affairs so far

for many parts of the British Isles

thanks to this alert here, Storm

Dylan, now pulling out into the

North Sea. Prospects do look little

more calm towards New Year, but

still more showers for the

south-west of England, Wales, the

Midlands and eastern England for a

time. The winds considerably lighter

across Scotland and Northern

Ireland, some showers in the West,

but for the celebrations in

Edinburgh it should be a fine story

with clear skies. Still some showers

around midnight across the

north-east of England and East

Anglia, but hopefully a dry story in

London, as we make our way down

towards the south coast,

towards the south coast, but Devon,

Cornwall, South Wales, heavy

downpours if you are heading out and

about. Quite a chilly feel, seven or

8 degrees. On into New Year's Day,

still a lot showers around, an area

of low pressure to the south to

contend with, that could bring some

pretty stormy weather into southern

coastal counties through the first

half of New Year's Day, strong winds

potentially heavy rain as well, but

that will rattle off towards the

continent quite quickly, so some

afternoon sunshine. The worst of the

showers. In Scotland and Northern

Ireland. Clear skies with sunshine

further