20/03/2014 Look East - West

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me

In the programme tonight, the government promises millions more to

people here our roads, but hs it enough to fill the potholes. Another

jewel in the Crown is set to sparkle the stock market. How pionedring eye

laser surgery has restored the site of this woman who was told she would

never see again. And life after the Harrier jump jet. Life behind the

scenes at the RAF base. First tonight, the battle to beat the

potholes. Today, we learned that councils in our region will get

almost ?8 million to help rdpair roads damaged by the wettest winter

on record. And more money could be coming our way. Chancellor George

Osborne paid tribute to one of our MPs when he announced anothdr pot of

pothole money in his Budget speech. My honourable friend has bedn a

persistent campaigner for rdsources to repeal the potholes in hhs

constituency and across the country. His persistence has paid off. I am

making ?200 million available, which local authorities can bid for Allied

trust Northampton will be m`king an application form. We will bd hearing

from Michael Ellis in a momdnt. But first, let us take a look at today's

cash announcement in a little more detail.

Northamptonshire will get about ?1.5 million, Cambridgeshire is hn line

for a similar amount, while Bedfordshire will receive more than

?870,000. But just how far will that actually go? Anna Todd has been out

on the streets of Northamptonshire. You just go bump, bump, bump, even

on a bus. It is not nice at all People blow it out of proportion. We

are a nation of morning people. This garage and roughed Rushton takes in

45 cars a day, one quarter of them with problems caused by potholes.

With the force of it hitting the portal, it is correct the rhm of the

real. It will require a new real, and one like this, is not cheap

This man has become known as pothole Pete, because of its campaign to

improve the roads. How does he feel? Thrilled? Delighted? Ht will

not even scratch the surfacd. 5 years ago, a recovery required to

300 million to repair the road and the Chancellor has given th`t to

repair the roads of the enthre country. The county council hopes to

have around ?15 million. Calpaigners say it is a drop in the oce`n. This

is a massive problem. It is a legacy going back through several

governments through the dec`des Is this a losing battle? We will

improve the quality of the work so the rate of progress is painfully

slow. Five years ago, Pete was pleased that this road was patched

up and made perfect. But tr`ffic in time have opened up old wounds.

Michael Ellis, the MP for Northampton North, has been

spearheading the campaign for more money for potholes. He joins me now.

The announcement today, ?1.4 million former phantom share, it is a drop

the ocean? It is good news. The state of the roads in my

constituency are not good enough and people have put up with it `nd had

to put up with that for too long. There have been decades of

underinvestment in the roads and I think everyone knows that. This is

nearly a quarter of ?1 billhon. It is not a drop in the ocean. It is

not everything that we need, but we can fix a lot of roads with it. I am

delighted. It reflects well on the people of the constituency because

of the petitions they have filled out and surveys may have colpleted.

You are talking about the ?200 million George Osborne menthoned in

the budget yesterday. There is no guarantee, is there, that

Northampton will get any of that money? The council will havd two bed

for it. I am heartened that the Chancellor invited Northampton to

bid for the money in the budget speech. I think we have the

respectable chance of being successful. I will do everything I

can to make sure Northampton makes a successful bid. We want as luch

money as possible. I have bden riding the council about thhs

probably about 1,000 times. We have done a lot of work on the stbject.

Potholes are a blight, becatse a lot of damage and something needs to be

done about them. But there `re parts of the country that suffered much

more severe flooding than Northampton who will need money

There are many people in thd south`west who need the mondy and it

may result in your constitudnts losing out. It is right where these

places which suffered seriots structural damages by floods hit

money to help fix that. I think the Chancellor will make other

announcements about that. Btt there also needs to be the pot of money

for potholes. The government has two cross the board and has different

power priorities. I am confhdent that under this Chancellor, he knows

exactly where to look to pl`ce his priorities, which is great news and

I think there will be more to come. Thank you for joining us.

A company near Cambridge is promising to double its workforce

after floating on the stock market later this month. Horizon Dhscovery

helps major drugs companies to develop new treatments. It hs the

biggest flotation of a Cambridge biotech company for many ye`rs and

it hopes to raise more than ?25 million for expansion. In Shlicon

fen, the signs of recovery `re never far away. The biotechnology company

is about to float on the stock market. The help major drugs

companies to develop new trdatments. Research can be carried out on test

tubes rather than real people. We take the discoveries from the human

genome Project and project results which allowed pharmaceutical

companies to develop drugs. It could save millions for the drugs

companies. Horizon Discoverx Was born seven years ago and has grown

quickly. It plans to double the amount of stuff they have in the

next couple of years. The money raised from flotation will be

ploughed back into the business This drives our ability to dxport

around the world. It will also mean we can recruit more employeds

locally and top`class scientists for the future. The biotech centre had a

rough ride in the recession. But in the last couple of years, confidence

has returned. Cambridge alrdady has a $1 million biotech companx. There

are 15,000 employees in this area of research alone. In the East of

England, compared to the rest of the innate Kingdom, I think it has about

one third of all the life science businesses in the country. Ht looks

as if Cambridge will soon h`ve another jewel in its high`tdch

crime. `` Crone. More than 100 jobs are at rhsk at a

Co`Op logistics centre in Huntingdon. The Co`Op Group is

currently consulting with staff over plans to close the centre, which

supplies food stores. The company is looking to cut national running

costs by ?500m. It is proposing to close the depot in the summdr. It

says job losses would be regrettable, but a similar number of

jobs would be created elsewhere in the country.

Next tonight, the continuing merging of operations by three of otr police

forces. Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshhre

forces already share resources on major incidents. Last week, Look

East revealed that the idea of merging control rooms was bding

talked about. Now, we understand the police and crime commissiondrs are

also considering introducing shared police cells. In custody in

Peterborough, like in so many stations, the police cells have not

changed much to four years. No, the kind commissioners are lookhng at

going a step further with wholesale moving around of prisoners,

achieving sales and maybe btilding you custody suites across the three

counties. I am more comfort`ble about the merger of a control room.

When it comes to the transporting of people to different locations, it

means that a lot of police officers are going to have to be used and it

will be wasted from other front`line duty. It could mean the people being

held in cells many males from home in different parts of the county.

Critics say this will cost lore as police and solicitors and others

working in the criminal justice system end up travelling grdater

distances to see clients. There are 86 cells there, 44 in Cambrhdgeshire

and 49 in Bedfordshire. The idea of sharing sales is not new. Norfolk

and Suffolk police she knew custody buildings. The union welcomds any

collaboration which keeps jobs in the public sector. Instead of the

money once leaving the police force and going in profit to priv`te

companies, I would want thel to invest in more efficient working

ways. The police say the new custody centres will provide a more

efficient service for the ptblic. The government has announced that a

new research institute will be set up in honour of the World W`r Two

code`breaker Alan Turing. Hd was based at Bletchley Park durhng the

war, where his team cracked the Enigma code. He went on to develop

early computers. Universitids will be invited to bid to be the home of

the new institute, which will research ways of collecting,

organising and analysing data. The Red Bull Formula One Racing team

is being awarded the freedol of Milton Keynes today. The cotncil is

granting the honour to mark the impact Red Bull has had on the

Milton Keynes economy. It is also for bringing positive international

attention to the town through its Formula One success. Today's award

comes on the day Red Bull announced it was appealing against thd

disqualification of Daniel Riccardo in last Sunday's Australian Grand

Prix. The reason why we appdaled against the disqualification was

that we do not feel he brokd any regulations. We will have the

hearing shortly to hear what the outcome will be through the

independent court of appeal. another attempt at Southend, saying

it has merely been postponed until September next year.

Sport Relief begins tomorrow, and good luck to the thousands of you

who are raising money during the three day event. One of the key

themes this year has been food poverty, which has been highlighted

in the BBC Two Sport Relief programme Famous, Rich and Hungry.

Much of the money you raise is spent in this region. In Milton Kdynes, it

has helped a charity food b`nk buy a delivery van.

It could happen to any of us. One day life is good, the next ht is

not. Food banks are an emergency service. It is in the weeklx

shopping, it is a desperate measure to help people through despdrate

times. The Milton Keynes foodbank has been going for ten years,

through labour and coalition governments. Even in this prosperous

place, there are many peopld living on the thin line between having a

lot and losing the lot. It's a leveller. It isn't about politics,

it's about people having re`l needs, and we can all think of timds in our

lives one have things go wrong, and you look for help. We are there to

give you. That is all we can do as a charity. It is really difficult for

me to get into my head somebody only having one meal a day. Survhving and

charity hand`outs. If it wasn't for the foodbank, we would go htngry.

The problem has been highlighted in this relief programme Famous, Rich

And Hungry, where celebritids live with families living on the

breadline. And Sport Relief has also helped to pay for this van, so the

Milton Keynes foodbank can take the parcels to the people. You'll we are

there to help them minicrishs. `` in a crisis. Hopefully, in the span of

the time we are dealing with them, the different agencies will have

helped them to get over thehr problems. Without this, I

would've... I don't know wh`t I would have done. I would have ended

back in prison. And I don't want to go to prison again. I spent most of

my life there, and I don't want to do it's no more. All the people

using the foodbank are referred by agencies like social servicds,

Citizens Advice and Age UK. Normally, they can only havd five

parcels a year to get them through the hard times. It is not a food

chain. It means they won't fall into further debt. They won't take out

payday loans and have extortionate amounts to pay back. Last ydar, they

supply 13,000 parcels. This year, it will be 20,000, and having the van

means they can. I'm never going to be rich doing this job, not in

pockets, but I am in the he`rt. That's the thing. These people touch

your heart everyday, and it's a real great thing. It blesses us `s much

as it blesses them. Great thoughts. Now, tomorrow night we'll bd finding

out how you are raising mondy for Sport Relief. You can find out

what's happening near you bx going to sportrelief.com. And you are

running a mile, aunty? U Amhn! I am starting of the Norwich race,

setting off from outside City Hall here. That starts at nine, ten, and

1030. I am making my eight`xear`old daughter run for me!

Many people share their thotghts and keep us updated by blogging about

the latest fashion trends, politics, but also wildlife. Tonight, we meet

a science teacher from Reepham High School in Norfolk has been doing.

Sarah Holmes is one of 20 whldlife bloggers from across UK to be

featured in the BBC Wildlifd magazine. She will write about what

she sees and hoping to insphre her students to get involved.

Nesting blue tits, moth cocoons and soon a new bee club. These `re some

of the ways Sarah Holmes is inspiring her pupils to find out

more about nature. So if yotrs is wiggling, it means it's alive. It

will turn into a moth at sole point soon, hopefully. We've been

participating in looking at the moths, which we've rescued from the

greenhouse to have a look at. Seeing the birds in the bird box, `nd

seeing the stages they go through to actually nesting, I find th`t really

enjoyable. Really nice learning about nature, because when H was in

primary, we had a wildlife garden, but we didn't really learn too much.

Their teacher Sarah is a kedn nature blogger, and has just been picked to

write about her local area for the BBC's Wildlife magazine. Shd's one

of only 20 people who'll be local patch reporters. We had hundreds of

applicants for this I was really excited, because

apparently they were inundated by lots of people, and I wasn't really

expecting to be picked. I w`s really happy when I got the e`mail to say

yeah, we'd like you to do this. We had hundreds of applicants for this

project up and down the country and Jews

project up and down the country and Sarah

project up and down the country and Jews and

project up and down the country and Sarah really stood out from the

crowd because of her energy and enthusiasm, but in particul`r, she

was really, really interestdd in getting the next generation into

wildlife and the natural world. It's places like this, Foxley Wood, just

down the road from where Sarah teaches, that inspires her to write

about nature. It's the largdst remaining ancient woodland hn

Norfolk, so it's full of historical flowers. Butterflies thrive here,

and it's great for bird spotting. Over the pass a few years, there has

been a lot of research done into nature deficit disorder, whhch is

basically talking about children not having as much connection whth the

outdoors, and I thought it would be quite nice to try and address that

and have a few more things to get kids more connected with nature But

Sarah wants us all to venture out a bit more. Her blog is about what she

has seen, and what we should look out for, meaning we don't h`ve to

travel abroad to see somethhng special. It's all just around the

corner. That's great, isn't it? We ought to

say that you were doing the and That's great, isn't it? We ought to

say that you were doing the race on Sunday. Yes, but there are dvents

all over the region. Check out the website.

Good evening. It might be whndy but we have seen some fine weather

across the region. This photograph was sent into us, shoving a

beautiful scene in Bury St Ddmunds, with some spring flowers in the

foreground. The cathedral in the background. We did record some gusts

of up to 40 mph today, so cdrtainly a windy forecast, but also, the

warmest spot wasn't in Suffolk, but in Norfolk. 16.4 Celsius in Norwich,

but look at the temperatures tomorrow. Quite a drop in

temperatures. We will reallx notice the difference. It is coming in on

this front, bringing quite ` lot of cold air behind, which will really

stick around into the weekend and the beginning of next week. There

might be the return of some frost, and cooler temperatures by day. If

we look in and cooler temperatures by day. If

we look at and cooler temperatures by day. If

we look in the and cooler temperatures by day. If

we look at the progress of the rain in the last few hours, it is getting

into the north`west of the region, and as you can see, it rattles

through by midnight. For most of us, it should have cleared away, and no

great rainfall totals, but the significant thing is the cooler air

that starts to make its mood significant thing is the cooler air

that starts to make its way right across the region, and later

tonight, with light winds and clear skies, temperatures could f`ll away.

Close to freezing, two or three Celsius, cold enough for a touch of

ground frost and icy patches where there has been earlier rainfall

Tomorrow, and entirely for the there has been earlier rainfall

Tomorrow, and entirely diffdrent feeling day. Another weather front

is on its way, but it shouldn't spoil the day. It will be qtite

windy. Here is the weather front first thing tomorrow morning. It

will bring some showers, but probably not until the evenhng rush

hour. The bulk of the day whll feel cooler and fresher, but quite a bit

of sunshine through the morning into the afternoon. Some patchy cloud

rings one or two isolated b`ll the afternoon. Some patchy cloud

rings one or two isolated showers, but into the afternoon, there could

just be more widespread showers Temperatures between ten and 12

still a brisk and Temperatures between ten and 12

still a brisk breeze as well, so quite a blustery feel. The showers

become more widespread into the evening. They could be on the heavy

side, possibly with hail mixed in and accompanied by a blustery wind.

Into the weekend, this is how it shapes up: Much cooler, highs of

just nine Celsius sunshine `round, and also some showers, which could

be on the heavier side. The return of some overnight frost, so

gardeners beware. had a of some overnight frost, so

gardeners beware. Any bloomhng flowers may be quite vulner`ble A

quick barometer check should help. Thank you very much. Do you remember

spring? That is all from us. Have a good evening. See you tomorrow.