11/05/2017 Look East (West)

Hello. Welcome to the programme tonight.

15 years on, the first residents move in to

Northstowe in Cambridgeshire, so will housing play

It's very tough, saving for a deposit is the hardest thing about

it. Seconds after this photo her balloon

hit electric wires, now Rebecca meets the medic

who saved her life. I Joshua Roddy electricity going

through my body and thinking that I'm just going to die. It was just

A new junction for the M1, what difference will it make

And we get a preview of what to expect with the sights

First tonight, more than 15 years after plans

originally went on display, the first residents

are moving into Northstowe - the new township being build

When it's finished, it will have ten thousand homes and was a big

factor in the construction of the guided bus-way.

Plans for dealing with the housing crisis are set to play a significant

part in the general election and we'll look at the scale

But first Anna Todd has been to meet one of the new householders

This is Sebastien's new house in the new town of Northstowe.

He couldn't afford Cambridge or anywhere nearby,

When we came here for the first time, it was just a flat

piece of land with a few machines digging holes in the ground.

Then after five months, they built a home.

We came here few times and we could see the house rise from there.

Today marked the launch of the very first homes on the old

Plans for the new settlement were first mooted back in 1998.

Of course, there have been some tricky moments,

The economy has not been as friendly as it might have

been and we had the A14 in and out of the programme.

All these things have been sent to try us, but

those of us who have been in it for the duration, we've held onto

the dream and the reality is all around us.

Hunting through the BBC archives, it was

back in the summer of 2003 that the name Northstowe was agreed.

Back then, the plan was to have 6000 homes built by 2016.

As you can see, it's only now that the first

Were the developers waiting for land prices

We've always tried to proceed with the development of

Northstowe and the sale of land as quickly as we possibly can.

It's in no-one's interest to hold onto

the land and to keep those costs of servicing that land.

It's in no-one's interest to do that at all.

Of the 10,000 homes, 40% will be affordable.

With many people priced out of nearby towns,

We have been really surprised that most of it has come

These are really houses for local people.

The fact that the bus-way already exists

and you can get straight into the centre of town

and to Cambridge North Station as well.

That has been a key factor for people's accessibility.

But also the way out for facilities Northstowe will offer.

Sebastien knows we will be living with the builders for

decades to come, but this afternoon, a collective sigh of relief.

Northstowe is finally a real place to live.

So, what are the challenges for the housing market

Our political reporter Mousumi Bakshi has been

Well, it's no surprise that the houseprice slowdown in some

areas of the region has had little impact on the housing market.

Last year, across the East, more than 21,000

so there was a still a shortfall of around 8500 homes.

The lack of available land to build on.

One of my asks from the next Government would be to help with the

land availability and they can do that in a number of ways.

Firstly, by actually creating some flexibility

So, there are sometimes some regeneration sites that need

cleaning up before they can be built on.

Sometimes land needs to be assembled in a way that makes a site

Then there needs to be some investment in infrastructure.

So how has a lack of supply affected house prices?

Well over the past year, prices have gone up by 3%

in Cambridge, 17% in Bedford and 19% in Milton Keynes.

The highest change was seen in Luton where average house prices have

Tough conditions for first time buyers.

My budget, I'm looking at somewhere between ?200,000 to ?258,000.

I don't really want to go that high, so maybe ?230,000

Saving for a deposit is the hardest thing about it and then going

Because they ask you every question and it is very difficult to justify

To what you're spending, and things like that.

So with house prices still going up, what about so-called

Well, according to the Hundred Houses Society in Cambridge,

220,000 low-cost homes need to be built every year in England.

But last year, 40,000 were built which suggests

political parties will have to make ambitious election pledges

And if there's a burning issue for you in this election,

Get in touch by phone, by email and tweet us

A teenager has been found guilty of stabbing a police dog and his

PC Dave Wardell and his German shepherd Finn

were attacked on duty in Stevenage in October.

Both have since made a full recovery.

A 16-year-old boy from London, who can't be named for legal

reasons, was found guilty of actual bodily harm and criminal damage.

A woman who suffered horrific injuries when the hot air

balloon she was in crashed in Northamptonshire

has had an emotional reunion with the paramedic

The balloon hit power lines and burst into flames.

Today, Rebecca Fry spoke publicly for the first

time about the accident, to the BBC's Louise Hubball.

Captured on camera, the moment a hot air balloon hit power lines

Burst into flames and crashed to the ground.

Just moments before, she had taken this selfie.

After the balloon hit the electric cables, she

Severe burns to her face and legs,

I just remember the electricity only through my body and

thinking that I was just going to die.

It had all my muscles tense and it made me clench my teeth, so I

was screaming through a clenched jaw.

I just remember holding on, just hoping it was just going to go

The last time I saw you, you were wrapped up and we were

Today, she was reunited with the doctor who saved her.

Rupert Hurrie is an A doctor but also volunteers with MagPass,

the air ambulance service called to the emergency.

At the crash scene, he rapidly had to assess.

Three, potential electrocution as well.

Yeah, it doesn't take a medical person to consider what

What has it been like seeing Becky today?

I'm just really happy, because I don't often get

to see my patients once I've treated them, but she looks

I'm glad to see here, walking, talking,

after the accident which helped her focus during her recovery.

I have a really strong memory of Brett

sitting next to my bed, rubbing cream on my hand while I had my eyes

closed, trying to get through the pain.

He said, "Come on, you need to get this hand healed so you can

When I recovered, I was like, "Come on, then, Brett.

Rebecca still thinks about the accident every day.

Her wedding planned for next autumn, so

the sun won't be too strong on her burns on honeymoon.

And thankful to the doctor who made that possible.

Louise Hubball, BBC Look East, Cambridge.

Well, cold callers all the bane of a lot of people's lives.

A marketing company - based in Dunstable -

which made nearly 100 million nuisance calls has been fined

a record ?400,000 by the Information

Keurboom Communications made automated calls

to people encouraging them to make insurance claims.

The call, the click on your line and then the recorded

Today, Keurboom Communications was fined ?400,000

1000 people complained. One said... Knees called the shops mineworker,

cause necessary, unnecessary anxiety and make me very angry. One said it

was a stalking complaint and they were harassed by their ex-partner

right calls and text messages, so unsolicited calls cause anxiety.

They said companies can only call with permission. Keurboom

Communications did not want maybe Colvin LA. It has now gone bust and

a not pay the fine. It seems the action on cold callers would be a

popular move. It is rude to call people are in the middle of the day

when they are in the middle of something and persist to keep on

your phone. I find rude. I would never do it to someone else. It's

not OK. As soon as I put it down, say no, take me off, I want to be

all, they will phone back. The industry itself welcomes tighter

regulation. Jimenez, it may have well be in a bad place and people do

not trust calls. -- at the moment. If we can get rid of nuisance calls,

it would re-establish itself for sure. But something finds are not

enough and only leave their democratic present company bosses

built with the stock to nuisance calls. -- the threat of prison to

the company bosses will put a stop to it.

So how can people protect themselves against cold callers like Keurboom?

Andy Curry from the Information Commissioner's Office

First of all, by being careful about where you give your information

about. I know it is a chore but check the small print. APC able that

says, are you happy for us to share information with unnamed third

party? Do not take that. Complain. That is how we can take the action

we have taken to day. -- do not tick it. Some people use coal blockers.

Find them very effective as dot-mac. -- call blockers. It is complex to

find solutions. But in the case of Keurboom Communications, people were

doing all of these but still getting calls. The director was sourcing

information from all sorts of places, including people who had

ticked those boxes. He operated in a very indiscriminate way. Keurboom I

understand has gone bust so well you get the fine? We don't take these

likely. When we issue a fine, we expected to be paid. Liquidation

should not make any change there. We will pursue it really caught, look

into specialist recovery agents. We expected to be paid. Can you pursue

the bosses at the moment? Now. The element is proposing... The Alaska

governor proposed to change the law to extend our powers to fine

directors up to ?500,000 each. That is got cross-party support. -- alas

Government. Would you like to see more regulation? There is a proposal

in the now digital economy act. That is to make a code of practice on a

statutory basis that all direct marketing companies will do follow.

That is what we will take forward next year. Are other companies doing

the same kind of thing as Keurboom? If so, how do you catch them? This

case was the worst one we have ever seen. We do have other

investigations into other companies, not just ones that have done the

wrong thing and not paid much attention, but real rogue operators.

We are taking those forward. You can expect to see more finds from the

ICO in the future. -- more fines. You're watching Look

East from the BBC. Coming up: Alex is looking

ahead at the weather All the colour of the carnival -

we get a preview of Luton's biggest But before all that and as you may

have seen on the national news... The big election story of the day

has been the leaking We've already heard about its plans

to scrap tuition fees and But it also talks about doing more

to help the regions - especially when it comes

to communications Our political correspondent

Andrew Sinclair reports. This is only a leak, the plans may

yet change but Labour looks to have big plans for the election. The

draft manifesto claims Conservatives have taken broad communities for

granted, with chronic underinvestment in transport and

public services. It said labour will borrow to fund infrastructure and

transport will be a priority. And it endorses the plans to improve rail

links. Superfast broadband will be available everywhere within five

years. And there is a problem dot-mac promise of -- promise of an

inner dropped phone lines. Labour says they will give money to every

part of the region. -- an interrupted. And points to the east

coast rail line that rationalisation can work, but only when existing

franchises come to an end. More from Andrew now.

So, Andrew how will Labour's plans go down in this region?

Well, there are some policies in year which will go down very well in

our part of the world. Rail new renationalisation is always an issue

which does get many commuters excited. Labour also promising to

keep the ban on fox hunting, which will please some people. It also

said it will change the law to stop banks and post offices to close

branches. It is also promising the scientific community that they will

ensure they still remain part of the important European research

programmes but the trouble with that last point is that it all depends

how the Brexit negotiations go. The problem at all these proposals is

there are no costings with any of this, so it's very hard to know how

much money exactly is on offer and how these proposals will work.

And the deadline has passed for anyone who wants

Yes, if you wanted to do so, too late, you missed your chance. We

know Labour and the Conservatives are standing every seat in the

region. The Greens are standing in almost every seat with one or two

exceptions in Cambridgeshire. Ukip have not given us a full list yet.

They are not standing in the woods in north because they want to back

Kelvin Hopkins, which we spoke about last night. There are if few other

seats that they are not standing in, not for any particular reason, but

more because they don't have the money to run a particular campaign.

Thank you. The long-awaited Dunstable bypass

opened to traffic this morning, It links the A5 to the M1, north

of the Bedfordshire town. The ?160 million project,

also includes the new junction Mike Cartwright has

been to find out. Nearly three miles long, three year

is and ?160 million in the making. A new bypass joining a new motorway

junction. We will be able to take heavy goods vehicles out of

Dunstable and the villages surrounding us. That'll make a huge

difference to the quality of life for those residents and of course

the air quality on those high Street as well. Taking traffic away from

the town. In Dunstable, fewer cars and eventually melt rocks. -- no

trucks. Drugs are coming through today but that will stop.

Numberplate recognition will be used. We will only see then a there

has been a closure or they are delivering. Road networks made to

stop the traffic bottleneck hair. I came a week, it was full. There were

loads of lorries. I could not see any to day. Yeah, glad to have it

open at last. I tried it. What did you think? Good, quick. Yellow mac I

will just straighten it and trim it up for you. The hairdressers hope it

will tempt more customers into the town. Hopefully they can get in and

out without being stuck in traffic for ages. We always have customers

telling us they will be late because they are stuck in traffic, it will

be five or ten minutes. It is never five or ten minutes. Hopefully they

can getting quicker. First spoken about 60 years ago, now open for

business. J's new bypass. -- Bedfordshire.

It's just about the most colourful and loud event

in the region's calendar - every year Luton comes

alive with the sights and sounds of the carnival.

It's taking place on the Sunday of the late May bank holiday

weekend, and today we were given a taster of what might

I spoke to Clary Salandy, artistic director, and asked her

Well, the highlight of this carnival is a fantastic array, full of

fabulous costumes. Special float designs. -- parade. We have artists

coming in from Germany coming UK artists who will be performing. We

have a large range of the dissidents who have been working so hard to

make absolutely fantastic costumes. -- large range of participants. Why

is this so popular? It is for everyone. It is a beautiful cultural

experience. Children have fun, there was lots to see. There are huge

design, costumes are magnificent. It is a great family day out and

everyone wants to be there. No one wants to miss the carnival. To

people outside of the area come deservedly for the event? Yes, we

get a lot of visitors from both sides. Going east, west, north,

south coming to the carnival. What of local people as well, as well as

people outside and from Europe because we have links with Denmark

and Nice. Visitors as well. Is it good for the economy, putting the

region on the map? Lutein is now known as one of the creative centres

in the UK. -- Luton. The carnival is part of that. Young people can be

creative. Not just creating, being very good at what they do. The

standard is very high. It will only be getting better. Our focus is on

creating the best quality with young people developing their artistic

talent. Last year, it was marred at the end with some violence. Police

in stab vests. Partygoers then want to see that, they want to feel safe.

Are you improving safety this year? That is not quite a right way of

describing what happened. The carnival finished at 6pm and the

issue that happens at the town centre was at 8pm, had nothing to do

with the carnival whatsoever, but we worked very closely with the police

and we have a very strong health and safety company involved. We are very

much looking... Making sure the carnival is safe. It was safe last

year and will be saved their share. Looting is bidding to be the UK's's

city of culture 2025. -- Luton. How big and offering is the carnival in

Luton? Lewis Daynes having a hair is not an accident. Luton is an access

to Europe. -- Luton having it here is not an accident. It is synonymous

with the identity of looting. We are generating a carnival that is

reflective. -- Luton. Reflective of all the different places in the

world, so we can see that we want to world, so we can see that we want to

go to Luton carnival because there is something for everyone.

Finally - take a look at these pictures -

Greengrocer Penny Benedict has opened a stall at

Kettering General Hospital selling fruit and vegetables.

The hospital's allowing her to operate rent-free

She's there Monday to Friday between ten and four.

Weather time now - and it's been a fairly

Let's see what the rest of the week has in store - here's Alex.

Hello. A chilly start to the game is some places below freezing but would

cover the the afternoon. Many places up to 19-20dC. We are continuing to

import some warm and humid air from the south, so we continue to see

those warm temperatures and blue skies for two days. Lovely photo

here on the sand dunes in Norfolk. First thing this morning in

Northamptonshire. This warm air is moving up from the south, southerly

winds and also bringing with it some slightly unstable air. The chance on

some heavy, possibly thundery downpours as they go through the

evening and overnight. Not for all areas, but there will be some

potential for flashes of lightning as they go into the early hours of

tomorrow morning. It'll be much much milder than last night as well. We

can see temperatures recorded as low as 8-9dC. We start the day tomorrow

with this weather system gradually clearing to the north. This area of

low pressure continuing to feel quite humid and muddy through the

day. The chances of further outbreaks of rain in the morning. --

muggy. Possibly some sunshine, some scattered showers and these could

potentially be quite heavy in places. Temperature wise, likely to

get similar temperatures to today. Perhaps anywhere between 18-20dC.

When rationing from the south during the course of the day. By the

afternoon, they shall as begin to be more isolated. Into the weekend,

slightly fresher appeal for things that this weather system pushes

through that day night into Sunday. Likely to be some showers around on

the weekend. While it does look a bit fresh air and we have that

humidity, temperatures will climb to around 19 Celsius. We have that rain

clearing thirsting for Friday, brightest skies and showers. Be

aware of the potential for some of these to be quite heavy, possibly

thundery. Then in two weekend, looking largely dry of the day on

Saturday but the gentle and isolated shower, some rainfall moving through

a light into Sunday, clearing into Sunday. Potentially a cloudy start

Sunday but the chance of some scattered showers developing through

the afternoon. A bit cooler as he thought the region next week with

height of just 16 Celsius. Not a bad outlook. There will be possibly some

rain but also some sunshine, too. And that's how the news and weather

are looking here this evening. Until then, enjoy your

evening, and goodbye.