:00:00. > :00:07.about half hour's time, could overtake them with a large
:00:08. > :00:11.Good afternoon. North Lincolnshire Council has been accused of sucking
:00:12. > :00:16.the lifeblood out of Scunthorpe town centre by allowing out of town
:00:17. > :00:19.shopping centres to be built. Today another major retailer is leaving
:00:20. > :00:24.the town, one of several big names to close its doors in the last four
:00:25. > :00:28.years. But the council says it's created six hundred new jobs in the
:00:29. > :00:34.last 18 months by attracting new business. Kate Sweeting reports.
:00:35. > :00:38.It's a familiar story in many towns across the country. But in
:00:39. > :00:42.Scunthorpe today this major retailer will close its doors for good.
:00:43. > :00:54.Further proof, some say, that this town is in irreversible decline. It
:00:55. > :01:04.is a dead town. They need to open more shops. Everything is on the
:01:05. > :01:10.outskirts now. In the last three years several major names have left.
:01:11. > :01:21.Marks Spencer is closed its doors in 2011. Exports chain in 2012.
:01:22. > :01:24.McDonald's in 2000 13. `` 2013. Marks and Spencers is returning to
:01:25. > :01:28.Scunthorpe in the Autumn albeit as part of this new out of town retail
:01:29. > :01:32.park, create 300 new jobs. But Des Comerford, who's traded in the town
:01:33. > :01:35.for 31 years, says it'll pull shoppers away from the centre, and
:01:36. > :01:39.should never have been approved. This council has done nothing but
:01:40. > :01:50.sucked the lifeblood out of our town centre. Hundreds have jobs ``
:01:51. > :01:54.hundreds of jobs have been lost. But the council insists it is committed
:01:55. > :01:59.to the town centre. These are difficult times. But I'm pleased we
:02:00. > :02:09.have been able to attract more business. Over the last 18 months we
:02:10. > :02:16.have created 600 new jobs. Jobs were people earn the money to spend on
:02:17. > :02:20.our shops. While some are fighting to keep the town centre humming,
:02:21. > :02:25.others believe it is already a losing battle.
:02:26. > :02:29.Firefighters and members of the public have been taking part in a
:02:30. > :02:32.protest march in Grimsby, over plans to merge two fire stations in the
:02:33. > :02:36.town. Cromwell Road and Peaks Lane station will merge next month as
:02:37. > :02:40.part of budget cuts, with the loss of one fire engine. Humberside Fire
:02:41. > :02:43.and Rescue says it will still be able to meet response standards, but
:02:44. > :02:48.some claim the changes will put lives at risk.
:02:49. > :02:52.Football, and Hull City are in action in under an hour's time. You
:02:53. > :02:56.can hear coverage of their game against Manchester City on BBC Radio
:02:57. > :03:01.Humberside from 12.45. That's on all frequencies. At 3pm you can hear
:03:02. > :03:04.Scunthorpe United's match at Plymouth on FM. And Grimsby Town's
:03:05. > :03:07.game with Wrexham is on AM, digital and online. And BBC Radio
:03:08. > :03:11.Lincolnshire have Lincoln City's match with Braintree. The programme
:03:12. > :03:26.starts at 2pm. And now the weather. Lots of cloud
:03:27. > :03:35.as we head into the afternoon. The breeze will pick up from the West.
:03:36. > :03:39.Temperatures, highs of 12. The ceiling and overnight the cloud will
:03:40. > :03:47.thicken. That should keep temperatures from falling. `` this
:03:48. > :03:51.evening. A mild start on Sunday. Sunny spells and breezy.
:03:52. > :04:10.We were back with a full round`up this evening. Goodbye.
:04:11. > :04:15.Following on from what has been largely dry and settled week with
:04:16. > :04:18.high pressure in charge, the weekend weather continues on that theme,
:04:19. > :04:22.too. Things are looking largely dry, not everywhere, but there will
:04:23. > :04:26.be some warm sunshine on offer, particularly through the afternoons.
:04:27. > :04:31.It will be feeling fairly breezy as well. The satellite image shows the
:04:32. > :04:36.cloud has been thinning and breaking this morning, across Northern
:04:37. > :04:40.Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In terms of the Six Nations
:04:41. > :04:41.rugby matches today, it should stay dry for all the