11/04/2012 Look East - East

In the programme tonight: Turmoil at Group Lotus. The luxury

car company admits it's going through a difficult time but denies

rumours that the new owners want to put it into administration. Hello,

welcome to mark East. -- looked east.

Also tonight: Did the NHS let down this toddler

who died of dehydration? The coroner's verdict.

Adding to Abberton. Soon it will be able to hold 41 billion gallons of

water. And why it's the end of the road on

First tonight: Uncertainty and confusion at Group Lotus as the

company is forced to deny rumours that it is about be put into

administration. Today it has been business as usual with sports cars

rolling off the production line near in Norwich but today they put

out a statement saying it is no secret that they are going through

a very difficult time. The business has recently been taken over by the

Malaysian company DRB-HICOM. Could a multi-million-pound investment

programme be scrapped? Kim Riley is at the company's HQ in Hethel.

Ezia years ago there was a real buzz in the air as talk of creating

1100 jobs come at a new assembly line and a glamourous new range of

cars appearing in 2013. Driving at the plan forward was chief

executive at Dany Bahar. Lotus is an iconic brand and its

fortunes seemed on the up. Its new owners were investing more than

�500 million with all the new cars of five new models designed to

transfer it from Amy's manufacturer to a leading designer of new sports

cars. -- from a niche manufacturer. We have people wanting to put down

a down-payment for the new cars but we are holding them back now.

Business secretary Vince Cable visited the plant last summer.

Weeks later it was awarded millions of pounds of public investments to

secured the new plan. Since the days of its founder, Lotus has had

a colourful history and it has been a roller-coaster ride for employees.

Times have investments followed by a Lene years and redundancies.

Today staff have been told about the difficult time due to the

change of ownership in Malaysia. Tonight the company is fighting

back against room and speculation. It says group discussions remain

positive and it is great fault for continued support from its home

county and across the world. When it sets out a press release

this afternoon it attach something from a eight spoof website which

has a Dany Bahar as a minister of misinformation. It also dispels a

few rumours in that press release. It has said that it has never said

there were no problems. The first room there is so that Dany Bahar is

no longer the chief executive. That is rubbish. He still is. Secondly

the group is not coming in suit be administration. The parent company

remains fully committed to our five-year business plan and

expanding the Norwich factory. It wants to keep the vision alive. The

other question is whether there is another company waiting in the

wings with steep drop -- with deep pockets there would like to take

the centre of excellence under its rain. -- under its wing. I am

joined by the local MP, Richard Bacon. What you make of

developments? When a company was sold recently, the parent company,

the DRB-HICOM third bought it did not do wants Lotus, it wanted the

parent company. That is worrying for the employees and the future of

the Norfolk economy. I have made it clear today that the -- et I have

made it clear to date to the Prime Minister who is having a meeting in

Malaysia tomorrow. I have made it Leah Betts the jobs need to be

detected in Norfolk and the business needs to succeed. There

are several names that have been put in the rain. One of them is an

investment company as there are several Chinese firms mentioned. I

do not once but sassy happen to let us what happened to end she Rover.

-- want to see happen. -- Bennett G Rover. We would like any new owner

to keep the business and investment in that Norfolk. They have

tremendous skills. Thank you for joining us this evening. The

parents of a 91 bold boy who died in his sleep believe that sub-

standard care contributed to his death. -- 90 month-old boy. In a

few weeks leading up so his death he had visited a GP out of our

service and a hospital or more than one occasion.

Harry Connolly was a cheeky little boy. After days of sickness and

diarrhoea and with blood in his nappy, he was admitted to hospital.

Within days he was senior twice and also at the house and our service.

A two-day inquest has heard how they up. -- howl there were

failings and opportunities were missed.

This is basic come out bread and butter paediatrics. This is not a

tropical disease. This is basic care, sickness and diarrhoea. That

On 26th April he was admitted to hospital and doctors thought he

responded well to treatment. He was released on an open access

agreements which allowed him to return if things did not go well.

His condition deteriorated so he went back to hospital and was

discharged hours later. And admin failure the next they meant no one

knew of his open access status. Desperate, his family took him to

be out of our service where he was checked and sent home. He died a

couple of the days later. -- a couple of days later. Hundreds of

her children have it every year. Children do not die from sickness

and diarrhoea in this country. It is completely and necessary. His

family say they its changes are too late and three opportunities to

save their son were missed. The if you feel something is wrong,

do not leave that hospital or doctors until they had devastate --

and still they have checks what it is. At the end of the day, what is

is. At the end of the day, what is is. At the end of the day, what is

Still to come tonight, the houses being bulldozed on the coast of

Norfolk and the narrowboats locked out of the Grand Union Canal

. Thieves using a digger have ripped out a cash machine from the

wall of a bank in Suffolk. Police were called to Lloyds TSB on the

high street in Hadleigh shortly after 330 this morning.

He it was a brazen it rate, over in minutes. The thieves wrecked the

building with a cigar and smash the machine to pieces to release cash

cartridges inside. It was a rude awakening for people asleep nearby.

Him just happen so quick. I thought someone was racing with a lorry,

instead of a car. These old buildings do shake. It is sad

fritter happen in a little sound like best.

A few hundred yards away, at the TD used in the rate. Eight is the

missing from its bucket. The police have not revealed how much cash was

in the machine but his had been out of order through the Easter weekend

and yesterday as well. CCTV footage does not show the raid in progress.

A hatchback car drove off afterwards. With a big hole in the

wall, structural engineers assess the damage while the Bank remains

closed. Travellers living close to the

farmer illegal site at Dale Farm in Essex without permission have

failed to move on despite being given a deadline by Basildon

Council. They had 21 days to relocate. It follows clearance at

the site last October. The council has no immediate plans to have its

them. A second man has been arrested

following a serious road crash at Danbury near Chelmsford. A woman

was seriously injured dance to police officers were also hurt. 821

year-old is being questioned for aggravated vehicle taking.

A new crackdown on under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour

has been set up in Great Yarmouth. Baroness Helen Newlove, whose

husband Gary was beaten to death, was there for the launch but

something the government is not doing enough.

Teenagers drinking on street corners. The government says it

leads to balance, litter answers anti-social behaviour. -- litter

and anti-social behaviour. My three the it -- my three

daughters were the main witnesses of his death. You do wonder where

we are going wrong. Local supermarkets will ask those

under 25 i t. If cot with drink once, a young people will have it

taken off them answer their parents will be told. Twice and they will

be invited to an alcohol workshop of their parents and the third time

they will face prosecution. Something there is not enough

police on the streets. This area have England is facing

huge police cut. They should practise what they preach to bring

damp problem drinking among young people.

Before I joined as the cadet so I used to go out with lads get drunk

and destroy things. Inside joins he added not hang around with the old

crew. I have new friends, a steady job and stay out of trouble.

Last year the council cuts millions of pounds from its use of budget

and many need funding to continue. How much money will be spent on

future projects is yet to be decided.

Norwich Green Party has launched its manifesto. The party is

promoting local business and wants to provide more jobs in the Korean

economy. It is also pushing for the council to provide services direct

link instead of outsourcing. This year we need to look at what a

council could do with a restricted budget. The Green Party wants to

provide more services in house. That means the council provides in

its directly rather than relying on private companies.

Sizewell B power station is now back in service after shutting down

three weeks ago due to a power fault. It produces electricity for

about 2 million homes. The Sue Ryder charity is setting a

trend with an unusual style of charity shop. It has opened two so-

Many charity shops have taken over empty shops on the high street,

often selling donated groups and making money for worthy causes. But

the Sue Ryder charity is setting a new trend, changing the face of the

retail industry. It has just got this new store in King's Lynn, but

it is not on the high street, it is on a retail park. As family incomes

are squeezed, it believes it can reach a new group of shoppers

looking for bargains on a large scale. It has the usual designer

outfits for a few pounds, but also space for furniture. This bed is at

�250. We have not got a strategy to open larger format shops, is just

when the opportunity arises. This property has been empty for a while,

and we felt there was a need for such a shock as this, and thinking

about the report, it is better to have something in the shops than an

empty shop because it does then encourage more football. While many

high-street retailers are going under, the number of charity shops

is on the increase. We are seeing more people in the middle class

groups as well start into shopping charity shops, so there are changes

in the sector, but I think this is quite unusual. If Sue Ryder is

successful, other charities may also want their names alongside the

Even more people are going to be affected by the drought. This time

it is the owners of narrowboats on the Grand Union Canal. British

Waterways says it has been forced to restrict boats using the locks

on the canal system because they use thousands of gallons of water a

time. The canals in Northamptonshire are

the lifeblood of the county's tourist economy. But because water

levels are now so low, the use of the locks is restricted to just

five hours a day, and that is a cause for concern for money.

have got a holiday people coming out on their excursions on the

boats, and that is a big part of our trade, especially during the

summer. It will have a big impact because a lot of people have

holidays through the year early, and there would be able to use the

facilities they have paid for. from Friday, the not hunters they

action of the canal which links the Grand Union will close completely.

This is a key gateway to the popular East Anglian rivers.

British Waterways in says it has been left with no other option.

Every block movement takes around 50,000 gallons of water. There are

70 locks down here, so a lot of water will be consumed by even one

boat coming all the way down. marina is on the Northampton the

section of the Grand Union. The junction with the river is about

five miles in that direction, and then the main canal is about half a

mile over there. What the closure effectively means is that this

section of canal becomes a cul-de- sac. But, despite losing its

through route status, the owners say they understand the decision.

Essentially, it is going to reduce the traffic past our marina. On the

Grand Union there is a lot of traffic, so, rather than taking the

water of the Grand Union to a letter -- lesser used to rid, the

priority is that the water needs to be where it is needed most.

Throughout the closure, the marina will remain fully open. Perverse as

it may seem, everyone involved in the canalside tourist industry is

now praying for rain. Staying with the drab, and Look

East has had exclusive access behind the scenes at the Abberton

Reservoir in Essex. Abbott and can already hold 26 billion litres of

water, but that, it seems, is not enough. Essex and Suffolk Water are

making it bigger. It is a huge engineering project which will

increase the capacity to 41 billion litres.

Abberton Reservoir is already big, and it is getting much, much bigger.

Drop by drop, it is being topped up with more water. 15 billion litres.

As the man in charge of construction explained, expanding a

reservoir is not easy. This is engineering on a vast scale.

have moved one million cubic metres of clay material and 250,000 of

gravel material. It is the largest engineering water project in the UK

and ranks second to the Olympic Stadium. The project will increase

Abberton Reservoir's capacity from 26 billion litres up to 41 billion

litres. This land will be flooded. Work began two years ago and it

will take another year to finish. This tunnel is effectively the

safety valve. If the reservoir does overflow, not that they are

expecting it to, the water will be released through this tunnel into a

nearby river. The reservoir supplies one million customers in

the south of Essex in towns including Chelmsford and Brentwood.

The water companies say making it bigger is a vital. This was

fundamental to the future of Essex customers and we have been planning

this for 20 years. Once it had come to fruition, we can be sure that

our customers will probably avoid restrictions for the next 20 years.

And the work is being done hopefully without disturbing the

thousands of migratory birds that flock to Abberton Reservoir.

created six Hector's of wetland habitat. If any waterfowl are

displaced as a result of work on the reservoir there may have a nice

quiet area to go. In future, it is possible that other water companies

will be able to use water from Abberton Reservoir. It is a scarce

resource which is about to become more plentiful.

The Martin Lunn is the supply and demand strategy manager for Essex

and Sussex water and joins us now. Why are you not having a hosepipe

ban of this year? Is it down to this reservoir? Unfortunately, it

is not down to Abberton reservoir because we have not enlarged it yet.

We could have done with another couple of years of rain until the

drought came. It is just luck, really. It has been slightly better

in the east and we are also collecting river water, rather than

ground water, and that has made the difference. In other years we had

hosepipe bans and Anglian Water's customers suffered, so it is always

a finely balanced a thing. We have been hearing about corporation --

Corporation going on between water companies, but do we need something

like a national grid of water to make it fairer? I don't think a

National Grid would ever work. Not one pipeline from the north to the

south, but we are looking, as this drought goes into a third year, we

could move water from a giant reservoir in the north-east, but

some of that into Yorkshire, Yorkshire could select some of

their water go into Anglian Water, and then more water could come to

us. So, we will see these things if it goes into a third year, I think.

Do you think enough is being done at the moment to make sure that

there is enough water around the country? I don't think we are in a

critical position by any means. Our customers have reacted

magnificently. Although we don't have a hosepipe ban, we actually

saw lower demand this Easter than on Christmas Day, so people are

doing all they can to save water. As long as we all continue in this

way, we have not got any dire need for a massive restriction beyond

what is already here. Thank you for joining us.

Plans to demolish houses threatened by erosion on the Norfolk coast

finally got under way today. 12 homes are at risk at Hayes bread,

and none of those were bought by the local council so they could be

knock-down. First, a reminder of how dramatic those changes have

been. This picture shows the coastline in 1990 it. Now look at

the picture today - you can see how much land has been lost. He is the

odd picture again, but this time we are highlighting one house quite

away from the clifftop. Now look again. This same house is right on

the edge of the cliff this time. Today, the diggers moved in.

It was called Saltwood and was bought 36 years ago as a holiday

home. But, as the years have gone by, the cliff edge has moved ever

closer, and it today, a digger set about demolishing it. 36 years of

memory's gone in 20 minutes. A lot of Patti -- happy memories. But at

the moment they seem quite far away. This has been quite emotional for

you. It has, more than I thought actually, yes. Eight more homes in

Beach Road will now be demolished, all of them purchased by the local

council with help from the Government. It is a huge landmark,

not just for this town, but for all your coastal communities. This is

the first time ever in the UK that people have had their properties

purchased. Hitherto it was total loss, and that is significant.

lady used to live next door to Saltwood, but she turned down the

castle's cash and plans to stay for as long as possible. Are you brave

or... Stupid is what most people say around here. Stupid not to have

accepted the money that the council offered me. Stupid not to move out

what we are still not falling over the edge. But I come from a

gambling family. The village has lost 26 houses to the sea in living

memory. Now, there is one more to add to that list. It is the end of

one chapter in village history, and the start of what many here hope

Good evening. We have had some fairly intense shower activity

across the region today. Right now, a typical a push our conditions

with the cool air in the upper atmosphere. We have reports of

thunder and hail across the region today, and there are still quite a

few showers out there at the moment. This is our radar loop from the

last few hours. As quite a few showers still around the eastern

side of the region, and they were generally start to fade tonight.

Generally becoming drier through this evening. With that, we could

get some clear skies in one are to spot, so temperatures could reach

freezing. So, the risk of a touch of ground frost. We have got a low

pressure very close by at the moment. It is bringing this colder

air down from the north, and that is what is bringing the perfect

ingredients for those April showers. We will get more showers tomorrow.

Some sunshine and showers, some could be on the heavy side, and we

could even get the odd rumble of thunder. Temperatures will be

around 10 or 11, similar to today. The risk of showers continues for

the next few days. Thundery showers for tomorrow. Into Friday and

Saturday, those showers will be a little lighter and more isolated.

Certainly a risk of them into the weekend, and with a northerly wind