24/01/2017 South Today

A vision for the future? that power.

Could trams be the solution to traffic congestion and pollution

More than 20% of tram users previously made

Trams are attractive to car drivers, unlike buses.

Empty fields but full barns - farmers count the cost of bird flu

restrictions as free range status on this farm is threatened.

Glasses for classes - a new look for teaching as the text

The best way to do that is to give them something interactive

and something tangible they can touch, they can feel

It certainly beats them sitting there and looking at a PowerPoint

slide at the beginning of every single lesson.

And I am at the Dorset B and B that has just been named the best in the

world. It is a top job sometimes. -- tough job.

It's been more than half a century since the last

tram ran in Southampton, but business leaders

and politicians are now thinking about bringing them back.

There are currently eight tram and light railway networks

And with traffic congestion here set to increase by 50%

over the next decade, an urgent solution is being sought.

Currently fewer than one in ten people in the Solent region uses

So could a new tram network linking Southampton,

Eastleigh and Fareham really persuade us to ditch our cars?

Sabrina Buck drives six miles from Chandlers Ford

To get there for nine it can take between 40 minutes and an hour.

I have been travelling for about ten years,

and it was a lot quieter than it is today.

I have had to change my hours to go in earlier when I can.

Fewer than one in ten people in the Solent region go to work

The Local Enterprise Partnership thinks trams may be the answer.

These are very early days, but the plans would see trams run

on or alongside existing railway tracks from Fareham

through the new town of Welborne all the way over to Eastleigh

Then on to a new station at St Mary's and a ferry

It would then run along the street to the cruise terminal

and onto Central Station, where it would rejoin the railway

and head up to Romsey past a new Park and Ride by the M27.

From there the line but head east through Chandler's Ford to Eastleigh

and a new Park and Ride site right on the M3.

Another line with head eastwards out of the city.

This time from the new St Mary's station, going through Netley

and ending at a Park and Ride site here in Segensworth.

And finally across Southampton water the old Waterside railway line

would be reopened as far as Marchwood, with a Park

Now, this all could be in place in 2040.

But it's going to cost hundreds of billions of pounds.

Isn't this all pie in the sky, though?

I think the investment is more than millions,

it's probably hundreds of millions of pounds, but this region has been

significantly under invested in by the Government in the recent

past, and we need to change that dynamic, which is why the Solent LEP

took the initiative by developing the strategic transport

Trams have been running for 25 years here in Manchester.

60 miles of track in the city centre with nearby towns.

It is Britain's biggest and busiest light rail network.

The trams here run on the street and existing railway tracks.

When a new line's opened house prices nearby go up and there's

The opening of Metrolink in 1992, the first two lines,

was the start of the big revival of Manchester city centre.

Southampton lost its tram network in 1949.

Plans to reintroduce trams over the years never got

Air pollution and increasing congestion on the roads

are focussing minds, but a change in the political

I think devolution will help, but it's not...

It won't stop it necessarily coming forward.

I think it will help, I think it will speed it up,

because the local impetus is very keen and we won't have to work

necessarily through government ministers all the time.

If a light rail network were to be built, would people use it?

More than 20% of the tram users previously made

Trams are attractive to car drivers, unlike buses.

If the tram was competitively priced, and turned up

on time and definitely ran, then it would be a much better

We are a long way off seeing a tram network like this in Southampton,

but the LEP and the City Council are keen to have six

trams running every hour between Eastleigh and the city

But finding the money and forging the political will to make that

They are both agreed that doing nothing is no longer an option.

And we can cross over to Tom in Southampton now.

Tom, we heard in your report that a tram network would cost hundreds

Indeed, if it gets the go-ahead it would relieve pressure on a very

busy road indeed but the money will not come from one big pot, although

central government is expected to provide the bulk of that funding

through potentially the transport development fund, the local growth

fund or the National productivity investment fund, but there are other

streams of finding the money as well. Should a deal regional

devolution get the go-ahead that would free up millions of pounds for

local infrastructure projects as well. Developers who build housing

along the route will be expected that their hands in their pockets

and pay as well. Was a timescale? The LEP says it wants to see phase

one at the Eastleigh to Southampton city centre route operational by

2020 and I think that is a little ambitious but one thing this study

will do will give us a much greater idea of the costs and give them the

ammunition to build a business case for the funding. Thank you very

much. And the idea has sparked

a lively conversation on the South Today Facebook page

if you'd like to log The Civil Aviation Authority has

accepted all 21 safety recommendations made

following the Shoreham air crash. 11 men were killed when a Hawker

Hunter jet crashed during a display Our transport correspondent

Paul Clifton is near the scene of the crash this evening -

tell us about these Air accident investigators

have made a series of Most relate to the way

in which former military aircraft are assessed,

inspected and prepared. Today the Civil Aviation Authority -

the industry's regulator - accepted the last eight

of those recommendations. However, we know these changes

would not have altered the events that took place behind me

in August 2015. Air accident investigators said

a long time ago that the crash was not due to a mechanical failure

of the aircraft. It happened as the pilot was making

an aerobatic manoeuvre. He came out of a loop at a lower

level than would be normal, and over the road instead

of within the display area. He had not agreed this in advance

with the air show director. The local MP has welcomed

this latest report. All 21 of those recommendations,

they are now going to accept. There is just an issue of timing

as to when they can be brought in, but in principle they are now

being accepted and I think that is good news and shows

that there has been some good work done by both the AAIB

and the Civil Aviation Authority to make sure there are going to be

changes to their displays in This isn't the end of

the investigation by a long way? We are still waiting for the final

report into the crash by air This will lay out exactly

what happened and why. We expected it last year,

but it has been delayed. The pilot of the Hunter,

Andrew Hill, survived. The police are still

considering whether to charge Only when that process has been

completed can the inquest be held. It is quite likely that will not

happen until next year. So the families involved

will won't get a final verdict until perhaps three years

after the crash. Poultry farmers across the South

are waiting anxiously to find out if restrictions imposed

because of bird flu will mean their eggs no longer

have free range status. At the moment flocks are being kept

undercover to stop them having contact with wild birds who may be

carrying the virus. If the restrictions continue

for much longer there's a real possibility farmers won't be able

to charge as much for their eggs. Like the rest of the nation's

chickens, this flock in Romsey has now been indoors since the start

of December as part of the bid Normally they would be free range,

out and about in this field. They didn't like it at first,

so basically we decided to give them lettuce and cabbage just to help

them, something to peck at initially, but over time

they have really become At the moment there are 5000

chickens on this farm, And it is the status of the eggs

that is now in question. What is worrying producers is that

under EU regulations they will no longer be able to call their eggs

free range if the birds are housed Today is the hens'

50th day undercover. And it is important,

as the producers get up to 40p We have done nothing wrong,

the birds have done nothing wrong, so really, yeah, why shouldn't we be

allowed to carry on selling our product as free range,

because it's the Government that has It is not like I am

keeping my birds in myself. It has been enforced on us, so,

you know, why should The National Farmers Union

is campaigning for the rules to be relaxed because of

the exceptional circumstances. The NFU at the moment has been

talking to ministers, they are talking in Brussels,

to lobby the commissions Poultry farmers are now waiting

anxiously to see if the bird flu The bird flu virus has been found

around the UK including in Dorset. While understanding, Philip does not

want his eggs to lose free range status. I think we should carry on

until they let them out. When is the sick time, that is up for them to

decide. Tonight the Department for environment food and there is says

it is keeping the situation under review based on the scientific

evidence and it is working with the pottery industry over what happens

next. A national survey of passenger

satisfaction on the railways shows Southern is by far the worst

in the country - down Most passengers felt the company

was not good at dealing with delays. A majority thought

punctuality was unacceptable. A three-day strike by a small number

of drivers in the RMT Despite that, Southern Rail had

hoped to run a full timetable for the first time in nearly two

months - but roster errors and staff sickness meant some

trains were cancelled. Separately, the company has

defended the help it offers It says the new on-board supervisor

role, which has replaced the role of conductor,

means there's more customer Ben Moore reports on the challenges

facing disabled train users. Commuting when you're disabled means

relying on other people. James needs ramps to get on and off

trains, and that requires staff You worry through that

whole journey, one, has anyone on that platform,

you know, got contacted And two, is there

an on-board supervisor Crawley where James

gets on is staffed, but his destination,

Horley, is not. So he relies on the new

on-board supervisors. But because drivers now close

the doors, they don't have No one appears to be at the station,

so now we will have to pray that the on-board supervisor

is on the next train. Southern estimates that only one

in nearly 2000 trains that're meant to have an on-board supervisor

will end up without one. Still, disability campaigner Ann

Bates had a problem only last night. There was no manning on the train

and no manning on the station, apart from one poor man who had been

told not to use the So, in the end, my fellow

passengers, lest their cotton socks, broke into the guard's cupboard,

got the ramp out and under my instruction they put

the ramp down for me. Southern says this was the result

of the RMT strike coupled with a rare breakdown

in communication between stations. In that respect Southern says it

believes it does more in terms of disability access

than any other operator. It advises all wheelchair users

to let them know if they're travelling 24 hours before,

and if they can't alight at an unmanned station

Southern will provide a taxi It is like all these things

that have been cobbled They might have all the OBSs

in the world, but if they weren't on Worthing station last night,

it makes no difference. The whole thing is, they haven't

planned it carefully enough. James completed his journey

without any hold-ups, but without a guarantee of a driver

and supervisor on board, he says Later tonight, riding the rough

ground ? it's cross country on two wheels as we discover

the sport of cyclocross. It is often said that you can't

learn everything from a textbook, yet bringing learning to live is a

challenge for every teacher in every subject in every school.

Now, it's not been a normal school day for pupils at one

They've been taking part in a virtual reality trial

with Google which could change the way some lessons are taught.

Today rather than studying pictures and diagrams youngsters took a

journey inside the human body. Sofia Seth report. It is a lesson like no

other. The pupils at Hayling College and normally allowed to use

smartphones on cars but this is different. They're using them to

tour the heart and circularity system. Teachers contacted Google

provided the phones, headsets and free learning apps for a date. This

allows them to leave the clash and go somewhere they would not get the

opportunity to at this stage of their school career. We can ask them

what didn't feel like and pussy like and get debate and analysis and a

conversation from that -- it is the same every lesson and sometimes you

start to concentrate, but when you are doing this, it is much easier.

It helped me because I could see it and actually look at different

things and the comparison between the two things and I think it is

really clever and easy to understand. Other lessons include

history and eight tour of the virtual World War I trench as well

as a spectacular view of the Northern lights. While virtual

reality doesn't mean the end of the school trip its capacity to take

lessons of the classroom could certainly be a useful tool.

I think it would have been somewhat better at biology if I had the

opportunity to do that. But better than those diagrams! On to sport.

Big football matches tonight. I always love this time, I get to all

the team news and we get pictures and things, via several social media

platforms as we look towards the football tonight.

Both the region's Championship sides go for crucial points in the race

Reading can go third if they win a game which was abandoned at half

We'll be at the Mad Stad in a moment.

Meanwhile Brighton could reclaim top spot if they beat Cardiff.

Johnny Cantor is watching at the Amex.

Johnny, Brighton had a great win against Sheffield

Wednesday on Friday night - are Albion fans really

Yes, with certainly Albion and Newcastle playing a game of Caesar

at the top of the championship but the most important gap is between

Britain and third place which could grow from eight points to 11

tonight. It won't be easy. Cardiff have won all three of their league

games in 2017 and they are without top scorer Glenn Murray who is

suspended. From automatic promotion

contenders in Brighton The Royals have lost their last two

games and face a big match tonight against a Fulham side four points

below them in the table. Former Reading captain

and BBC Radio Berkshire sports presenter Ady Williams

is at the Madejski stadium. Ady, is the promotion

charge stalling? I hope not. As you rightly say, two

defeats on the bounce, last time that happened was back in August.

Big for both teams. Full am looking to get into the top six and if they

win they close the gap and if Reading get the victory tonight, it

increases the gap. A little blip in the season but it has been great for

Reading. Yup stand in charge. Fingers crossed a home win tonight.

TI go should make his home debut but will there be other new faces and we

still don't know what is going on behind the scenes there. He played

at the weekend, but a perfect debut conceding three goals at Derby but

we expect him to start tonight. Not long left niqabs Rwanda. We have

been trying at racetrack. Gareth McLeary is the top scorer. Eight

league goals. And the other has got seven. Hopefully before the window

closes we will bring a striker in. Full live commentary this evening

and news from both grounds at 10:30pm tonight.

A new year brings new resolutions and, let's be honest,

Here's a sport for those of you who like to get out

on your bike, but maybe don't want to hit the roads.

Cyclocross is an off-road version of cycle racing,

This winter's Wessex League competition is about to

reach its conclusion, so maybe this will whet your

More pedal power than park run, these cyclo-cross events are for

those aged seven to 70. The Wessex league season concludes this month

and this was one of 12 races in the series. There is a competitive edge,

but for many it is a recreational pursuit. The easiest cyclist sport

to get into, because it is off-road and it is great fun. It is from half

an hour to an hour, the lovers around the circuit, woodland,

grassland, mud, banking is, but obstacles. It is great fun. Pretty

intense. This year the series has visited Reading, Oxford, Swindon and

this event in Southampton. Each club is really friendly so there are lots

of wives and kids and families and it is a nice day out when the sun is

out. My dad was persuading me and they said they didn't really want to

do it because I was thinking I don't have the right clothes or bike but

is now a realise that is a bit silly. My brother wanted to do it,

so then I followed with him. He did well. He came off twice,

first lap, and then quite a long way back up so it was all right. I came

off as well. A great sense of achievement to see so many people

with smiles on their faces enjoying the outdoors as families and being

active. Well done to everyone who has taken part this year. That looks

good. Corhampton Golf Club's Scott Gregory

has been named in the Great Britain and Ireland squad for

the Walker Cup, the amateur The 22-year-old, who played in

the Australian Amateur Championship, last week is the British champion

and, having played at the Open Championship in 2016,

will also compete in this year's US The Walker Cup is in

Los Angeles in September. Very well done to Scott. Another

great achievement for him. Ever felt you want to give it up and do

something different? Seven years ago, Clive

and Lisa Orchard quit the rat race to take over a modest bed

and breakfast in Dorset. Their only aim was to make sure

their guests enjoyed their stay. Well, they're certainly

doing something right - because for the second

time their B in West Lulworth has been named the best,

not just in Dorset, not just in England - but the best

in the world by guests who've posted That puts them ahead of B

in Florida and Italy. David Allard's been

to find out their secret. It is a bitterly cold day in Dorset

but this place is the warmest welcome in the world. And that is

official. There are quite a few e-mails coming in. Clive and Lisa

orchards say they are amazed to have been named the best

bed-and-breakfast on the planet for the second time. It means a lot. It

means our guests have thanked us for their state. We were very shocked

but very happy obviously. What we're both doing before you decided to

move down to Dorset and open a B? We had a surf shop and I was the

shop girl at the beginning of that. I was working in datacoms up near

Reading and we sold the shop and the datacoms business and we chose a

bed-and-breakfast as being a nice lifestyle. This room is the Thomas

Hardy Rim... From the reviews on the TripAdvisor it is clear this B

offers more than just clean sheets and a full English. We think Dorset

is beautiful so it is not difficult to show that was people. When I was

six or seven my eldest sister Cynthia taught me to swim in this

area, so we went for that reason and I think that makes it really

personal. So you won the award in 2014 and now 2017, two years in

between, what went wrong? We relaxed! We genuinely just think of

the bed and breakfast as an extension of ourselves anyway. That

was our commitment when we started, just to be ourselves and welcome

people to share the area. Whatever their secret it has sent them to the

top of the world's favourite B destinations.

Congratulations to them. They will be inundated. Onto the weather. Fog,

fog, Chris Proudfoot photographed

the morning frost in the New Forest. Maureen Coles took this picture of

the fog in Portsmouth from Gosport. And Martin Dolan captured a fog bow

near Corfe Castle in Dorset. Fog formed in a very similar way to

rainbows with tiny water droplets. Overnight tonight we expect further

mistimed freezing fog patches again and the risk of ice which is why the

Met Office has issued a fog and ice warning during the early hours and

up until lunchtime tomorrow. Possible disruption to travel. Dense

fog patches will form in the usual spots and temperatures tonight will

follow way to around minus four Celsius in the countryside is. These

are in our towns and cities dropping down to minus one in some areas.

Misty and foggy start to the day tomorrow. Widespread frost. Freezing

fog patches may linger throughout the morning which is why the Met

Office warning is in place. Ice is a risk and untreated services.

Tomorrow a good deal of cloud, the best of the sun shine through parts

of Dorset and West Wiltshire with temperatures tomorrow reaching a

high of 5-7 C. Further clubs tomorrow night but where there are

clear skies and the chance of a widespread frost first thing on

Thursday morning and maybe one or two freezing fog patches but they

won't be as widespread as last night and tonight. Temperatures tomorrow

night around minus one Celsius. A frosty start on Thursday. That

starts fairly cloudy but we are expecting some drier and clear air

to move in from the near continent bringing some sunshine through the

afternoon after a frosty start. Temperatures on Thursday will reach

a height of four or five Celsius but with the strength of the very cold

south-easterly wind it will feel more like freezing with the wind

chill. A cold day on Thursday and a cold day also on Friday although

earning less cold through Friday and into the weekend. A lot of cloud

over the next few days. Cloud breaking up on Thursday. Cloudy on

Friday with patchy rain and of the weekend mainly cloudy but one or two

bright spells. That is it from us. Kris Temple is at Anfield for the

Saints match tomorrow night. Good luck Oxford against Bradford as well

in the lower League Cup competition. More at 8pm and 10:30pm, good night.

You might get the impression that history is just a record

Very often, the line between fact and fiction

In this series, I'm exploring how three turning points in our history

have been manipulated to become our greatest historical legends.

I want to be entertained. Entertain me.

It's the last chance to impress the judges.

What have you been up to? Something grubby?