29/07/2014 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today, I'm Polly Evans.

Tonight's top stories: Stay out of the water ` again.

Anger in Thanet as Southern Water discharges sewage into the sea.

The beaches are closed. You going to come here? It's going to put you

off. Without ?100 million of invdstment,

Manston can never be a successful airport,

according to an expert report. We're live

at the site with the details. It's official. The ceremony is held

to mark the start of Britain's i360. Adam Gemili celebrates his silver

medal at the Commonwealth G`mes The saga of Noggin the Nog

continues. The Viking boy wonder created in Kent turns up on stage.

People are being warned not to go into the sea off nine Kent beaches

after the latest in a series of sewage discharges.

Southern Water say they had to release sewage from pumping stations

in Margate and Broadstairs to ensure local homes were not flooded

Notices have been put up on beaches from Walpole Bay to

Dumpton Gap advising people not to go beyond the high water mark.

Peter Whittlesea joins us lhve from Broadstairs.

Peter, this is a real blow to tourhsm in

To lessen the impact, they were cleaning up debris from beaches like

this. Advice is not to go p`st the high water mark. Businesses see this

could not have come at a worse time, at the start of the school holidays.

Perfect beach weather this lorning but signs told visitors to stay out

of the water after sewage w`s discharged from two of Southern

Water's pumping stations. Gdt your act together. Get it sorted. We are

sick of this every time we have some rain. This is the latest in a series

of incidents that have closdd Thanet beaches. In June 2012, several were

closed after a fault. Last xear Southern Water was fined ?200,0 0.

They have the worst record hn the country for sewage leaks. The owner

of the soft school says his business has been hit yet again. `` source.

They cannot consistently pollute our water and get away with it. It is

criminal. It is a disgrace. We will lose thousands of pounds and B won't

get it back. We are consistdntly losing money and the reputation of

our business. There were apparently few options because of excess

rainfall. This morning, the vast majority of visitors didn't go in.

But as temperatures rose, m`ny changed domains. It would h`ve been

such a disappointment. We ddcided to just chance it. I told them they can

only paddle. Not to put thehr faces in. Businesses see the fear of more

sewage is damaging reputation. Tonight there is anger at Southern

Water. There is a belief th`t they should be forced to do something

since they were fined 200 thousand pounds recently. Thanet council said

tomorrow morning, they will be going around all the beaches to CF there

is debris on any of them. After low tide tomorrow, they will make a

decision if they can open. A new report looking at the

potential to reopen Manston Airport has concluded that it couldn't be

done without a multi`million pound investment programme and

Central Government commitment to The report, commissioned by Thanet

District Council, says an initial investment of ?100 million would be

needed for the airport to stcceed. It recommends creating

a long`term business plan l`sting at least 20 years and says

the project would require political Our business correspondent

Mark Norman has the details. If you stole what campaigners hoping

to see Manston survive and hoping to see Thanet Council by the ahrport.

As part of that process, thd council commissioned a report asking of

Manston was sustainable, and the answer came back now. Not unless

there was a ?100 million investment in local infrastructure coupled with

Government support. This is a significantly complex issue. We had

to follow appropriate processes What we are looking for is ` 20 year

business plan that establishes viability well into the futtre. But

well the 52 page report goes into detail, it has its critics. The

local MP says it has been rtshed and is inaccurate. Campaigners say that

the airport did not pass on important financial details to the

authors. The field to supplx the facts. `` failed. Unfortunately

without that information, you cannot have a solid viability report. There

was huge local support for workers who lost their jobs earlier this

year but some experts believe that, well it didn't work as a passenger

airport, with investment it could work as a cargo hub. As a holiday

airport, I think it is posshbly too far on the coast. It needed

companies to move their cargo hub is down there and that would h`ve saved

it. The report makes a numbdr of recommendations to councillors

including an invested stratdgy. But some are worried that it will lead

to delays allowing the airport to fall into disrepair.

I understand the report says there would need to be huge investment in

local transport links? It does. It says the airport should rem`in shut

until an established high`speed link to London is made including a Thanet

station. It also talks about an appearance of redundancy and he

reputation of failure. Now the huge place is shut down, putting off

potential operators. With some investment, other airports have

millions of users and it is said that could work here at Manston The

council are under pressure to act quickly, are they? They are. Up at

the gateway there have been campaigners every day since it has

closed and from the American company that wanted to buy Manston @irport.

Now they want to support thd compulsory purchase order btt

Manston say they are not gohng to bow to pressure and will discuss it

at a meeting on Thursday night. Any moment, what has Mary Portas

done for Margate. `` in a moment. A finance manager who stole more

than ?2 million from NHS trusts he worked for

in East Sussex has been jailed. Trevor Cosson, from Hastings,

used the money to buy a strhng He's been sent to prison

for five years and four months. He has taken money

which could have been used for patient care at a local levdl and

diverted it for his own purposes. He was building a property dmpire

with the funds he diverted. He did it over a number of xears

so it is very serious Our home affairs reporter

Rebecca Williams joins us lhve Rebecca, this is one of the most

serious cases of fraud against Yes. That is certainly what NHS is

seeing tonight. Trevor Cosson had been working as head of fin`ncial

accounting and committed thhs fraud over three years. He purchased 1

properties across the south`east. The majority were Saint Leonards on

Sea. Many have now been sold to other people. His activities only

came to light after the forler NHS primary care trust were disbanded

and a group to call for overseeing financial planning. They noticed in

an end of year audit that stspicious payments had been made and Trevor

Cosson pleaded guilty in cotrt and was sentenced to five years and four

months. An unlicensed cab driver who fled

the scene of a crash, leaving his passenger to did

in the car, has been jailed Emma Willis died in the crash

in Waldershare, near Dover, She was one

of three passengers being driven by 22`year`old Tobbie Colem`n,

who's been jailed for 15 months The death of a man who fell ill in

the back of a Sussex Police van is being investigated by the

Independent Police Complaints Commission. The 32`year`old was held

by police and died in hospital today. They are appealing for

witnesses. Network Rail are investigathng

a large sinkhole which has opened up today in the car

park of Maidstone East Stathon. The area's been cordoned off

until the hole is fully rep`ired. When it's finished it'll be visible

for more than 20 miles, and today a ceremony to mark

the start of building work on Brighton's controversial new

i360 viewing tower has taken place. A loan of more than ?36 million has

been borrowed from a special Government fund to build thd tourist

attraction, double the amount that Our reporter Mark Sanders is live

in Brighton for us. In two years time, if everything

goes to plan. People will bd able to travel to the top for panor`mic

views. The 21st century to dust attraction. The IT 60 `` i360 wants

to put Brighton right behind your feet. It will be Britain's highest

observation tower outside London. Today at the site, a ground`breaking

ceremony to mark the start of work on the tower. In the 19th`cdntury,

people walked out to the se` to the enjoy the view and look back at the

city. In two years, people will be able to look down from the sky. So

far, the i360 has only sought in the imagination. Now the architdcts

plans are set to become a rdality. The styling of the city of Brighton

and Hove will change forever. It has been eight years in the planning and

will open in 2016 with people able to rate a pod to the top. The i 60

has been controversial. Most of the ?46 million budget is coming from

public funds. Councillors in Brighton and Hove agreed to take out

a loan from the Government `gency and then lend on the money to the

developer at a commercial interest rate. A lot of people in thd city

feel that there is an element of risk there. Because the i360 is a

commercial venture and the figures that are being quoted for the number

of people who are going to write on it do look quite ambitious. ``

ride. It would only have to match the Royal Pavilion to continue as a

success. We are confident that this is going to add to the succdss of

the city. Sections of the tower will be built in the Netherlands. The pod

will be built in France. At the i360 is set to become a new landlark on

our coastline. When it comes to construction, next year will be the

big year, when huge stretch and is `` sections are built here.

He's one of the world's fastest men and, at the Commonwealth Gales in

Glasgow, Kent athlete Adam Gemili has enhanced his growing reputation.

The 20`year`old sprinter from Dartford was elated by his

performance last night, finhshing second in the 100 metres final to

So is Adam Gemili's grin sthll as big as it was last night?

He has one of the biggest and best smiles in sport. He proved to

everyone last night that, in the ultra competitive world of

sprinting, you can take on the best. Well,

the Dartford Grammar schoolboy, whose teacher entered him for the

Kent Athletic Schools Champhonships Until last night, Adam Gemili was

seen as a promising youngstdr. But it was clear that he believed

his time had come to prove that Although he was passed by

Jamaica's Kemar Bailey`Cole in the closing stages, this was

the 20`year`old's breakthrotgh Usually the start is the we`ker part

of my race, but it turned ott I got out very well

and I was hanging on for de`r life. The energy from

the crowd sent shivers up mx arm. His reaction when the silver medal

was confirmed was sheer youthful joy and he was keen to thank evdryone

at home for their support. I'm so grateful to the people

at home in Dartford and I'm so happy that I'm able to do this

for them and bring home a mddal Many people from Kent have helped

Adam on his way to the top. He won the Junior Championship two

years ago so we knew he was capable, but you have to remember he is only

20 years old. So to come through with

a silver medal last night, Sprinters usually don't peak

until their mid to late 20s so there could be many more nights

like this to come for this talented Today, Martin Brockman has ninth

with three events in the decathlon to go and the hockey team lost for

the first time but still on course for the semifinals.

People are being warned not to go into the sea off nine Thanet

beaches, after the latest in a series of sewage disch`rges.

Southern Water say they had to release sewage from two pumping

stations to ensure homes were not flooded during storms last night.

Also, Noggin the Nog, the Shr continues. The Kent and emission is

now a stage play on tour. `` animation. A couple of largdly dry

days to come. More in the forecast. She's the so`called Queen of Shops,

commissioned by the Governmdnt to Mary Portas launched her first 2

Portas Pilot towns two years ago But critics say shops are continuing

to close at an alarming ratd with Labour claiming it's 'polithcally

embarrassing' for the coalition I'm Mary Portas

and I want to find out whether the traditional high streets

have reached the end of the road. She is the regional queen t`sked by

the Prime Minister to reinvhgorate Here in Dartford,

the Mary Portas magic spell appears not to have worked,

in the last year alone the town has Among the big names to vacate

in the last year, Waitrose, Mary Portas has brought little bit

of press publicity but, to be honest, initiatives wdnt very

good to begin with. Dartford received ?80,000

from the ?1.2 million Portas pot, advancing the community shop

and a Sunday market. Spencer McInally has run

a cafe here for 17 years. He believes there are

bigger priorities. The rent and rates for this area

are going up and up and that's why we have empty stores becausd they

can't afford to renew the ldases. It would help me survive and bring

more people to the town itsdlf. Shoppers today were only too

aware of the need for changd. It used to be very pretty town

but now we have nothing with It's just a shame that lots

of places are closing down and Bluewater is taking all

the trade away. I think when they got rid of Tesco,

they ruined the place, The Government insists

that changes on its way. There will be progress

that can be seen. Sometimes it is very small,

sometimes it is just about the This will take time

but there is evidence now that high There was better news in Margate

with eight extra shops openhng here, but it seems it will take more than

just the Portas Pilot to hold Everyone agrees that the First World

War changed people's lives forever. But what we don't always relember

are the ways it changed fashions, culture, the way we shopped

and the role of women. Now an archivist working

at the Royal Academy and Tunbridge Wells Museum has written a book of

illustrated adverts from thd time that give a unique insight hnto how

society changed, and it links in with a new exhibition about

Tunbrige Wells Museum with men fighting on the front line,

it was women who took over farming, and even firefighting. For the first

time, they were working, le`rning to drive and have their own disposable

income. For the first time, advertisers were targeting them One

of the slogans of the time was duty on duty as a duty to beauty, so

whether you are up to your `rmpits install or helping soldiers. You

were still expected to look beautiful. Manufacturers sthll want

to remain due `` remained you. Publications like the hello London

news used hand drawn picturds of new fashions. In farming can unhty is ``

communities, people were surprised when women showed up like this. They

could never have done this work if they were reading a whalebone corset

underneath. Garments were m`de to fit underneath nurses outfits. 0 or

so voluntary hospitals sprung up, staffed largely by doctors `nd

nurses, but also volunteers from the local community. The adverts also

capture the mood of the war generation. The cigarette adverts

show a couple, whether he is on leave or dressed smartly, and the

tag line is that you have sden it through but don't want to t`lk about

it. So you get these extraordinary psychological insights into peoples

lives. And our World War One commelorations

continue with a special event in Folkestone on Monday,

marking 100 years to We'll be broadcasting live

and you can join us at a frde He's the good`natured son of Knut,

King of the Nogs, catapulted into danger when he assumes the

throne after his father's ddath Children's TV favourite Noggin

the Nog was continually thrdatened by his wicked uncle Nogbad the Bad

but somehow always managed to keep Now, for the first time ever,

the classic stories created in Kent by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate

have been adapted for the stage And, as Charlie Rose reports,

they're being performed Now, decades later, two original

funds are bringing the king and queen to the stage. We were walking

on the beach in Margate and wanted to do a family show and instantly

remembered Noggin the Nog from when we were small boys. What re`lly

attracted us to it was, it hs such just a charming piece of

television. If someone comes and says I want to turn your cartoon

into a theatre play, you re`lly need to think, is he going to do it

properly and honestly? Is it a new way of thinking about it? It's also

flattering, isn't it? Now stddenly, a dragon has come... Unlike his

other creations, Noggin the Nog was always two dimensional. But he is

happy to let others leave their mark. Good stories are now being

turned into a good theatre production with additions bx people

who have a lot of talent making them into something a bit more

entertaining for the childrdn who so often or just watching a screen

From the original cardboard tank to a new audience, half a centtry

later. A very different data yesterday It

wasn't too similar this morning to how it is now. This was takdn by

Kevin Charles, and it looked a bit damp. This is more what it looks

like today. Thank you for your photos. If you look at the reader,

you can see that there wasn't much cloud earlier today. That's why

temperatures have managed to get pretty high. We have looked at close

to 27 Celsius today, 24 Celsius along the coast in Folkestone. A

slight northerly breeze is refreshing today. Some late sunshine

but it starts to cloud over through the night. Not quite as humhd as it

has been lately, so we are looking at lows of 15 or 16 Celsius, even 17

Celsius in East Kent. It is going to be slightly more comfortabld without

the humidity. Towards dawn, the cloud clears away saw a bright start

for many tomorrow. Cloudy on the coast and it builds through the day,

so a largely cloudy day tomorrow but a few sunny spells. Temperatures

reaching higher Celsius so luch fresher altogether. Clear skies for

the night tomorrow night, whth temperatures down to 14 or 05

Celsius but feeling much frdsher. Towards the end of the week, it

becomes more unsettled. Thursday looks like it could be a drx day but

we can't rule out the odd shower. Friday, there is more risk that we

will see showers and that is the case for the weekend as well. There

are showers around and the threat over the weekend, but we cotld have

a different weekend to each other. It could be fine and largelx dry

one, sunny at times, but just down the road, it could be more shivery.

Much more settled over the next few days but not so much for thd

weekend. I leave the ashram, travel halfway

across the world to find my father,