17/07/2014 Look East - West

Hello and welcome to Thursday's Look East.

Too risky and too expensive ` will plans for Europe's biggest dnergy

park in Peterborough be pulled? The schoolboy who came into contact with

asbestos is now a father with cancer. And he's sued a council for

Eye have managed to make sole security for my wife and chhldren.

`` I have. And I'll be here later

in the programme with a wriggly The creatures that gave Ely

its name are returning in record numbers to the Fens,

thanks to their very own bypass And, the ping`pong prince

batting for Commonwealth glory. First tonight, could plans for

Europe's biggest renewable dnergy A group set up to look

at the project have concluddd the risks outweigh the benefits

and the sums just don't add up. This is what we're talking `bout `

half a million glass solar panels across 900 acres of farmland

at Newborough and Thorney. To give you an idea, that's about

the size of 700 football pitches. But now it's future is far from

clear and today's findings could A solar farm that would look like

this but 25 times ago. That is what the `` is being proposed. The

project has produced strong feelings. A group of councillors has

looked in detail at the cost and potential profit. By a majority they

are saying it should not go ahead. All of the figures we were given

were termed as indicative. That to me is guesswork. There was nothing

concrete, saying this will be the return, the actual estimated costs

of the installation was nevdr rob the leader find. The estimated cost

was ``... The three documents together make for interesting

reading `` reading. The working group's report describes thd scheme

as having returns that are not viable and risks that are

unacceptable e`e`mails betwden the council and the government obtained

by BBC Look East, in which the council says it does not know if it

can go ahead for certain until after the general election. And the

overall cost is nearly ?2.9 million. There needs to be an enquirx into

why the council has spent ndarly ?3 million in the proposals without

planning permission, subject to subsidies that might change. Frankly

this will be kicked into thd long grass for a year or so. The working

report will be discussed at a meeting tonight and then passed to

senior councillors, who will decide whether to proceed.

Well we did ask the leader of Peterborough City Council,

who's been a strong advocatd of the solar park, for an interview, but

But someone who was happy to talk was Aled Jones.

He's an expert on sustainable energy at the Anglia Ruskin University

A short while ago I asked hhm how significant this proposdd solar

It is a very significant project. The size of the megawatts you would

get out of it would make it one of Europe's largest solar parks. In

terms of solar installations, there are significant parks being put in

place. There are larger ones planned in North Africa but they ard yet to

get off the ground. The manx objections that seem to havd been

raised our financial. The council needs to balance its books. It does

but it would be interesting to understand some of the contdxt in

which they made that financhal risk assessment. The main thing going on

in energy markets at the molent is a strike price agreed by the

government for nuclear, much higher than current electricity prhces Oil

prices will continue to go tp, as will gas. It is interesting to

understand, when you have an initial capital outlay, the cost reduction

over the long term should bd very significant. You are saying perhaps

that it is a risk worth takhng. It is a risk that needs to be taken,

when you look at electricitx markets and guaranteeing supply. We need

more big visionary projects to demonstrate what is possibld and to

be able to put them in at this sort of scale, the test the technology,

lead the way and show that the UK builds jobs and growth, builds the

renewables industry, all of those should play a part in making the

decisions. We need energy sdcurity but we also need food securhty and

this part is planned on an `rea that is prime farmland. The fact that the

council owns land in Peterborough makes it any easier thing for them

to do, to put solar parks on land they own. It is prime agrictltural

land so there are questions to be asked about what it is the future of

how they use their land. In the future land will be given over from

Brownfield sites to big sol`r projects, but that is not h`ppening,

so somebody needs to demonstrate what is possible.

Six men have gone on trial for conspiracy to murder after ` Luton

Atif Ali who's 27 almost didd after the shooting in Leicester Road

All deny the plot to kill but two men have admitted plans to

The trial at Luton Crown Cotrt is expected to last four wedks.

Northampton General Hospital is being threatened by a `` with legal

action over a dispute with hts biomedical staff. The UK's largest

union, Unite, claims it is the first time an NHS hospital has faced court

proceedings to break an indtstrial dispute.

There's been good news todax for the region's schools `

Schools receive funding from the Department of Educ`tion for

every pupil ` but until now some local authorities have recehved

The Schools Minister David Laws today announced a raft

of extra funding ` to bring everyone up to the minimum level.

Maths at a school in Saint Hves Part of the arithmetic around the

school funding does not add up, says the head teacher. Per child they are

receiving a lot less than other schools in other counties. We are so

poorly funded in Cambridgeshire but I am hoping we can bring in extra

teachers and support staff so that we can help all of our studdnts but

in particular those students who need the most help. Schools in this

part of the world have been short`changed for more than 30

years, say campaigners, on `verage receiving ?600 less per puphl. This

school is on the edge of Calbridge, one of 250 across the countx, a

total of 78,000 pupils, all of whom will see their funding incrdased by

7.9%. Here is the maths. Schools here receive mini ?4000 per pupil,

which will rise to more than ?4 00, an additional ?300 plus each.

Anybody who knows Cambridgeshire will know it is an expensivd place.

There should be a proper fahr funding formula that takes `ccount

of deprivation and need but also the cost of living, how expensive it is

to hire staff. I want a fair for `` funding formula.

The funding hike `` hike will happen by 2015. For many schools it is

overdue but very welcome. A father

from Cambridgeshire has been awarded ?275,000 as compensation

for an asbestos`related disdase Chris Wallace ` from Wisbech `

came into contact with asbestos He's one of the first peopld

in the country to successfully sue. Chris Wallace is one of the youngest

people in the country to get an asbestos related cancer. I had

stomach pains, weight loss. After five or six months I went to

hospital and I was in there for weeks and they finally diagnosed me.

The disease Chris has can elerge between 20 to 50 years after

exposure to asbestos. He has taken legal action against Devon County

Council, arguing he developdd the disease because he came into contact

with the substance at school. Times when I had an off a pipe with other

boys and there was asbestos lagging. `` hung off a pipe. There

were as Best 's mats which were crypt and broken. `` asbestos mats

which were chipped. The council arranged an out`of`court settlement

but they did not admit responsibility. I have found some

security for my wife and chhldren but just over a quarter of ?1

million is not much for somdbody's life and to have such a painful

death it is not much at all really. Chris attended four different

schools in Devon during the 198 s. Devon County Council says it takes

great care to manage as Best is in its buildings, including regular

inspections. `` as best boss. This is the only time a Devon School

pupil has taken legal action in these circumstances.

The campaign to allow cheesdmakers in a Cambridgeshire village to call

their blue cheese stilton h`s reached Westminster. Campaigners

have been meeting the farming and food minister in the hopes of

overturning DEFRA's decision to reject their application. Under

current law only places in certain parts of the Midlands can claim the

name. We need the `` we need advice from

DEFRA to understand what we need to do to get this extended frol

Leicestershire, Derbyshire `nd Nottinghamshire.

Now we can join Stewart for the rest of the programme and a full weather

forecast. Still to come to light, our best

table tennis player, and thd boy prodigy who has stunned the art

world takes the wraps off a new exhibition.

It's been a remarkable week in the countryside.

The sharp eyed have noticed a very rare butterfly and a very r`re bird.

On top of that, there's been a boom in the presence

Mike Liggins has been on butterfly watch at the RSPB nature reserve

Hello. What a wonderful day for watching wildlife. Just havd a

look. Has Minsmere ever looked finer? The bird you referred to is

the great not spotted in Norfolk, and the Butterfly spotted hdre and

at one or two other sites in East Anglia is a yellow legged

tortoiseshell. It was attracted to the Buddleia,

maybe to the groove of the building, Just happened that

the warden came out into his garden, and saw this butterfly that he

wasn't quite sure what it w`s. Ian Barthrope is part of thd RSPB

team at Minsmere. When I got here, it was sat

on the gutter of the bungalow. He saw

the yellow legged tortoiseshell The only previous record prhor to

this week in the UK of a yellow legged tortoiseshell was

in Kent back in 1953. So it's been a very long waht

for butterfly watchers to fhnd Ian took this photograph of the

elusive yellow legged tortohseshell. Compare that to a photograph taken

by a keen viewer in Daventrx David Fairhurst managed to capture

some video of the yellow legged tortoiseshell, blown in herd

from East, possibly on warm winds. I can see a peacock,

and a red admiral. And there are other ones

frittering around. Haven't quite got a good vidw

at the moment. Sharon Hill works for the Bttterfly

Conservation Organisation. On Saturday, they start

their day butterfly count. It's all about encouraging dverybody

to spend some time counting In the garden, in the park,

even at nature reserves. So we get some picture

of how butterflies are faring. What are the chances of spotting

a yellow legged tortoiseshell? Last year,

it would have been zero but this year there is a chance, and there is

a chance that you could spot one in You're much more likely to see

a red admiral or a peacock. Either way, it's hard to thhnk

of a more enjoyable and rel`xing It is a fantastic thing to do and we

have been lurking in these bushes for most of the day, trying to spot

a yellow legged tortoiseshell, but we haven't had any luck, pldnty of

red admirals, and big and lhttle whites, but they feed on to, so it

is a honeypot for them. You might also like to know that the

Springwatch team, who were here a couple of weeks ago, have now moved

on, they would have loved this next story about young eels in the fence.

The numbers are on the incrdase story.

In the heart of the fence, xou'll find one of our most mysterhous

visitors. Eels was so common here, the city of the Ely was namdd after

them. After years of numbers dramatically, it seems they are

making a comeback. Remarkably, they don't become male or female until

around a year old and can grow to 1.5 metres. These eels were born

thousands of miles away in the Sargasso Sea, and have swum all the

way here. That is until now when their journey is haunted by the

Saint German's pumping stathon. This special pass has been built to allow

the eels in here to swim around it. They follow the taste of frdsh

water. So, it is time for a health check for these five`year`olds with

the officer who monitors thdm. I have everyone apart from ond, not

bad going. They are wriggly How healthy are they? The ones we are

seeing here, they have survhved and because they are the fittest, they

have still got the rest of their lives to live. Persistence,

determination. It is a dram`, really, with all the characters you

are looking for. Eel numbers have increased in the last two ydars

thought to be due to favour`ble ocean currents, so it is not

guaranteed that numbers will continue to rise. We are making sure

that while they are with us, we can actually help them, they have the

right habitat, the right food, and we're making sure that they are not

taking intakes, damaged by pumps, and power stations, and while they

mature before they migrate back out on their epic journey. All too soon,

it was time to let them go. Eventually, these fascinating

creatures will return to thd Sargasso Sea to breed.

One or two butterflies have just landed on me! I don't if thd weather

is going to be that great this weekend, go to our Facebook page for

all the links The games start

in Glasgow next week. The table tennis player

Andrew Baggaley from Milton Keynes has already won two gold,

two silver and one bronze mddal since making his first appe`rance

in Manchester 12 years ago. Today he spent

the afternoon promoting the sport as In the last four years, table tennis

has moved outdoors. But all the time, just in summertime. Mhlton

Keynes today, a Commonwealth legend joined in. Lovely day. Thesd tables

will spread out across the country, so it's fantastic for everyone to

get involved playing the gale. Gold, silver and bronze. He's got the full

collection. England's most decorated athlete taking it easy on the

passers`by before Glasgow and his fourth games. England's most

successful table tennis plaxer in the Common of games history, how

does it feel? Great! Hopefully, I can continue doing really wdll. I am

very fortunate that I'm plaxing this is my fourth games. Hopefully,

I'll be at my best in Glasgow and try to wind a medal again. Ht was 12

years ago in Manchester when he fell head over heels with the so`called

friendly games. It was tabld tennis' debut at the games. It was

introduced in 2002, and that was fantastic. I remember playing, and

winning two gold medals, followed by running a silver and a silvdr and

bronze in Delhi. So it is fantastic. I am so happy th`t I am

part of it. He lives in Milton Keynes. So, too, table tennhs with

its HQ in the town. Today's event is starting off a summer of ping. How

do you get more people coming to events like this and taking part in

table tennis? According to sport England, fewer people are playing

the sport. This initiative will definitely help table tennis. It

will be in the summer months, so all the kids will play. What's good for

the kids is for the big namds deliver on the big stage. No

pressure, Andrew! Excitement is building in the art

world tonight as a Norfolk schoolboy gets ready for a new exhibition

of his amazing landscapes. Keiron Williamson will be 12

in three weeks. The first time his work went on show

it was snapped up in 14 minttes with The new show is promising

even more interest. Dawn Gerber has been to Holt

for a preview. Striking pictures capturing the

landscape, work from the petrol artist you might think. Thex've all

been painted by 11`year`old Keiron Williamson from Norfolk. I like

Saint Bennetts Abbey. That hs my favourite place to paint. This is

his ninth exhibition. This work is alongside his idols' and here they

fetch from ?2 to ?22,000. M`ny have sold. It is amazing. Just fhnishing

the pictures off, framing them up at home and then seeing them in the

proper light is amazing. It is an amazing transformation. So H am very

proud to see all my pictures hanging up. He has been painting for five

years. Aged seven, his first exhibition. By November, his work

was hot property. He sold 16 pictures in 2009. We were blown

away. They just went. From his mailing list, those not advdrtising

for that second exhibition `t all, and we were blown away by how

quickly they went. With such success, his parents have h`d to

ensure he is not exploited. From the beginning, we had a local solicitor

to offer us advice on how to manage his finances. He has breachdd the ?1

million barrier. People need to understand that he is also paying

his corporation tax ten years before his peers are likely to, so there is

a lot of outgoings as well `s significant income. He is not the

only artist to produce such a high standard of work. But is certainly

unique. To have such an accomplished style and technique is absolutely

incredible. It is typical through art history. On the 14th century, a

painter was discovered at the age of 11, Picasso had his first exhibition

at the age of nine, so some have been discovered early on. Hd's just

finished his first year of home`schooling, a decision lade so

he could focus on art. At the moment, his love of painting takes

into London, Norfolk and Cornwall, but the future holds no boundaries.

He has his eyes set on painting landscapes abroad.

He has to pay corporation t`x? Lets get the weather!

It has been a hot day, but not the hottest day. We still got to a

respectable 27 Celsius. Temperatures are likely to hit 30 degrees

tomorrow, perhaps higher. It is going to be the hottest day of the

year tomorrow, probably. Tonight, after a warm day, it will not cool

down. It is going to be a w`ll and muggy night. We have showers coming

up tipping western counties tomorrow morning. Most of us stay drx through

the night with some clear spells. It will be a warm and muggy fidld to

things with lows of 15 or 16. We stopped tomorrow quite warm, so

becoming very warm early on. We have some cloud first thing, but then

quickly brightening up with hot spells. A lot of heat and htmidity

building, so it is possible we might have 30 or 31 tomorrow. If ht is

cooler weather you are after, go to the coast. Quite a nice day on the

coast with a moderate south`easterly breeze picking up through the day.

Plenty more hot sunshine to come in the afternoon. We have some fun to

read rain coming up from thd south. It is coming up from the continent,

meaning some pretty intense downpours into the early hotrs of

Saturday morning. This is rolling the graphics right through to six

seven o'clock on Saturday morning. Some hail, thunder, downpours. But

there will be a gap in procdedings. Discovering up from the continent,

so the middle part of the d`y on Saturday could be calmer and drier,

but the heat and humidity mdans the `` we could have some thunddry

downpours. On Sunday, cooler. Then you'll be glad to know that it will

be a settled start into next week. Thank you. That is it. From all of

us, good night. It took less than 90 seconds for the

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