27/01/2014 South Today

colder. It could be short lived. That is all from the BBC's News

I am just checking whether the problem is with dragon. It Hello.

I'm Sally Taylor. Welcome to South Today. In tonight's programme.

Temporary sites for travellers in Poole but will it stop illegal

camps? The council decides tonight. Although I am against the travellers

being in the area, they need to Questions over whether Mike Hancock

can stand as a candidate at the next general election.

Be somewhere. Further frustration for businesses

and travellers as work on a bridge over the Thames is delayed. And on

the buses with the artist who has a ticket to ride for the sake of art.

It is very unusual. I quite like it. I am trying something out.

An emergency council meeting is under way in Poole this evening to

try to resolve an issue which challenges local authorities and

landowners across the region ` illegal travellers encampments.

Poole doesn't have any official transit camps, making it harder to

move`on trespassing caravans. So it's looking at setting up what it

calls temporary stopping places but there's been an angry reaction

around the two suggested sites. David Allard reports. August, 2013.

An illegal travellers camp. They stayed for days. The police could

not move them on because there is no alternative transit site in the

borough to move them to. This waste ground could be a short`term

solution. A temporary stopping place for the summer. It means police

could move the legal campers here within 24 hours. What is better? To

have our request `` to have our recreation grounds and sports were

to lose is used instead? The majority of residents will want this

to go ahead. Most residents are not in favour. They have to put extra

security on. It is marshland. Although I am against the travellers

being in the area, they do need to be somewhere. Is it right to put

them in a place that is not healthy? A local councillor agrees. She is

concerned about the effect on businesses. If the temporary

stopping place does go ahead, they will put up security fencing.

Businesses with very high`tech, expensive equipment. They have

concerns. This is the other side being proposed. It is next to two

major routes. There is a registered to substation. There is also a

retail park. Most councillors are expected to back these two sites.

They say it is not just NIMBYism. If nothing is done, it could be very

serious. People could take the law into their own hands. That is not

acceptable. That meeting is underway right now. Dozens of members of the

public are here to hear that debate. Like other authorities, Poole has a

duty towards travellers. The cost of turning those sites into suitable

temporary stopping places, ?175,000. Compare that to the ?30,000 spent

last year. There is a public consultation. That is when residents

have their say. From what we hear today, they are not going to take it

lying down. Liberal Democrats imports Portsmouth

have begun the process of choosing a candidate to be Nick Clegg suspended

Mike Hancock's membership last week, saying he was appalled by the

results of an enquiry into alleged inappropriate behaviour. Mr

Hancock's colleagues have been split as to whether to back him.

Where do things stand? There are some totally opposite opinions. Some

people are saying this is trial by media and Mike Hancock should be

able to defend himself. Others feel that local people should put as much

distance as possible from the MP. He is officially still a Cabinet

member. Fellow councillors voted to support that on Friday. The process

is going forward of selecting new candidates, and that Mike Hancock is

not eligible to take part in the new selection. It was a narrow choice,

ten councillors for and ten against. Jackie Hancock voted to

support him. The most senior female councillor resigned in protest. She

talked about what she called an unacceptable culture, especially

towards women. I think Nick Clegg's stands need some serious looking

at. He did know about the seriousness of the situation. I went

to party headquarters in June, and I met with the chief executive of the

Liberal Democrat party. I told them a fair bit about my feelings on the

unacceptable culture. Strong words. Any response from the Lib Dems

naturally? Not yet. She is urging Nick Clegg to intervene. Meanwhile,

Mike Hancock is disputing that he has been deselected. Peter, thank

you. Southern Water has issued a public apology after sewage and dead

rats were washed up on the south coast. The waste has been discharged

from an outfall pipe in Portsmouth ` after heavy rain and ground water

inundated the sewage system. ?30 million is being spent on fixing the

problem ` but work won't be finished until the end of the year. Steve

Humphrey reports. A loss of sewage waste has been

washed up here at Langstone Harbour over recent weeks because Southern

Water's sewerage system has not coped with the amount of rainfall we

have had. ? We have seen female sanitary products, hypodermic

syringes, here but, unsightly waste. The last thing we want is for them

to stay away. Southern waters of the problems have been caused by heavy

rain. The problems are that there was a storm a few years ago but

destroyed installation. We are in complete rebuilding process. We have

been overtaken by the weather. ?10 million has been spent at Fort

Cumberland. Clearing up the mess off the beach has taken a huge amount of

effort over recent weeks. Everybody here is looking forward to the day

when that new sewage system is brought into operation.

There's anger over major delays to the reopening of a busy road bridge

across the River Thames in Berkshire. Whitchurch Bridge in

Pangbourne is being completely rebuilt, but the project has been

dogged by delays during demolition and now, dangerously high river

levels. It was supposed to reopen in April. But, as Nikki Mitchell

reports, it's now unlikely to be back in use until July at the

earliest. Work to rebuild this once to a halt before Christmas. The

schedule is now three months behind. It is disappointing, because it is a

ten mile round trip extra. Getting around can be a nightmare and we are

spending more money on fuel. It has a big impact. Local businesses are

suffering. Another three months is not what they want to hear.

Customers are annoyed. It has hit trade quite hard, especially the

food outlets. We are very frustrated and disappointed. The flows are

still very high. We cannot go on the river. The bridge company had local

people wanted the project done by the summer months. The Environment

Agency said no because it would have been to disruptive for boaters.

Contractors say they are confident they will get the vertical columns

in the riverbed by the end of March, so this sector of the river can be

opened to boaters as planned before Easter. Drivers, though, will have

to wait until July. There has been plenty of stormy

weather this winter, but so far, we have avoided snow and ice. But when

two workers from a major Hampshire employer approached the BBC

complaining that they'd been paid less than the minimum wage and were

working in unsafe conditions Inside Out began to investigate. You can

see the story tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One. A little earlier the show's

presenter, Jon Cuthill, told me more about the company involved. These

two men had been working for a company called nationwide gritting

services, and it runs a huge stockpile of salt in Southampton. It

is so big you can see it from the main road as you drive past. The

workers complained they had been paid less than the minimum wage and

there has been working in unsafe conditions. Just to make it clear,

they worked for NGS until February last year. They were so concerned,

they said they used a mobile phone to video footage of equipment they

say regularly gave them electric shocks, of wires dripping with water

and poor conditions. They also said they were working 12 hour shifts

with just a half`hour unpaid break, including Christmas Day and Boxing

Day. And that they worked 14 days in a row before having a day off. What

does the company say about the allegations? We have not spoken to

them directly. They referred as to their legal team. Their lawyers say

they deny the allegations, which they put down to disgruntled former

employees. They pointed out the HSC has visited the site and are happy

with conditions `` HSE. We have been unable to verify this. What about

pay? An employment tribunal case was settled out of court by the company.

They paid each of the men more than ?3000 with no addition of liability.

The reason the company did it, it says, is for commercial reasons. It

says it is down to money and it is cheaper to make that settlement.

And you can see the full story on tonight's Inside Out starting in

about 45 minutes here on BBC One. Still to come in this evening's

South Today: battered by a tornado. That is what residents believe they

witnessed. The Government calls small

businesses the lifeblood of the economy. At a major conference today

the Prime Minister was keen to show off what he's doing to help them

grow. While the political focus has been about reducing red tape ` it's

a more familiar problem that still seems to be holding back firms here

in the South ` access to finance. Alastair Fee reports. Five Digital

has been around for about two years. Their livelihood readily growing.

The battle for businesses like them is underway. We focus quite strongly

on new businesses, and entrepreneurs. Over the last 12

months, that has definitely changed and has been improving. In London

today, the Prime Minister took centre stage at the National

conference of the Federation of Small Businesses. The message,

nicking things easier by cutting red tape. `` making things easier.

Legislation is unbelievably own arrest. You almost would not employ

people, you would use contractors. Very difficult for businesses of

below ten people to engage. 18 months ago, we caught up with Colin,

an ex`banker who now advises new firms. The big issue was access to

finance. As I improved? Lott will not go to the banks. They will try

to get it from friends, family and other people. They feel they will

get rejected do things are not comfortable with doing. The last

budget contained a number of measures aimed at small firms. There

was a ?300 million investment scheme to boost lending small businesses.

They were given ?2000 cut in employers national contributions,

and by Kevin as, benefited from the cancellation of the fuel duty rise

in 2013. Removing the so`called barriers to growth is exactly what

our Bournemouth `based production company needs. The announcement are

welcome. I don't think it goes far enough, it is on the periphery.

Small companies like is really need funding and proper funding. They

employ three, and plan to take on more staff if the climate continues

to improve. The message still hasn't changed. Free up money.

On to sport an hour. Transfer window, end of the week?

Yes. I think we will have a lot of gossip. Primarily about Southampton.

Keep an eye on Redding and Bournemouth as well. As it gets

closer to the wire, it is more exciting.

Mauricio Pochetinno says he's not expecting Luke Shaw to go anywhere

in the final days of the transfer window Pochettino reiterated Saints

desire to keep their star players at the club during today's press

conference ahead of their Premier League clash against Arsenal

tomorrow night. He also refused to be drawn on Dani Osvaldo's future

with the striker currently suspended following a training ground fight

last week. But has he had an offer for Shaw? I focus on the match. When

it happens, if it happens, I will be informed. Meanwhile Saints beat

Yeovil at St Mary's to book their place in round five of the FA Cup. A

first half penalty was converted by Guly do Prado, his first goal for

more than two years. Yeovil refused to lie down, and Saints had to wait

until the 69th minute to seal victory thanks to a first senior

goal from Sam Gallagher. Confirmation then Southampton will

play at Sunderland` their third visit to the stadium of light this

season on the weekend of the 15th and 16th February. They've already

lost there in the league cup and drawn in the league. Brighton are at

home to Hull. Brendan Rodgers paid tribute to Eddie Howe and his

Bournemouth side after Liverpool's victory at Dean Court. A sell`out

crowd saw the likes of Luis Suarez in action. There was a rare glimpse

too of Cherries owner Max Demin the man whose investment has helped turn

the club around. Liverpool scored a goal in each half, Victor Moses's

effort which beating Lee Camp at the near post. Then Daniel Sturridge

finishing well in the second half to end any hope of an upset. While are

very good and I would give credit to them. It is not easy when you are a

manager, sticking your head out, but he certainly does that. They were

excellent. There was Football League action this weekend too, Kris

Temple's round`up starts after this town crier at Portman Road has

finished. This fan will have gone home happy. It took into the second

half for Ipswich to go in front. Redding had penalty appeals on the

day and saw efforts go high and wide. They are still sixth in the

table. Swindon lead against Shrewsbury. The goal of the game

came from the visitors. Two late goals gave Swindon all three points.

Portsmouth were left to rue a goalkeeping clanger. The scores were

level, but then a second was grabbed. Trevor Carson let this

effort slip through his fingers. Basingstoke Bison are still in the

race for ice hockey's Premier League title they beat Sheffield Steeldogs

6`5 on Saturday night. The Bison stormed into a four goal lead,

Thomas Karpov and Ciaron Long among the goals. The visitors threatened a

comeback and got to within one goal of the bison before, Joe Rand made

it 6`3. A late fightback didn't prevent a Bison win, they're second

in the table, Guildford lost to Telford and are third. Reading

Rockets basketball team are celebrating after national success

this weekend. The Rockets beat Newnham Neptunes by 93 points to 72

in Worcester yesterday. If you've travelled anywhere by bus,

you've probably found yourself gazing blankly out of the window. As

the landscape passes by, you might not concentrate on that changing

view. Not so for an artist in Bournemouth, who's been commissioned

to record her journeys with pencil drawings. But this is conceptual

art, which not everyone may immediately warm to. James Ingham

has been to meet the artist at work. Boarding a bus not for anywhere in

particular, but simply to enjoy the journey. Denise Poote is recording

her view of a dozen routes around Bournemouth in a rather unusual way.

Armed with just a pencil and paper, she's turning the trip into art. I

draw whatever catches my eye as I go past. Part of the trees become part

of the buildings and vice versa. It is a physical response of my hand on

the paper. For someone who gets travel sick,

this seems an unusual choice of studio, but it's that unpleasant

feeling that first inspired her. You are looking out of the window into

the distance when I am a passenger made me observe things I thought I

could begin to capture without looking at the paper. I will end up

with a record of those things, and I wanted to do locally.

Bournemouth's Yellow Buses commissioned this work ` so do their

regular passengers like it? Very interesting. Yes. Does it make any

sense to you? I am trying to figure it out. No, not really. Sorry. What

do you like it? It draws attention. It makes you want to find out what

it could be. At a different things to all sorts of people. That is the

beauty of this. There are all sorts of different styles out there. So,

just looking now, what you make of it? There is a bit of Christchurch

Priory somewhere in there. There is no way you could have predicted how

it would come out before. That is right. It belongs to the journey,

really. I am just making marks of a particular set of circumstances.

Love it or hate it, this is a view from a bus you've probably never

seen before. Fascinating. More bad weather over the weekend,

and on Saturday there were reports of a mini tornado over parts of

Hampshire and West Sussex. Alexis will be here in a moment to give us

her take on that. Roofs were ripped off garden sheds and trees felled

across roads and train tracks. Although there were no reports of

any serious injuries, some had a lucky escape, as Chris Robinson

reports. Nestled in this tree is part of the roof of Christina's

garden shed. On Saturday afternoon, she watched a strong winds ripped it

apart. Homes were battered across part of the South. Her prize vintage

car survived with barely a scratch on it. There is debris everywhere.

Luckily, none of the horses were hurt. I am from Michu can. The

midwest is quite tornado prone. I really do think this was a mini

tornado. Nothing drastic like we get in the state. It looks quite

familiar. This was the scene outside and over the leisure centre. A

mother and her children had been sheltering under this tree when it

came down on top of them. They escaped with just minor injuries.

South West Trains reported some trains blocking part of a network.

The driver was treated for shock when his car was trapped between

branches. A massive branch was ripped off a tree here, crushing a

roof. Chris Robinson. Was at a tornado? The Met Office

cannot confirm because they do not have the evidence. They've is an

organisation looking into it. They always send someone to have a look.

A tornado gives a clearly defined damaged track.

There was quite a track for that. You never know.

Moody skies but a splash of colour in Mudeford in Dorset captured by

Alan Smith. George Andrews took this photo of Portsmouth from East

Wittering this morning. And Stephen Michelle captured a Great Egret

which is in temporary residence at Blashford Lakes near Ringwood. We

did see some sunshine today but tonight, the risk of further heavy

rain. The Met Office have a yellow warning in place. This week, we are

looking at blustery showers. It will turn slightly colder, and maybe

introduce Frost and ice on untreated surfaces. Through tonight, we will

see the rain showers, they will merge into longer spells of rain at

times. Quite heavy in a few places. Perhaps some hair and thunder.

Potentially, we could see up to an inch of rain. Lows tonight of four,

five Celsius. Frost free and ice free, but the winds are blustery.

Ltd brightness. If you catch sunshine, you will be very lucky.

Temperatures up to around eight Celsius. Showers will continue

tomorrow. They will not be as heavy. More unwelcome rain. Temperatures

similar to tonight. It will be a wet start to the day we are looking at a

slowly dying out scenario. There is the risk we could have some snow

showers through Thursday. The Met Office do have a warning for rain

for tonight and tomorrow. Thank you. That is it from us.