27/10/2016 South Today - Oxford

In tonight's programme: The brothers spared jail

after their waste site caught fire - and burned for two months.

It cost half a million pounds to extinguish the fire in Swindon.

The judge said the actions of Lee and David Averies had harmed

how the law doesn't help people sleeping rough get off the streets -

Come to Oxford in a relationship and that broke down

I have seen one or two people lying there with nothing but a pidce

Owl be seeing you - the bird box project to wit to woo

Two brothers who were responsible for a fire which burned for two

months at a waste site in Swindon have been spared jail.

Lee and David Averies pleaded guilty last month

Today, as they were sentencdd, the judge said the fire had

caused harm to people and was extremely serious.

He gave one of the brothers a suspended sentence and banned

the other from running a business for three years.

Could I have a fire engine please? What address?

Mask eight. It is an industrial estate. Yes, we have had thd fire

Yes, we have had the fire brigade here before.

It spewed noxious smoke across Swindon for weeks And it

burnt for two months before it was extinguished.

Today Lee Averies who owned and ran the plant with his brother David,

They'd already pleaded guilty to being reckless

and negligent, causing pollttion and harm to health.

The judge told lead his offdnces caused significant harm of

disruption and they were serious enough for him to be sent to prison.

But he suspended a 12 month sentence for two years. He imposed a criminal

behaviour order which effectively bans him from the waste indtstry for

five years. His brother, David, was disqualified as a company dhrector

for three years and fined. Living with the fire

was horrible for many. Residents had to keep windows

closed, some went to hospit`l. It was disastrous. The smell, the

smoke, the burning plastics, the smell was horrendous. Having to work

with it was not very pleasant. It took weeks and weeks and it affected

my business. We were frustr`ted we were not able to put the fire out

more quickly. We needed a lot of waste of the site to put thd fire

out properly. We did not know what was inside the waste tips.

The Environment Agency estilates there was 10,000 tonnes

The Averies had a permit for half that And it wasn't the only site.

There was a fire at Swindon Skips in 2013.

The council has to deal with the tonnes of rubbish left

People are paying to have w`ste taken away. It is not dealt with

properly and it is left to someone else to deal with. The publhc purse,

it is not on. The Averies also own

Calne Aggregates, which was part The Environment Agency's working

to shut it down too. There'll be another case next year

under the Proceeds of Crime Act It's hoped more money

will be recovered then. As the number of people

sleeping on streets goes up, MPs are trying to bring

in legislation to help Oxford continues to have thd biggest

rough sleeping problem Currently, there's no

requirement to provide But enough Mps back it,

the Homelessness Reduction bill will mean local councils

will have a duty to care for all. You don't have to look hard

in Oxford to find signs of people down on their luck -

day or night. There may be tighter controls

on beggars in the city centre but the number of rough

sleepers officially recorded Oxford has had problems for years,

as a city it has the highest number of rough sleepers anywhere

in the country outside of London. This is a problem nationwidd

which is why the government is backing a Private Member's Bill

before the House of Commons tomorrow If it goes through, local

authorities will be obliged to take more responsibility

for homelessness on their doorsteps. These are the areas that

have the most significant problem. Oxford has seen rough sleepdr

numbers rise from 11 In Milton Keynes, figures show 9

people sleeping on the stredts last year compared to

six five years before. Cherwell District registered

21 rough sleepers - And in Swindon, the number's gone up

from six to 18 in 2015. There are a great deal more now

in dire circumstances. I have seen one or two people

lying there with nothing Sometimes you walk up this street

and there are ten beggars, active beggars, people who `sk

and then genuine homeless pdople One of the main issues

is the current legislation. Priority homeless -

such as families and the sick have to be housed by local

authorities - others, That's what this new

bill would address. This is a revolution

for local authorities. For 40 years we have said

deal with the priority homeless and do not deal

with the non-priorities, people get Probably get told you have to go

to sleep rough for a night or more before a charity will pick xou up

and find you accommodation. In some places it will make

it easier for people I'm not sure it will in Oxford

because of the disparity between incomes and rent

here but it is a step Now we need action from govdrnment

to provide more affordable housing. And it's tackling homelessndss

earlier which some experts believe is the cheapest way to solvd this

growing national problem. Maeve McGoldrick is the Head

of Policy and Campaigns She told me how this bill would help

single homeless people. This is the first reform since 0

years so it is providing significant support to people who do not receive

help when they approach the authority.

Rough sleepers need more th`n a bed, mental health problems, drug or

alcohol dependency, how far does the bill go in tackling the bigger

picture? The bill will help prevent people becoming homeless so if

someone is at risk of losing their house, it will help them secure

accommodation and provide stpport to stay in their tenancy but for those

who fall through the net and end up the streets, the Bill will provide

additional support to peopld to help them back into accommodation or

provide more intensive support. With councils under pressure in terms of

cuts, how will it be possible for them to provide accommodation. In

certain areas with high dem`nd it will be more challenging to source

new types of accommodation however the focus is around preventhng

homelessness, helping peopld stay in their existing tenancy. For others,

it will be challenging to fhnd alternative accommodation btt there

are options available and whth the funding this brings it will allow

councils to provide more intensive support. The bill needs the support

of 100 MPs, will it get back? Hard to say. It is on a knife edge at the

moment. We are close to 100 but by no means they're just yet. With a

Private Member's Bill, if wd do not get 100 with government support and

opposition support which we have, the bill will get killed off. It can

be talked out without 100 MPs to support it on the day. Thank you.

The budget for providing dax care in Oxfordshire for elderly people

and those with learning dis`bilities is due to be cut by around ` third.

The county council says it's "redesigning" what it offers

and is encouraging more comlunity and voluntary groups

It means the majority of exhsting council-run day care

Our political reporter Bethan Phillips joins me now.

Weren't day care centres saved under the last budget?

Yes, that's right - there were plans to cut

all of the council-run day care centres for elderly people.

But many councillors didn't want to vote it through -

and last minute negotiations at the budget meeting in February

But, the authority still has millions of pounds worth

of savings to find - so it's looked at the service again,

and this time has also incltded day care centres for people

As you say the council wants to redesign how

people get support - putting the focus on

And some of the 22 council-run centres will close.

One of the options will mean there are eight centres

for Oxfordshire - the other will leave four,

with some activities taking place in places like libraries

Depending on which option is chosen - either ?2.4 or 3.4 million.

So, essentially, charities are going to be asked to do more.

But the council insists that won't mean a poorer service.

If you think currently there are 200 services delivered

and of those 200 services, there are only 47 that actu`lly

receive support from us, that shows the voluntary sector

is working hard and successfully and ensuring they are also

I've spoken to people that tse these centres and there is a lot of worry

about this - these day centres are used to meet friends,

tackle loneliness, give a break to carers so people

are concerned about what will happen if they close.

Charities are also worried about being asked to take on more.

If the council were saying let's redesign services and leave the same

amount of money in them, I would be quite excited

because I think we can prob`bly do better than we are doing

The real challenge is doing better than we are doing at the minute

A consultation on this starts next week - we're likely to have

Plans to expand a marina in north Oxfordshire have been approved

Cropredy marina opened thred years ago and offers short

and long cruises along the English canal network,

as well as access to the River Thames.

There's now a waiting list for the 250 mooring spaces

The new development will include 100 more and a new car park.

We have been full up since we opened which was 2013.

We have a waiting list of about 20 boats and the more people to come,

the more money they spend in the local economy.

I think it can only do everyone good.

We have the space, the land is here, it is not being used except farming

And I think having more boats can only help.

Earlier this week we talked about the artistic uses of 3-D technology.

Now it's being used in Oxford to help in the treatment of cancer.

Scientists have created a sxnthetic torso which replicates

Doctors at the Churchill Hospital are using it to improve the way

radiotherapy is delivered to people with liver cancer.

This is Abdoman - a synthethc body made by a three dimensional printer.

Scientists at the Churchill Hospital are using it

Plastic parts are put together into a torso.

Abdoman is able to mimic hulan movements that can impede

The problem with patient im`ging is during the patient scan,

patients breathe and the thhngs we are looking at are moving

during the patients respiratory cycle and this new software looks

at ways of correcting that breathing so we get a clearer image.

Medics fill Abdoman with a solution that replicates the spread

Trials are continuing in Oxford and are being welcomed

By understanding how the radiotherapy is affecting

the patients, we can tailor treatments to them and potentially

give them less radiotherapy so they will experience less side

effects but this could be used as a tool to find

Research in Oxford has centred on liver cancer which kills

about five thousand people in the UK each year.

But this is just the beginnhng for 3D technology.

In the future we should be to print out individual organs for a patient

allowing us to personalise the cancer treatment

Cancer treatments continue to evolve.

By helping to provide more `ccurate doses of radiation, abdoman's

expected to improve the chances of patients recovering.

If you would like to get in touch with us, you can e-mail us.

Alexis will have weather details in a moment and we'll feature

the sport of ski cross, and meet the University

of Portsmouth student who's Britain's top performer

A coach operator from Salisbury today failed to appear at a public

inquiry into whether he shotld keep his operator's licence.

Rikki Lee Powell, who traded as Tempo Travel, based

at Marchwood near Southampton, said he'd tried a number of times

to surrender his licence but the Traffic Commissioner had

She said today that she will publish her judgement 'soon'.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Poundbury today,

the estate on the outskirts of Dorchester which is part

of the Duchy of Cornwall and where a whole new development

has been built over more than twenty-five years.

They were joined by the Prince of Wales and the

Our Dorset reporter Simon Clemison has been looking at the county's

royal relationship down the decades.

Since the early days of her reign, the Queen has been taking the train

to Dorset arriving here in Dorchester in 1952. Today, `t the

age of 90, she may be same journey keeping along history of Roxal links

with this county alive. Its royal connections spread back at least a

thousand years. It is that human connection with a monocle arrives on

a Dorset Railway which has been so strong over the last 60 also years.

-- a monarch who arrives. Stch is the atmosphere repeated with each

visit down the generations, a sign of the regard in which the Pueen is

held by so many here are. I continue to come out in their hundreds to

show their support. -- they continue. Today was a chancd to get

to the front of the stalls. What does the Queen mean to Dorsdt? Just

look, it says it all, brillhant turnout. We've been waiting a few

hours to see her and it's lovely to see her come here on a train. We

have got daughter, ma'am, grandmother, all come out of seedy

Queen. What was it like? -- all come out to see the Queen. Amazing. We

ran here just to see her. The Poundbury state the focal point this

afternoon built on Prince of Wales land with his ideals in mind. The

development has grown significantly since the Queen last came in the

90s. She unveiled a statue of her late mother. Some want a different

system for deciding the head of state but here, even the cr`nes say

Queen and the buildings thex are building is many Buckingham Palace.

-- a mini. On to sport. Let's start with

football. What did you want to say? No, I'm going to savour it. There

will be a moment. I built it up so high now, it's only down here. A guy

stopped me in the petrol st`tion this morning and said were xou at

the game this morning? Is this a joke? No! It although it fedls like

it. I said we will show it properly to night. Did you say it is

beautiful. I been wedded as they about all day. -- I've been waiting

to say that all day. He's Southampton's record shgning

and he lit up a pretty dull encounter between Southampton

and Sunderland in the EFL ctp last night, one piece of magic h`s put

Saints into the quarter fin`ls- Boufal brings it down out of the sky

brilliantly and he'll curl ht. On his debut, Boufal shows

what he's got in his locker. Southhampton's record signing lights

at St Mary's in the League Cup. A wonderful bit of individu`l

skill and that is why Fantastic. One of the goals of the

season so far. The draw has handed Claude Puel s

side a date with Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, that tie is likely

to be played on Wednesday David Morley is the Sunderl`nd boss

was sent to the stands at the end of the game and is charged by the FA in

the last hour. -- has been charged. Hampshire golfer Richard Bl`nd has

made yet another good start as he lines up in one of thd most

elite fields in his career The Stoneham golfer

who is enjoying his best year on tour moved to 5

under par at one stage, He dropped a shot at the 17th

to finish on 4 under par. But he is enjoying being in such an

elite field. It's just a nice way

to the sort of settle in. At the end of the day it is just

a game of golf and I've plaxed It does feel good playing in this

kind of quality field Now it's time to meet the UK's

number one ski cross compethtor Laurence Willows is studying

at the University of Portsmouth and has been selected to represent

Great Britain at the University sports equivalent of the Winter

Olympics in Kazakhstan next year. It's another step towards

what Laurence hopes will be a place Even if you are not a skier,

this is the Alpine sport th`t anyone can enjoy and it probably produced

the most dramatic ever finish He is reaching, it is not

that the other hand. 20-year-old student Laurencd Willows

will be one of 3000 athletes of 3000 athletes competing

in the World University Gamds With this event being so large

and being broadcast on 60 channels, I hope to step it up and make it

through to the quarterfinals. Giving it a realistic game,

getting into the top 16. If I can get into the top tdn,

great. Same with the world junior champs

next year, I'm looking to try and step into the top

20, top 15. A keen skier since early schooldays,

Lawrence has the attributes needed You've got to have a lot of drive

and determination and work With Laurence, he's come

from an Alpine racing background and he still competes in Alpine

as well, to help develop his skills but it is down to having thd guts

to go for it and you got You don't often get much sp`ce

and just got to go for thosd Competing internationally is very

expensive and Laurence has With some help from

friends and family too. The bank of mum,

as skiiers know it as. As well as individual peopld

who don't mind sponsor and then it's basically

doing my own work around it. It is easy to see why Laurence

is dedicated to ski cross. It is thrilling, demanding

and very competitive. That is thrilling stuff. Prdtty good

skiers. And now onto the we`ther. More fog this morning.

Tomorrow morning it would bd as dense but we have a very spdcial

video for you. An amazing view greeted

James Loveridge this morning at West Bay in Dorset where a bank

of fog was flowing over He sent his drone up and took some

timelapses to create The most likely cause in thhs

instance was that as the sun came up it started to heat the ground

and cause a light northerly breeze, which stirred things up and pushed

the fog off the cliff. That is really calming, isn't it? It

is like that Scandinavians flow television. Indeed. You can see that

on our Facebook page. Tonight, there is a chance we could have some mist

and fog but it won't be as widespread as last night, f`irly

patchy courtesy of the clear skies and the light winds. There will be

slightly more cloud stopping the fog from forming but where therd are

clear skies, most likely in River valleys and hilltop areas where the

fault will form. Temperaturds in the countryside around seven or 8

degrees. These are poor urb`n areas. Fog first of all, slowly cldaring.

Once it clears, varying amotnts of cloud, sunny spells and a hhgher

tomorrow of 14-15dC with a light westerly breeze. That will stay with

us through the rest of tomorrow afternoon and through the wdekend.

It will be dried, we will h`ve the westerly breeze to roaring `nd

milder from the Atlantic. Lows of 11-13dC. Quite a mild night

to come tomorrow night. Sattrday, high pressure dominating our

weather. A lot of cloud associated with it but we are in the cdntre of

the high-pressure, winds will be light and there will be quite a lot

of cloud in the day but the sun will start poking through once the mist

and fog clears and temperattres will be in the mid-teens, a few degrees

above the seasonal average. For the rest of the weekend and into next

week, Sunday is the day verx similar to Saturday. Each day very similar,

white a lot of cloud, fog and mist first things, clearing and we will

see some bright and sunny spells, the best of the sunshine likely on

Monday with temperatures re`ching a high of 14-15dC. Don't forgdt this

Sunday morning, the clocks go back an hour giving us that extr` hour of

sleep in bed. It's one of the most beautiful

creatures of the night - with a haunting cry many will have

heard across the The size of the region's

barn owl population But, in Berkshire,

a project is under way - to create new homes for the birds

displaced from their She has a blind spot

through the middle of her f`ce she is trying to look

at everything through the mhddle. Villagers hope her wild cousins

could become her new neighbours after residents chipped in to put 15

boxes up in the area. By putting the boxes up it lade

a tremendous difference to the conservation of the species

in the country. The number of pairs has gond up

from something like 3000 pahrs 0 years ago to about 8000 pairs today

and 75% of those are in boxds. The conversion of old-style barns

into housing combined with the felling of older trees

which are often considered ` safety risk has all lead to a declhne

in the barn owl's natural h`bitat. Professor Driver put up boxds

on university land 25 years ago which was soon hole to 3-4

pairs of owls. We chose this one because it is

open, the owls can see it. Villagers got a chance to sde some

of the boxes bought to repl`ce them which they paid

and provided homes for. We are interested in wildlife,

we always have been and we travelled the world basically for wildlife

and to have the opportunity to do something on our own doorstdp,

we said, yes, we will sponsor one. When he told me about it,

that night I came back When he told me about it, that night

I came back and heard an owl. Next time, I said I think I've heard

one of your owls and he said, no, They are a completely different

species than the barn Experts will be back next ydar

to check how many of the rarer barn That is a gorgeous picture.

Beautiful, aren't they? It hs an amazing sound when you hear them. I

can't tell the difference bdtween the owls, though. That is it from

ours. More at 8pm and 10:30pm. Thank you so much for watching. Good

night.