:00:12. > :00:13.First tonight, another boost to this region's infrastructure,
:00:14. > :00:16.as more money is announced for Northamptonshire's roads.
:00:17. > :00:21.?3.3 million will fund the widening of the A5 in the south
:00:22. > :00:24.It comes after yesterday's announcement of a share
:00:25. > :00:26.of ?59 million to fuel economic growth.
:00:27. > :00:28.And campaigners in the north of the county are cautiously hopeful
:00:29. > :00:30.that a new bypass may now be completed, after
:00:31. > :00:41.Stuart Ratcliffe is in Isham and joins us now.
:00:42. > :00:50.The strength of feeling in the village is clear.
:00:51. > :00:52.Because it links to all Northamptonshire's biggest towns,
:00:53. > :00:56.There has been a campaign for 50 years to get a bypass, but now,
:00:57. > :01:01.The strength of feeling in this village is clear for all to see.
:01:02. > :01:04.Residents here say that this village has been blighted for far too long
:01:05. > :01:07.and the time has now come for a bypass.
:01:08. > :01:09.As part of that battle, Graham has been one of the
:01:10. > :01:11.campaigners who has recorded the traffic levels here.
:01:12. > :01:14.He has no doubt about the impact this road has on village life.
:01:15. > :01:15.Sleep deprivation, just unpleasantness.
:01:16. > :01:19.Trying to get across this road is difficult.
:01:20. > :01:21.Trying to get out of the side roads is very difficult.
:01:22. > :01:24.Unless people actually stop, you just sit there for ages
:01:25. > :01:27.Today's announcement does not necessarily give the Isham
:01:28. > :01:30.It has already been offered ?15 million.
:01:31. > :01:32.Today's announcement is a further ?10 million.
:01:33. > :01:34.The construction cost is estimated to be at least
:01:35. > :01:37.?38 million, so there is still a ?13 million shortfall and it is not
:01:38. > :01:39.entirely clear where that extra money will come from.
:01:40. > :01:42.Northants County Council is confident that the shortfall can
:01:43. > :01:44.Today's announcement does not necessarily give the Isham
:01:45. > :01:46.It has already been offered ?15 million.
:01:47. > :01:48.Today's announcement is a further ?10 million.
:01:49. > :01:50.The construction cost is estimated to be at least
:01:51. > :01:54.?38 million, so there is still a ?13 million shortfall and it is not
:01:55. > :01:56.entirely clear where that extra money will come from.
:01:57. > :01:58.Northants County Council is confident that the shortfall can
:01:59. > :02:01.The county also received more good news today, with ?3.3 million
:02:02. > :02:04.being put towards a scheme to widen the notorious bottleneck on the A5.
:02:05. > :02:07.This area need some investment, especially where we allow
:02:08. > :02:10.Northamptonshire, as probably people know, we are lobbying
:02:11. > :02:12.to get more money for transport and things like that.
:02:13. > :02:15.That will come later on, but as far as I am concerned, yes,
:02:16. > :02:19.There has been a spate of infrastructure announcements
:02:20. > :02:21.Money was promised to develop plans for Northampton's
:02:22. > :02:25.Some have called on the government to deliver more cash for more
:02:26. > :02:28.In times of austerity, wriggle room is limited
:02:29. > :02:31.and the government says that these smaller schemes have the potential
:02:32. > :02:47.Next tonight, 500 new council homes for Cambridge to be built over
:02:48. > :02:49.five years, using money from the devolution deal between
:02:50. > :02:52.In 1980, there were 14,500 council houses in Cambridge,
:02:53. > :02:54.but that number has fallen to 7,000 this year.
:02:55. > :02:56.There are still around 2,000 people waiting
:02:57. > :03:00.And many more needing affordable housing, as Mike Cartwright reports.
:03:01. > :03:02.Cambridge, where homes are being built everywhere, but money
:03:03. > :03:06.These flats - just finished - the last social housing
:03:07. > :03:14.Now, ?70 million from the government means money to build more.
:03:15. > :03:17.Part of the deal for choosing to have a Mayor.
:03:18. > :03:20.There was going to be no more building, until we got the ?70
:03:21. > :03:25.That enables us, then, to use our right to buy
:03:26. > :03:27.receipts that we have, some ?20 million over that same
:03:28. > :03:30.period, which effectively gives us ?90 million with which to build new,
:03:31. > :03:46.much-needed council housing in Cambridge.
:03:47. > :03:49.Flats here in Trumpington will be demolished and the funds will pay
:03:50. > :03:51.for more than 50 new council houses to be built here.
:03:52. > :03:54.These will be among 500 going up around the city,
:03:55. > :03:56.but with 2,000 families on the waiting list,
:03:57. > :04:00.There is a desperate need for housing within the city
:04:01. > :04:09.and the greater region and I believe that, actually,
:04:10. > :04:12.It is not in the hundreds, it is in the thousands.
:04:13. > :04:14.Academics say councillors have moved quickly to benefit from devolution.
:04:15. > :04:17.Well, it is a real bold step and an early step.
:04:18. > :04:20.There is a housing strategy launched in the UK and Cambridge
:04:21. > :04:23.City Council has taken a very early step, a leading step in providing
:04:24. > :04:27.So, this is really good news for the residents of Cambridge.
:04:28. > :04:29.New homes that, for a while, will ease pressure,
:04:30. > :04:37.And in two months' time, Cambridgeshire's first
:04:38. > :04:41.Whoever wins, a range of new powers will lie in the hands
:04:42. > :04:45.It may well be brand new for us, but elsewhere in Europe,
:04:46. > :04:48.it is a form of local government that has been in place for decades.
:04:49. > :04:51.Our political reporter Tom Barton has been to Cambridge's twin city,
:04:52. > :04:54.Heidelberg in Germany, to find out about the powers and the limits
:04:55. > :04:58.Home to an ancient university and visited by millions
:04:59. > :05:01.of tourists each year. One of Europe's scientific centres.
:05:02. > :05:04.It is easy to see why Heidelberg and Cambridge are twin cities.
:05:05. > :05:05.For now, though, there is one big difference.
:05:06. > :05:08.Key local decisions affecting the city and its surrounding area
:05:09. > :05:15.are taken by a directly-elected mayor.
:05:16. > :05:19.It is a very powerful position and, by having such a position,
:05:20. > :05:24.you really can change the city in this or in this direction.
:05:25. > :05:27.If you want an idea of the sorts of things an elected mayor can
:05:28. > :05:33.It is a brand-new district of new homes and high-tech office -
:05:34. > :05:41.space that is being built on derelict railway land.
:05:42. > :05:43.But there are also limits to what Heidelberg's mayor can achieve.
:05:44. > :05:45.The current mayor wanted to build an extension
:05:46. > :05:48.But local people objected, held a referendum and forced
:05:49. > :06:03.While the idea of an elected mayor might be new to Cambridge,
:06:04. > :06:06.it is a common form of local government elsewhere in Europe.
:06:07. > :06:08.And that means that whoever wins May's election,
:06:09. > :06:10.there is lots to be learned from the experience
:06:11. > :06:14.And you can see more on that on the Sunday Politics this
:06:15. > :06:33.expansion of the Milton Keynes expansion of the Milton Keynes
:06:34. > :06:38.Museum Wisley today. The ambitious project will lead to two new
:06:39. > :06:41.galleries, telling the story of the area from prehistoric times, right
:06:42. > :06:59.up to the present day. Good evening. Any missed or fall
:07:00. > :07:05.should clear first thing in the morning. That should help break up
:07:06. > :07:12.the cloud. We should see some decent spills of sunshine. High
:07:13. > :07:16.temperatures of 14-15dC. But on Sunday, more cloud, oh breaks of
:07:17. > :07:22.rain moving to the east and some of that could be the heavy side. The
:07:23. > :07:27.National forecast coming up. He is the outlook. I pressure returning on
:07:28. > :07:30.Monday and Tuesday, so they should both be dry and break, with some
:07:31. > :07:44.sunny spells. Where the sunshine broke through to
:07:45. > :07:47.the North of Cornwall temperatures rose to 17 degrees under the blue
:07:48. > :07:52.skies. For many of us the cloud didn't break up through the day,
:07:53. > :07:57.keeping temperatures pegged at around about 13 degrees. That was
:07:58. > :08:00.the high today in the London region. Mild over night with the blanket of
:08:01. > :08:01.cloud around. Most places