04/04/2017 Look East (West)

Hello and welcome to Tuesday's programme.

Clean air for Cambridge - but is a toxin tax really the answer

There will be people dying because of the noxious fumes in the city.

On the campaign trail - Labour launches its bid to win back

Helping others help themselves - we meet the award winning young

And why a ground-breaking new musical has come to Cambridge before

the west end. First tonight, the bid to make one

of our busiest cities a trailblazer Cambridge City Council wants

to become one of the first in the country sign up

to a new Government initiative Under the plans, owners of some

diesel vehicles could be charged up to ?20 a day to drive

into the centre of the city. The aim is to have a plan in place

by 2020, as Emma Baugh now reports. Cambridge has long been trying to

curb congestion, reading cars from its city centres, investing in

public transport and encouraging electric taxis. Now it is

considering charging drivers with the most polluting diesels. This

area is already making efforts to upgrade the green fleet of buses.

They want to work with the council but a wide it will affect costs. The

coating industry is not massively different... We expect that

Cambridge will probably take some like the London scheme on board.

There will be a cost for adding that onto customers. As with all

businesses, any additional cost have to be factored in potentially passed

on to the end user. Clean air campaigners welcomed the charge.

Applicable make a great difference. The air in Cambridge is disgusting.

My husband suffers if we go into town. It would be better to be

cleaner air. Cambridge is officially classed as one of the most congested

in Britain. But it doesn't make as badly when it comes to pollution

compared to other cities. Why the need for the pollution charge? The

council said it is not a moneymaking exercise. We regularly exceeded the

current European standard, so we do have an air pollution problem. You

can smell it in those parts of the city centre where we have got the

most traffic and get congestion, so this is a measure to make our city

healthier and also to cut the number of the cars coming into the city, so

it will clean the hair and it will also cut congestion. A mixed

reaction to the pollution charge in the city today. It's another form of

tax. And just wondering what they're going to use it on. Are they going

to improve the air quality with the money? It is good to cut pollution,

but they are other ways to get into Cambridge, driving is not

necessarily the only thing you need to do. If it is for the environment,

I think it's a good idea. We should be penalised by something the

Government promoted. Today the Government says it is committed to

cutting air pollution and any city can bring in a clean air zone if

they want to. So how effective

would a toxin tax be? I spoke to Professor Sir David King

earlier - he used to advise Tony Blair's Government

on climate change issues. I asked him if congestion

or pollution charging really works. Yes, we know from

the experience of the congestion charges in London,

as soon as you've got a charge like that, you are giving the leaders

of the City Council a lever. So if for example congestion goes up

again, you simply put up prices and that has proved to be very

effective in central London. Petrol-driven cars are

better than diesel, but In the long run,

climate change demands Should diesel cars just be banned

from congested areas? We clearly don't want

the Government to simply ban you from driving

a diesel car tomorrow, so it has got to be a phase-out

process, which is why every city needs to be looking at

phasing out, by 2020, 2022, But in the meantime,

give an encouragement to those who are not polluting particularly in

city centres and on busy roads where What are the consequences

of Cambridge doing nothing? The consequences of doing nothing

are that there will be people dying because of the noxious

fumes in the city. It is not right through the city,

it is very localised and it is close to those roads that

carry a lot of traffic. I don't want to suggest

that large numbers of people or a high percentage of

people would die, but nevertheless lives are shortened by these gases

that we have to breathe in the Do you think this tax

would be a hard sell It is not an easy city

to get around anyway, and if we stop certain vehicles

coming into the centre, it could be accused of damaging the

economy. In the transition period,

the city fathers will have to look very carefully at which cars

are allowed in, for example in London, black taxis

would still be able to operate even though they use diesel,

and those taxes will then slowly phase out the use of diesel, but it

will be slow because you will have to wait until the taxis come

to the end of their lifetime. Are you happy to see some sort

of action been taken? We need to see if we can get

into the forefront of I've got grandchildren

living in Cambridge, and I would like to see them living

healthy, happy lives, With a month to go before this

year's county council elections, the Labour Party were in the region

today, attempting to rally The party controls just a handful

of seats in Hertfordshire, and today the Shadow Health Secretary

was in town, promising a boost to the economy in a bid

to attract voters. Whilst you're here, come on over

to the Labour Party stall and meet the Shadow Secretary

of State for Health. A rallying cry to shoppers

in Stevenage, but is Labour faces an uphill

battle in the east, and in The council is represented by 77

councillors, just 14 of them Which is why the Shadow Health

Secretary is in town to drum up support, despite polls suggesting

the party faces a rout at next I'm not going to put targets

on it, but we want a good Labour vote in this area,

because there's lots of constituencies in this part

of the country which are very important to us, constituencies

which we want to gain back from the Conservatives whenever

the general election comes, so these elections are also

about putting in place the base for The Conservative Party holds

majorities in Cambridge and Northamptonshire

and here in Hertfordshire. But the town's Labour leader

is adamant that change is needed. I've been out knocking on doors

in Stevenage for weeks. People are telling

us on their doorstep that they are dismayed to see public

services that they value being decimated by what the Tories are

doing at national and local level. The country is in a state of flux

which ever way we look at it, whether it is joy or resignation

towards Brexit, the NHS and schools are facing unprecedented

financial pressures. Both are traditional

topics that play well to voters here in Stevenage, but will

it be enough to turn the tide Lack of affordable

housing is a rising problem in Stevenage, but people

we spoke to were far more concerned about the influence Jeremy Corbyn

was having on the party. He seems to want

to do his own thing. I think there has been

a bit of trouble with I don't think they'll

get in with him. I don't like his views

on Ireland and getting rid The town centre is undergoing

redevelopment at the moment, and Labour will hope the same thing

is true of their election chances as they focus on key

gains next month. Next tonight, the young carer who's

written a book to help 17-year-old Natasha Krywald

from Rushden cares for her mum, who has spinal

problems, at the same time as According to the latest figures,

there are more than 13,000 carers under the age

of 24 in our region. In Cambridgeshire, almost 4,000

young people do the role. In Northamptonshire

it's more than 5,500. Stuart Ratcliffe has been to meet

Natasha and hear her story. The bond between mother

and daughter is a special one. But the bond between

Sandra Krywald and her daughter Natasha

is particularly precious. Natasha is Sandra's lifeline -

she cooks, she cleans, but Natasha's hard work has been

officially recognised several times, but now she's recognised the need

to help other young carers and has written a guide book

with tips and information. I noticed that the young carers

often don't have any 24/7 support network,

it is very much a nine to five job If it's outside of those

hours, they would have no I wanted to create something

that would help them in those situations, so that

they are never alone. Do you think there should be

more support for carers, It is quite a difficult job

to do, especially with It does mount on top

of you, and if you don't have the proper

support, you can't do it. But now, after months of research

and fundraising, her book is ready to share with fellow

carers in her school. Yeah, it is definitely

going to help. Pretty much everyone

who is a young carer What stands out for you when

looking through the book? The tips on how you can help

yourself as well as them, because quite a lot of the time it can be

difficult to look after yourself. You start bringing yourself down,

because you are doing so much at home, you're not sure

what to do any more. Natasha is clearly a well-liked

and respected member of the school, and not only has

she helped fellow pupils and carers, she has also helped shape school

policy on this issue. She challenged me to say,

do you know how many young It has been an opportunity

for the school as well to think a little bit more carefully

about the support that we might offer for those

youngsters who can sometimes get lost and forgotten, but it is

because of Natasha raising my awareness of that matter that caused

us to look more closely at how Natasha achieves all this while

battling her own health problems. But her focus remains her mum,

and the love and unselfish A development of luxury homes

in Cambridge has been covered with graffiti,

written in Latin. Vandals spray-painted

the new five-bedroom river-front houses with the words Locus

in Domos and Loci Populum, which roughly translates to "local

homes for local people". The homes, in Water Street,

Chesterton are priced from upwards of ?1.25 million and are on the site

of the old Penny Ferry pub. That's all from us for now,

but I'll be back after the News Time now to hand you over

to Susie and Stewart. And, a year until Australia: getting

ready for the Commonwealth games. Eople often think of autism

as something that usually But lots of women

and girls are autistic Experts say females with autism

can present differently Laura James is a successful

writer from Norfolk. And a happily married

mother of four. She was diagnosed with autism

just two years ago. She's now written a book

called Odd Girl Out This is where Laura feels

comfortable, writing in her home. I love researching and learning things

and I'm obsessed with facts, and if I come across something I want to

know everything about it. If it's box my interest. I like doing

solitary things. -- if it's box. Her autism makes a simple shopping

expedition almost unbearable. The low ceiling and the shiny floors

makes me feel slightly dizzy, and then I can hear every single noise,

so I can hear the buzzing of that fridge and the things being run

through the till, I can hear snatches of conversation. Everything

is just kind of overloading my senses and I can't separate out

those noises. Then you have something like the yoghurt and there

are so many different yoghurt scum and if I don't know what I want and

it is hidden, I become overwhelmed -- there are so many different

yoghurts. I become overwhelmed by how many yoghurts there are in the

world. She had spent her life feeling different and was diagnosed

with autism at the age of 45. Despite being bright she could not

do exams and despite a successful career and marriage and four

children she lives with a sense of unease and a need for order and

predictability. I have to think in advance of where I'm going to go and

so I think my way around the aisles and I have to have a list and I need

to tick it off in order, but sometimes there is the thing called

autistic inertia, where people have the need to do something but they

become paralysed in the moment and can't do it. I have gone to a

supermarket and sat in the car for an hour, trying to psyche myself up

and not being able to and going home. Tom works for the National

Autistic Society and he hopes that Laura's openness about her autism

will improve people's understanding. There is a huge awareness of autism

but not a week understanding of what it means on a day-to-day basis for

autistic people, so what we need is more examples being put out of

people's day-to-day experience of places like supermarkets, leisure

centres, the workplace, which really brings to life the experience of

autism. And that is why Laura has written her book, to shed light on

what autism is like especially for women and girls, who can mask their

traits as they tried to fit in. Women and girls who could not put

their finger on something, they just wanted it to be out there, and if

they stumbled across it and found it was then, I hope it would make their

life easier. Now you are a couple of years down the line, from your

diagnosis, are you happier? I know my place in the world. And I feel

often I can be less hard on myself. Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.

That was Laura talking to me earlier.

In a year's time athletes from across our region

will be heading down under for the Commonwealth Games.

They'll take place on the Gold Coast in Australia.

Three years ago in Glasgow we did very well.

Max Whitlock won three gold medals in the gymnastics

and Ellen Faulkner won gold in the bowls.

She's working hard to get to Australia.

But she still makes time to help the stars of the future.

Our sports editor Jonathan Park has been to see her.

The more successful you get the smaller it will make the target.

There are few better to listen to in the sport of bowls

She spent hour upon hour perfecting her game and now

she is passing on her pearls of wisdom to one of England's

She started in the clubs a few years ago and ever since I started

she's always been there, something to aim towards, someone

If I didn't have her I think I'd be struggling a bit more.

Rebecca is 17 and is an England junior international.

Hoping to follow in Ellen's footsteps and one day become

This will be Ella's 25th year in the sport.

She's gone to four Commonwealth Games so far and the Gold Coast 2018

will be her fifth Commonwealth Games.

Previously she has won three gold medals.

She started in Manchester in 2002 and the last time in Glasgow she won

Love playing at the highest level and still as hungry

Are you a better player now than you were ten years ago?

I think better is kind of quite difficult to analyse but I would say

is that I do continually try to improve how I'm performing

and I try different things, new things in the sport marketplace.

It's all about trying to be the best that I can be.

From Glasgow to the Gold Coast, just a year to go until another

Commonwealth Festival sport, and Team England will do well to

174 medals won, 23 of them from our region.

With Essex duo Max Whitlock and Alex Dowsett amongst

It's amazing, almost life changing experience, to be honest.

To be part of Team England, the most successful team in England,

That camaraderie and friendship, being with athletes that have worked

equally as hard to try and achieve their dreams

For bowlers like Rebecca and Ellen, the Commonwealth Games represents

the pinnacle of their sport, and the countdown

The story of a wrestler from this region has captured

The life of WWE wrestler Paige from Norwich is to be a film

directed by Stephen Merchant, who co-created the Office.

Over the past few days, those stars have been in Norfolk

It's hoped it could put the county on the filming map.

Vanessa Baffoe is in Great Yarmouth now where they're

Absolutely. The crew started arriving at four o'clock and filming

is beginning in the next half an hour. Just a few yards away from

where I'm standing is a wrestling venue, this is a place where Paige

and her family visit regularly. I've got a little secret, we will keep it

between us, the owners of the venue, I've been speaking to them and they

tell me that Paige visited here just in February with her partner who

proposed to her in the ring. The cover from Paige fuss you can take

the girl out of Norfolk but... Well, you know the rest, and this time,

Paige is bringing Hollywood to the region. A comedy drama about her

life has been written and directed by Stephen Merchant. He was filming

in Norwich yesterday and today it is Great Yarmouth. It's fantastic for

the area. I can't quite believe it, Hollywood in Great Yarmouth,

fantastic. Anything that puts Great Yarmouth on the map is a good thing

but if we are all going to Hollywood, who knows? We might get

tourists from America and all over the world. Is Brad Pitt in it? No,

but producing and starring is actor and former wrestler Dwayne Johnson,

also known as the ruck. But this was the only rock on show today, along

with props and securities, ready for filming later this evening. Fighting

with my family is based on Paige's real family who are all professional

wrestlers from Norwich. Her father has been speaking to radio Norfolk.

To have a film crew in Norwich, little old Norwich, really fantastic

for the city. We are a little family from a council house in Norwich and

we are making a name for ourselves and for Norwich itself. Earlier she

put this picture out on Twitter alongside the actress playing her in

the movie. Known for its golden sands and amusement arcades, now

Great Yarmouth can add Hollywood film location to its list of

attractions. And these locals certainly approve. We are Great

Yarmouth! It is set to be a very busy night for the crew and they are

here until around 11 o'clock tonight. This movie is set to be

released sometime next year. STUDIO: Vanessa, thanks for joining us.

Now if you like a visit to the theatre to include

This could be just the thing for you.

It's based on the film La Strada which won an Oscar in 1954.

The show is set just after the 2nd World War

and is the story of a young Italian girl

It will open in the West End next month.

But right now it's at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge.

Louise Hubball joined the cast getting ready for

The high energy and dazzling lights of the circus brought to Cambridge.

In rehearsals today, the cast ensuring precision movement

and perfect timing for one of the show's complex songs.

But the production, also sparse and haunting,

the traits which won the 1954 film an Oscar.

The sadistic strongman taking centre stage.

One reviewer said ridiculously masculine.

So he represents that patriarch, the fierce man who doesn't

show his feelings and who's pretty inconsiderate to everybody.

This is a unique production with musicians on stage the whole

time, being a string quartet or jazz band, and plenty of

dance, and, of course, the all-important circus skills.

And another main character is the fool.

An extremely demanding role, the Canadian actor playing him

grew up in a circus, the son of acrobats.

My parents would train and before and after training

we would basically play at circus, you know.

Even my character for me is very close to who I am.

The play has come to Cambridge before the West End

because it is being co-produced with Cambridge Arts Theatre.

The artistic and financial support invaluable.

Theatre is a difficult industry, difficult to get things moving in,

especially if you want to take something to the West End

and are looking to get great production values.

Moving from a small workshop environment and scaling up like that

can be very difficult, so we are really very grateful

and reliant on forward-thinking and positive houses like Cambridge

Arts Theatre to get involved and make things happen.

The run here finishes on Saturday night.

The last chance to see a West End production in this intimate theatre.

Louise Hubball, BBC Look East, Cambridge.

Cloudy conditions, so you might need reminding of the sunshine from early

this morning, this fantastic picture. This photograph was taken

in Bedford, and we have at the weather front pushing cloud across

the area. Some light drizzle but generally dry, and as we go through

the evening and night, the cloud will break up, so we will be left

with clear spells, and that doesn't -- does mean it could be a bit

colder compared to last night. Some areas might get down as low as two

Celsius, bringing the risk of frost. High pressure from the South West,

that could mean we are in the sunshine, but unfortunately we have

cloud around. Expect a bright start, quite cold, but the cloud in

crouching across all parts, and a north-westerly wind, that will make

things a bit cooler at times, and with the cloud cover temperatures

probably not climbing higher than around 11-12 stop it looks as though

it will stay largely dry, if rather cloudy. Beyond that, looking to the

end of the week, the high pressure starts to get squeezed to the east

and that will mean a southerly wind. A complete switch in wind direction

and that will bring a lot of warm air by the weekend. Good news in

time for the weekend, but before then expect a lot of clout,

hopefully bright spells, maybe sunshine if you are lucky on

Thursday and Friday -- cloud. At the weekend, temperatures of around 17,

possibly higher. Lovely.