12/04/2017 Look East

Hello and welcome to the Look East late news.

the government confirms a new Thames crossing

and says it will boost the region's economy.

Developing the medicines and crops of the future,

a multi million pound grant for Norfolk's bioscience sector.

And the latest on the Easter weekend weather is coming up at the end of

the programme. Hello.

I'm Susie Fowler-Watt. The Government has confirmed

plans for a new tunnel under the River Thames

linking Essex and Kent. For 50 years

the Dartford Crossing has provided the only road

link across the Thames The new Lower Thames Crossing

will be a tunnel under the river A new road will link

the M25 in Essex The scheme is expected

to cost ?4.4 billion and create 6,000 jobs

during construction. 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 yard,

lorries were stuck for hours. The new crossing further east

is expected to take more than 12,000 We are absolutely delighted,

it is the only option that would seriously avoid the congestion

and destruction that we have on a daily basis trying

to get to and from Kent. VOICEOVER: 15 miles down

the Thames from London... Half a century ago, the first

Dartford Tunnel was built, When the Queen opened it in 1991,

it was meant to relieve congestion, Around 300 homes will be demolished,

including these in Essex, Many people in South Essex are angry

that the new link road to the tunnel will tarmac over part

of the green belt. Disastrous; it will carve

up the entire borough, That's 495,000 square

meters of green belt land The local MP supports

those who do not want I will stand with my

constituents and make sure that they are supported at every

step, whether that is moving home, whatever, we will be there to make

sure they are looked after. The hope is that the new crossing

will end congestion over the Thames. Then again, they said that about

the crossings that came before. Well, I've spoken to the Transport

Secretary Chris Grayling tonight, he tells me it will still take

the best part of a decade to build the crossing

further down the Thames, but he promises it will come

in on the ?4.5 billion budget, hope, then, for many motorists,

but there will be sadness in some STUDIO: The number of people out

of work in our region has That's a drop of 8,000

on the previous quarter. In the East, 4.3 per cent

of the workforce is unemployed. The national average

is 4.7 per cent. 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 assembled offshore. We ran an advert locally,

we had over 1500 responses. as a result of which we have

employed over 120 people. We have been able to utilise some

of the guys what were made bring through some good college

learners, and also transition

into military people. So, it's come at a good time

when there's people available 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, and the construction phase

of Galloper is creating 700 jobs. Visitors to Yarmouth are used

to looking out to the turbines of the Scroby Sands wind farm

which opened 13 years ago. It shows how much technology has

moved on when I tell you that turbines being assembled

here are three times bigger. Galloper's foundations on the sea

bed have all been installed and the power cables laid

to an offshore Crew transfer vessels are now

regularly leaving Lowestoft Green energy is changing

the region's skyline, also creating pathways to work,

for local people. A family of travellers told a judge

at the High Court today they didn't know they were breaking planning

laws when they developed a site at Hovefields

near Wickford in Essex. Basildon Council claimed that

touring caravans had been replaced by static mobile homes in breach

of a court injunction. Sentence on five travellers

was postponed until May 5th. Train services are back to normal

on the Norwich to Liverpool Street line following major disruption

earlier this evening. A man was pronounced dead

at Chelmsford station British Transport Police said

the incident was not Buses replaced trains between Witham

and Shenfield during the rush hour. The booming biosciences

sector in Norfolk with a Government

grant of ?78 million. It will help scientists

at the John Innes Centre which will be resistant

to climate change. The research also includes

using plants to improve medicines: The John Innes Centre already has

already has a global It's home to some of the world best

plant and food scientists. This latest investment will help it

retained that position and build Its neighbour is the new

food and health hub, the Quadrum Institute,

the purple building currently all working together

to improve agriculture, Instead of living in fear

of antibiotic assistance, 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. the plan is to break down

the barriers, merging the expertise

of scientists, chemists and researchers,

based here in Norwich. Growing a world leading

bioscience harbour. This is one of the key areas

the funding will help over the next five years,

as the scientists of increasing wheat yields by 60%

across the world by the year 2050. That is because of climate change

and the increase in the population. We can all use farming to address

key issues regarding how crops perform in the environment, how

crops react to changes in temperature. And in that way, meat

alternatives that face us regarding producing food crops in a

sustainable manner. The centre, which moved to Norwich 50 years ago

this year, has its future secured, it is now bidding for a

multi-million pound investment to multi-million pound investment to

modernise its facilities. The Director of the John Innes

Centre, Professor Dale Sanders, He told me this money was essential

but more was needed. This is essentially our core funding

for the next five years, that's actually less than half

the funding that we need to keep the Institute going,

and we raise the rest of the funding not only through government but also

through charities and the private I was going to ask you

about the European Union, obviously that kind of funding

is not guaranteed when we leave the EU,

how worried are you about that? But there is a deeper concern,

I think, rather than money, and it's about people,

our ability to attract people internationally,

and look as though we are open We operate on an international

stage, sending out the message that we are open for business

is very important indeed. The government has given

you this money, do you feel that they

hear that message and that they are on

the same page as you? I do feel they hear that message,

yes, speaking with not only

ministers but also MPs, and that the importance

of internationalism for UK science Today, obviously, great relief that

you have got the money, was there ever any doubt

that you would? Let's put it this way, there was no

guarantee that we would. But I think that the excellence

of the research of my colleagues at the centre is what gave us a lot

of confidence that we would get A lot of excitement about the future

and the research you are doing. Tremendous excitement

and great morale there now, Professor Sanders,

thank you very much. That's all from Look

East this evening. Coming up next,

the weather with Alex. Easter weekend is almost here and it

looks as though it will not be as warm as last weekend but we should

see some of the sunshine, we saw some sunshine today, cloud as well,

starting to clear a way, we will be left with clear skies across a lot

of the region, meaning a chilly night, compared to last night,

temperatures could be low enough for a touch of ground fast, two or three

Celsius. -- ground frost. High pressure will keep things settled,

still a cool north-westerly breeze, that will mean certainly a cooler

field to things, and although there will be a bright start the day with

good spells of sunshine, it will cloud over from the North West as we

go through the day. That will hold temperatures back, that's 12 Celsius

is the highest temperature through tomorrow. Looks as though it will

stay largely dry, bar isolated shower for the afternoon. National

weather coming up, this is the outlook:

Good Friday and rather damp as well. Brighter on Saturday but cloud again

on Sunday. Here is Tomasz. Good evening.

The weather in the run-up to Christmas...