04/07/2014 Look East - West

Thousands of people are makhng their way to the region this weekdnd as

Emergency services, highways staff and the rail companies are

In Northamptonshire, 375,000 people are expected to go to Silverstone

At Knebworth on the A1 in Hertfordshire, 50,000 are attending

And on Monday the Tour de France comes to Cambridge.

It's estimated up to 150,000 people will be entering the city alone

and thousands more lining the route to London.

This big sporting event will draw big crowds, thousands wanting to see

the Tour de France in Cambrhdge To cope with demand there will be extra

carriages and train services between Cambridge and London. Howevdr..

Those trains will be busy, so please plan ahead and be patient. Please

try to plan your journey after pm and avoid the evening peak.

In Northamptonshire, Silverstone hosts the British Grand Prix.

350,000 people are respected to pass through.

The logistical problems are what you would expect. They lose things,

sadly crime takes place, sole people drink too much, there are cdrtain

drug abuse, so we expect those things that is we plan for.

In Hertfordshire, around 50,000 are respected to attend dishonest beer

Festival in network. Over there you have the main stage where Mdtallica

and the Prodigy will perforl. Thousands of people have already

arrived, and that is even bdfore the second stage has opened. On the spot

I will be replaced by Hundrdd Reasons, Slayer, and Chas and Dave,

with thousands of people tr`velling to watch them perform.

We have had thousands of people arriving on Thursday, and on Friday

this evening we will have another 20,000 arriving. On Sunday, the

departure is spread over Sunday afternoon, Sunday evening and Monday

morning. Heavy traffic on the roads hs

expected and will be closelx monitored by the Highways Agency.

Those three big events will between them attract around half a lillion

people. Expect roads and rahlways across the region to be busx between

now and Monday. Now, with all those people turning

out to watch the Tour, it provides a huge opportunhty

for many businesses to cash in. But are there any

longer term benefits? Our business correspondent

Richard Bond's been finding out Keith Johnson is getting into the

swing of things, as well he might. His pub,

the Fox at Finchingfield is in prime The route goes past

the front door of the Essex pub He has sold 80 VIP tickets dntitling

guests to a champagne breakfasts, The VIP tickets, we have sold

those at ?155 per head. Easy to sell simply because the Tour

de France and an opportunitx Hotels close to

the route are also busy. The Doubletree

in Cambridge will be packed out We normally find ourselves full

on Saturday, We have found that with the Tour

de France coming into Cambrhdge we It is not all good news

for business. extensive road closures

will hit many firms. Hauliers are worried

about disruption. We need to deliver goods

and services to shops and pdople's homes while all this fantastic

sporting spectacle is going on. There are hopes

of a long`term boost for totrism, but for now businesses have enough

on their hands catering for visitors Local politicians are demanding more

answers about the future of Accident and Emergency services in Bddford

and Milton Keynes. A ?3.2 million pound review

of health services in the towns is It states that "sustaining

emergency surgery on both shtes It's a key route linking

the Midlands to But although the A47 is classed

as a European super`highway, But today

the transport minister drovd along Trailing traffic as far

as the eye can see. After years of talking,

could there finally be some action? Today the roads minister cale to see

for himself, It would be great

if we had unlimited resourcds and What is important is to identify the

bits which will have the most impact Another problem is traffic lovements

between Peterborough and Norfolk and the coast, and the area between

Thorney and Guyhirn and Wisbech can be very congested

particularly in the summer. Part of the road has alreadx been

improved here at the Thornex bypass. People who travel

the route regularly, whether for business or trips to

the coast, can't understand why a route that is so important to the

region is not of a higher standard. We get lots of announcements, and

indeed we get lots of feasibility but what everybody wants is a firm

commitment to the cash and spades But today there has been a growing

sense of optimism about upgrading. More news is expected by thd end

of the year. Time to get

the weather now with Alex Dolan Good evening, quite a shift in

weather pattern, already a band of rain pushing in from the west. It

will be light and patchy rahn at first, but by the early hours of

tomorrow morning it will be more persistent and heavy. It will be a

warm and Monday night with temperatures not lower than the

teams. At the start of tomorrow it will be cloudy with outbreaks of

rain, gradually clearing eastwards, and although it may remain cloudy,

there are signs it might brhghten up on the end of the day. Any of the

showers could be on the heavy side. It will be cooler tomorrow, with

highs of 20 or 21 Celsius. Hn a moment we have the National

forecast, but he was our outlook. Sunshine and showers around on

Sunday and Monday. later in the day. Before that,

plenty of sunshine. Today's weather played out like a

classic World Cup match - a tale of two halves.

Highest temperatures for this year. A different story further north and

west. A lot of cloud around. It was breezy, and yes, we saw significant

rain. This rain has to clear further east overnight and then it

introduces a different feel to our weather - sunny spells but also

showers. So a good drenching for the gardens overnight. Some of the rain

heavy over north-east England for a time and stretching up towards

south-east Scotland as this weather front goes further east. First thing

there is the potential for some of that rain to be