:00:00. > :00:00.Good evening. for the news where you are.
:00:07. > :00:12.Threatened with closure, a special school under investigation for
:00:13. > :00:18.people safety can now be shtt for good. Also... Will paying bx
:00:19. > :00:22.contactless credit cards make travelling by bus more appe`ling?
:00:23. > :00:24.And the Duchess of Cornwall gives royal recognition to the engineer
:00:25. > :00:29.dubbed the father of a new Swindon. The future of a special school
:00:30. > :00:33.in Gloucestershire is in dotbt after the council revealed ht's no
:00:34. > :00:36.longer financially viable. All the children at Coln Hotse
:00:37. > :00:38.in Fairford were removed in the summer after concerns
:00:39. > :00:42.were raised about pupil safdty. A consultation begins next week -
:00:43. > :00:45.with the council saying that the possible closure
:00:46. > :00:48.of the school and the investigations into what went
:00:49. > :00:50.on there are unconnected. Even before Ofsted published
:00:51. > :00:56.the results of its inspection earlier this year, the council
:00:57. > :00:59.learnt of worrying concerns - most notably a high number
:01:00. > :01:02.of physical restraints being used on pupils and a failure
:01:03. > :01:04.of the school's management As a result, the county council
:01:05. > :01:10.stepped in and removed the pupils And tonight I understand
:01:11. > :01:15.the headteacher and three non-teaching members of staff
:01:16. > :01:18.have been suspended. The school is being run
:01:19. > :01:20.by an interim head, along with an interim board of governors,
:01:21. > :01:23.after the original board And as for the reasons why
:01:24. > :01:27.the children were removed earlier this year, very little
:01:28. > :01:32.at this stage is being made public. I have to be very careful what I say
:01:33. > :01:35.because I don't want to prejudice There are clearly a number
:01:36. > :01:40.of concerns about children's safety. There were no allegations m`de,
:01:41. > :01:42.as far as I'm aware, that have come forward
:01:43. > :01:45.regarding sexual abuse. I know that has been a rumotr that
:01:46. > :01:49.has been going around and I do not The council says demand
:01:50. > :01:59.for Coln House has dropped to such a level that they'll no longer be
:02:00. > :02:02.able to afford to keep That means that the school will be
:02:03. > :02:06.making a crippling loss, By 2018-2019, we will be having
:02:07. > :02:09.to find ?2.5 million just the council mishandled
:02:10. > :02:14.the removal of the pupils Teachers who are still at Coln House
:02:15. > :02:18.are now being given extra training and others are on placements
:02:19. > :02:20.at other schools. But reluctantly, in the current
:02:21. > :02:22.climate, the union accepts that the school won't
:02:23. > :02:26.be able to stay open. Whilst we are saddened by the fact
:02:27. > :02:29.that it might mean, and that it probably will mdan,
:02:30. > :02:32.the loss of another school that has been quite popular and servdd
:02:33. > :02:35.the needs of the community well the case for the lack of financial
:02:36. > :02:41.viability is quite strong and I think it is fair to s`y that,
:02:42. > :02:44.having talked to members, we are quite resigned to thd fact
:02:45. > :02:47.that the most likely outcomd All of the children removed
:02:48. > :02:53.from here in the summer are now at other schools and it now seems
:02:54. > :02:55.increasingly likely they'll become the last intake of pupils to be
:02:56. > :03:00.taught at Coln House. Steve Knibbs, BBC
:03:01. > :03:07.South Today, Fairford. A Thames Valley police officer has
:03:08. > :03:10.been jailed for seven years PC Richard Hale joined
:03:11. > :03:13.the force in 2003. Two years before, he'd raped a woman
:03:14. > :03:16.at a house in Carterton. Five men have appeared before
:03:17. > :03:19.magistrates in Oxford - charged with historical sextal
:03:20. > :03:22.offences against teenage girls. They were arrested during e`rly
:03:23. > :03:25.morning raids on Tuesday. They're accused of a range
:03:26. > :03:27.of offences - including kidnap, trafficking and conspiracy to rape
:03:28. > :03:32.between 2000 and 2004. They're due before Oxford
:03:33. > :03:37.Crown Court next month. Hundreds of farmers
:03:38. > :03:39.across the region have taken part in the National Farmers' Unhon's
:03:40. > :03:41.biggest ever consultation - on the shape of the
:03:42. > :03:44.industry outside the EU. The NFU will now present
:03:45. > :03:47.its findings to the governmdnt. Like his father and his grandfather
:03:48. > :03:54.before him, Jeff Powell His barley, grown here
:03:55. > :03:59.in West Hagbourne, will be tsed Like other local farmers, Jdff's
:04:00. > :04:06.had his concerns about Brexht. He's among hundreds in the region
:04:07. > :04:09.who've taken part in the NFT's A major issue was that anything
:04:10. > :04:15.that is imported into this country on the food front needs to be
:04:16. > :04:18.produced to the same standards So animal welfare, environmdntal
:04:19. > :04:24.benefits, the same use of chemicals, so it's absolutely crucial
:04:25. > :04:26.that imports do not As well as wanting to protect
:04:27. > :04:33.British produce from cheap hmports, farmers are keen to ensure they can
:04:34. > :04:36.carry on using seasonal So many farms employ migrant labour
:04:37. > :04:41.and the NFU are actually going to get together with the NHS,
:04:42. > :04:45.care homes, pack houses, and form a lobbying group
:04:46. > :04:47.to actually lobby the government so we know we can get
:04:48. > :04:50.access to that labour. The NFU wants Britain to become less
:04:51. > :04:56.dependent on foreign imports. From our three consultations over
:04:57. > :04:59.Berks, Bucks and Oxfordshird, our vision that came from those
:05:00. > :05:01.consultations is very clear - and that is we need a progrdssive,
:05:02. > :05:05.profitable and competitive farming industry to serve our UK food chain
:05:06. > :05:10.and also that that UK food chain is fairly enabled to be
:05:11. > :05:12.able to provide safe, affordable and high-quality food
:05:13. > :05:15.to the nation. The NFU also wants to maint`in
:05:16. > :05:18.full, unfettered access Following the consultation,
:05:19. > :05:23.the NFU's now set up They'll work on Brexit and trade
:05:24. > :05:31.alongside the Government to try and secure the best deal
:05:32. > :05:34.for Britain's farmers. Bus passengers in Oxfordshire
:05:35. > :05:40.are the first outside London to be able to pay for their journdys
:05:41. > :05:42.using contactless It's hoped the technology
:05:43. > :05:47.will encourage more The transport minister Andrdw Jones
:05:48. > :05:51.was at the launch - Now Stagecoach has installed
:05:52. > :06:00.contactless payment on all of its Oxfordshire buses
:06:01. > :06:05.and Oxford Tube coaches. I am very keen to see this
:06:06. > :06:08.technology rolled out. We have seen government support
:06:09. > :06:11.for it right across the country I can see customer benefits
:06:12. > :06:13.and when you see that, you see more people choosing
:06:14. > :06:17.that mode of transport. The company's seen passenger numbers
:06:18. > :06:20.in the county increase by 24% over It's the first operator outside
:06:21. > :06:26.of London to offer its passdngers The Oxford Bus Company hopes to do
:06:27. > :06:33.the same in the near future. Yes, it'll definitely speed things
:06:34. > :06:36.up a lot because it's quite fiddly, getting all your cash out
:06:37. > :06:39.when you are buying your ticket I use a contactless card evdn
:06:40. > :06:41.when I go to London, To keep up with passenger ddmands
:06:42. > :06:47.in the 21st century, Stagecoach says it's investhng
:06:48. > :06:53.?15 million in its digital services. We launched an application two weeks
:06:54. > :06:57.ago and that allows you to plan out a journey and to track
:06:58. > :06:59.your bus and also pay This is another development on that
:07:00. > :07:04.front to make the buses The Government hopes efforts
:07:05. > :07:09.to modernise public transport will entice more commuters out
:07:10. > :07:11.of their cars and free The polls have closed
:07:12. > :07:19.in the Witney by-election. People in West Oxfordshire have been
:07:20. > :07:22.voting for a new MP following David Cameron's
:07:23. > :07:24.resignation last month. Mr Cameron had represented
:07:25. > :07:27.Witney since 2001. The result is expected
:07:28. > :07:32.at around 5am. The Duchess of Cornwall
:07:33. > :07:34.has been in Swindon - to celebrate the life and work
:07:35. > :07:36.of a Victorian engineer She officially named a square
:07:37. > :07:40.outside the railway He helped Brunel establish
:07:41. > :07:44.the railworks in the town. But he was responsible for luch
:07:45. > :07:49.more, as Will Glennon discovered. Arriving on one of the new GWR
:07:50. > :07:52.trains into the railway The Dutchess of Cornwall,
:07:53. > :07:58.bringing royal approval for the man Her Royal Highness named
:07:59. > :08:03.the square outside the stathon I'm really pleased, it's a great
:08:04. > :08:10.honour to have Her Royal Highness Swindon is a really important
:08:11. > :08:15.place in the history of Great Western Railway and it s
:08:16. > :08:18.great to be able to celebrate that, and particularly celebrate
:08:19. > :08:21.the really important role of Sir Daniel Gooch,
:08:22. > :08:24.who isn't perhaps someone that the railway talks about as much
:08:25. > :08:27.as we should do. Sir Daniel Gooch must
:08:28. > :08:33.have been important - The father of Swindon's rail works,
:08:34. > :08:37.he went on to become An engineer, a pioneer and,
:08:38. > :08:44.for 20 years, an MP. Born in 1816, Gooch built
:08:45. > :08:50.locomotives, employing thousands. It was thanks to him
:08:51. > :08:55.the Severn Tunnel was compldted He was known to royalty, but also
:08:56. > :08:59.to thousands of ordinary people After unveiling the plaque,
:09:00. > :09:03.the Duchess was shown extracts from the Gooch exhibition
:09:04. > :09:07.from the nearby Steam Museul, and a specially made
:09:08. > :09:11.bust of the man himself. Daniel Gooch was basically
:09:12. > :09:13.the person who brought the Great Very interested in the town
:09:14. > :09:17.of Swindon, developing it, and also looking
:09:18. > :09:20.after the workers and the community. He did a lot of benevolent
:09:21. > :09:23.work for Swindon and In his day, Gooch's brilliance
:09:24. > :09:28.was widely recognised, but over time he faded
:09:29. > :09:33.into Brunel's shadow. Maybe now, the memory of ond
:09:34. > :09:35.of our greatest Victorians A lot of quiet weather
:09:36. > :09:51.in the forecast, and The earlier showers have faded,
:09:52. > :09:54.the cloud slowly breaking up, That could well encourage a little
:09:55. > :09:59.bit of mist and fog in placds and, as temperatures perhaps get as low
:10:00. > :10:02.as three or four Celsius in the countryside -
:10:03. > :10:05.seven or eight in the centrd of town - we could even just see a touch
:10:06. > :10:08.of frost in places, too. Certainly an autumnal chill
:10:09. > :10:10.in the air tomorrow, and some mist and fog
:10:11. > :10:12.will be slow to clear, but eventually it will lift
:10:13. > :10:15.and break and, come the aftdrnoon, some good spells of sunshind -
:10:16. > :10:18.more than we've seen today. Very outside chance of a shower
:10:19. > :10:20.but most places will be dry. Lighter winds, as well,
:10:21. > :10:22.so in the sunshine, highs of 12 or 13 Celsius
:10:23. > :10:24.feeling quite pleasant. As we head towards the weekdnd,
:10:25. > :10:27.we still keep this Keeping an eye on an area of low
:10:28. > :10:31.pressure to the southwest. Eventually, that will enabld more
:10:32. > :10:33.of an easterly wind, so quite a cool feel as we go
:10:34. > :10:36.through the weekend and certainly Saturday, there will be another
:10:37. > :10:39.chilly start to the day. Some mist and fog, it should clear
:10:40. > :10:42.more readily, and we have another fine day, some good spells
:10:43. > :10:44.of sunshine through the aftdrnoon and I think we should be
:10:45. > :10:47.shower-free, but always feeling quite cool in that brisk easterly
:10:48. > :10:50.wind with a high of 12 Celshus. Looks like Sunday should be
:10:51. > :10:52.mainly dry, as well. Expecting some rain overnight Sunday
:10:53. > :11:02.into Monday, and more detail Temperatures up into double figures.
:11:03. > :11:13.The outlook, mostly dry for the next few days. Now the national outlook.
:11:14. > :11:14.Good evening. We are likely to the all colours of