12/04/2017 Look East

Hello and welcome to Look East with Susie and me.

The government confirms plans for a new tunnel under the Thames.

They say it will boost the economy, but local people

These houses have been here for less than two years,

I was actually moved into a new-build home

months, I received notification that I could potentially be facing my

Travellers tell a judge they didn't realise they were breaking planning

laws when they developed their camp site.

We've been given exclusive access behind the scenes at one

of Britain's's major nuclear bases from the old Cold War.

And I've been to a major new exhibition by the

On show, some pieces of artwork that have never been seen

The region was promised an economic boost today when the government

confirmed plans for a new tunnel under the River Thames,

For 50 years the Dartford Crossing has provided the only road

link across the Thames, east of London.

The chosen option for the new Lower Thames Crossing

will be a tunnel under the river from Tilbury to Gravesend.

A new road will link the M25 near North Ockendon in Essex

The government says the scheme will cost ?4.4 billion and create

Let's go live to Simon Dedman at the Dartford Crossing.

Simon. Well, the crossing is falling well

at the moment, but do not be fooled, the surrounding roads are still a

dreadlocked and motorists from the East and holler us from our region

have been frustrated behind the real today as there has been eagerly 45

minutes from Essex crossing the Thames. After years of talk, a new

crossing is coming. Crawling to the crossing in Essex

late this afternoon. Moving, barely. A nightmare for businesses and

commuters. When the Dartford Tunnel closed recently, tailbacks from the

bridge snaked all the way to this chart. Lorries were stuck for hours.

The new crossing further east is expected to take more than 12,000

freight vehicles each day. For one local haulier and cannot come soon

enough. We are delighted, it is the only option that will see this Del

Boy the congestion and destruction that we have on a daily basis trying

and and from Kent. 15 miles down the Thames from London... Half a century

ago the first Dartford Tunnel was built followed by a bridge when the

Queen opened it in 1991. It was meant to relieve congestion but

today it is often gridlocked, hence the call for a new crossing. Well,

we now know there will be another one of these further down the

Thames, a tunnel from Kent coming up at East Tilbury and rejoining the

M25, it is designed to alleviate traffic here and on the eighth 13,

happy news for hauliers but not for some homeowners. Around 300 homes

will be demolished, including these in Essex, built just two years ago.

Many people in South XX are angry that the new link road to the tunnel

will tarmac over the green belt. -- south Essex. Disasters, it will

carve up the entire borough, 495,000 square metres of the ball land which

you cannot get back again. The local MP supports those who do not want

another crossing here. I will stand with my constituents and make sure

that they are supported at every step and whether that is if they

need to move home or whatever, we will be there to make sure that they

are looked after. The hope is that the new crossing will end congestion

over the Thames, then again, they said that about the crossing is that

came before. Well, in the last hour I have spoken

to the Transport Secretary, ironically Chris Grayling was

delayed because of the traffic but he has said it would take the best

part of the decade to build the new crossing down the Thames but has

said he expects it to within budget. Simon, thank you very much.

Train passengers have been experiencing serious delays this

evening after an incident at Chelmsford railway

British Transport Police say the main Greater Anglia line

was closed after a man was killed when he was hit by a train.

Our chief reporter Kim Riley is here.

Officers were called to the station at around 3.50pm this afternoon.

The ambulance service attended but the man hit by the train

British Transport Police say they are working to identify him

They say the incident in not currently being

Needless to say, this is causing huge problems for commuters.

Greater Anglia says it will giving out as much information as possible

to travellers affected by the disruption.

London-bound services from East Anglia are being

terminatied at Witham or Colchester and trains out of London are getting

Rail replacement buses were being arranged to serve

stations between Witham and Shenfield, and up to Braintree.

We understand First Essex Bus is accepting Greater Anglia

The disruption is likely to continue till at least 7 o'clock.

I have just been told that that will now be until eight o'clock this

evening. Thank you for that. A family of travellers have been

in the High Court today, telling a judge they didn't know

they were breaking planning laws when they developed

their site in Essex. They were giving evidence

after Basildon Council claimed that touring caravans were being replaced

by static mobile homes. Some local people are worried

the site could become What got the travellers into trouble

and anywhere this box at the High Court was this, replacing touring

caravans with bigger, static mobile homes, five or six feet longer, a

couple of feet wider and their lawyer Paul Clarke explains to the

judge why they had done it. He said that the mobile homes had toilets

and showers inside. He said of the travellers, misguided they may be,

but not Mayweather met. A traveller paid ?150,000 for the

sports at Silver Lodge, last October a court injunction was issued,

banning and -- unauthorised vehicles from the ports. Travelers ignored

that and replaced touring caravans with bigger static mobile homes.

During the hearing the lawyer for the travellers said that they had

apologised for breaching any injunction but they did not realise

they had done anything wrong. Today the judge, Mr Justice care, said a

prison sentence would be disproportionate and wrong. He said

he was going to give the five travellers who were in contempt of

court a chance to put things right. He postponed sentencing them until

the 5th of May. This is less than two miles from Dale Farm, one of the

biggest illegal traveller sites in Europe, years of legal wrangling

lead to a costly eviction. That is why this is so significant,

Councillor Phil Turner, the leading of Basildon borough Council, has

gone on record saying he was worried that this area could become a second

Dale Farm, but I spoke to one of the travellers today and he assured me

there was no way that all fields could have become a second Dale

Farm, he said Dale Farm had got out of control with families converging

there from all over the country. He said it is just one family on this

there is there and there is no plan for other families to arrive.

Basildon Borough Council will be hoping that what has been happening

here sent out a strong message that planning decisions will be enforced.

Gareth George, BBC Look East, at the High Court.

The number of people out of work in our region has fallen to 137,000.

That's a drop of 8,000 on the previous quarter.

In the East, 4.3% of the workforce is unemployed.

The renewables sector is one of those continuing to recruit,

as our business correspondent Richard Bond reports.

The seafront at Great Yarmouth has seen some memorable

sights over the years, but never this - an area next

to the outer harbour has been transformed into a construction yard

The towers are here, so too are the blades,

The job of the workforce is to assemble them for shipment

to the Galloper wind farm, being constructed offshore.

We ran an advert locally, we had over 1500 responses to the advert,

interviewed 250 people, as a result of which we have

We have been able to utilise some of the guys who were made redundant

in oil and gas and bring through some good college learners,

and also transition into military people, so it has come at a good

time when there are people available in the market with the right skills.

Galloper is a ?1.5 billion scheme 17 miles off the coast of Suffolk.

It's in two parts next to the existing Greater Gabbard field.

The construction phase of Galloper is creating 700 jobs.

Visitors to Yarmouth are used to looking out to the turbines

of the Scroby Sands windfarm, which opened 13 years ago.

It shows how much technology has moved on when I tell

you that the turbines being assembled here

Galloper's foundations on the sea bed have all been installed

and power cables laid to an onshore substation at Sizewell.

Crew transfer vessels are now regularly leaving Lowestoft

The renewables industry now allows offshore services

companies like 3sun to employ hundreds of people.

We started off in oil and gas, we are now 90% renewable,

so we have transitioned well into the renewables sector

and renewables, I think, is the industry to be

Green energy is changing the region's skyline.

It is also creating pathways to work for local people.

Richard Bond, BBC Look East, Great Yarmouth.

The booming biosciences sector in Norfolk has

with a Government grant of ?78 million.

which will be resistant to climate change.

The research also includes using plants to improve medicines.

The John Innes Centre already has a global reputation for excellence.

It is home to some of the world's best plant and food scientists.

This latest investment will help retain their position and build

It really helps us develop our research and maintain

and develop our position globally, I think.

But at the same time, besides the basic research

and discoveries that we will be able to make with this money,

we very much hope that the products of what we do will contribute

And if you had not got this money, what would have happened?

There would have been job losses, I think.

The John Innes Centre is at the heart of the Norwich Research Park.

Its neighbour is the new food and health hub,

the Quadram Institute - the purple building currently

under construction - all working together to improve

Instead of living in fear of antibiotic resistance,

we can discover new antibiotics to tackle any infection.

Instead of being at the mercy of climate change and pests,

we can tailor crops to thrive in any environment.

And as this promotional video shows, the plan is to break down

the barriers merging the expertise of scientists, chemists and

Growing a world-leading bioscience hub...

This is one of the key areas the funding will help over the next

five years as scientists rise to the challenge of increasing

our wheat yields by 60% across the world by the year 2050,

and that is because of climate change and the increase

We can all use the funding we have received to address key issues

regarding how crops perform in the environment, how

crops react to changes in temperature, for instance.

And in that way, meet the challenges that are facing us regarding food

security and producing food crops in a sustainable manner.

The centre, which moved to Norwich 50 years ago this year,

It is now bidding for a multi-million pound investment

Debbie Tubby, BBC Look East, Norfolk.

You're watching Look East, with Susie and me.

A rare glimpse inside a Cold War nuclear shelter.

Alex looks ahead to the Easter weekend weather.

And a new exhibition celebrating the artistic genius

the American Secretary of State has been in Moscow

for talks with the Russians about the tension in the Middle East.

It will bring back memories for lots of us

about the friction between the two super powers

American airbases here were very much focused

Today, we were given a rare opportunity to look

round an old nuclear bomb shelter at RAF Alconbury

A structure designed withstand atomic attack.

And there are 1094 to film the last aircraft leave for good. And like

the spy planes which operated here, the American base itself is shrouded

in secrecy. 23 years on we have been given an opportunity to unlock some

of the mysteries about exactly what went on there. It is almost deserted

now but during its Aidy this last 11,000 acre base was home to almost

2000 personnel. Where I am standing right now on top of this hardened

concrete bunker, they used to store nuclear missiles. As well as

component parts for nuclear bombs, it was home to the U2 or Dragon lady

from 1982. It was a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft whose

primary mission was to spy on the soviet Union. As Cold War tensions

escalated, so that investment in the base, ?70 million avionic building

the jewel in the Crown. The spy footage was placed in a truck, then

driven into here, as was the pilot. Essentially, the talks would drive

right up here and from their unknown straightaway. The pilots would go

into this room first, dropped their initial kit and take their helmets.

The series was so strategically important that even in the event of

a nuclear attack here, all pilots flying through, business had to go

on. The pilots would come in here, take a shower and fly again. If you

come down here, you can see some of the kit that kept the area safe and

they power going during the event of a nuclear bomb. Why was this base

not in the public eye as much as C, others? It was to do with the

connections and where the storage happened on the site, that meant it

was more discreet, less visible. New development is very much the focus

here but the structures of the past hold their own, unique importance as

well. The list of buildings and the stories that the kelp are crucial

part of that future, so whilst we have houses being built and

residents moving in and businesses, we are developing a plan to open up

some of this history and be able to tell the story of the Cold War as it

continued in this area. Joseph Hall, BBC Look East.

Just some news, we spoke about the secretary of state being in Russia,

the Russian Foreign Secretary has said that talks with his American

counterpart Rex Tillerson have been frank and fear and they have managed

to cover issues relevant to both sides. Now time for the sport.

The Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy

has told the BBC he won't walk away from his job.

The club is looking at its worst finish in the Championship

since he joined just over 4 years ago.

But he says he has no intention of standing down.

No, because I enjoy my job. All the suggestions that I am ruling the

cob, what a load of nonsense. I have had to the top ten finishes. The one

time I have a bad season, people have turned their backs on the

widget is a prize and is disappointing. I am not walking away

from it, I have my contract left to run and unless something else is

done, I am not walking away. I will be here and planning for next

season. I am looking forward to it. I am looking to get enough points to

stay in this league, go and have a break and come back with lots of

them and vigour. When he took over they were in

trouble. He has a point. Yes, they were bottom of the championship, he

has had the top ten finishes but the problem this season is that he has

not spent any money, computer Norwich City which has had a

parachute payments from the Premier League. They were still outside the

top six and they will finish there. That is where the real problem has

been and the fans are not happy. Do you get the sense it might not be

his decision. In most cases it is really the manager that walks. It is

all was the top brass that ends up firing someone. Those jeers that

have been coming in the background, he might put his fingers in his ears

but if the chairman is bustling, you do not know what might happen in the

summer. Thank you very much.

Next week, the squad for the Lions tour of New Zealand is announced.

A handful of Northampton Saints are expected to be included

but surprisingly, Dylan Hartley is not guaranteed a place.

There is one game left to make an impression.

Northampton play the defending champions Saracens at Stadium MK.

Dylan Hartley, the player used to the limelight whose career is often

caught on camera. Before the shoot today was in his club colours ahead

of the huge game for Rockhampton against Saracens at the Stadium MK.

Will he be doing something similar for the British and Irish Lions in

seven days' time? To be selected would be a great honour. I have

grievously been selected so it is a great honour but to tour, that would

be a great experience as well. I am not counting my chickens, I want to

build myself up. I am taking it as it comes. I am happy where I am at

the moment. There are three positions at hooker up for grabs and

format in contention and yet, this 66 Nations winning captain might not

make the trip. He has only lasted 50 minutes in Test matches for England

and Warren Gatland will look for a player capable of playing longer. In

2013, he was called up for the tour against Australia for the Lions. But

a colourful backchat Aire River beat put paid to that. His ill discipline

cost them a place in the World Cup. But there's the disappointment of

four years ago still linger? I missed out in 2013 with the Lions

and it does not motivate me to get up every morning but I know what

Warren Gatland once, I know what Eddie Jones warns of me and he makes

it pretty clear. For now, Hartley must help the scenes finds and

steel, they badly need a win against the premiership champions on Sunday.

The top teams at the moment are the teams with the momentum and leave

with the points. We have not been the best at doing that. This not

completely done for us, there is a character there for us. Three games

left for scenes to rescue their season, just one for Hartley. In one

week's time he will know that he has the north of the Lions or not. James

Burridge, BBC Look East, Northampton.

The former home and studios of the sculptor Henry Moore re-opens

with a special exhibition charting his rise as an artist.

His iconic work is showcased in seventy acres of

and will include works which have never been on display before.

It opens on Good Friday and Katherine Nash has been to see it.

Pieces of artwork rarely placed on display by one of Britain's

Born in 1898, Henry Moore's new exhibition at his studios

in Hertfordshire charts his coming-of-age as an artist

Sebastiano Barassi is the curator here.

He has been working on this exhibition for years,

sourcing artwork, not only from across the country,

Well, this is a small piece from circa 1922, 1924,

when Henry Moore was a student in London at the Royal

So this is a plasticine maquette which he made on the subject

I understand that this has never been seen by the public

The reason is because these pieces are quite experimental,

they are ideas in development rather than finished work, and therefore

they do not necessarily have that wide appeal and they do not

necessarily look like the work of Moore.

There are five studios here at the foundation

in Hertfordshire, this one is called the Maquette Studio,

which means model in French, and this is where Henry Moore

created models of the sculptures before working on the real thing.

This latest exhibition coincides with the opening of a new visitor

centre and the 40th anniversary of the Henry Moore Foundation.

Well aware of financial struggles, he set up the trust to give grants

This is a very special time for the foundation,

it is our 40th birthday and we have just invested in new facilities

We have built a fabulous new visitor centre, we have developed an amazing

archive to store all of Moore's papers, letters and photographs,

and what better than to go back to Henry Moore's early career

and look at the way that he became the great artist

Becoming Henry Moore opens to the public on Good Friday

An opportunity to catch a glimpse of artwork never seen before by such

Katherine Nash, BBC Look East, McAdam.

Some of it is stunning, isn't it? The temperatures at the weekend seem

longer we now! Yes, it will be cooler for the

Easter weekend. But there should be quite a lot of dry weather around,

that is the good news but did not expected to be as warm as last

weekend. Photographs from across the region today. There has not been a

lot of cloud but there has been sunshine and some of these

photographs more sunshine and cloud, such as in Suffolk. More sunshine in

Essex. This is the satellite picture, quite a ride cold front

introducing cooler area but also putting a lot of cloud across the

region. As it clears to the South East, it is starting to Brighton, so

you could see some sunshine before the end of the day. Some light and

patchy rain as well. The chance of a splash of rain for parts of the

region. During the night, increasing Keir Starmer is right across and

that will mean a colder night and last night. There is the risk of

some ground frost as temperatures in some areas could fall to as low as

two, three degrees. Those places could get colder than that. We start

the day tomorrow on a chilly note. The pressure Parton is showing

predominantly High pressure, still a cool, North-Westerly breeze. That

should ease through the day. Lots of sunshine for the morning. As they go

through the day, the card will tend to increase from the North West, it

will cloud over and there is the chance of a light shower somewhere.

Foremost, it was the guy throughout the day. Cooler under the cloud,

perhaps 11, 12 degrees, if there is any brightness through the morning,

it might lift the temperatures higher, but it looks dry for the

bulk of the day but patchy rain. That means a little bit of a damp

start to the weekend to Good Friday certainly. This is the Easter

weekend pressure Parton, you can see High pressure is the predominant

feature. Some weather features are floating around and that could bring

us some rain at times. The main message is that it will be largely

dry with some good spells of sunshine. Having said that, Friday

could be a little bit cloudy with some rain to clear first thing,

brightening up through the day, Saturday and Sunday look as though

they could be cooled diesel of sunshine but a cool breeze from the

North West. The chance of one or two showers but for most places it

should stay dry. Thank you for that, Alex.

Wrap up warm! That is it, see you tomorrow. Good night.

'The UK has voted to leave the European Union by 52% to 48.