:00:00. > :01:15.Good evening. A man tortured by people he believed were fridnds has
:01:16. > :01:18.been telling the BBC how he thought he was going to die. Ben
:01:19. > :01:22.Hutchings`Mitchell who lives in Hastings was gagged, beaten with
:01:23. > :01:25.hammers and forced into a body bag and then driven to woodland. They
:01:26. > :01:28.then discussed burying him `live. Five people have been convicted in
:01:29. > :01:37.connection with the incident. Mark Sanders reports. This is Ben
:01:38. > :01:41.Hutchings`Mitchell after he was tortured. A gang of men did this to
:01:42. > :01:46.try and get him to hand over money. He was lowered by a supposed friend
:01:47. > :01:50.to a house in Hastings. The light was off so I joked about it not
:01:51. > :01:55.paying his bills and then as I turned around and laugh at H was
:01:56. > :02:00.smacked in the head with a hammer. I went down in shock. I was p`nicked
:02:01. > :02:05.and tried to get up and as H got up and got to the gate there w`s a
:02:06. > :02:09.padlock on the gate and thex had locked me in. That was just the
:02:10. > :02:13.start. They tied him up and gagged him and stuffed him in a body bag.
:02:14. > :02:18.They drove him to these woods where they talked about burying hhm alive.
:02:19. > :02:22.I thought I was going to did. They were talking about taking md to a
:02:23. > :02:28.forest and stuff and that h`ppened so I thought it was going to end.
:02:29. > :02:36.They put you in a body bag? Yes A plastic white bag. I was behng
:02:37. > :02:40.kicked in the head cause thdy put me in head first and I was behhnd the
:02:41. > :02:45.driver where the feet were so I could not see where we were going.
:02:46. > :02:50.What were they saying? They were saying things like have you got a
:02:51. > :02:55.shovel? The gang did not carry out the threat and released him onto the
:02:56. > :02:59.street in Hastings four men have been convicted of the assault and
:03:00. > :03:03.the fifth man has been found guilty of trying to get Ben to drop the
:03:04. > :03:13.case. The Sussex Police said about the gang...
:03:14. > :03:19.The police and other experts say that this sort of incident hs rare.
:03:20. > :03:23.It is a very dangerous way of exposing yourself and it re`lly
:03:24. > :03:28.raises the stakes for the vhctim because obviously the victil is then
:03:29. > :03:34.able to identify the attackdrs and that renders a prosecution luch more
:03:35. > :03:40.liable. Ben 's winds have now healed but he says he can never forgive
:03:41. > :03:44.what they gang did to him. `` then's wounds have now healdd.
:03:45. > :03:48.A Sussex soldier's death was avoidable and preventable. That is
:03:49. > :03:51.the verdict of a former Armx major on the death of Lance Corporal
:03:52. > :03:54.Michael Pritchard from Eastbourne who was killed by friendly fire in
:03:55. > :03:57.Afghanistan. Major Richard Streatfield makes the claims in a
:03:58. > :04:00.book to be published this wdek. Today Michael Pritchard's mother
:04:01. > :04:05.welcomed the claims as she strives to win an apology from the Linistry
:04:06. > :04:11.of Defence. Here's Piers Hopkirk. For Helen Perry, the grieving never
:04:12. > :04:14.stops. Today some relief th`t hearing confirmed from a senior
:04:15. > :04:19.military figure what she thought she knew all along. A lack of epuipment
:04:20. > :04:24.and a lack of training led to the death of her son. If you ard going
:04:25. > :04:27.to send a young soldier to war, it is like in any profession, hf they
:04:28. > :04:33.do not have the tools for the job things are going to go wrong. I find
:04:34. > :04:40.it incredible that they are not looked after and it is a duty of
:04:41. > :04:43.care. The duty of care was not there. Lance Corporal Michadl
:04:44. > :04:48.Pritchard died after being shot by friendly fire in Afghanistan in
:04:49. > :04:54.December 2009. His commanding officer has now written a book about
:04:55. > :04:57.his combat experiences, sayhng that Lance Corporal Michael Pritchard's
:04:58. > :05:01.family deserve a full apology from the Ministry of Defence for their
:05:02. > :05:07.failings over his death. Michael's death was, of course, avoid`ble
:05:08. > :05:12.There were mistakes individtal and collective, for which I apologised
:05:13. > :05:18.immediately after being quest and I believe should be apologised for
:05:19. > :05:24.publicly by the Ministry of Defence because there were MoD and `rmy
:05:25. > :05:31.chain of command mistakes as well. He believes the ministry fahled to
:05:32. > :05:34.upgrade essential kit and dhd not spend money on battlefield beacons
:05:35. > :05:38.to allow soldiers to identify their own troops. There was a lack of
:05:39. > :05:41.radios that meant poor communication. To be sent ott
:05:42. > :05:50.without the best kit that is available is disgusting. Evdry life
:05:51. > :05:58.is valuable and every soldidr deserves to be fully protected and
:05:59. > :06:02.that is a fundamental duty of care. The MoD said that the Armed Forces
:06:03. > :06:09.constantly review equipment requirements to ensure they are
:06:10. > :06:14.fully placed to meet the myriad of incidents they may meet an
:06:15. > :06:17.operations. All personnel ddserve the best protection that money can
:06:18. > :06:20.buy. I'm joined now by Stephen Lloyd who
:06:21. > :06:23.is the family's constituencx MP Mr Lloyd, you are putting your weight
:06:24. > :06:36.behind their campaign for an apology. I am. My heart goes out to
:06:37. > :06:39.the family, to Helen and Michael's sister and his father. The broader
:06:40. > :06:44.family have been fighting this for years and they have been working
:06:45. > :06:47.closely with them. It is an amazing family of great courage. It appears
:06:48. > :06:53.from what the commanding officer puts into this book that I have had
:06:54. > :06:55.a bit of a briefing about is that he is specifically criticising the
:06:56. > :07:01.equipment and there are two things that I want to do and I will do I
:07:02. > :07:04.want an assurance from the LOT that they have learned from this and the
:07:05. > :07:08.necessary equipment that cotld have saved Michael's life has now been
:07:09. > :07:12.implemented and is used by troops and that is an assurance th`t I
:07:13. > :07:15.want. The second thing is if the commanding officer says that the
:07:16. > :07:19.army and the MoD should givd a public apology to the familx then I
:07:20. > :07:24.think they should. I will bd pressing both of those cases. Do you
:07:25. > :07:28.think it is likely? It seems that the MoD is very reluctant to
:07:29. > :07:32.apologise about anything in these kind of environments. It dods seem
:07:33. > :07:37.to be a department that does struggle in this area. I do not
:07:38. > :07:42.know. I am not ex`Army and H have not been in the MoD but I bdlieve
:07:43. > :07:45.that where you happy former commanding officer of Michadl
:07:46. > :08:04.Pritchard demanding that thd MoD do a public apology, if they do not
:08:05. > :08:07.then I would want to know the reason why. There are two issues, the
:08:08. > :08:09.apology which I will be pressing and also I want assurances that there
:08:10. > :08:12.has been real learning here and this equipment that would or could have
:08:13. > :08:13.saved his life is now avail`ble for the troops in Afghanistan and
:08:14. > :08:15.elsewhere. Thank you very much.
:08:16. > :08:19.In a moment: A campaign to ward Walter Tull a posthumous medal for
:08:20. > :08:22.his bravery. Ambitious plans to build a 05,0 0
:08:23. > :08:26.home garden city in Kent received luke warm reception from thd County
:08:27. > :08:29.Council today which warned that it had been trying to push for
:08:30. > :08:32.development in the area for years. The leader of Kent County Council
:08:33. > :08:35.says he's had little success in getting the company which owns the
:08:36. > :08:38.land in Ebbsfleet to start building. For seven years the developdr, Land
:08:39. > :08:48.Securities, has had planning permission for thousands of homes,
:08:49. > :08:51.but has only started work on 15 . Our business correspondent Lark
:08:52. > :08:56.Norman reports. Through the trees you can m`ke out
:08:57. > :09:00.the quarry. The landowners have planning permission to build 16 000
:09:01. > :09:04.homes here and it is where the government want to see a new garden
:09:05. > :09:08.city. Hold on, shouldn't we see some houses over there? 18 months ago the
:09:09. > :09:14.leader of the council told le they had done a deal to see building work
:09:15. > :09:18.start in the quarry. Land Sdcurities have suggested they will st`rt to
:09:19. > :09:21.build the first phase of holes. . This is Paul Carter today, still
:09:22. > :09:28.believing that hounds will eventually be built here. To be fair
:09:29. > :09:33.to Land Securities may have started to build 150 homes. It is a small
:09:34. > :09:38.number compared to the potential for that side and we now want to see
:09:39. > :09:43.accelerated progress by Land Securities, the landowners, with a
:09:44. > :09:47.bit of help and a challenge from the central government develop the
:09:48. > :09:53.corporation. The politicians want to see 15,000 homes built on l`nd
:09:54. > :09:56.already earmarked for development. There is ?200 million avail`ble for
:09:57. > :10:06.new homes and `` new roads `nd schools. Will this actually be a
:10:07. > :10:10.garden city? Here at Letchworth the first garden city in the cotntry...
:10:11. > :10:14.Letchworth was the first garden city in the country but to qualify you
:10:15. > :10:17.have to adhere to certain principles and in particular the land hs held
:10:18. > :10:22.in trust for the community with profits from things such as factory
:10:23. > :10:26.rentals being used for the community. Development has been slow
:10:27. > :10:28.and that is why we are taking the step the cost of element
:10:29. > :10:32.corporations can make things happen more quickly and critically the
:10:33. > :10:51.Chancellor has said that he will put in up to ?200 million of additional
:10:52. > :10:53.capital investment which will create the infrastructure to unlock
:10:54. > :10:55.house`building. The owners of the land say they welcomed the
:10:56. > :10:57.announcement yesterday but `dd that the valley still resembles the
:10:58. > :10:59.quality `` quarry and needs significant further investmdnt
:11:00. > :11:00.before homes can be built in any quantity.
:11:01. > :11:04.Well, our business correspondent Mark Norman is in Ebbsfleet now at
:11:05. > :11:07.the site of the Eurostar terminal. That is a very clear piece of
:11:08. > :11:09.infrastructure in the area but when you are building 15,000 new homes,
:11:10. > :11:12.you need roads and schools `nd health facilities and what `bout
:11:13. > :11:16.those? Absolutely. This is ` centrepiece and there is a planned
:11:17. > :11:21.?2 billion investment in a theme park in Swans command the potential
:11:22. > :11:23.of another Thames crossing. This will put huge pressure on schools
:11:24. > :11:28.and roads locally and that will be part of what the money is about
:11:29. > :11:35.Yesterday's announcement probably came as a bit of a surprise, a bit
:11:36. > :11:39.too early for some of the players in this game and people want to see how
:11:40. > :11:42.the urban developer incorporation is constituted and to see if it has the
:11:43. > :11:44.teeth and the clout to push through the plans where other plans have
:11:45. > :11:48.failed in the past decade. Well, we want to know what xou
:11:49. > :11:52.think. Is the Government right in its plans to create a Garden City in
:11:53. > :12:04.Kent or is the South East already too crowded?
:12:05. > :12:11.Three women and a dog have been rescued after becoming trapped
:12:12. > :12:15.waist`deep in mud on the Kent coast. The first woman had been walking to
:12:16. > :12:18.Reculver on Sunday morning. A fellow walker and two dogs had man`ged to
:12:19. > :12:24.free themselves after becomhng stuck. She was rescued by the RNLI.
:12:25. > :12:31.About 90 minutes later two women and a dog were rescued from the same
:12:32. > :12:34.place. Some of the people affected by the
:12:35. > :12:38.winter flooding are to recehve a royal visit this week. The Prince of
:12:39. > :12:42.Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be in Yalding in Kent on
:12:43. > :12:44.Wednesday meeting local reshdents. They then travel to Burwash in East
:12:45. > :12:47.Sussex. Beaches at two of the South East's
:12:48. > :12:50.holiday destinations could be closed due to pollution. The Environment
:12:51. > :12:54.Agency says raw sewage is flowing into the sea off Hastings Bdach in
:12:55. > :12:58.East Sussex and in Kent rotting seaweed is causing problems. In a
:12:59. > :13:00.moment we'll speak to Charlhe Rose in Hastings but first Peter
:13:01. > :13:11.Whittlesea reports from Walpole Bay in Margate.
:13:12. > :13:15.The water quality here simply is not clean enough to meet new EU
:13:16. > :13:20.regulations. Instead of sticking up a sign saying there is no swimming
:13:21. > :13:25.here the local council has `pplied to delist this beach so bathers do
:13:26. > :13:33.not come here. It is not right not to warm people and we have had 0
:13:34. > :13:37.positive testing is since 2011. That and the negative publicity `nd no
:13:38. > :13:41.swimming sign could bring is why this beach will be delisted. Is it
:13:42. > :13:46.the right decision? If people want to swim there they will swil but
:13:47. > :13:50.they should be notified correctly, not just delisted. If you ptt a sign
:13:51. > :13:54.saying not to swim it will put people off. The council says it
:13:55. > :13:59.cannot risk putting people off in an area with so many blue flags.
:14:00. > :14:03.Normally the contents of thhs outflow pipe are relatively harmless
:14:04. > :14:11.but because of a few disconnected residential pipes, some of ht could
:14:12. > :14:15.be sewage. I am a bit disgusted I think it is insignificant, the money
:14:16. > :14:19.would be better sent `` better spent tracing the source of the sdwage
:14:20. > :14:23.rather than fencing it off. The beaches used by a lot of language
:14:24. > :14:27.students who are great for the local economy and called on the bdach off
:14:28. > :14:32.does not look great for tourism The source of the problem is about 0
:14:33. > :14:38.properties to the north of Hastings. It is not clear yet who is to blame
:14:39. > :14:43.but because of strict new Etropean rules on water quality the council
:14:44. > :14:56.has to act. One of our ideas is because the monitoring takes place
:14:57. > :14:59.close to the outfall, if we discourage bathers from swilming in
:15:00. > :15:02.that area and get them to move about 50 metres or so to the East and we
:15:03. > :15:05.change the monitoring point so it is further from the outfall whdre it is
:15:06. > :15:08.clear some material is going out that we would rather it did not The
:15:09. > :15:10.council hoped to get the messages out and get a warning in pl`ce in
:15:11. > :15:13.time for the busy season. Well, our reporter Charlie Rose
:15:14. > :15:17.joins us live now from Hasthngs Closing the beach could do dnormous
:15:18. > :15:22.harm to the image of the town. How soon do they think they can get this
:15:23. > :15:26.problem sorted? These new rtles on a safe levels of faecal matter in
:15:27. > :15:30.bathing water come into effdct next year so the authorities are
:15:31. > :15:34.identifying the homes that have their say was mistakenly connected
:15:35. > :15:38.to the storm drains. They w`nt to get the problem sorted before 2 15
:15:39. > :15:41.because Spring is here and the weather is warming up and the last
:15:42. > :15:44.thing the council want is for people to be put off from visiting the
:15:45. > :15:47.beach. This is our top story tonight: A
:15:48. > :15:51.21`year`old man who was tortured by people he believed were fridnds has
:15:52. > :15:55.been telling the BBC how he thought he was going to die.
:15:56. > :15:58.Ben Hutchings, who lives in Hastings, was gagged, beaten with
:15:59. > :16:02.hammers and forced into a body bag and then driven to woodland. Five
:16:03. > :16:09.people have been convicted hn connection with the incident.
:16:10. > :16:13.Also in tonight's programme: The Sussex athlete who first sw`m a mile
:16:14. > :16:18.at the age of four, now abott to compete in the world winter
:16:19. > :16:21.championships in Finland. After the weekend sunshine this week
:16:22. > :16:33.includes more cloud and the wind will pick up and there is r`in as
:16:34. > :16:36.well. Join me later for the details. Pressure is growing for Britain s
:16:37. > :16:39.first black army officer to be given the Military Cross. Walter Tull who
:16:40. > :16:42.was from Folkestone, was killed during the second Battle of the
:16:43. > :16:45.Somme but wasn't officially honoured for his bravery. Tull was also a
:16:46. > :16:48.professional footballer and played for Tottenham Hotspurs. Now ahead of
:16:49. > :16:52.the centenary of the First World War, one of his descendants has made
:16:53. > :17:03.an emotional journey across the Channel to the place where he died.
:17:04. > :17:08.Nafisa Sayani went along. This man was extraordinary. He just
:17:09. > :17:11.happened to be half black. He was very humbling all the things he
:17:12. > :17:17.did. He lived his life for other people. He is an inspiration because
:17:18. > :17:25.he did it at a time when attitudes were very different. He was a
:17:26. > :17:30.working`class orphan from Kdnt but against all odds Walter Tull became
:17:31. > :17:35.the first black combat officer in the British Army. Now his great
:17:36. > :17:39.niece has come from Maidstone here to northern France where he was
:17:40. > :17:44.killed in action. Because I am one of the last of the family I just
:17:45. > :17:49.wanted to sort of come and see for myself and be able to pass tp and
:17:50. > :17:53.down to my children. Born in Folkestone and the grandson of a
:17:54. > :17:58.slave he became well`known `s a player at a top football cltb,
:17:59. > :18:03.Tottenham Hotspur. He gave tp his sporting career to join the British
:18:04. > :18:08.Army even before conscription and he grows up the ranks despite the
:18:09. > :18:13.colour of his skin. He was seen as a good soldier and promoted three
:18:14. > :18:20.times and eventually by 1917 he became an officer and the m`nual of
:18:21. > :18:26.military law forbade any colmissions to people that were not of pure
:18:27. > :18:31.European descent so they threw the rule book away for him. You would
:18:32. > :18:38.make an excellent commissioned officer... Walter made history and
:18:39. > :18:43.inspired books and plays and films including this BBC television drama.
:18:44. > :18:48.Soldiers on the front line were expected to live no more th`n six or
:18:49. > :18:53.eight weeks. Walter outlastdd that by many months. In March 1908,
:18:54. > :18:59.during the last major German offensive of the war, he was fatally
:19:00. > :19:01.shot. His body was never fotnd but in this cemetery not far from the
:19:02. > :19:06.battlefield where it is thotght he was killed more than 300 Brhtish
:19:07. > :19:12.soldiers are buried and ten of them are unidentified bodies. Rita
:19:13. > :19:17.suspect that one of them cotld be Walter Tull but she will never know
:19:18. > :19:23.for sure. Those, like Walter, whose bodies were never recovered have
:19:24. > :19:29.their names inscribed here on this memorial to the missing. Whdn I saw
:19:30. > :19:32.his name on there it really choked me up. I did not think it would be
:19:33. > :19:40.that way because I never kndw him as a person but to suddenly sed that, I
:19:41. > :19:45.just wanted to cry. I am just absolutely proud that I am part of
:19:46. > :19:49.the family. Walter was recolmended for a military Cross but never
:19:50. > :19:52.received it. For Rita this reunion with her great uncle is a mdmory
:19:53. > :20:01.that she will treasure for the rest of her life.
:20:02. > :20:05.And you can find out more about the centenary of the First World War on
:20:06. > :20:21.our website. A Kent teenager is starting his
:20:22. > :20:28.final training today for thd World Winter Swimming Championships in
:20:29. > :20:32.Finland. BBC South East Tod`y first filmed Alan Luckhurst in 2001, when
:20:33. > :20:40.he swam a mile for charity `t Maidstone Leisure Centre. Hd's now
:20:41. > :20:49.17 and Ian Palmer has been to see him again.
:20:50. > :20:53.Training in the Serpentine lake in London in February. In Finl`nd Alan
:20:54. > :20:57.Luckhurst will have two bre`k the ice before he gets into the water.
:20:58. > :21:02.Your body starts to shut down the minor organs so it is the m`jor
:21:03. > :21:06.organs that keep working and after a while your fingers note `` xour
:21:07. > :21:10.fingers go numb and your tods go numb and everything starts to go and
:21:11. > :21:15.with me my chest starts to go really numb and that becomes quite painful
:21:16. > :21:19.if I am in for too long. Thd 17`year`old is a veteran whdn it
:21:20. > :21:23.comes to swimming because at the age of four he completed a mile in his
:21:24. > :21:29.local pool. It was a record at the time so who will bet against him
:21:30. > :21:34.breaking more in the future. Not too tired? Body shaping up well? Think
:21:35. > :21:39.you can do it? Yes. Alan Luckhurst will compete in the under 18
:21:40. > :21:42.category of the world Champhonships. To prepare for this challenge she
:21:43. > :21:49.has had to do something rather extreme. This is Alan trainhng last
:21:50. > :21:55.night in an ice bath at homd. He lasted for five minutes. His parents
:21:56. > :21:59.say they admire his dedicathon. We are incredibly proud, particularly
:22:00. > :22:03.as the cold water swimming hn particular he has done of hhs own
:22:04. > :22:07.volition and he has wanted to do it as opposed to us having to dncourage
:22:08. > :22:10.them to do it initially. If you do not live life in the comfort zone
:22:11. > :22:15.you achieve more and facing challenges helps him grow. The
:22:16. > :22:20.17`year`old has been short listed for a cross`channel relay swim.
:22:21. > :22:27.Shola attempts will shortly follow. For now the focus is on the
:22:28. > :22:32.Scandinavian winter can throw at him. `` solo attempt will shortly
:22:33. > :22:36.follow. I feel cold just looking at it!
:22:37. > :22:39.Sooner him than me. Followers of the South East's
:22:40. > :22:42.football league clubs can t`ke some comfort from the weekend's results.
:22:43. > :22:45.There were away draws for Charlton and Gillingham but useful vhctories
:22:46. > :22:51.for both Crawley and Brighton as Neil Bell reports.
:22:52. > :22:54.Rather like last year Brighton looked like gaining momentul just at
:22:55. > :22:58.the right time and they might have found the answer to their
:22:59. > :23:03.goal`scoring issues. Will Btckley showed what they had missed with a
:23:04. > :23:06.cool finish to put them ahe`d. His second after the interval w`s
:23:07. > :23:09.simplicity itself with a deft flick and a burst of speed and ard
:23:10. > :23:17.confident finish to cap a htgely impressive performance. It was
:23:18. > :23:25.fantastic and a fantastic s`ve. He had the quality to finish the second
:23:26. > :23:31.one. He showed good place and a cool heads to finish it. They max have a
:23:32. > :23:38.new manager but Charlton's lack of firepower continues to haunt them.
:23:39. > :23:42.They were lifted off the bottom of the championship. Chillingh`m found
:23:43. > :23:48.themselves a goal down earlx on but they went ahead. A deft sub from ``
:23:49. > :23:59.a deft touch from a Saab me`nt they equalised and stayed in 13th place.
:24:00. > :24:01.Mike Jones made a decisive finish each to give Crawley victorx over
:24:02. > :24:05.Colchester. A teenage Kent footballer h`s joined
:24:06. > :24:08.Premier League Hull City. The rapid progress of 18`year`old Joh`n Ter
:24:09. > :24:10.Horst was being monitored bx a number of clubs following a
:24:11. > :24:19.successful season with home team Folkestone Invicta.
:24:20. > :24:24.Summer is over. That is it. Wasn't it glorious? It
:24:25. > :24:27.will mostly be dry this week so it is not a write`off.
:24:28. > :24:32.The sunshine from the weekend we will have less of it the next few
:24:33. > :24:36.days. Temperatures will cool and by Friday it will be turning wdt as
:24:37. > :24:40.well. Earlier there was somd sunshine around but plenty of cloud
:24:41. > :24:47.cover and the temperatures `re down from the weekend values but still in
:24:48. > :24:52.the low teens. Not bad for the time of year. The winner will be picking
:24:53. > :24:56.up in the next couple of daxs. Tonight they will mostly st`y
:24:57. > :24:59.light. We will have cloud cover thickening and there could be some
:25:00. > :25:04.patchy rain and drizzle. Temperatures only dropping 26 or
:25:05. > :25:10.seven degrees. It will be mhld as we start the tomorrow. Cloud cover and
:25:11. > :25:14.we stay mild in the morning but in the afternoon there are light
:25:15. > :25:20.showers. The ice above are tightening which means the wind is
:25:21. > :25:23.picking up. The morning is the best chance of seeing sunshine whth more
:25:24. > :25:28.clouded the afternoon. Therd are some fast moving showers. Top
:25:29. > :25:35.temperatures 13 degrees and it will feel cooler than today. As we go
:25:36. > :25:39.through tomorrow night it is more of the same. We stay dry with plenty of
:25:40. > :25:45.cloud cover and temperatures stay mild. They only dropped to six or
:25:46. > :25:49.seven degrees. On Wednesday the temperatures climbed slightly. It
:25:50. > :25:52.stays breezy with cloud covdr. We will see the temperatures in the
:25:53. > :25:59.midst teams and highs of 16 or 7 degrees. In more sheltered shots ``
:26:00. > :26:08.spots it will be the best d`y of the week. On Thursday more cloud cover.
:26:09. > :26:12.The wind will strengthen. It is uncertain when we will see this rain
:26:13. > :26:16.but it turns wet and windy `s we go over into Friday. The weekend will
:26:17. > :26:23.be nothing like this weekend with cloud cover and outbreaks of rain
:26:24. > :26:28.but it will be warm on Wedndsday. Plans to build a garden citx with
:26:29. > :26:32.15,000 new homes in Apsley had a lukewarm reception from the County
:26:33. > :26:36.Council. The leader says th`t he has had little success in getting the
:26:37. > :26:42.company who owns the land already to start building.
:26:43. > :26:46.We ask for your views. David says in our household we are worried that
:26:47. > :26:50.this development will stretch the inadequate infrastructure of roads
:26:51. > :26:53.and schools and hospitals in the area which cannot cope now so how
:26:54. > :26:57.will they manage with anothdr 1 ,000 homes?
:26:58. > :27:00.They will not. Similar thoughts from Julia.
:27:01. > :27:03.She says the infrastructure needs major investment. Anyone who lives
:27:04. > :27:07.here knows that when there `re problems on the M25 the whole area
:27:08. > :27:11.becomes gridlocked, more holes, more traffic, the area cannot help ``
:27:12. > :27:15.code. This one says it sounds good but
:27:16. > :27:18.they should look at the boarded`up properties first because thdre are
:27:19. > :27:22.thousands. The nearest hosphtal is Darren Valley which is alre`dy too
:27:23. > :27:25.small and cannot cope. The schools are oversubscribed and
:27:26. > :27:29.the roads around blue water can be at a standstill so she is not
:27:30. > :27:33.looking forward to it being built. Chris asked if there was public
:27:34. > :27:39.consultation over the construction of the new town.
:27:40. > :27:41.It seems it is an opportunity area but for who? Developers and
:27:42. > :27:47.builders. That is it for now. I will be back
:27:48. > :27:48.with the late bulletins and the 8pm update. I will see you tomorrow
:27:49. > :27:53.Goodbye.