:00:00. > :00:10.Hello. I'm Sally Taylor. Welcome to South Today. In tonight's programme.
:00:10. > :00:15.The green dream is over on the Isle of Wight as the Eco—Island project
:00:15. > :00:19.goes bust. Mind—boggling and obviously very dangerous. The driver
:00:19. > :00:28.in the New Forest criticised for driving with his bonnet open. It is
:00:28. > :00:32.just bizarre, dangerous and thoughtless to other drivers. A free
:00:32. > :00:36.make—over for your empty home, but only if you let the council use it
:00:36. > :00:39.free of charge for five years. And the Portsmouth businessman taking on
:00:39. > :00:51.the big boys to offer a new service across the Solent.
:00:51. > :00:57.It wanted the Isle of Wight to be the first fully sustainable region
:00:57. > :01:01.in Britain by the end of this decade. But two years after its
:01:01. > :01:03.launch the company which had aimed to make the Island energy
:01:03. > :01:06.self—sufficient has gone into voluntary liquidation blaming a lack
:01:06. > :01:13.of funding in the current economic climate. Briony Leyland has been
:01:13. > :01:18.following developments. This was a bold vision. Yes, a very bold
:01:18. > :01:21.vision, turning it into a reality has proved to be a big challenge.
:01:21. > :01:24.The Eco—Island Partnership Community Interest Company's stated aims were
:01:24. > :01:31.to bring together technology and business partners and provide access
:01:31. > :01:36.to funding for green projects. It can point to some achievements. The
:01:36. > :01:40.Isle of Wight has far more solar power these days both on farms and
:01:40. > :01:43.on houses. But other ideas which might have paved the way for the
:01:44. > :01:47.island to be self sufficient like a biomass plant, wind and geothermal
:01:47. > :01:51.power have not come to fruition. The chairman David Green told us the
:01:51. > :01:53.company has been hit badly by the economic climate and has to close
:01:53. > :02:12.it's doors. In a statement he said: The island's MP says it was a good
:02:12. > :02:18.community led project. The point is they have been trying to develop a
:02:18. > :02:23.brilliant idea, there are others who may be more successful with that
:02:23. > :02:27.idea. Is it a reflection on the economy that the island in
:02:27. > :02:30.particular struggles to get investment? That is true but I would
:02:30. > :02:36.not say this is to do with the island. It is because it is about
:02:36. > :02:40.meeting one particular aim. Was its failure also down to a lack of
:02:40. > :02:42.public support? The partnership says it had support and attracted 65
:02:42. > :02:47.business partners. People we spoke to today in Newport had mixed views.
:02:47. > :02:55.Some had never heard of the project. Others were saddened to hear it has
:02:55. > :03:04.come to an end. I cannot believe that there is no money for these
:03:04. > :03:08.sorts of things when government espouses green ideas. It is a
:03:08. > :03:11.problem. It will cost a lot of money. I have grandchildren and you
:03:11. > :03:16.have to think of the future for them. I think we should make use of
:03:16. > :03:19.the sea that we have got around us. The company spoke of being a beacon
:03:19. > :03:23.of sustainability for the world. Was it just a pipe dream, will the work
:03:23. > :03:26.continue? The council says it is completely separate from the company
:03:26. > :03:29.and it's liquidation has no bearing on the council's aspirations to make
:03:29. > :03:32.the Island more sustainable. The phrase eco island was first used
:03:32. > :03:36.when Southampton University looked at how the island could become more
:03:36. > :03:47.green. The professor who wrote that feasibility study says there still
:03:47. > :03:55.is a lot that could be done. It is a dream but it is a realistic dream
:03:55. > :03:59.and our analysis in 2006 was that it was achievable as long as we can get
:03:59. > :04:03.the community to accept all the resources around the island
:04:03. > :04:07.including wind energy. So still plenty of green aspirations but it's
:04:07. > :04:10.still along way from becoming an eco island. A man has been caught on
:04:10. > :04:14.camera driving with his car bonnet up on a busy dual carriageway. He
:04:14. > :04:18.was spotted on a 50 mile an hour stretch of the A31 near Cadnam in
:04:18. > :04:21.Hampshire with what appeared to be a battery charger attached to the
:04:21. > :04:24.engine. The driver, who was in a Mercedes, was filmed by BBC
:04:24. > :04:27.presenter Jon Cuthill who was a passenger in a passing car. Our home
:04:27. > :04:39.affairs correspondent Alex Forsyth reports. Charging down the road,
:04:39. > :04:45.bonnet up, with what experts say is a battery pack attached to the
:04:45. > :04:48.engine. The car was spotted by a BBC reporter who filmed it yesterday
:04:48. > :04:55.while travelling as a passenger in another vehicle. I could not believe
:04:55. > :05:00.what we were seeing. I could not believe it, so much so, that I
:05:00. > :05:03.picked up my phone and filmed it. But why would anyone think that is
:05:03. > :05:09.an acceptable way to be a a public road? We found a car similar to that
:05:09. > :05:13.seen in the footage and this gives you an idea of what you can see with
:05:14. > :05:18.the bonnet up. The driver may have been looking around the edges or
:05:18. > :05:22.outer window. We showed the clip to the head of roads policy at the AAA
:05:22. > :05:25.and ask for his reaction. I have never seen footage like this. I
:05:25. > :05:29.thought at first it was a hoax because it just looks so bizarre.
:05:29. > :05:37.You cannot see hazards through that little tiny gap. It is bizarre and
:05:37. > :05:57.dangerous and thoughtless to either drivers.
:05:57. > :06:05.Hampshire police has seen the footage and confirmed they are
:06:05. > :06:08.investigating. Tens of thousands of homes stand empty across the region,
:06:08. > :06:13.while families sit on housing waiting lists. Basingstoke council
:06:13. > :06:16.is urging anyone with an unused property to come forward, and allow
:06:17. > :06:22.it to be refurbished. They've teamed up with a national charity to
:06:22. > :06:25.convert empty properties. They pay for the renovation, on condition the
:06:25. > :06:28.property is handed over to be rented for five years. Joe Campbell
:06:28. > :06:35.reports. Plans are now afoot to turn this former family home in to
:06:35. > :06:39.upmarket bedsits. Basingstoke has £200,000 to help owners breathed new
:06:39. > :06:44.life into other empty properties so long as they agreed to let a charity
:06:44. > :06:46.rent them out. We would lease the property and guarantee a rent and
:06:46. > :06:53.you would have minimal involvement really. And you would be protecting
:06:53. > :06:57.your asset and at another time in the future, you could decide what
:06:57. > :07:01.you want to do with it. Tanya knows the pain of seeing properties stand
:07:01. > :07:06.empty. She lost her marital home when she divorced and had to move to
:07:06. > :07:11.a bed—and—breakfast while just around the corner, other properties
:07:11. > :07:14.stood empty. You just think it does not look nice as a passer—by. When
:07:14. > :07:17.you have been what I have been through what you have had your home
:07:17. > :07:22.taken away from you and you are homeless with two children, you
:07:22. > :07:26.think, what a shame, what a waste. The problem is the new scheme will
:07:26. > :07:34.be just a job in the ocean and Basingstoke has been accused of
:07:34. > :07:37.dragging its heels as regards new homes. We have been working our way
:07:38. > :07:41.through a local plan which is currently out for consultation which
:07:41. > :07:45.ends on Friday. That will provide for the building of thousands of
:07:45. > :07:48.houses over the next two years in Basingstoke but you have to go
:07:48. > :07:53.through the planning process. Just over 2% of homes are empty in
:07:53. > :07:56.Basingstoke at any one time. Even the worst part of the self are metal
:07:56. > :08:01.more than double that figure. The only realistic hope of meeting
:08:01. > :08:08.demand means more new build. Like it or not. The economy is on the up,
:08:08. > :08:11.and you can trust us to keep it improving. That was the message from
:08:11. > :08:14.Prime Minister David Cameron, as he closed the Tory Party Conference in
:08:14. > :08:17.Manchester. So what have been the highlights for Conservatives from
:08:17. > :08:24.the South? Our Political Editor Peter Henley reports. The government
:08:24. > :08:28.conferences always attract protests, from complaints about fat cat
:08:28. > :08:32.executive pay to the need for a planned for bees but conservatives
:08:32. > :08:40.can point to the emerging success of plan A, their Chancellor Osborne 's
:08:40. > :08:45.combination of cuts and investment, producing 1.4 million private sector
:08:45. > :08:48.jobs. As the economy grows which it is undoubtedly doing at the moment,
:08:48. > :08:51.we will get more and more people coming back into work. We have to
:08:51. > :08:57.provide the education and the skills to be able to create the economy
:08:57. > :09:05.that we want to. And they have not forgotten the big society. A
:09:05. > :09:10.suggestion of more green shoots of recovery? We have the deficit down
:09:10. > :09:13.by a third and we have set out very clearly what we will be doing over
:09:13. > :09:16.the coming years to make sure that we get our public finances for the
:09:16. > :09:23.coming years to make sure that we get our public finances fully under
:09:23. > :09:27.control. Is this conference world to detached from real life? Does any of
:09:27. > :09:40.the discussion here matter? There is plenty of gossip about personalities
:09:40. > :09:48.Boris Johnson. They know they need to grow. They are not going to pick
:09:48. > :09:51.them off a tree. There is a real commitment in our area to employers
:09:51. > :09:58.giving that training which gives people hope and aspiration. If you
:09:58. > :10:09.believe in those things, you have two. Nigel Farage was the fly in the
:10:09. > :10:15.Conservative balm. The problem with Nigel Farage as he does not have to
:10:15. > :10:21.deliver. He can promise the moon but he does not have to deliver it. Andy
:10:21. > :10:32.has not delivered anything. Conservatives see themselves as
:10:32. > :10:43.clearing up Labour 's mess. Was the pain worth it? Plenty of messages
:10:43. > :10:47.but still more to come in the future. A police initiative to use
:10:47. > :10:51.horse—riding volunteers to patrol rural areas of Hampshire has been
:10:51. > :10:54.criticised by the police union. The Hampshire Horsewatch scheme will see
:10:54. > :10:56.12 civilian horse riders in branded uniforms looking out for suspicious
:10:56. > :10:59.activity and reporting to the police. Hampshire Constabulary said
:10:59. > :11:02.it would help in times of financial pressures. But Hampshire Police
:11:02. > :11:05.Federation criticised it as a "blurring of the line" between
:11:05. > :11:10.police and the public. Still to come in the programme. Warnings of heavy
:11:10. > :11:16.rain and wind. Alexis will be here with the details and Kris Temple has
:11:16. > :11:21.the sport news. Yes, I will be here with all the key action from last
:11:21. > :11:24.night 's championship football. Anyone who lives near a university
:11:24. > :11:27.will know that life alongside students can create tensions.
:11:27. > :11:31.Bournemouth is one town in the south with a very large student population
:11:31. > :11:36.and has a new idea to help reduce noise and anti—social behaviour. The
:11:36. > :11:41.university has around 18,000 students. Only first years live in
:11:41. > :11:45.halls, leaving 12,000 students to live out in rented accommodation in
:11:45. > :11:53.the town. In some areas of the town, 25% of the population is made up of
:11:53. > :11:56.students during term time. Now a new scheme is underway, using specially
:11:56. > :12:06.recruited wardens to help improve relations. James Ingham has been to
:12:06. > :12:15.see how it's working. Friendly knock at the door. Students helping others
:12:15. > :12:18.become better neighbours. We are from the student union at
:12:18. > :12:21.Bournemouth University, making sure you have settled in OK. These
:12:21. > :12:25.student wardens are offering advice to those living on their own for the
:12:25. > :12:34.first time and other residents who live alongside them. I know from
:12:34. > :12:38.first—hand experience when I first lived in a house, you do not take
:12:38. > :12:40.into consideration. We yet raising awareness that there are other
:12:40. > :12:46.people living down the throats. Simple things like being quiet with
:12:46. > :12:53.taxi doors, I think it is really important. On this particular
:12:53. > :12:58.street, a total of ten homes lived in by students and it is clear that
:12:58. > :13:01.considerable friction. They don't realise that people are working in
:13:01. > :13:07.the area and have to get up when they are screaming at 3am. It is
:13:07. > :13:12.constant. Usually it starts on Tuesday and ends on Sunday night. We
:13:12. > :13:16.get Monday respite and that is it. Every night, the children had been
:13:16. > :13:20.woken up. Over the weekend, it comes to the point where we have two phone
:13:20. > :13:25.the police to get something done about it. People urinating against
:13:25. > :13:29.the walls. The police came straight out within half an hour and went
:13:29. > :13:33.into a certain house and spoke to them but they rarely stop. The
:13:33. > :13:36.scheme's based on pioneering work by Oxford Brookes University which has
:13:36. > :13:38.gone a step further employing police community support officers.
:13:38. > :13:45.Bournemouth University says this is part of a long term plan to bridge
:13:45. > :13:50.the divide between town and gown. It will be a long—term process but it
:13:50. > :13:55.will be something that we will introduce to the students. Six
:13:55. > :14:04.wardens will work during the pilot year. If it works, more will follow.
:14:04. > :14:07.A new 24—hour cross—Solent ferry service is due to be launched early
:14:07. > :14:13.next year, promising to bring renewed competition to Isle of Wight
:14:13. > :14:15.ferry services. Nauti Fast Ferries will operate a round—the—clock
:14:15. > :14:24.passenger service between Portsmouth and Cowes. Mark Sanders reports.
:14:24. > :14:28.There are already big fish in the cross—Solent ferry market, so is
:14:28. > :14:32.there room for someone else to muscle in? Paul Duffield thinks so.
:14:32. > :14:35.He already runs a charter boat business from Portsmouth. He's due
:14:35. > :14:39.to start a 24 hour ferry service from the city to Cowes. He expects
:14:39. > :14:47.to take about 70,000 passengers between the Isle of Wight and
:14:47. > :14:55.Portsmouth in the first year. Are you trying to be the easyJet of the
:14:56. > :15:02.Solent? Cheap and cheerful? I think there are various issues with the
:15:02. > :15:06.budget. A similar problem would arise with a budget ferry. We want
:15:06. > :15:11.to provide a fast and reliable service that fulfils a need. Nauti
:15:11. > :15:15.Fast Ferries will use two small boats to cross the Solent in 25
:15:15. > :15:19.minutes, up to three times an hour at peak periods. Each boat will
:15:19. > :15:24.take12 passengers. The company believes the business model is
:15:24. > :15:26.viable. Wightlink and Hovertravel run passenger services between
:15:26. > :15:32.Portsmouth and Ryde, with RedFunnel's RedJet operating between
:15:32. > :15:37.Southampton and Cowes. Wightlink reduced its Fast—Cat timetable last
:15:37. > :15:39.month. The ferry company says competition helps to drive up
:15:39. > :15:45.standards and keeps prices affordable. These were the views of
:15:45. > :15:53.people in Southsea we spoke to about the new service between Portsmouth
:15:53. > :15:57.and Cowes. That extra step would be quite good, I think. It would
:15:57. > :16:01.encourage more people to come to the area. It is a great advantage for
:16:01. > :16:06.business users because in winter time, it will take an hour between
:16:06. > :16:10.travelling is at the moment. But is quite inconvenient. I think it is a
:16:10. > :16:16.great service. The more the merrier. I am not really interested. Paul
:16:16. > :16:19.Duffield's new business has been helped with a £50,000 grant from the
:16:19. > :16:22.Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, and it's expected the Portsmouth to
:16:22. > :16:28.Cowes service will start early next year. A quarter of a million people
:16:28. > :16:45.go missing in the UK each year. More than 10,000 are adults. —— 100,000.
:16:45. > :16:48.But while the majority of cases are resolved quickly, for the families
:16:48. > :16:51.waiting for news of their loved ones it can be agonising. In April this
:16:51. > :16:55.year 54—year—old Richard Gibbons walked out of his family home in
:16:55. > :16:58.Swanage, and hasn't been seen since. Earlier I spoke to his daughter
:16:58. > :17:16.Sandra, who began by telling me about her dad. He would tell us
:17:16. > :17:23.about the music. He would not move with the times. My daughter was
:17:23. > :17:29.named after a song that was played around the house. What happened the
:17:29. > :17:36.night he disappeared? We checked on him and he was fine, it was normal
:17:36. > :17:40.for him to wander around the house and have a cup of tea. But at half
:17:40. > :17:46.six, I woke up and realised he was not in the house. Was that normal
:17:46. > :17:52.for him to just go off on his own? The only time he would ever go off
:17:52. > :17:56.on his own would be to the shop with the dog, take the dog around the
:17:56. > :18:01.local park. But never on his own. He had not been well. He had been
:18:01. > :18:04.having seizures. He had his first seizure in January of this year and
:18:04. > :18:11.then he had three major ones in March. He was really poorly. He was
:18:11. > :18:16.waiting for an MRI scan. He was not the same afterwards. Was he
:18:16. > :18:22.depressed? I don't know. I think because he had been poorly, he felt
:18:22. > :18:26.a bit helpless. He felt as if he could not be there for the family so
:18:26. > :18:31.much, I think. And it has been five months. He disappeared in April. How
:18:31. > :18:40.has it affected your family and your mother? My mum is destroyed. Some
:18:40. > :18:45.days, we will be more posted as a family but in other ways, it has
:18:45. > :18:54.torn us apart. What do you think has happened to him? I have days where I
:18:54. > :18:58.think he is somewhere, singing in someone else's ears but then there
:18:58. > :19:05.are the days when you think the worst. You have got a social network
:19:05. > :19:12.site setup, what sort of response have you had? An amazing response.
:19:12. > :19:17.My sister is on their everyday. But obviously, you do get the odd nasty
:19:17. > :19:20.response. You don't expect people to understand. I know myself before
:19:20. > :19:28.this, you don't realise how many missing people there are. But just
:19:28. > :19:33.look, because it might just be that one person. Thank you for coming in
:19:33. > :19:39.to talk to us. Let's hope there is some good news first. —— some good
:19:39. > :19:42.news soon. And if you've got any information about Richard or
:19:42. > :19:59.anything that might help Sandra and her family go to our Facebook page.
:19:59. > :20:08.Anything you can do to help. It was the Swanage area that he went
:20:08. > :20:11.missing from. We have the sport now. Bournemouth and Redding fans had a
:20:12. > :20:14.long journey last night. Reading are up to fifth in the Championship
:20:14. > :20:20.table, as they extended their recent unbeaten run. They did let a lead
:20:21. > :20:27.slip though at bottom club Barnsley last night. The Royals broke the
:20:27. > :20:30.deadlock shortly after half time, when Hal Robson—Kanu's shot beat
:20:30. > :20:33.Barnsley keeper Jack Butland. It was Robson—Kanu's first goal of the
:20:33. > :20:40.season, and one enjoyed by the travelling Royals fans. The
:20:40. > :20:42.goalkeepers then took centre stage, Alex McCarthy saving well for
:20:42. > :20:45.Reading and Butland turning away an effort from Adam Le Fondre. Alex
:20:45. > :20:49.Pearce then hit the bar from close range for the Royals. Before
:20:49. > :20:57.Barnsley's equaliser from Chris O'Grady 11 minutes from the end.
:20:57. > :21:01.Reading are unbeaten since their 6—0 League Cup loss at Peterborough.
:21:01. > :21:05.Staying in the Championship, Bournemouth were also served up a
:21:05. > :21:09.midweek trip to Yorkshire. But Eddie Howe's side returned south
:21:09. > :21:14.empty—handed. It was a tale of another red card. The sixth time in
:21:14. > :21:22.ten league matches, that a Cherries game has featured a sending off.
:21:22. > :21:23.Unfortunately, it was the second game in success and that Bournemouth
:21:23. > :21:48.had been reduced to ten men. But the penalty was saved. The
:21:48. > :22:06.pressure of 11 against ten told for Leeds early in the second half. The
:22:06. > :22:09.cherries deserved their equaliser. Despite the earlier heroics, the
:22:09. > :22:14.keeper could not keep out this shot which broke the team 's hearts and
:22:14. > :22:16.left and 13th in the table. With Ryan Allsop suspended for this
:22:16. > :22:19.weekend, Cherries have recalled third—choice goalkeeper Shwan Jalal
:22:19. > :22:22.from his loan spell at Oxford. A Dorset semi—professional football
:22:22. > :22:25.club have responded to a crisis, by registering their manager as a
:22:25. > :22:30.player. Nothing exceptional about that you may think, except that Phil
:22:30. > :22:33.Simkin is 60 years of age! Dorchester Town's surprise exit from
:22:33. > :22:37.the FA Cup at the weekend has led the club to slash their playing
:22:37. > :22:40.budget, and put the whole first team squad up for sale. Simkin, who was a
:22:40. > :22:44.defender in his more familiar playing days, could be on the bench
:22:44. > :22:49.for Saturday's Conference South game at Dover. You may remember the story
:22:49. > :22:52.of Hampshire's 16—year—old cricketer Brad Taylor, who completed the leap
:22:52. > :22:55.from village team to the county's first eleven this summer. Well,
:22:55. > :23:01.there's been more good news for Brad, who comes from Holybourne near
:23:01. > :23:04.Alton. Having impressed in his early matches for Hampshire, off—spinner
:23:04. > :23:07.Taylor has now caught the eye of the England selectors. He'll spend the
:23:07. > :23:11.winter at an Under 17 development camp, along with county team mate
:23:11. > :23:12.Joe Weatherley. Another couple of good products from the Hampshire
:23:12. > :23:32.Academy. OK, onto the weather. The calm
:23:32. > :23:38.before the rain, shall we say? But we do have some lovely weather from
:23:38. > :23:53.today. Some sparrows cooling off in this unseasonably warm weather.
:23:54. > :23:59.Yes, rain is on the way. Let's talk about tonight first because that
:23:59. > :24:03.does come before tomorrow. Tonight staying very mild. Temperatures
:24:03. > :24:07.overnight are what they would normally be during the daytime at
:24:07. > :24:10.this time of year. Summer showers overnight but it will become dry as
:24:10. > :24:14.we head to the early hours of the morning. Some clear skies. A dry
:24:14. > :24:23.start of the day but a mild night to come. Lowest temperatures just 17
:24:23. > :24:27.Celsius. The torrential downpours will arrive soon enough, around
:24:27. > :24:32.midday. That will give difficult driving conditions and maybe cause
:24:32. > :24:36.some localised flooding. The Met office have issued a yellow warning.
:24:36. > :24:40.The bulk of the country will be affected by this weather warning. We
:24:40. > :24:47.could see around an inch of rain fall in a short period of time.
:24:47. > :24:53.Possibly up to two inches locally. There is an active weather system
:24:53. > :25:01.pushing in from the south. These two systems merging will produce those
:25:01. > :25:06.torrential downpours. Expecting the rain to arrive in parts of Dorset
:25:06. > :25:13.around 9am tomorrow. Working its way northwards. Some quite heavy bursts.
:25:13. > :25:17.Top temperatures tomorrow despite the cloud and rain above the
:25:17. > :25:23.seasonal average of 19 Celsius. And the winds will be press. —— the
:25:23. > :25:32.winds will be brisk. Drier conditions will develop. Very mild
:25:32. > :25:35.temperatures yet again. Lowest temperatures 16 Celsius. If you are
:25:35. > :25:37.concerned about the weather situation, the heavy torrential
:25:37. > :25:43.downpours over the next two days, over the next 24 hours, stay tuned
:25:43. > :25:46.to your local BBC radio station. There may be localised flooding and
:25:46. > :25:52.it may give disruption to travel. This is the outlook for the rest of
:25:52. > :25:56.the week. Some torrential rain tomorrow. Strong southeasterly
:25:56. > :26:04.winds. The rain gradually clearing tomorrow night. Friday is a mixture
:26:04. > :26:08.of sunshine and showers. A better day than tomorrow. As we head
:26:08. > :26:12.towards the weekend, the good news is high pressure is building in from
:26:12. > :26:17.the Atlantic. So it will turn more settled. Don't forget, any
:26:17. > :26:22.pictures, any flooding that you see, send them in. But is it from us. And
:26:22. > :26:30.the rest of the team, good evening.