20/10/2016 South Today - Oxford

Good evening. for the news where you are.

Threatened with closure, a special school under investigation for

people safety can now be shtt for good. Also... Will paying bx

contactless credit cards make travelling by bus more appe`ling?

And the Duchess of Cornwall gives royal recognition to the engineer

dubbed the father of a new Swindon. The future of a special school

in Gloucestershire is in dotbt after the council revealed ht's no

longer financially viable. All the children at Coln Hotse

in Fairford were removed in the summer after concerns

were raised about pupil safdty. A consultation begins next week -

with the council saying that the possible closure

of the school and the investigations into what went

on there are unconnected. Even before Ofsted published

the results of its inspection earlier this year, the council

learnt of worrying concerns - most notably a high number

of physical restraints being used on pupils and a failure

of the school's management As a result, the county council

stepped in and removed the pupils And tonight I understand

the headteacher and three non-teaching members of staff

have been suspended. The school is being run

by an interim head, along with an interim board of governors,

after the original board And as for the reasons why

the children were removed earlier this year, very little

at this stage is being made public. I have to be very careful what I say

because I don't want to prejudice There are clearly a number

of concerns about children's safety. There were no allegations m`de,

as far as I'm aware, that have come forward

regarding sexual abuse. I know that has been a rumotr that

has been going around and I do not The council says demand

for Coln House has dropped to such a level that they'll no longer be

able to afford to keep That means that the school will be

making a crippling loss, By 2018-2019, we will be having

to find ?2.5 million just the council mishandled

the removal of the pupils Teachers who are still at Coln House

are now being given extra training and others are on placements

at other schools. But reluctantly, in the current

climate, the union accepts that the school won't

be able to stay open. Whilst we are saddened by the fact

that it might mean, and that it probably will mdan,

the loss of another school that has been quite popular and servdd

the needs of the community well the case for the lack of financial

viability is quite strong and I think it is fair to s`y that,

having talked to members, we are quite resigned to thd fact

that the most likely outcomd All of the children removed

from here in the summer are now at other schools and it now seems

increasingly likely they'll become the last intake of pupils to be

taught at Coln House. Steve Knibbs, BBC

South Today, Fairford. A Thames Valley police officer has

been jailed for seven years PC Richard Hale joined

the force in 2003. Two years before, he'd raped a woman

at a house in Carterton. Five men have appeared before

magistrates in Oxford - charged with historical sextal

offences against teenage girls. They were arrested during e`rly

morning raids on Tuesday. They're accused of a range

of offences - including kidnap, trafficking and conspiracy to rape

between 2000 and 2004. They're due before Oxford

Crown Court next month. Hundreds of farmers

across the region have taken part in the National Farmers' Unhon's

biggest ever consultation - on the shape of the

industry outside the EU. The NFU will now present

its findings to the governmdnt. Like his father and his grandfather

before him, Jeff Powell His barley, grown here

in West Hagbourne, will be tsed Like other local farmers, Jdff's

had his concerns about Brexht. He's among hundreds in the region

who've taken part in the NFT's A major issue was that anything

that is imported into this country on the food front needs to be

produced to the same standards So animal welfare, environmdntal

benefits, the same use of chemicals, so it's absolutely crucial

that imports do not As well as wanting to protect

British produce from cheap hmports, farmers are keen to ensure they can

carry on using seasonal So many farms employ migrant labour

and the NFU are actually going to get together with the NHS,

care homes, pack houses, and form a lobbying group

to actually lobby the government so we know we can get

access to that labour. The NFU wants Britain to become less

dependent on foreign imports. From our three consultations over

Berks, Bucks and Oxfordshird, our vision that came from those

consultations is very clear - and that is we need a progrdssive,

profitable and competitive farming industry to serve our UK food chain

and also that that UK food chain is fairly enabled to be

able to provide safe, affordable and high-quality food

to the nation. The NFU also wants to maint`in

full, unfettered access Following the consultation,

the NFU's now set up They'll work on Brexit and trade

alongside the Government to try and secure the best deal

for Britain's farmers. Bus passengers in Oxfordshire

are the first outside London to be able to pay for their journdys

using contactless It's hoped the technology

will encourage more The transport minister Andrdw Jones

was at the launch - Now Stagecoach has installed

contactless payment on all of its Oxfordshire buses

and Oxford Tube coaches. I am very keen to see this

technology rolled out. We have seen government support

for it right across the country I can see customer benefits

and when you see that, you see more people choosing

that mode of transport. The company's seen passenger numbers

in the county increase by 24% over It's the first operator outside

of London to offer its passdngers The Oxford Bus Company hopes to do

the same in the near future. Yes, it'll definitely speed things

up a lot because it's quite fiddly, getting all your cash out

when you are buying your ticket I use a contactless card evdn

when I go to London, To keep up with passenger ddmands

in the 21st century, Stagecoach says it's investhng

?15 million in its digital services. We launched an application two weeks

ago and that allows you to plan out a journey and to track

your bus and also pay This is another development on that

front to make the buses The Government hopes efforts

to modernise public transport will entice more commuters out

of their cars and free The polls have closed

in the Witney by-election. People in West Oxfordshire have been

voting for a new MP following David Cameron's

resignation last month. Mr Cameron had represented

Witney since 2001. The result is expected

at around 5am. The Duchess of Cornwall

has been in Swindon - to celebrate the life and work

of a Victorian engineer She officially named a square

outside the railway He helped Brunel establish

the railworks in the town. But he was responsible for luch

more, as Will Glennon discovered. Arriving on one of the new GWR

trains into the railway The Dutchess of Cornwall,

bringing royal approval for the man Her Royal Highness named

the square outside the stathon I'm really pleased, it's a great

honour to have Her Royal Highness Swindon is a really important

place in the history of Great Western Railway and it s

great to be able to celebrate that, and particularly celebrate

the really important role of Sir Daniel Gooch,

who isn't perhaps someone that the railway talks about as much

as we should do. Sir Daniel Gooch must

have been important - The father of Swindon's rail works,

he went on to become An engineer, a pioneer and,

for 20 years, an MP. Born in 1816, Gooch built

locomotives, employing thousands. It was thanks to him

the Severn Tunnel was compldted He was known to royalty, but also

to thousands of ordinary people After unveiling the plaque,

the Duchess was shown extracts from the Gooch exhibition

from the nearby Steam Museul, and a specially made

bust of the man himself. Daniel Gooch was basically

the person who brought the Great Very interested in the town

of Swindon, developing it, and also looking

after the workers and the community. He did a lot of benevolent

work for Swindon and In his day, Gooch's brilliance

was widely recognised, but over time he faded

into Brunel's shadow. Maybe now, the memory of ond

of our greatest Victorians A lot of quiet weather

in the forecast, and The earlier showers have faded,

the cloud slowly breaking up, That could well encourage a little

bit of mist and fog in placds and, as temperatures perhaps get as low

as three or four Celsius in the countryside -

seven or eight in the centrd of town - we could even just see a touch

of frost in places, too. Certainly an autumnal chill

in the air tomorrow, and some mist and fog

will be slow to clear, but eventually it will lift

and break and, come the aftdrnoon, some good spells of sunshind -

more than we've seen today. Very outside chance of a shower

but most places will be dry. Lighter winds, as well,

so in the sunshine, highs of 12 or 13 Celsius

feeling quite pleasant. As we head towards the weekdnd,

we still keep this Keeping an eye on an area of low

pressure to the southwest. Eventually, that will enabld more

of an easterly wind, so quite a cool feel as we go

through the weekend and certainly Saturday, there will be another

chilly start to the day. Some mist and fog, it should clear

more readily, and we have another fine day, some good spells

of sunshine through the aftdrnoon and I think we should be

shower-free, but always feeling quite cool in that brisk easterly

wind with a high of 12 Celshus. Looks like Sunday should be

mainly dry, as well. Expecting some rain overnight Sunday

into Monday, and more detail Temperatures up into double figures.

The outlook, mostly dry for the next few days. Now the national outlook.

Good evening. We are likely to the all colours of