05/04/2017 Points West

Welcome to BBC Points West with Liz Beacon and David Garmston.

Our main story tonight: How green is this valley?

Plans for an environmentally friendly business

park near Stroud which could create 4,000 jobs.

The most sustainable stadium in the world and even a canal. Is this

could turn out to be the biggest project in the area since the 1950s.

But some locals complain the increased traffic make

If you snooze you lose - A call for voters to wake up

and smell the election fever as the campaign for a metro

The teenager battling cancer who raises money for others -

And saluting the town that spoke for a nation -

we're in Wootton Bassett ten years on from the first repatriations.

Details of a huge green technology development right next

to M5 in Gloucestershire were unveiled today.

The plans involve offices and industrial units

as well as a brand new football stadium and a nature reserve.

It's all the dream of Dale Vince, founder

of the green energy company, Ecotricity.

But for some people living nearby, his proposals are an unnecessary

Here's our Gloucestershire reporter, Steve Knibbs.

These are ambitious plans - A green science technology

business park on one side - which ecotricity claims

will attract up to 4,000 jobs, and on the other side a high tech

sporting facility with a new 10000 seat Forest Green Rovers

And everything pushing the boundaries of sustainability.

That is what we like to do. Somebody has to question, would we adhere to

green standards and the answer is we want to do better than that, so our

buildings will be the most sustainable buildings that have been

built yet. Today, companies

interested in building and being part of the ecopark

quizzed Dale Vince A vision of tapping

into and promoting the green When you put like-minded businesses

like this together, they starts barking ideas and opportunities to

work with each other and spin of new businesses, and that helps grow the

sustainable economy and also local services and the economy to support

them. Then they build up opportunities to move abroad.

But with a project this size come concerns -

many locals in Eastington say junction 13 - the gateway to Stroud

Ecotricity say they'll fix this with a new dual carriageway

But also the ecopark isn't part of Stroud's recently

published local plan - and those opposing the park say

there's just no clearly identified need for it.

We have very high employment and the local area, so the risk of a

shortage means there is no requirement for extra jobs, and we

need development space for all businesses in the near future. It is

the biggest and most complex planning decision made here since

Berkeley power station in the 1950s. It is still early days and hasn't

even gone through planning yet. If it does go through planning it will

be at least three years before the first ball is kicked in anger at

what is hoped to be the most sustainable football stadium in the

world. A driver remains in hospital

after a serious crash Two lorries collided just

after fouro'clock this morning. A second driver was released

from hospital this afternoon. The road was shut for

most of the day whilst In Bristol one person has been left

with serious injuries after a collision between a car

and a bus. It happened in the early hours

of this morning on Wells road. There were long delays to traffic

but the road has since re-opened. Workers at Mini in Swindon

are taking part in a series of eight 24 hour walk outs,

in a dispute over pensions. The Unite Union is protesting

over Mini's owners, BMW's plans to ditch the company's

final salary pension scheme. It claims some workers could lose up

to ?160,000 in retirement income. BMW says it has to act now to secure

the long term viability A publicity drive is underway

to tell 900,000 people in the West that they're

about to get a new leader. Today it was confirmed that six

candidates will be on the ballot paper for the so-called metro mayor,

covering Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath

and North East Somerset. But getting voters

interested, let alone Here's our political

editor, Paul Barltrop. The government is pumping money

into publicising the contest, from billboards on the streets,

to adverts on social media - though that's sparked plenty

of critical comments. The latest is a video

with something of a local flavour: people who'll come under

the new mayor? Farmers market. Supermarket. Rugby.

We may not always see eye to eye but we care about where we live and we

need to make a living and get around. These things excite us all

which is why we are acting on the issues that we all care about.

people who'll come under the new mayor?

Especially when even the name has proved difficult.

The government don't use the term 'metromayor'.

They prefer to talk about a 'mayor', but different to the elected mayor

The new person will take charge of the snappily-titled West

That's been abbreviated to WECA, and it's already been

holding meetings involving the leaders from the three

But, yet again, the name's proving a thorny issue!

I do not like the word, WECA. It is the West of England combined

authority. I wanted to be called the west of England combined authority

and we will have a West of England combined authority Mayor.

And there's plenty of that on their own video,

put out to encourage people to vote on May the 4th.

Well, the Bristol Post is determined that its readers

This was its front page today - with a very stark warning

that the west is "sleepwalking" into this election.

And I'm pleased to say that Mike Norton, Editor

Mike - You've been quite tough on your readers today -

Why do you think enthusiasm appears to be so low? I am concerned we are

sleepwalking into the election and not enough people realise the person

who wins this election will have a lot of power and the deciding vote

on the spending of ?1 billion of funding, devolved to the greater

authority. What do you think of the field of candidates? I think it is

quite underwhelming and how we look from the outside worries me because

this election has not been able to attract really high-profile

candidates that we should be having. In Manchester, Andy Burnham is the

well-known candidate for the is nobody like that. And that person

needs to have a presence, particularly in London, so whoever

wins has to be able to bang on doors in London and they worry nobody here

is able to do that. I have been doing interviews on the streets and

a lot of people are getting confused with the Metro Bus. It is similar

and that we are building a network that doesn't have provide that and

we are creating a council that doesn't have a base yet. You are

calling it, wake up for the Greater Bristol. You want to call it the

Mayor of Greater Bristol. Do you think that name will make any

difference to the perception of this post? Once again it is how we are

perceived outside the region. Outside, what people know is Bristol

and Bath so it should be either Greater Bristol or the Bristol and

Bath region. We have other Mayors as well. It is confusing and I

understand why people are confused but they need to wake up and hold

whoever gets this job to account. And you're going to do your best to

make sure people do wake up. I will try. Thank you for coming in.

And in our late bulletin in the 10 o'clock news tonight,

we'll be hearing from someone who's been pushing the government

to introduce this role for the past decade.

It might have been mis-sold up until now but a lot of people will see

over the next year what the Mayor can do for them. It will be the most

directly involved leader they have ever elected and it will be a real

benefit. Join us for that. And we'd like you to get involved

too and join us as we debate all issues surrounding

the new mayor. You've made a little film

all about it, haven't you? Bristol already has a Lord May and

unelected WECA putt Mayor and now a third is on the way. Voters here go

to the polls for the new role. It is called the Metro Mayor. They will

have powers over housing and transport and ?30 million a year to

spend on infrastructure. If you would like to attend the debate or

put a question to the candidate, let us know.

Coming soon. That will be transmitted later this month and all

the candidates will be there and will be taking questions.

Well, it's Liz and David with you this evening,

Still to come on tonight's Points West.

Nick Knowles joins us live from the latest DIYSOS project

And we'll have joy, we'll have fun, we'll have a season in the sun.

We look ahead to the summer with Gloucestershire's cricketers.

A charity has called a 13-year-old girl from Bristol

"an inspiration", for thinking of others whilst battling cancer.

Tatiana Stankovic Davis is being treated for leukemia

but what she's been doing to pass the long hours is already

Andy Howard has been to visit her at Bristol Children's Hospital.

For the second time in her short life, Tatiana has cancer.

And you just feel like you can't cope sometimes.

There's lots of decisions being made...

It is just annoying because you want it to be back to normal life

She's been in this hospital room for more than a month.

But when she feels well enough, she escapes,

This is the model I got for finishing chemo this year,

I mean, there are days when Mum and Dad are sad.

You know, why is this happening to your own precious child.

But then you see a smiling face, you actually know that life goes on.

And you actually enjoy that day as a family.

It's got a dentist and a photography studio.

Despite being at her lowest point, in the past few weeks Tatiana has

She's decided to raise money for other children,

so they have something to play with whilst they're

In return, her dad Simon will shave off his beard.

So far, Tatiana has raised more than ?8,000.

All for a charity which supplies Lego to hospitals.

I'm quite precious about it as you can imagine but as soon as Simon

suggested it, I thought let's see how it goes and the amount of money

is just phenomenal. It is probably about 10% of turnover. She has had

numerous operations and hundreds of scans and she has been prodded and

pooled, quite often when all she has wanted to do is actually sleep. So

to actually deal with that and then to be thinking of others is

outstanding. I just feel it was nice to be

helping others and making What a difficult road she is on and

we send you our very best wishes for a fast recovery.

As he just mentioned, part of Tatiana's fundraising

So here they are, father and daughter, before this -

the moment Simon had his beard completely shaved off to help boost

And this is how the proud dad looks today.

Wootton Bassett was for many years synonymous with the compassion shown

The town even had 'royal' added to its name in recognition

of the way in which it responded to the repatriations that came

It's now ten years since RAF Lyneham was chosen as the regular

A moment of silence, remembrance, respect.

Captured by many cameras and broadcast around the world.

That silence and the first hearses coming up, that never leaves

you and you finish shooting with a sense of numbness at what's

The town carried out 167 services - but they started spontaneously.

The coffins began passing through regularly in 2007 -

after nearby RAF Lyneham became the airbase the fallen

from Afghanistan and Iraq were flown into.

During those repatriations, hundreds if not thousands of people would be

Today it's very much business as usual.

The Town Council's decided not to put on any specific events

And what makes me proud is that our little town here managed

to put respect back into our armed forces and respect

Lee Mackie from Oxfordshire lost her son Jason when he was

killed in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2009.

Although she was too upset to go to his repatriation -

I became very aware that the community

there was like a comfort blanket to these traumatisued families.

They gave them the opportunity to recognise the fact

that our nation appreciate the sacrifice they had made.

Repatriations stopped in Royal Wootton Basset in 2011 -

they now take place at RAF Brize Norton.

In those four years, 345 fallen service men

by people in the town - and they haven't been forgotten.

The town made the country proud. It was recognised that around the

world. Bristol City head coach Lee Johnson

says he's still confident his side can avoid relegation

despite suffering their heaviest City were 1-0 down at half-time

before conceding four second half goals in just 21 minutes

to lose 5-0 at Preston. Fans who had gathered at Ashton Gate

to watch the match were left They need somebody like Harry

Redknapp to come in, somebody like that just to get us over the line

because it is a joke. He needs to go now, tonight. This job is too big

for you. He will be there next season, one T? Unfortunately he will

still be there even though most supporters want him to go. There

will be a big backlash over the renewal of season tickets and

everything else that goes on from now on, if everything goes wrong

this season. Bristol City, who are just one place

above the relegation zone, Sorry if that was painful viewing

for some of our audience. Hundreds of builders have

spent the past nine days volunteering their services

at a house in Hartcliffe in Bristol It's so that 24-year-old

Ryan Pollard can return home, having lived in a care home

in Gloucester for He collapsed after an operation

for a brain condition, Well, the presenter of DIY SOS has

been on site for most of the time and joins us from there tonight.The

big reveal's tomorrow, We are going to be ready. We taught

actually we would finish earlier than we have ever finished before

but it stretched into the night and we will be here until about 11pm and

then we will be finished and able to show you. What are the spirits like?

Very good and if you look... A lot of people stood outside. That is how

good it is. You get to a certain point when you have to clear people

outside you can get the thing finished, so all of these people

have their jobs and should be going home, but we can't actually get rid

of them all. I wish I could get rid of this lot. Your programme is based

on the same site as ours and we have seen the vans coming and going, you

have put in some incredible hours this week? It has probably averaged

about 100 hours a day and if they are putting in 10-12 hours a day you

can do the maths. A huge amount of work goes into this and we are

taking on all the work in nine days so what is an unbelievable job. The

trades have come out from all over Bristol and surrounding, up from

Somerset and all over this area has been massively supportive and

welcoming and people bringing cakes and drinks and everything to make us

feel welcome. Everybody saying hello. It has been a fantastic job

and everybody have really enjoyed it and tomorrow we get our reward and

all these people who have given up their time to come and work for no

wages will get their reward when they finally get to see mum and dad.

Mum and dad get to bring him home after five years. That will be a

wonderful moment. We love the bit where they see it for the first time

but do they have any clue what sort of things you have done and have you

asked questions about what they would like? Our designer always

spends time with the family to get an idea of the things they like and

people occasionally ask if anybody doesn't like it. This is not like

Changing Grooms, this is people needing the waterways widened so

their son can move around the house, so he can be at home, and specialist

facilities they need. If we widen the doors and put a bathroom and

downstairs they would be happy but the fact we go the extra mile and

build the space they need and they get some high-end luxury added, it

is almost neither here nor there but it can shock them. We take all the

internal walls out and half the floor is out and there is a point

you can see through the roof, we took the back of the house off,

everything goes out, so the house they are stepping back into will not

be the house they live them for 26 years but it will be the house built

specifically for his needs and will mean for the first time in five

years they can be a family together. We can't wait to see it. Am I being

undermined by what is going on behind me? Thanks for thing you have

done, look forward to seeing it. I will sort them out, goodbye. What

are you doing? The start of the county cricket

season is just two days away, and this morning Gloucestershire's

players pulled on their whites The squad has a much

younger look to it, It's not easy to follow in the

footsteps of one of Gloucestershire's most successful

overseas signings but that is the task for the 23-year-old Israeli and

Cameron Bancroft. Michael Kleiner scored over 6000 runs in the four

seasons and led them to a trophy. He will be back for one-day cricket but

Bancroft takes over in the championship. When you enjoy your

cricket you will be successful and play well so these guys have that

great feel and I am looking forward to running with that, nice and

relaxed and enjoying my cricket and hopefully that results in some good

runs. Gloucestershire's best chance for success may be the T20. They

were second from bottom in their group in the one-day cup but are

hopeful of improving that, and the format they championship results.

Two teams can get promoted and as I said that wasn't our aim that would

be ridiculous, so some tough teams and we have to play some hard

cricket and be sure that everybody is mocking in together to perform on

the pitch. It will be tough but we are not hiding behind that. Comedian

Dara O Brion has been lending they can take a hand promoting the

England- Ireland match staged in Bristol next month. It is also a

venue for the women's World Cup meaning Gloucestershire will host a

lucrative ten internationals this summer. It is the difference between

trading profit and not trading at profit. We are not hugely dependent

on it but it makes the difference between a rainy day and a not so

rainy day. The club has certainly sharpened up its image and as the

county continues to prosper off the field, the team needs to ensure it

is not left behind. Let's catch up on the weather and we

can head upstairs. Let's take you through the forecast for tomorrow.

We continue this run of dry weather and it is looking like over the next

ten days, generally drier than average conditions will be

prevailing, not to rule out some rain but not much. Tomorrow, on face

value more cloud compared to today but one thing I should point out,

the forecast computer models are struggling with the degree to which

things cloud over and the balance between sunshine and cloud cover,

not just for our region, and that continues into tomorrow, so you may

see different solutions for any particular spot. A dry a for some

and some will see a sunny weather. As we continue into tomorrow you

will see the signal for mode of the cloud to be around about some

exceptions, most notably to the west and around the coastal fringes. As

we come inland, more breaks developing. A good deal of sunshine

around, invaded by varying amounts of cloud. The process continues

through the course of tonight but a dry night and not as chilly as the

last so we should end up with the temperature around 6-8. For many of

you a good deal of cloud around but with the caveat about the amount of

cloud being difficult to pin down. A signal that some of the coastal

fringes around Somerset will see a reasonable amount of sunshine.

Coming inland, the cloud will be breaking up through the course of

the afternoon but cloud or not, a Friday and the winds will be light,

the temperature in the low teens. Feeling pleasantly warm should the

sun breaks through. A more path into Friday, the trend throughout Friday

and into the course of the weekend is to lose cloud cover rather than

increase, boding well for the weekend, not impossible that by

Sunday the temperature could get up to 20.

Just in time for the weekend. That would be nice. Back again at 10pm,

goodbye. CHILD: This is

a major scientific breakthrough. Hello. It's All Round to

Mrs Brown's, where my guests will be Steve Backshall, and music

from the beautiful Pixie Lott.