:00:11. > :00:15.Good evening. The development of Northstowe, a new
:00:16. > :00:18.town to the north of Cambridge is one step closer tonight after local
:00:19. > :00:22.councils agreed a ?30 million deal for the first phase of homes. The
:00:23. > :00:25.project was first unveiled ten years ago. Our reporter Ben Bland has the
:00:26. > :00:28.story. It's something that's been talked
:00:29. > :00:31.about for more than ten years. Today's deal between the county and
:00:32. > :00:34.district councils and the main developer is a big step towards
:00:35. > :00:37.turning the plans into an actual town. Here's where it will go:
:00:38. > :00:41.10,000 new homes between Cambridge and Huntingdon. The first phase
:00:42. > :00:46.1500, will be built near the village of Longstanton. Initially, the
:00:47. > :00:50.councils were hoping to secure 65 million from the developer to pay
:00:51. > :00:54.full amenities in Northstowe. Last year that was cut to ?40 million.
:00:55. > :00:56.They've now settled for a contribution of ?30 million, less
:00:57. > :01:01.than half what they originally wanted. Some councillors are unhappy
:01:02. > :01:05.about it. There will be less facilities for
:01:06. > :01:08.the community to enjoy. There will be more cost put back to local
:01:09. > :01:16.authorities who are already hard pushed and facing financial crisis.
:01:17. > :01:19.There will be more mental health problems and anti`social behaviour
:01:20. > :01:21.and all of that becomes a problem for the local authority. So it is a
:01:22. > :01:33.false economy. The money they have secured will go
:01:34. > :01:36.towards a primary and secondary school, sports pitches and cycle
:01:37. > :01:39.routes. Some will also go to a guided bus, already in place. But
:01:40. > :01:43.under the deal there will be fewer affordable homes in the first phase.
:01:44. > :01:48.Instead of two in five, it'll be just one in five. For that, the
:01:49. > :01:52.developer makes no apology. I have to make the point that 4 %
:01:53. > :01:55.affordable housing was always subject to viability. And the 2 % in
:01:56. > :01:58.the first phase after all is 30 affordable housing units, which will
:01:59. > :02:00.be available for local people. I think that is a substantial
:02:01. > :02:15.provision. This development will be one of the
:02:16. > :02:18.largest in the UK. A whole new town. Today's deal means that shovels
:02:19. > :02:20.should hit the ground this summer, the first home ready by the middle
:02:21. > :02:32.of 2015. Next tonight: inspectors say the
:02:33. > :02:36.East of England Ambulance Service is still failing to get to 999 calls
:02:37. > :02:39.quickly enough, but in some areas ` like Luton and Cambridgeshire ` it
:02:40. > :02:40.does seem to be making progress Stuart Ratcliffe is outside the
:02:41. > :02:53.ambulance service headquarters now. The last months have been turbulent
:02:54. > :02:59.for the Easter then and underlines service and the root of the problem
:03:00. > :03:01.is response times. Put simply, the ambulance service is not getting to
:03:02. > :03:06.emergencies quickly enough. There are signs that that might be
:03:07. > :03:08.changing. The un`announced inspection last
:03:09. > :03:11.month found significant improvements in a number of areas. After
:03:12. > :03:14.interviewing patients, there is praise for the care received from
:03:15. > :03:17.ambulance crews and call handlers. But the trust is found wanting in
:03:18. > :03:20.two key areas: ambulance response times to 999 calls, and staffing.
:03:21. > :03:23.Ambulance trusts must aim to respond to at least 75% of life`threatening
:03:24. > :03:27.calls within eight minutes. And at least 95% of calls where a solo
:03:28. > :03:35.paramedic is first on the scene within 19 minutes. Latest figures
:03:36. > :03:38.show that the trust has met neither target. There are big regional
:03:39. > :03:41.variations: in Luton and Cambridge, the trust is exceeding these
:03:42. > :03:48.targets. But in some areas of Norfolk and Essex it consistently
:03:49. > :03:50.fails. But the service has welcomed today's news.
:03:51. > :03:54.The report clearly identifies that the service is getting safer, but
:03:55. > :03:57.there are still areas where the response times are not where we
:03:58. > :04:01.would expect them to be. To meet that gap, we need to fill vacancies,
:04:02. > :04:06.which is what we are pushing hard to do now. We need to have more staff
:04:07. > :04:12.and to have the same type of service across the East of England.
:04:13. > :04:16.The report says a recent review found that in order for the trust to
:04:17. > :04:17.meet national targets, it would need over 500 additional paramedics by
:04:18. > :04:32.2016. The East of England Showground
:04:33. > :04:38.service has already recruited more paramedics and wants to recruit a
:04:39. > :04:42.further 400. To meet that target, it is unlikely to meet its response
:04:43. > :04:46.time targets. Every child will have a place at one
:04:47. > :04:48.of our primary schools. That's the guarantee I Peterborough, which has
:04:49. > :04:53.faced unprecedented demand for places. 1000 children came forward
:04:54. > :04:56.in just one year and tens of millions of pounds is being spent to
:04:57. > :05:00.create spaces. I would like you to discuss whether
:05:01. > :05:01.you think we should ban playtime or not.
:05:02. > :05:04.Small school, high expectations That's the motto of this primary
:05:05. > :05:11.school, but it will soon double in size, so great has been the demand
:05:12. > :05:15.for places. The pressure is certainly on the
:05:16. > :05:19.younger age groups. There has been a higher birth rate, and more children
:05:20. > :05:23.in the area want to come to the school. In Year One, if we had the
:05:24. > :05:27.space we could actually have an extra class of children. We are not
:05:28. > :05:29.able to offer a place to between 25 and 30 children who want to come
:05:30. > :05:33.here. In the last seven years, 5000 extra
:05:34. > :05:37.places have been created, but still more are needed. This year there are
:05:38. > :05:40.going to be six school expansion projects, creating 1500 extra places
:05:41. > :05:50.at the cost of more than ?25 million. Last year the city had to
:05:51. > :05:54.find 1000 new places due to more people moving to the city and one of
:05:55. > :05:56.the highest birth rates in the country. But the council says this
:05:57. > :06:01.expansion will create spare capacity.
:06:02. > :06:04.We can guarantee that every pupil who wants to come to school will
:06:05. > :06:10.have a place but not necessarily where they would want to go or where
:06:11. > :06:14.they live. Work is going on across the whole
:06:15. > :06:18.city to expand schools or build new ones. They'll be ready to take
:06:19. > :06:39.pupils this September. Good evening. It is going to stay
:06:40. > :06:48.cloudy with some outbreaks of rain. A lot of cloud around. We start
:06:49. > :06:53.tomorrow with a cloudy picture. Further outbreaks of rain through
:06:54. > :07:00.the morning. The rain will become lighter and patchy into the
:07:01. > :07:05.afternoon. Gradually the rain will clear away and become drier by the
:07:06. > :07:11.afternoon and into the evening. Into Friday, much of the day looks drier.
:07:12. > :07:20.The wind will start afresh and later and that weather front will bring us
:07:21. > :07:23.some heavy rain. From all of us on the late team in
:07:24. > :07:41.Cambridge, good night. Hello. The next dose of wet and
:07:42. > :07:44.windy weather is due to arrive on Friday from the Atlantic. Today we
:07:45. > :07:50.have had an easterly wind bringing the chill as the threat of icy
:07:51. > :07:55.patches comes to the north where the cloud breaks. More cloud further
:07:56. > :07:59.south. Maybe some sleet and snow in parts of East Wales as we engage the
:08:00. > :08:02.cold air. Temperatures in the south-east are not changing much
:08:03. > :08:06.because the rain keeps going. It will be colder further north,
:08:07. > :08:11.though. Icy patches are possible. More wintry showers in the
:08:12. > :08:16.north-east. Quite a few flood warnings in Tayside. Write to the
:08:17. > :08:26.west of the Pennines. -- brighter. Figure clad -- thicker cloud further
:08:27. > :08:35.south. We see some dampness in parts of the West Country, possibly into
:08:36. > :08:36.East Wales. In the north-west of Wales is the