22/12/2011 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

Good evening. The headlines: Scrapping the charges, traders say

free parking has led to the best Christmas in a decade.

A I have been here 10 years. It is the busiest Christmas I have ever

known. The woman who killed her partner

said it was his idea to commit suicide by making it look like a

burglary gone wrong. Ferry passengers faced disruption

as some services are cancelled. Would you fancy spending --

spending Christmas in one of these? We meet the people planning

Christmas Day on the beach. It is lovely, you can't beat it. It is a

different world. It could be very mild for the beach

on Christmas Day. The forecast in Good evening. The scrapping of car

parking charges in a north Lincolnshire town was a place to

boost local businesses struggling in the face of recession. Three

months on and traders in Brigg have told us it is set to be their

Christmas in decades. The news comes a week after a government

review which suggested free parking could help turn the fortunes of the

high street up and down the country around. Our communities

correspondent has this story. Busy streets thronged with shoppers.

Traders are convinced they are returning to Brigg because

controversial car parking charges have been dropped, for the first

two hours at least. Spellman Butchers claim they have increased

turnover by 40%, and they have had to take on extra help to cope with

the increase in business. It is a good effect, a lot quicker

turnaround with the meat, busier in Brigg, especially on marketplace --

market days. Beryl who runs the Loft cade agrees business has never

been so brisk. -- cafe. Some new faces, it has

brought a lot of new trade into place. I have been here 10 years

and it is the busiest Christmas I have ever known -- into Brigg.

North Lincolnshire councillors estimate the two hours' free

parking in Brigg together with the hour free in Scunthorpe and Ashby

will cost around a quarter of �1 million in lost revenue but reckon

it has been worth it. To bring the two hours' free parking in has

definitely increased the Football tremendously. People are surprised

at the level of support it has had. -- football. You can park up easily

and comfortably rather than going into Tesco's which is much better.

It has made a difference, people park for free, use the little shops

we have, it has boosted the town, I think. They should make it a bit

longer, actually. If you are going for a coffee or lunch you are in a

hurry. But apart from that, brilliant. Anything to make better

for the shops, brilliant. Councillors will evaluate the

effects of the scheme before deciding whether or not to extend

it. In the meantime, shoppers should be aware free parking is

limited to just two hours. Any more and they could still face a fine.

Rahul Sharma is an expert in free parking and it says it is a good

way to attract people back into the high street. It is a welcome

suggestion. It gives some advantage to the high street, at least evens

the field verses out-of-town shopping centres. The council has

to found that -- fund that in some way. Parking charges ended being

outdated if they are in an area that once we tell to survive.

You're not fighting like with like at the moment. Unfortunately not

put the backdrop is shoppers are voting with their feet, they like

and have to town-centre has, however much we may moan about the

high street, people prefer the convenience -- out of town centres.

What have the high Street's got to do to evolve and survive? The role

of the high street used to change. We have got a vicious circle

whereby there are fewer people, fewer stores, less choice,

companies keep closing stores, and it becomes less attractive. I am

not sure the High Street itself will be a big retail setting in the

future. The role is evolving. You will see more recreation centres,

you need to bring in more services. That is the way forward. With a

sprinkling of independent shops. that the long way of saying it is

the death of the High Street as far as a retail area is concerned?

Yes, I think so, more or less. There are bigger town centres that

can support High Street but many smaller locations, you are going to

see that happen. Would you open a business in the High Street at the

moment? Certainly not, depends on which high street. Would you open a

business? Certainly a recreation business, yes, depends what is

surrounding it. Too many high streets are just about gobby shops,

charity shops, and betting shops. - - coffee shops. Thank you very much

indeed. Do you agree that allow High Street

are just full of betting shops, coffee shops and charity shops?

Have we seen the end of high street as we know them? What can we do?

How come we encourage more people back to our town centres? Is free

parking the answer? Is it essential for our High Street to keep the

businesses alive. Let us have you We look forward to hearing from you.

In a moment, the Highways Agency is safety fears about a junction on

one of our busiest roads. A woman who killed her partner has

told Lincoln Crown Court today he wanted to commit suicide and that

it was his idea to make it look like a burglary gone wrong. 43-

year-old Julie Dickson has been giving evidence in a hearing to

decide why she killed David Twigg. He was locked in a cupboard before

his business was set on fire. When David Twigg was killed his Palmer

told police they had been attacked by burglars -- his partner told

police. Before changing a story saying he wanted to die. She told

the court he knew he was being made bankrupt and had talking --

happened had started talking about The court heard searches were made

on their computer about how to commit suicide and hide pills in

food. She told the judge, all these searches were made by David Twigg.

But the court was shown a photograph from a traffic camera in

Skegness showing David Twigg driving into the town 11 minutes

from his home. That picture was taken just 15 minutes before the

internet was used and searches were made about how to inflict fatal

head injuries. Julie Dickson has admitted starting the fire at his

workshop back in March but this afternoon the prosecution

questioned why she needed to locum in with no keys if he had really

wanted to die it -- locum end. And asked why she changed her stories

are so many times. She said I wanted to go along with David's

She will continue to give evidence tomorrow.

She has faced cross-examination this afternoon, what was she asked?

She was asked many questions about individual points of the evidence

she has given over the last nine months to the police and the courts.

She was asked why he would need to find out how to disguise pills if

he had been trying to commit suicide and she replied, I don't

know. The prosecution suggested she had wanted to give him pills hidden

in chocolate sauce because both had been found at the business. The

prosecution also suggested because she collected all the male and she

turned away an Inland Revenue officer telling him David Twigg had

had a stroke he may never even have known he was being made bankrupt.

They also pointed out he never told anyone else he was feeling either

suicidal or he was bankrupt. She was asked did it ever occur to you

telling these lies would make you guilty of only manslaughter, and

not murder? She replied, yes. Manslaughter carries a much shorter

prison sentence than the murder charge she has admitted to.

Some more news now. A baby boy from Cleethorpes at the centre of a

grievous bodily harm court case has died in hospital. Mourners laid

flowers in Grimsby after learning of the death of the boy. A man has

been arrested in connection with the incident and will appear in

court in January. Police investigating the murder of

linking Serb pensioner Sonny Grey have arrested four men. --

Lincolnshire pensioner. Three men from Cambridgeshire and a 4th from

Lincolnshire have been bailed until February next year.

once the Transport Secretary to intervene in a row over the Humber

bridge deck. A plan to halve the toll next year could be under

threat if North East Lincolnshire Council doesn't sign up to a deal

to guarantee bedecked with three other councils in the area.

-- bedecked. The Highways Agency will look at safety measures on a

halt roundabout after several complaints it has become more

dangerous. The garrison Road roundabout is on the main A63 which

runs through Hull and 80% of people who live on the nearby Victoria

Dock estate claim to feel unsafe when using the junction. For the

Highways Agency met with a local councillor to discuss the concerns.

It is a busy junction on the main road in and out of Hull. Residents

from this housing estate say they are concerned about safety.

There are a number of concerns about issues with coming off

Victoria Dock, traffic blocking the roundabout, traffic light on the

roundabout themselves. And also as you come on to Victoria Dock from

town, it is often not clear which Lane you should be in. Last year a

cyclist died after an accident on the roundabout. Although there were

other circumstances involved the death raised questions about the

juncture. The road is used by heavy goods vehicles travelling to and

from the docks. Haulier Peter Matthews says the roundabout is a

problem. We have had one or two near-misses. People have to change

carriageway quickly, come down to the traffic lights, it is green, go

round the roundabout, you wouldn't expect a stationary traffic to be

standing across the carriageway. You take evasive action. The person

next you might not be able to. That is the biggest danger. Traffic

lights were installed on his round about three years ago to ease

congestion on the A63. In a recent survey of residents living on

Victoria Dock 80% of them said they think this roundabout is more

dangerous than before the lights were introduced. The last time we

study the accidents around this area after the traffic lights will

perk -- put in, they said there had been fewer injury accident in the

area. We will have a look at what the most recent figures palace to

see if any of those safety concerns are justified. The Highways Agency

will look at what, if anything, Thank you for watching. Still

ahead: Fears that vital skills could leave are warier if BAe

closes in Brough. If we lose that capability from the Humber region,

the tendency is for it not to come back again. Also tonight, why this

seaside location is proving to be Tonight's photograph was taken on

Saturday at them SMM sand quarry nature reserve by John Davison --

there Messingham sand quarry nature reserve. We look forward to hearing

from you. Mick said, who dressed Paul tonight? Does he not know

eight I should be under the collar? Unfortunate, we do not have any

pictures from last night. What is interesting is that he said, who

addressed him, as if you have to be dressed!

I'd do! Let's look at a headline. It is a mild one, but it will turn

back tomorrow. It will bring a spell of wet and windy weather from

late morning into the afternoon. Behind it, a bridge of high

pressure. It looks on course for Christmas Day to be one of the

mildest for years. Temperatures are around 12, possibly 13. It will be

windy as well. We have had sunny spells today and variable amounts

of cloud. The cloud may thicken later, but it stays dry. It is very

windy, but also a mile dam frost- free. Temperatures, about eight or

nine. -- also a mild and frost-free night. We are off to a dry start.

They could be some bright patches first thing. We will see outbreaks

of rain later in the morning, spreading down from the north-west.

I think many places by tomorrow evening will be dry. It will be

very windy. By the end of the day, it will feel quite cold. The

important Christmas weekend forecast, well, Christmas Eve looks

very nice. Christmas Day, more cloud around, very windy but very

All the males are I get is a bar who dressed sue!

The that is what people are interested in! -- the emails are

all about who dressed you. Beryl warnings that a valuable

skills could be lost forever if BAE Systems carried out plans to make

almost an hundred redundancies at its factory in Brough. The firm

announced today it is extending the consultation period over the

proposals. It is feared many workers at the site in East

Yorkshire are already looking for jobs elsewhere.

These high-tech Hawk jets are hand assembled. Precision skills which

take years to learn could disappear in weeks once manufacturing end

here. The problem it will give us his if we lose their credibility

from the Humber region, the tendency is for it not to come back

again. Jackie has spent 24 years at the site, as has her husband.

Selling up and moving on now seems like their only option. We have a

big mortgage on this house. We will not be able to pay it. We are

applying, and applying for jobs at the moment, but there does not seem

to be anything there. Some here may harbour the hope of work in the

Humber's renewable energy industries, but there's jobs could

be many months away. Despite a relentless campaign by this work

force and their local MPs, BAe is offering them a few glimmers of

hope. Little wonder many here are looking to take their skills

elsewhere. Over the Pennines in Barrow-in-Furness, they know what

that is like. Here, beasts still makes submarines, but 15 years ago,

a cancel defence contract put 10,000 people on the dole. The

effects of this are still being felt today. -- a council defence

contract. Once you lose their jobs, it is very difficult to get them

back. It is not easy for someone to make a translation from being a

highly skilled person, building to particular standards, Sudan

migrating into another industry. Sir -- It to then migrating. Many

will welcome the extension on the talks. They must yield meaningful

results to avoid an exodus from here.

Joining me is Lord Haskins, the chairman of the Humber Local

Enterprise Partnership. How concerned I knew, not just about

the loss of jobs, but the skill base we have in this area? -- how

concerned are you. It always has been a bit of a concern. We will

meet skills in the future. We are optimistic that we will get jobs in

the renewable energy industry, particularly with the possible

investments with Siemens. Is it possible or realistic to get a

transfer or redeployment for these people straight from one to another,

so we do not lose that skill base? It is difficult to do that. This

Siemens jobs probably will not be here for 18 months or two years.

There may be training are ways of bridging the gap. We're talking

about that to BA and others at the moment. -- BAe. A Jew enlighten us?

Well, we do not really know the sort of jobs. We have not given up.

It is a timing issue. If BAe keeps the place open for a bit longer

than they have said, that will narrowed the gap. Is that the aim,

get them to go a bit longer? It is a bit. I would not be too

optimistic about the ability to switch. I suspect a lot of the BAe

workers, if the place shut, they may go away. They might come back.

In the old days when we had Yorkshire Forward, there was a pot

of money. What alternative Investment and deal can you offer?

A government has given homes -- the government has given us two

enterprise zones. If new businesses come and invest, they get generous

allowances. The rates are very attractive, and we should be going

to attract businesses from within the area and outside to take

advantage of those. We could be the hub of renewable energy for the

country. Lord Haskins, thank you very much.

P&O have been forced to cancel some of its sailings in and out of Hull

after continued problems with a lock gate. Yesterday, a mechanical

fault meant that the Pride of York docked late. Today, the ferry

company has been told that the problem could take weeks to six.

Sarah Corker is at the King George Dock in Hull. What more do we know?

Well, Peter, the Pride of York left the river terminal about half-an-

hour ago, and on time. It would normally sell from King George Dock,

but a fault with the lock gate means it could be out of action for

up to two weeks. That now means that all shapes and leaving from

this one terminal, and that is what is causing disruption. Tonight's

savings are not affected, but Deraa cancellations over the next couple

of days. -- there are cancellations. The 23rd, the halt as a Brigg

sailing has been cancelled. The 24th, the return journey from

Zeebrugge or wet sail. The crossing from Hull on the 24th has been

brought forward to 9am. The problems began yesterday, when the

Pride of York arrived four hours late. APB own the port and they

told me they do not know how long it will take to fix. They have told

all affected passengers that they can transfer over two alternative

services. Thank you, Sarah. This might be another one you want to

get in touch with. Thank you for getting in touch about our story

last night, about wildlife crime. Police say they are cracking down

on armed gangs with high-powered rifles who are targeting rural

communities in Lincolnshire. There have been over 600 reported cases

in the last four month of the illegal practice where heads are

Now, 17 groups in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on what is called

the Olympic legacy fund. His own youth player field in Moulton near

Gainsborough will get �32,000 to bring you back into use and there

will be a new facility for youngsters. We will have facilities

for play basketball, tennis and five-a-side football, as well as

the general area to play other sports. This site is very close to

the local primary school. Well done to all 17 groups.

Now, you think of Christmas and a beach hut in Bridlington might not

be the first thing that springs to mind. But the first time ever, East

Riding Council is leasing out its beach hut over the winter to the

general public. Nearly all of them have been bought. Simon Spark has

been to find out more. Here's the deal. Some I=seaside,

scarier rides and beach huts. -- Sam Moa=seaside. When set=prisoners,

snow and carols. Not in Bridlington, because a review will be spending

Christmas here in a beach hut. These are available for hire over

Christmas. In the corner, there is a sink. There is also a work

surface. You can lay out your food. I was going to say something witty,

like you would want to rent a beach huts in a cold December, never mind

Christmas, but look at today! It is beautiful, and not even cold. I

would not mind renting one. Someone who will be here with her family is

NSF. Christmas Day, hope the Labour come after lunch and the Queen's

speech, we will potter down here. We will have our mince pies here.

It is lovely, absolutely lovely. Seriously, I thought I would be in

a beach hut on the 25th at this rate, but thankfully, somebody

saved me. If you have ever been here when it is ready Blakedown, he

would not want to be year! I am having my lunch at her. Reverend

Ben is an expert on what to do with it. During December, we put on

something different every night to retell the famous Nativity story.

It is a novelty to be playing in a beach hut for a month. It has been

a really good atmosphere. certainly is a nice way to get all

Christmassy again, but for me, it still made a bit of this. That's

more like it! There is no chance of that, as we

will find out in a second. Let's have a recap of the headlines.

Multiple explosions ripped through Baghdad. 14 people died in the

worst violence Iraq has seen in On the subject of shopping and

parking, thanks for the messages. Someone says, ample free parking is

the key. Counsel should followed Brigg's lead. Somebody else says,

no, because workers will take the free spaces and shoppers will still

end up having to pay to pack. Mac says, free parking in town get my

vote. Best way to get shoppers back to the high street and out of the

supermarkets. Kate says that Sleaford is full of barber's and