:00:00. > :00:08.Hello and welcome to the Look East late news.
:00:09. > :00:14.the government confirms a new Thames crossing
:00:15. > :00:17.and says it will boost the region's economy.
:00:18. > :00:20.Developing the medicines and crops of the future,
:00:21. > :00:23.a multi million pound grant for Norfolk's bioscience sector.
:00:24. > :00:27.And the latest on the Easter weekend weather is coming up at the end of
:00:28. > :00:37.the programme. Hello.
:00:38. > :00:38.I'm Susie Fowler-Watt. The Government has confirmed
:00:39. > :00:42.plans for a new tunnel under the River Thames
:00:43. > :00:47.linking Essex and Kent. For 50 years
:00:48. > :00:59.the Dartford Crossing has provided the only road
:01:00. > :01:01.link across the Thames The new Lower Thames Crossing
:01:02. > :01:09.will be a tunnel under the river A new road will link
:01:10. > :01:14.the M25 in Essex The scheme is expected
:01:15. > :01:18.to cost ?4.4 billion and create 6,000 jobs
:01:19. > :01:20.during construction. Crawling to the crossing in Essex
:01:21. > :01:28.late this afternoon, moving, barely, a nightmare
:01:29. > :01:30.for businesses and commuters. When the Dartford Tunnel closed
:01:31. > :01:33.recently, tailbacks from the bridge snaked all the way to this yard,
:01:34. > :01:36.lorries were stuck for hours. The new crossing further east
:01:37. > :01:39.is expected to take more than 12,000 We are absolutely delighted,
:01:40. > :01:42.it is the only option that would seriously avoid the congestion
:01:43. > :01:44.and destruction that we have on a daily basis trying
:01:45. > :01:47.to get to and from Kent. VOICEOVER: 15 miles down
:01:48. > :01:50.the Thames from London... Half a century ago, the first
:01:51. > :01:53.Dartford Tunnel was built, When the Queen opened it in 1991,
:01:54. > :01:57.it was meant to relieve congestion, Around 300 homes will be demolished,
:01:58. > :02:04.including these in Essex, Many people in South Essex are angry
:02:05. > :02:10.that the new link road to the tunnel will tarmac over part
:02:11. > :02:14.of the green belt. Disastrous; it will carve
:02:15. > :02:16.up the entire borough, That's 495,000 square
:02:17. > :02:24.meters of green belt land The local MP supports
:02:25. > :02:28.those who do not want I will stand with my
:02:29. > :02:31.constituents and make sure that they are supported at every
:02:32. > :02:34.step, whether that is moving home, whatever, we will be there to make
:02:35. > :02:45.sure they are looked after. The hope is that the new crossing
:02:46. > :02:49.will end congestion over the Thames. Then again, they said that about
:02:50. > :02:53.the crossings that came before. Well, I've spoken to the Transport
:02:54. > :02:55.Secretary Chris Grayling tonight, he tells me it will still take
:02:56. > :02:58.the best part of a decade to build the crossing
:02:59. > :03:05.further down the Thames, but he promises it will come
:03:06. > :03:08.in on the ?4.5 billion budget, hope, then, for many motorists,
:03:09. > :03:11.but there will be sadness in some STUDIO: The number of people out
:03:12. > :03:21.of work in our region has That's a drop of 8,000
:03:22. > :03:29.on the previous quarter. In the East, 4.3 per cent
:03:30. > :03:32.of the workforce is unemployed. The national average
:03:33. > :03:34.is 4.7 per cent. The renewables sector is one
:03:35. > :03:36.of those continuing to recruit, as our business correspondent
:03:37. > :03:38.Richard Bond reports. The seafront at Great Yarmouth
:03:39. > :03:40.has seen some memorable sights over the years,
:03:41. > :03:42.but never this, an area next to the outer harbour has been
:03:43. > :03:45.transformed into a construction yard The towers are here,
:03:46. > :03:52.so too are the blades, The job of the workforce
:03:53. > :03:56.is to assemble them for shipment to the Galloper wind farm,
:03:57. > :03:58.being assembled offshore. We ran an advert locally,
:03:59. > :04:03.we had over 1500 responses. as a result of which we have
:04:04. > :04:09.employed over 120 people. We have been able to utilise some
:04:10. > :04:13.of the guys what were made bring through some good college
:04:14. > :04:16.learners, and also transition
:04:17. > :04:19.into military people. So, it's come at a good time
:04:20. > :04:22.when there's people available Galloper is a ?1.5 billion scheme 17
:04:23. > :04:28.miles off the coast of Suffolk. It's in two parts, next
:04:29. > :04:36.to the existing Greater Gabbard field, and the construction phase
:04:37. > :04:39.of Galloper is creating 700 jobs. Visitors to Yarmouth are used
:04:40. > :04:41.to looking out to the turbines of the Scroby Sands wind farm
:04:42. > :04:44.which opened 13 years ago. It shows how much technology has
:04:45. > :04:50.moved on when I tell you that turbines being assembled
:04:51. > :04:52.here are three times bigger. Galloper's foundations on the sea
:04:53. > :04:55.bed have all been installed and the power cables laid
:04:56. > :04:57.to an offshore Crew transfer vessels are now
:04:58. > :05:02.regularly leaving Lowestoft Green energy is changing
:05:03. > :05:08.the region's skyline, also creating pathways to work,
:05:09. > :05:18.for local people. A family of travellers told a judge
:05:19. > :05:21.at the High Court today they didn't know they were breaking planning
:05:22. > :05:23.laws when they developed a site at Hovefields
:05:24. > :05:26.near Wickford in Essex. Basildon Council claimed that
:05:27. > :05:28.touring caravans had been replaced by static mobile homes in breach
:05:29. > :05:31.of a court injunction. Sentence on five travellers
:05:32. > :05:37.was postponed until May 5th. Train services are back to normal
:05:38. > :05:40.on the Norwich to Liverpool Street line following major disruption
:05:41. > :05:42.earlier this evening. A man was pronounced dead
:05:43. > :05:44.at Chelmsford station British Transport Police said
:05:45. > :05:47.the incident was not Buses replaced trains between Witham
:05:48. > :05:55.and Shenfield during the rush hour. The booming biosciences
:05:56. > :05:58.sector in Norfolk with a Government
:05:59. > :06:09.grant of ?78 million. It will help scientists
:06:10. > :06:12.at the John Innes Centre which will be resistant
:06:13. > :06:15.to climate change. The research also includes
:06:16. > :06:17.using plants to improve medicines: The John Innes Centre already has
:06:18. > :06:19.already has a global It's home to some of the world best
:06:20. > :06:25.plant and food scientists. This latest investment will help it
:06:26. > :06:27.retained that position and build Its neighbour is the new
:06:28. > :06:38.food and health hub, the Quadrum Institute,
:06:39. > :06:40.the purple building currently all working together
:06:41. > :06:43.to improve agriculture, Instead of living in fear
:06:44. > :06:45.of antibiotic assistance, we can discover new antibiotics
:06:46. > :06:48.to tackle any infection. Instead of being at the mercy
:06:49. > :06:50.of climate change and pests, we can tailor crops to thrive
:06:51. > :06:52.in any environment. the plan is to break down
:06:53. > :07:02.the barriers, merging the expertise
:07:03. > :07:06.of scientists, chemists and researchers,
:07:07. > :07:08.based here in Norwich. Growing a world leading
:07:09. > :07:09.bioscience harbour. This is one of the key areas
:07:10. > :07:14.the funding will help over the next five years,
:07:15. > :07:15.as the scientists of increasing wheat yields by 60%
:07:16. > :07:19.across the world by the year 2050. That is because of climate change
:07:20. > :07:31.and the increase in the population. We can all use farming to address
:07:32. > :07:35.key issues regarding how crops perform in the environment, how
:07:36. > :07:43.crops react to changes in temperature. And in that way, meat
:07:44. > :07:45.alternatives that face us regarding producing food crops in a
:07:46. > :07:51.sustainable manner. The centre, which moved to Norwich 50 years ago
:07:52. > :07:52.this year, has its future secured, it is now bidding for a
:07:53. > :07:54.multi-million pound investment to multi-million pound investment to
:07:55. > :07:59.modernise its facilities. The Director of the John Innes
:08:00. > :08:01.Centre, Professor Dale Sanders, He told me this money was essential
:08:02. > :08:14.but more was needed. This is essentially our core funding
:08:15. > :08:16.for the next five years, that's actually less than half
:08:17. > :08:19.the funding that we need to keep the Institute going,
:08:20. > :08:22.and we raise the rest of the funding not only through government but also
:08:23. > :08:25.through charities and the private I was going to ask you
:08:26. > :08:32.about the European Union, obviously that kind of funding
:08:33. > :08:39.is not guaranteed when we leave the EU,
:08:40. > :08:42.how worried are you about that? But there is a deeper concern,
:08:43. > :08:46.I think, rather than money, and it's about people,
:08:47. > :08:47.our ability to attract people internationally,
:08:48. > :08:50.and look as though we are open We operate on an international
:08:51. > :08:53.stage, sending out the message that we are open for business
:08:54. > :08:57.is very important indeed. The government has given
:08:58. > :09:01.you this money, do you feel that they
:09:02. > :09:03.hear that message and that they are on
:09:04. > :09:08.the same page as you? I do feel they hear that message,
:09:09. > :09:10.yes, speaking with not only
:09:11. > :09:12.ministers but also MPs, and that the importance
:09:13. > :09:16.of internationalism for UK science Today, obviously, great relief that
:09:17. > :09:24.you have got the money, was there ever any doubt
:09:25. > :09:25.that you would? Let's put it this way, there was no
:09:26. > :09:28.guarantee that we would. But I think that the excellence
:09:29. > :09:31.of the research of my colleagues at the centre is what gave us a lot
:09:32. > :09:35.of confidence that we would get A lot of excitement about the future
:09:36. > :09:52.and the research you are doing. Tremendous excitement
:09:53. > :09:54.and great morale there now, Professor Sanders,
:09:55. > :09:59.thank you very much. That's all from Look
:10:00. > :10:01.East this evening. Coming up next,
:10:02. > :10:11.the weather with Alex. Easter weekend is almost here and it
:10:12. > :10:14.looks as though it will not be as warm as last weekend but we should
:10:15. > :10:18.see some of the sunshine, we saw some sunshine today, cloud as well,
:10:19. > :10:22.starting to clear a way, we will be left with clear skies across a lot
:10:23. > :10:25.of the region, meaning a chilly night, compared to last night,
:10:26. > :10:30.temperatures could be low enough for a touch of ground fast, two or three
:10:31. > :10:34.Celsius. -- ground frost. High pressure will keep things settled,
:10:35. > :10:39.still a cool north-westerly breeze, that will mean certainly a cooler
:10:40. > :10:41.field to things, and although there will be a bright start the day with
:10:42. > :10:46.good spells of sunshine, it will cloud over from the North West as we
:10:47. > :10:51.go through the day. That will hold temperatures back, that's 12 Celsius
:10:52. > :10:56.is the highest temperature through tomorrow. Looks as though it will
:10:57. > :10:58.stay largely dry, bar isolated shower for the afternoon. National
:10:59. > :11:00.weather coming up, this is the outlook:
:11:01. > :11:08.Good Friday and rather damp as well. Brighter on Saturday but cloud again
:11:09. > :11:13.on Sunday. Here is Tomasz. Good evening.
:11:14. > :11:14.The weather in the run-up to Christmas...