:00:09. > :00:12.It needs to save ?6 million from its budget.
:00:13. > :00:16.But Northumberland County Council wants to loan more than ?8 million
:00:17. > :00:19.to the Alnwick Garden to create a new play area.
:00:20. > :00:22.The garden's run by a charitable trust, and was created
:00:23. > :00:27.She and her husband are among the richest couples in Britain.
:00:28. > :00:30.Council leaders claim the scheme will boost tourism,
:00:31. > :00:33.but critics say the money could be better spent.
:00:34. > :00:37.Here's our News Correspondent, Mark Denten.
:00:38. > :00:39.It's becoming the alternative uniform for politicians -
:00:40. > :00:45.These Northumberland councillors wearing it at the site
:00:46. > :00:47.for a new headquarters for the Council, a ?32 million
:00:48. > :00:54.We're trying to lower the costs to the council by moving people back
:00:55. > :00:58.We're currently centralising the town of Morpeth.
:00:59. > :01:03.It's very, very expensive to deliver services in rural areas.
:01:04. > :01:06.Now, the scheme has faced criticism, with some saying moving the Council
:01:07. > :01:10.headquarters from Morpeth is a monumental waste of money.
:01:11. > :01:14.The Council does have ?6 million to shave from its budget next
:01:15. > :01:15.year, so what should Northumberland Council
:01:16. > :01:23.Roads, schools - or a play structure for elves?
:01:24. > :01:30.The Council plans to loan the Alnwick Garden ?8.5 million
:01:31. > :01:33.to build a play village called Lily Dory - the elf play
:01:34. > :01:35.structure is billed as the biggest in the world.
:01:36. > :01:38.The gardens are run by a charitable trust, but the Duke and Duchess
:01:39. > :01:44.of Northumberland are thought to be worth in the region of ?365 million.
:01:45. > :01:46.That is more than Her Majesty the Queen.
:01:47. > :01:48.And some councillors think council taxpayers' money
:01:49. > :01:54.Why can't Alnwick Castle in Northumberland's
:01:55. > :01:58.The project, the Alnwick Garden, was originally started by them.
:01:59. > :02:02.They've probably got a better credit rating than the County Council.
:02:03. > :02:05.But this is not the first time Northumberland Council has been
:02:06. > :02:09.In 2012, it loaned Northumbria Health Care Trust ?100 million
:02:10. > :02:15.to pay off costs of building Hexham and Wansbeck Hospitals.
:02:16. > :02:17.Last year, the Council's property arm, Arch, bought
:02:18. > :02:22.Manor Walks Shopping Centre in Cramlington for ?78 million.
:02:23. > :02:26.The Council has to save ?6 million this year from its budget.
:02:27. > :02:29.Council tax could go up by nearly 5%, including a 3% hike
:02:30. > :02:36.Why at that time is the Council loaning money to what's
:02:37. > :02:40.described as a play structure for elves?
:02:41. > :02:43.Well, I like that, a play structure for elves!
:02:44. > :02:48.We've got to boost the economy of Northumberland, and we've got
:02:49. > :02:51.to increase the job numbers here in Northumberland.
:02:52. > :02:53.The Council will meet to discuss its budget
:02:54. > :03:04.The Alnwick Garden say it is early days and they are still looking
:03:05. > :03:07.But they say that if the project goes ahead, it will be
:03:08. > :03:10.an international attraction which will have a measurable impact
:03:11. > :03:13.They point out that it is a charitable, non-profit-making
:03:14. > :03:17.trust that runs the gardens, and, crucially, they say that it
:03:18. > :03:20.would be a loan they would take from Northumberland Council -
:03:21. > :03:27.Mark Denton, BBC Look North, Alnwick.
:03:28. > :03:29.Elsewhere, meanwhile, another controversial loan.
:03:30. > :03:32.Stockton's taxpayers may be about to get
:03:33. > :03:36.The local council is planning to take out a ?17 million loan
:03:37. > :03:40.to invest in a Hampton by Hilton venue in the town.
:03:41. > :03:43.The Labour council says it's a good deal.
:03:44. > :03:49.Here's our Political Editor, Richard Moss.
:03:50. > :03:52.A scrappy car park and former garage site in Stockton.
:03:53. > :03:57.But, by the end of 2018, it could look very different.
:03:58. > :04:01.It'll become a hotel that the local council believes the area needs,
:04:02. > :04:03.putting an estimated ?6.7 million into the economy and
:04:04. > :04:10.The businesses are saying it's a good idea.
:04:11. > :04:14.They find it difficult to find rooms for visitors to their companies.
:04:15. > :04:16.We've got lots of events that take place across the year,
:04:17. > :04:23.which brings people into the town centre, without any hotel provision.
:04:24. > :04:26.But to get the Hampton by Hilton built, the council has agreed
:04:27. > :04:30.to take a ?17 million stake, funded by a loan.
:04:31. > :04:33.It'll share in any profits the hotel makes - but to earn money,
:04:34. > :04:37.80% of its 150 rooms will need to be occupied all the time.
:04:38. > :04:40.I think they'll struggle to get that amount of money in.
:04:41. > :04:43.And of course, if you're borrowing that kind of money,
:04:44. > :04:46.you're paying an awful lot more than ?17 million back.
:04:47. > :04:49.Over the 30-year life span, it'll probably cost something
:04:50. > :04:53.in the region of ?30 million, once you've added on the interest.
:04:54. > :04:55.And it seems council taxpayers on Stockton High Street
:04:56. > :04:58.are also concerned. It's more shops that they need,
:04:59. > :05:05.There's an awful lot of unemployed people here,
:05:06. > :05:08.and who can afford to stay in a hotel?
:05:09. > :05:11.And there is a reminder here of how the hotel business can go wrong.
:05:12. > :05:15.Stockton's previous town centre hotel shut almost overnight in 2009,
:05:16. > :05:18.and has never reopened. The shell of what used to be
:05:19. > :05:20.the Swallow Hotel does have a haunting presence
:05:21. > :05:25.Although work is due to begin to convert it into student flats.
:05:26. > :05:27.The council insists it has looked over the figures,
:05:28. > :05:32.and the hotel it'll invest in won't end up like the Swallow.
:05:33. > :05:35.The council will discuss the plans on Thursday before making a final
:05:36. > :05:41.commitment on whether to go into the hotel business next week.
:05:42. > :05:44.Well, earlier I asked Richard, with two of our councils taking
:05:45. > :05:47.loans to put into developments, why is this happening?
:05:48. > :05:50.Well, two reasons why councils might increasingly be looking at this.
:05:51. > :05:53.One is pretty familiar to us all - councils like ourselves have
:05:54. > :05:55.savings, or reserves, as they call them.
:05:56. > :05:58.Now, if you put your savings in a bank account at the moment,
:05:59. > :06:00.you get virtually no return in terms of interest.
:06:01. > :06:02.So investing is something a bit different.
:06:03. > :06:04.A hotel, for instance, might get you a better
:06:05. > :06:08.For many years, our councils have largely been dependent on Government
:06:09. > :06:11.grants for their funding, with a bit of council tax.
:06:12. > :06:14.But by 2020, the Goverment's going to get rid of that grant,
:06:15. > :06:16.and councils will have to raise the money, either through
:06:17. > :06:18.council tax or business rates on local firms.
:06:19. > :06:20.Now, Stockton Council, by attracting that hotel in,
:06:21. > :06:23.estimate it will generate another ?150,000 per year in business rates.
:06:24. > :06:26.Not an inconsiderable sum for a council that is looking to try
:06:27. > :06:28.and find money to put into its services.
:06:29. > :06:30.So, increasingly councils will be looking at opportunities to get
:06:31. > :06:32.businesses in to actually boost their income and
:06:33. > :06:38.But of course, for every good investment, there may be a bad one.
:06:39. > :06:41.Of course, the only way councils would be able to recoup the money
:06:42. > :06:44.if their investments go wrong is by cutting services
:06:45. > :06:51.There are fears over plans for a new nuclear power plant
:06:52. > :06:53.near Sellafield after the Japanese company Toshiba said it would be
:06:54. > :07:03.The ?10 billion project at Moorside would create around 20,000 jobs.
:07:04. > :07:08.This is supposed to be the future of nuclear power.
:07:09. > :07:11.Moorside is due to be built over the next few years.
:07:12. > :07:17.At a press conference earlier, Japanese company Toshiba announced
:07:18. > :07:20.massive financial losses, and said it would be
:07:21. > :07:23.selling its shares in Nugen, the company which plans to build
:07:24. > :07:32.There are more than one Japanese company involved in this business.
:07:33. > :07:35.So we will continue to discuss with industry players
:07:36. > :07:41.We've got an open mind about how best to deliver this.
:07:42. > :07:43.For decades, this part of Cumbria has been a hub
:07:44. > :07:49.Down the road from Moorside is Sellafield, a reprocessing plant.
:07:50. > :07:53.And nearby Heysham Power Station is coming to the end of its life.
:07:54. > :07:57.Moorside is part of a new generation of energy production.
:07:58. > :08:00.Plans to build large pylons in the Lake District to transport
:08:01. > :08:07.The plant's due to be online in 2024.
:08:08. > :08:10.It's been clear for some time that financing new nuclear power stations
:08:11. > :08:14.It took us eight years to get to this point
:08:15. > :08:19.So we haven't seen it coming directly, but I don't think it's
:08:20. > :08:22.very surprise that even very, very large international companies
:08:23. > :08:25.are finding difficulties with the sort of capital investment
:08:26. > :08:30.Toshiba said it had always planned to sell its shares in Nugen,
:08:31. > :08:37.and was still committed to working on the development of Moorside.
:08:38. > :08:39.Football, and three of our teams were in action tonight.
:08:40. > :08:43.In the Championship, leaders Newcastle were one-up
:08:44. > :08:46.in the first minute at Norwich, but had to come from behind
:08:47. > :08:50.In League 2, great result for Carlisle, beating
:08:51. > :08:58.What could be more romantic for Valentine's Day than a ride
:08:59. > :09:00.on an historic steam train on one of our most scenic railways?
:09:01. > :09:04.The Darlington-built Tornado is replacing diesel locomotives
:09:05. > :09:08.on the Settle to Carlisle line for three days between Appleby
:09:09. > :09:11.in Cumbria and Skipton in North Yorkshire.
:09:12. > :09:13.The move by Northern Rail is to compensate passengers
:09:14. > :09:16.for disruption caused by a landslip on the line.
:09:17. > :09:21.And all for the price of a regular ticket.
:09:22. > :09:28.I'll leave you with Jennifer Bartram and Wednesday's weather.
:09:29. > :09:31.We saw some decent spells of sunshine today
:09:32. > :09:39.But I think as we head into Wednesday, the cloud
:09:40. > :09:42.is going to win out, and we will see some light rain
:09:43. > :09:46.This is the picture as we go through the night tonight.
:09:47. > :09:50.We will have a few outbreaks of light and patchy rain.
:09:51. > :09:53.Some mist and hill fog across the Cumbrian fells for a time.
:09:54. > :09:54.It's going to be mild overnight, though.
:09:55. > :09:56.Temperatures dropping down to around five Celsius,
:09:57. > :09:58.The wind first thing tomorrow morning.
:09:59. > :10:02.It will be a bit of a misty, murky start, lots of low cloud around.
:10:03. > :10:04.But gradually, things should start to improve,
:10:05. > :10:06.certainly for the north-east, where we will see some
:10:07. > :10:10.Into Cumbria, we will start to see some further showery rain pushing
:10:11. > :10:14.And it's going to be feeling much milder tomorrow.
:10:15. > :10:16.Temperatures up to around nine or 10 Celsius, the wind dying down
:10:17. > :10:23.And gradually starting to move to a south-westerly direction
:10:24. > :10:30.A little more in the way of brightness first thing.
:10:31. > :10:33.But again, we start to see just a few showers pushing into Cumbria.
:10:34. > :10:36.Not many of those making it over the Pennines.
:10:37. > :10:39.A few will, but generally it's looking like a dry day with some
:10:40. > :10:44.Temperatures getting up to around nine Celsius.
:10:45. > :10:46.So still keeping with that fairly mild theme.
:10:47. > :10:49.As we head towards the weekend, it stays fairly dry and settled
:10:50. > :10:53.through Friday, with highs of 10 Celsius.
:10:54. > :10:59.Here is the outlook for the next few days.
:11:00. > :11:03.weather into the weekend. A bit of fog around to watch out for. Jon
:11:04. > :11:07.Hammond with the national forecast now.
:11:08. > :11:13.Good evening. There is some rain in the forecast but not a lot. Plenty
:11:14. > :11:18.of dry weather to look forward to as we head to the weekend. Cloud
:11:19. > :11:24.delivering some rain but plenty of spaces in between, hence my
:11:25. > :11:27.optimism. One of these blobs of cloud is producing dampness right
:11:28. > :11:32.now. We could see a glancing blow across the far south-east through
:11:33. > :11:36.the early hours and later some rain arriving across the far south-west.
:11:37. > :11:37.In between some hill fog overnight, not desperately