:00:00. > :00:10.Peter, thank you. That's all from the BBC News at
:00:11. > :00:18.Hello, I'm Sally Taylor. Welcome to South Today. In tonight's programme:
:00:19. > :00:21.It just keeps on coming, flood defences, transport links and
:00:22. > :00:28.homeowners struggle to cope. How many ministers does it take to fire
:00:29. > :00:34.up the economy in Portsmouth? Gill macro I am the secretary of state.
:00:35. > :00:39.Michael Fallon is in my department. We work very well together. Despite
:00:40. > :00:44.doing the triple, Southampton's Billy Morgan has it all to do again
:00:45. > :00:47.for a place in the Olympic final. And face to face with some of the
:00:48. > :00:58.greats in the largest exhibition of Patrick Lichfield's work. Unpacking
:00:59. > :01:10.the work was really exciting, it has been like putting together a
:01:11. > :01:13.fantastic party. They are communities trusting in water pumps,
:01:14. > :01:16.sandbags, and maybe a few prayers. After the winter we've had, we're
:01:17. > :01:20.starting to run out of ways of saying this. But the South is facing
:01:21. > :01:23.yet more violent storms and heavy rain on already swollen rivers and
:01:24. > :01:26.sodden land. David Cameron is chairing an emergency Cobra meeting
:01:27. > :01:29.tonight. And he has just pledged an extra ?30 million for flood repairs
:01:30. > :01:32.and maintenance. But, this evening, many people in the south are still
:01:33. > :01:35.looking nervously to the skies. Laura Trant has been following
:01:36. > :01:45.events across the region, let's join her in Winchester. How is it looking
:01:46. > :01:52.tonight? I am standing in the appropriately named water Lane in
:01:53. > :02:03.Chichester where river warnings are high. Sandbags have been laid in an
:02:04. > :02:06.attempt to protect forms. Earlier today the Environment Agency were
:02:07. > :02:11.here and said it was actually lower than anticipated but that could
:02:12. > :02:17.change in the coming hours. Many people across the South are worried
:02:18. > :02:21.about the flood risk where they are. I was in Dorset earlier today where
:02:22. > :02:27.people had been particularly concerned about their circumstances
:02:28. > :02:37.since Christmas. Residents here are preparing. One of my neighbours had
:02:38. > :02:43.actually purchase sandbags. They were ?150 spent on sandbags. There
:02:44. > :02:48.is not much more you can do. A mile down the road and it is the same
:02:49. > :02:52.story. Residents of this home Park are nervously watching the river. On
:02:53. > :02:57.Christmas morning they were evacuated from their homes as the
:02:58. > :03:07.river burst its banks and flooded their properties. I would like to
:03:08. > :03:12.think the Environment Agency would come up with the plan to protect us,
:03:13. > :03:15.we all pay council tax. The Environment Agency has come under
:03:16. > :03:20.fire for not being proactive, and not warning people soon enough. We
:03:21. > :03:26.are doing everything possible on the ground to reduce the risk of
:03:27. > :03:31.flooding. We are seeing very heavy rain, water levels rising and the
:03:32. > :03:36.risk of properties flooding. We would urge people to take urgent
:03:37. > :03:41.action to protect properties by sandbagging, removing valuables. We
:03:42. > :03:47.would also suggest they listen out for the flood warning service and
:03:48. > :03:51.take action where necessary. Today the focus has been on the rain as a
:03:52. > :03:54.huge swathe saturated the south. That's after high winds whipped up
:03:55. > :03:58.giant waves along the coast yesterday. This was the Little Ship
:03:59. > :04:06.pub in Portland, it wasn't the usual for locals. If you are worried about
:04:07. > :04:10.the flood risk we would you argue can always check the Environment
:04:11. > :04:21.Agency website for the latest updates on flood alerts and
:04:22. > :04:24.warnings. You wait for ages for a government minister to represent
:04:25. > :04:27.your city, then two come along at once. Last week, the newly appointed
:04:28. > :04:31.Minister for Portsmouth, Michael Fallon, visited, promising to do all
:04:32. > :04:33.he could to help the city after the decision to close its naval
:04:34. > :04:37.shipyard. Today, Business Secretary Vince Cable arrived. Mr Cable, never
:04:38. > :04:39.one to shy away from upsetting his Conservative coalition colleagues,
:04:40. > :04:42.has famously said that he was the "real minister for Portsmouth". Our
:04:43. > :04:45.Political Editor Peter Henley has been following Mr Cable's visit `
:04:46. > :04:50.and an intriguing struggle for political credit. Ports mode has
:04:51. > :04:58.been seeing double. Yesterday the Minister for ports mouth and today
:04:59. > :05:05.the Lib Vince Cable. What a result. Two new jobs created already! But
:05:06. > :05:10.does it show divided government? A lack of trust between the coalition
:05:11. > :05:17.parties? Who's idea was it to have Michael Fallon for ports mouth? I am
:05:18. > :05:25.the secretary of state comic here then my department and we work very
:05:26. > :05:30.well together. I had arranged to come here before his decision was
:05:31. > :05:36.made and I come regularly anyway. Vince Cable started his day at this
:05:37. > :05:44.building for freedom college. He went on to ports mouth. EEE are
:05:45. > :05:50.relocating to Scotland. Companies like this one might pick up the
:05:51. > :05:58.slack. They produce carbon fibre pipes for the oil and gas industry.
:05:59. > :06:06.They create a big reduction in the size of vessels needed to install
:06:07. > :06:14.it. That is the major cost saving. These men moved here from jobs in
:06:15. > :06:23.car production. When I joined the were about 20 guys and now there are
:06:24. > :06:27.120. It is rapidly growing. It is an opportunity, I see it as something
:06:28. > :06:35.key to being a career move rather than just another job. You would not
:06:36. > :06:45.say Ford did you a favour? I certainly don't begrudge it, that is
:06:46. > :06:54.for sure. Both ministers agree this is good for the shipyard. Other jobs
:06:55. > :06:58.have to be found however. Now he is the most senior lead them to arrive
:06:59. > :07:05.in the South since the Mike Hancock story, it did he comment on that?
:07:06. > :07:10.Yes, he stuck to the national line that might have cropped should have
:07:11. > :07:21.been suspended but he also backed the local party in putting up a
:07:22. > :07:26.candidate for the May elections. They reacted promptly, he is not
:07:27. > :07:34.standing as a Lib Dem and that is right. Shouldn't be Lib Dem stand
:07:35. > :07:38.against him? It is for the local party to decide, these things are
:07:39. > :07:43.happening in hundreds of council seats up and down the country. But
:07:44. > :07:50.no Lib Dem candidate with approval from the centre? They have to decide
:07:51. > :07:56.these issues locally we are not micromanaging from the centre. These
:07:57. > :08:03.seats will be bitterly contested at the next election. There are two
:08:04. > :08:07.people trying to claim the credit. It suggests things might be
:08:08. > :08:13.improving in ports mouth. Otherwise they would hardly be standing up
:08:14. > :08:16.wanting to take the blame. Each year in the south, dozens of illegal
:08:17. > :08:23.traveller encampments are dealt with by police forces. The camps are
:08:24. > :08:27.moved on but the issue never seems to go away. In the last year, there
:08:28. > :08:29.were 51 illegal encampments in the Chichester District Council area
:08:30. > :08:32.alone. Today West Sussex officials have shown residents plans for a
:08:33. > :08:35.proposed temporary Travellers' site at Westhampnett. Katy Austin
:08:36. > :08:40.reports. At the moment it is just a council depot but parts of this plot
:08:41. > :08:48.of land could become a short`stay transit site for travellers. Illegal
:08:49. > :08:56.encampments are a problem in Sussex. Police would have the MoU `` power
:08:57. > :09:03.to move born such an encampment to a site where they could stay here if
:09:04. > :09:10.it gets the go`ahead. Is this really the solution? If we get a transit
:09:11. > :09:15.site police would have the opportunity to move people onto them
:09:16. > :09:21.and make a better environment for themselves and the community. Many
:09:22. > :09:30.fear it would not stop at nine pictures. Will it expand and expand?
:09:31. > :09:39.We do not really trust them. They tell you one thing and then it
:09:40. > :09:44.suddenly changes. No`one here would speak to me on camera today but they
:09:45. > :09:50.did express strong feelings about the proposed site down the road for
:09:51. > :09:54.travellers. They feel their community should take priority and
:09:55. > :09:58.the kind of people who would come to a transit site are not the kind of
:09:59. > :10:07.people they would want near them. It will go before Chichester Council's
:10:08. > :10:12.planning committee. That will happen in the next few months. Still to
:10:13. > :10:18.come, probably what you have been waiting for but do not want to
:10:19. > :10:22.hear. It has been the wettest December in January since 1876 and
:10:23. > :10:30.the rain keeps on coming. I will have the full forecast later. As we
:10:31. > :10:38.have been hearing, the weather has been causing massive disruption
:10:39. > :10:41.across the region. Railways have been badly affected by the recent
:10:42. > :10:44.heavy rain. And embankments in the south have been particularly prone
:10:45. > :10:47.to landslips because of the clay soil in many areas. Now a five`year
:10:48. > :10:51.study, led by Southampton University, is looking at how the
:10:52. > :10:53.railway needs to adapt to a changing climate. Our Transport Correspondent
:10:54. > :10:57.Paul Clifton is here. Paul, what are they looking at? More intense
:10:58. > :10:59.rainfall and hotter days. Two of the most likely consequences for
:11:00. > :11:03.southern England of global warming. Rain will come in less frequent but
:11:04. > :11:07.heavier events. That is the current academic thinking. The Victorians
:11:08. > :11:11.built their railway embankments with whatever material was nearby. In
:11:12. > :11:15.southern England, that largely means clay, which cracks in dry summers
:11:16. > :11:19.and turns to mud in weather like today's. And this study is looking
:11:20. > :11:34.at how well those clay embankments can stand up to a changing climate.
:11:35. > :11:39.On Christmas Day a landslip closed the railway line between
:11:40. > :11:47.Littlehampton and London. 4000 tonnes of material was needed to
:11:48. > :11:51.repair it. It reopened today. This part of the railway line will be
:11:52. > :11:58.closed for up to a month after a landslip. We have to get the bus a
:11:59. > :12:04.lot earlier than we could get the rain. Track workers have to build an
:12:05. > :12:10.access road across waterlogged fields before they can start. Here
:12:11. > :12:17.the embankments are made of clay. What happens to the railway as
:12:18. > :12:22.exceptional weather becomes an annual event. It is going to be a
:12:23. > :12:27.combination of trying to look at what will be the likely pattern of
:12:28. > :12:32.weather, what is likely to be the effect of the vegetation and what
:12:33. > :12:35.measures can be put in place to stabilise the bank mints, using
:12:36. > :12:45.piles of example, making slopes less steep. Meanwhile, engineers have
:12:46. > :12:50.been relaying the railway here. Can this ballast be made more robust?
:12:51. > :12:56.They are studying the engineering that underpins it. We need to make
:12:57. > :13:00.sure we use the money where it is really needed and seeing where we
:13:01. > :13:08.can get away with vegetation management, for example. It is very
:13:09. > :13:12.much about making our infrastructure robust, resilient and fit for the
:13:13. > :13:18.future. It is an investment we cannot afford not to make. So, Paul,
:13:19. > :13:21.where will this research lead? It should establish what needs to be
:13:22. > :13:24.done to keep the Victorian embankments in good condition. What
:13:25. > :13:28.sort of vegetation will hold the clay together, stopping it cracking
:13:29. > :13:32.in summer or collapsing in winter? It should help decide what type of
:13:33. > :13:36.ballast is best, what angle of slope is most reliable. This work has
:13:37. > :13:39.implications that run into billions of pounds, and which will affect how
:13:40. > :13:40.reliable our increasingly busy railways will be far into the
:13:41. > :13:57.future. The developers of a wind farm off
:13:58. > :14:00.the coast of Hampshire and Dorset are scaling back their plans to
:14:01. > :14:03.reduce its visual impact. Following criticism of the project, the
:14:04. > :14:06.Navitus Bay development will be altered. Some parts will now be
:14:07. > :14:09.nearly four kilometres further from the shore. It will also be smaller
:14:10. > :14:12.with fewer turbines, 194 rather than 218. But campaigners say the threats
:14:13. > :14:14.to the environment, tourism, birds and navigation remain almost
:14:15. > :14:25.unchanged, and the onshore disruption will be the same. Last
:14:26. > :14:28.week we reported Reading Council's attempts to bring hundreds of empty
:14:29. > :14:31.homes back into use. Lots of you got in touch after the report with your
:14:32. > :14:35.own housing problems. Several tenants ` living in what they
:14:36. > :14:37.believe are poor conditions ` want Reading Borough Council to force
:14:38. > :14:40.their landlord to make improvements. The council inspected the flats
:14:41. > :14:50.before guaranteeing their deposits. Nikki Mitchell has been to see them.
:14:51. > :14:53.All the mould you can see by the toilet and sink, I clean it four
:14:54. > :14:59.times a week and it just keeps coming back and growing. The council
:15:00. > :15:07.inspected this flat before the woman and her daughter moved in. The rent
:15:08. > :15:14.is covered by housing benefit. The landlord and counsel guaranteed her
:15:15. > :15:20.deposit. We are not getting anywhere, we have had them out 15
:15:21. > :15:25.times. Next door conditions are worse. The neighbour did not want to
:15:26. > :15:33.appear on camera but she shall be her sodden windowsills. Reading
:15:34. > :15:38.council have cold the staff landlord many times to ask him to take urgent
:15:39. > :15:45.action but the landlord told us today any mould is the result of the
:15:46. > :15:55.tenant's negligence. He says they must wipe it up daily and take
:15:56. > :16:03.either of their property. The council has agreed to move this
:16:04. > :16:08.woman and her daughter into alternative accommodation. Because
:16:09. > :16:13.they have a roof over their heads they are ranked as having the lowest
:16:14. > :16:18.possible priority. They and over 4000 others. I worried as the
:16:19. > :16:29.council about the quality of privately rented flats? The council
:16:30. > :16:35.say the work with landlords. Interestingly, the lead councillor
:16:36. > :16:41.on housing in reading told me that under the deposit guarantee scheme
:16:42. > :16:45.these landlords are among the more reputable and they are desperate to
:16:46. > :16:49.get more landlords on board because their is a sure judge `` huge
:16:50. > :16:59.shortage of homes for people on low incomes. We have lost the number of
:17:00. > :17:05.council houses over the years through right to buy and the
:17:06. > :17:09.alternatives for council tenants to buy their own homes is being
:17:10. > :17:15.increased by this government. We have worked with social housing
:17:16. > :17:17.providers to consistently deliver social affordable housing
:17:18. > :17:26.year`on`year but we need to increase that supply. There are 9300 people
:17:27. > :17:31.on the waiting list or social housing in reading and 4000 of those
:17:32. > :17:39.are considered high`priority. The rest have no chance, they have to
:17:40. > :17:45.rent privately. The more people in need, the higher rents go. It is a
:17:46. > :17:48.vicious circle. As I am sure you know the Winter Olympics in Sochi
:17:49. > :17:51.formally gets underway tomorrow with its opening ceremony, but in fact
:17:52. > :17:57.some qualification events took place today. Jo Kent has the details. It
:17:58. > :18:05.is awed having qualifying before the opening ceremony at nevertheless,
:18:06. > :18:16.the South has five competitors at the game, let's look at them now.
:18:17. > :18:21.First up is one you've probably heard of ` Chemmy Alcott. She's an
:18:22. > :18:25.alpine skier, originally from Hove but now lives in Surrey. Her first
:18:26. > :18:28.event in Sochi will be the Super Combined on Monday morning. At 31
:18:29. > :18:32.Chemmy is something of an Olympic veteran ` this will be her fourth
:18:33. > :18:36.games. She spent the last half of last year trying to get fit again
:18:37. > :18:38.after breaking her leg in training. But she's still Britain's best
:18:39. > :18:41.female downhill racer with two eleventh places in previous
:18:42. > :18:46.Olympics. Penny Coomes is an ice dancer from Berkshire. Along with
:18:47. > :18:50.partner Nick Buckland, they're aiming for the medal placings in the
:18:51. > :18:54.figure skating. They're on good form ` Penny and Nick last month won
:18:55. > :18:57.their first ever European medal when they took the bronze at the European
:18:58. > :19:01.Figure Skating Championships in Budapest. You can see them in
:19:02. > :19:04.competition in the team event on Saturday, with their paired ice
:19:05. > :19:12.dance scheduled for the 16th and 17th February. Billy Morgan is a
:19:13. > :19:15.snowboarder from Southampton. His event snowboard slopestyle is all
:19:16. > :19:18.about big tricks and is making its Olympic debut at Sochi. Billy had a
:19:19. > :19:25.qualification round today but will be in action again on Saturday as he
:19:26. > :19:29.tries to make the event finals. He's known for his triple rodeo jump of
:19:30. > :19:32.three full flips in the air. He's thought to be the first snowboarder
:19:33. > :19:45.to successfully pull off the jump with the video of it becoming an
:19:46. > :19:49.internet sensation. Andrew Musgrave is originally from Poole in Dorset,
:19:50. > :19:53.but with his event of cross country skiing, he's now based in Norway for
:19:54. > :19:56.his training. It paid off because last month he won the sprint event
:19:57. > :19:58.at the Norweigan National Championships ` outsprinting
:19:59. > :20:01.previous World cup winners. It's something he's obviously hoping to
:20:02. > :20:04.replicate in Sochi. His first event is on Sunday. And finally Craig
:20:05. > :20:08.Pickering. He's based in Milton Keynes and has been selected as part
:20:09. > :20:11.of the GB team for the bobsleigh. Craig switched to bobsleigh just
:20:12. > :20:15.over a year ago after losing his funding for athletics ` where he was
:20:16. > :20:18.an Olympic sprinter. He's one of the very few sportsmen who'll be able to
:20:19. > :20:22.say they've competed at both summer and winter games. The bobsleigh
:20:23. > :20:26.starts on Sunday the 16th February. Well, now to Billy Morgan, and he
:20:27. > :20:29.was the first athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics in Sochi this
:20:30. > :20:32.morning ` in the debut of the Slopestyle event. In his second run,
:20:33. > :20:35.Morgan pulled off this impressive backside triple jump, but his
:20:36. > :20:39.combined scores meant he finished in sixth place overall. It wasn't
:20:40. > :20:44.enough to get him an automatic place in the finals, with only the top
:20:45. > :20:47.four going through. However, he'll get another chance to qualify for
:20:48. > :20:55.the final in the semifinals on Saturday morning. I mist my first
:20:56. > :21:00.one up and got a 70 something so I knew I had to beat in the next time.
:21:01. > :21:06.I only got one of my crippled down in practice so I was hoping for the
:21:07. > :21:15.best and I stopped it. It could have been a bit cleaner but I was happy.
:21:16. > :21:21.I am really stoked because it has been really good. They got the job
:21:22. > :21:26.done and it is good. No ice hockey news. Basingstoke bison 's are
:21:27. > :21:39.through to the Premier League cup final. The bisons went through 11`9
:21:40. > :21:51.on aggregate despite losing last night. The opening ceremony is four
:21:52. > :22:01.o'clock tomorrow morning our time. It is the most expensive Olympics
:22:02. > :22:04.ever, it is going to be amazing. Princess Margaret, Oliver Reed,
:22:05. > :22:08.Tommy Cooper, rain Martin. It's not the kind of guest list you find
:22:09. > :22:10.gathered together every day. But these sixties icons are immortalised
:22:11. > :22:13.in a photographic collection of Royal photographer Patrick
:22:14. > :22:15.Lichfield's work in Hampshire. And they are being exhibited at
:22:16. > :22:19.Mottisfont Abbey this weekend. Sean Killick went along for an advanced
:22:20. > :22:29.viewing ` and a chance to revel in some 35 millimetre nostalgia. He
:22:30. > :22:33.made his name as part of 60s society, capturing royalty and the
:22:34. > :22:40.stars, making the most of his aristocratic and showbiz contacts.
:22:41. > :22:48.Being the Queen's hasn't once removed certainly helped but Lord
:22:49. > :22:54.Lichfield had the different start to his career. He had amazing
:22:55. > :22:59.connections comic he knew everybody in society, he was also a pep guide
:23:00. > :23:06.and knew everybody in swinging London. He started off on ?3 per
:23:07. > :23:13.week and learn how to take amazing shots, that is really what sets them
:23:14. > :23:20.apart. We have got five rooms here, the first to have stars of stage and
:23:21. > :23:27.screen, Roger Ruark, John Gilbert, this is my personal favourite, Dirk
:23:28. > :23:31.Bogarde, he is so relaxed and happy. This is the sort of thing he
:23:32. > :23:38.was brilliant at, just capturing these moments where you get the
:23:39. > :23:43.sense of the person. This room is full of sporting heroes including
:23:44. > :23:48.the legendary Pele. Lichfield was brilliant at getting action shots.
:23:49. > :23:54.He would really try to get the pose so he could sum up that person and
:23:55. > :24:03.what they achieved. Another image includes the Queen laughing at a
:24:04. > :24:10.prank on the Royal yacht Britannia. He was also the official
:24:11. > :24:23.photographer for weddings, one particularly steeply. `` stately.
:24:24. > :24:28.The final portrait here is Nigella Lawson in 2005, just months before
:24:29. > :24:40.Patrick Lichfield died after suffering a stroke aged 66. Great
:24:41. > :24:46.photographs and some fabulous people, certainly worth seeing over
:24:47. > :24:51.the weekend. Now onto the weather. I think we would be shocked if you say
:24:52. > :25:01.it will be warm, dry and sunny with blue skies. We actually have a day
:25:02. > :25:05.of sunshine tomorrow. Shaun Roster took this photo of Southsea Pier
:25:06. > :25:08.surrounded by rough seas and stormy skies. George Smith took this photo
:25:09. > :25:11.from Bury Hill in West Sussex looking towards Amberley and the
:25:12. > :25:19.flood water. And Sue Pratt captured the flooding outside the Winchester
:25:20. > :25:21.School of Art. Thanks for that. The Met office weather warnings stay
:25:22. > :25:26.with us tonight, tomorrow and into Saturday. We will have some very
:25:27. > :25:32.intense downpours over the next few hours. That Met Office Amber
:25:33. > :25:37.Wetherall warning is important for really heavy rain tonight. From the
:25:38. > :25:42.rain we have had today and through the night tonight into the early
:25:43. > :25:49.hours we could have an inch of rain fall all in all. Intense downpours
:25:50. > :25:53.and following the game will be some heavy and squally showers. Deals
:25:54. > :26:04.along the south coast. Temperatures will fall to four or five Celsius.
:26:05. > :26:09.`` gales. We are expecting that rain to clear tomorrow morning when we
:26:10. > :26:15.will then have some good sunshine. There is still the flooding problem
:26:16. > :26:20.following the rain tonight and we will have more rain tomorrow night.
:26:21. > :26:26.The wind tomorrow will increase in strength through the evening. Gusts
:26:27. > :26:32.of up to 60 mph along the south coast. The rain rattled in quickly
:26:33. > :26:37.with strong winds. Showers to follow perhaps with some heel and thunder.
:26:38. > :26:45.The wind will ease the touch during the early hours of Saturday morning
:26:46. > :26:51.but they will increase in strength. Gusts along the south coast of 60 to
:26:52. > :26:56.70 mph. You can see the strength of the wind wrapping around the area of
:26:57. > :27:01.low pressure. An amber weather warning in force. That is from
:27:02. > :27:07.midday onwards on Saturday. The wind will stay strong through the weekend
:27:08. > :27:12.but gradually easing off on Sunday. Do stay tuned to your BBC local
:27:13. > :27:17.radio station. There will be some heavy rain and gale through Friday
:27:18. > :27:22.night and into Saturday. Saturday morning we will have a respite with
:27:23. > :27:29.the wind. They will increase again through Saturday afternoon. Some
:27:30. > :27:34.sunshine to be had tomorrow, it do enjoy it because through the weekend
:27:35. > :27:47.it will be very stormy. That is it from us. Good night.