:00:00. > :00:00.Here on BBC One it's time for the news where you are.
:00:00. > :00:07.Hello and welcome to South Today, I'm Jo Kent.
:00:08. > :00:12.as Southampton fans look forward to a trip to Wembley,
:00:13. > :00:17.a Chinese company seeks to buy a stake in the club.
:00:18. > :00:20.A devolution deal dead in the water but will taxpayers
:00:21. > :00:34.And a heart-warming tale of the kindness of strangers.
:00:35. > :00:37.Southampton football fans continued their celebrations today,
:00:38. > :00:42.after the club secured its place in the League Cup final at Wembley.
:00:43. > :00:46.They've also been taking in the news that a chinese company has moved
:00:47. > :00:54.If the deal goes ahead, Southampton will follow
:00:55. > :00:56.other big European clubs, who've also had significant stakes
:00:57. > :01:01.Our reporter Lewis Coombes is at St Mary's tonight.
:01:02. > :01:10.News emerged through the stock exchange in the Far East
:01:11. > :01:13.that a Chinese company by the name of Lander Sports Group had reached
:01:14. > :01:17.an agreement to purchase a stake in Southampton Football Club.
:01:18. > :01:20.This then triggered the club to release their own statement,
:01:21. > :01:23.but notably with a more cautious tone.
:01:24. > :01:26.The clubs owner Katarinha Liebherr spoke of a "potential partnership"
:01:27. > :01:29.and that any "possible deal" would only be done
:01:30. > :01:34.if in the best interests of the club.
:01:35. > :01:37.So early stages and any details of the size of stake
:01:38. > :01:41.But it is the first time Saints have gone on the record
:01:42. > :01:43.that they are looking for outside investment.
:01:44. > :01:45.For investors the Premier League represents the richest
:01:46. > :01:48.and most-watched football league in the world.
:01:49. > :01:51.There's been a growing trend of investment from China -
:01:52. > :01:53.a country keen to boost both its own domestic league,
:01:54. > :01:56.and its standing as a major world player in the sport.
:01:57. > :02:00.Southampton is the latest club to be linked -
:02:01. > :02:03.West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Birmingham City
:02:04. > :02:06.have all recently been sold to Chinese owners,
:02:07. > :02:09.while Manchester City sold a minority stake in their club
:02:10. > :02:13.for $400 million dollars just over a year ago.
:02:14. > :02:16.A Chinese consortium is also currently in the process of trying
:02:17. > :02:21.Lander has been shopping around for investments in the UK
:02:22. > :02:28.There have been intermediaries working actively on
:02:29. > :02:31.their behalf to build links with football clubs but,
:02:32. > :02:33.beyond that, there's something about
:02:34. > :02:35.Southampton's location, as a port city,
:02:36. > :02:37.the Chinese tend to invest in clubs,
:02:38. > :02:43.They often tend to look at the broader
:02:44. > :03:00.industry and broader economic benefits.
:03:01. > :03:03.And Southampton know who they will face in the AFL cup final at
:03:04. > :03:05.Wembley. Yes, after the excitement
:03:06. > :03:08.of last night's win at Anfield - fans now know
:03:09. > :03:09.it will be Manchester United who stand in their way
:03:10. > :03:12.of winning a first piece The club's only major
:03:13. > :03:15.cup victory in it's history. The opposition that day, of course,
:03:16. > :03:17.Manchester United. Saints have been given just over
:03:18. > :03:20.31,000 tickets for the final which go on sale to season ticket
:03:21. > :03:22.holders from next Thursday. While potential Chinese investment
:03:23. > :03:25.in the club could be lucrative, for fans the sight of seeing
:03:26. > :03:27.their players lift a trophy, It was the deal
:03:28. > :03:31.that promised more money, more control and more
:03:32. > :03:32.joined-up thinking. But, as we reported yesterday -
:03:33. > :03:36.devolution plans for parts of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
:03:37. > :03:39.appear to have been scrapped. It follows months
:03:40. > :03:42.of planning and discussions. Now, instead of bringing
:03:43. > :03:48.councils closer together, Our political editor, Peter Henley,
:03:49. > :03:54.has been gathering reaction. This was the meeting
:03:55. > :03:56.in a Westminster committee room that finally saw the death
:03:57. > :03:59.of the Solent devolution dream. Portsmouth City Council
:04:00. > :04:01.leader Donna Jones telling councillors that time had run out
:04:02. > :04:03.for approval and they must At the moment, the money's all going
:04:04. > :04:10.up north to the Northern Powerhouse and to Sheffield and to Leeds,
:04:11. > :04:13.we are losing out because we haven't got our act together and
:04:14. > :04:19.I am deeply, deeply disappointed. We've missed the opportunity to be
:04:20. > :04:22.the Southern powerhouse and to be the first combined authority
:04:23. > :04:24.in south-east England. The Portsmouth leader,
:04:25. > :04:26.a Conservative, blames another Southampton, Portsmouth,
:04:27. > :04:28.and the Isle of Wight all said they wanted to create
:04:29. > :04:43.the new authority, East league, Eastleigh,
:04:44. > :04:46.Fareham, Havant and East Hampshire would have all joined
:04:47. > :04:48.in but Hampshire County Council and under Roy Perry
:04:49. > :04:50.wouldn't back the plans. The combine authority would have
:04:51. > :04:52.been given ?900 million in government funding to be spent
:04:53. > :04:55.over 30 years but Hampshire's leader says that wasn't worth splitting up
:04:56. > :04:57.the historic county. That the division and disagreement
:04:58. > :05:01.is what's led to the failure of taking power away from Westminster.
:05:02. > :05:03.How do you feel, personally? Personally, I feel my responsibility
:05:04. > :05:06.is for this area to see that we have good services,
:05:07. > :05:07.efficient services, Hampshire is one of the best,
:05:08. > :05:10.most respected And these rival plans
:05:11. > :05:14.for council reorganisation Surveys and expert opinions,
:05:15. > :05:17.all of which seem to What the public really
:05:18. > :05:22.wanted our simple delivery of quality services,
:05:23. > :05:25.particularly when money is tight. And, today, a third
:05:26. > :05:28.conservative entered the fray. Chancellor Philip Hammond
:05:29. > :05:32.visiting Microsoft in Reading. He gave his views on why no southern
:05:33. > :05:36.council was getting an elected mayor It started as a city-based
:05:37. > :05:47.approach and it's evolved. I think it's just a pipeline issue
:05:48. > :05:50.and I'm sure we will see some deals coming through in the less urbanised
:05:51. > :05:54.parts of the country in the future. So, perhaps a minister's door
:05:55. > :05:57.could still be pushed open, though with Brexit taking up so much
:05:58. > :06:01.energy, paying for local services may mean the back
:06:02. > :06:15.of the queue for some time yet. More news today about how our
:06:16. > :06:27.councils might look in the future. Earlier I asked about plans four
:06:28. > :06:30.authorities in Dorset to merge. Everybody is racing to get some of
:06:31. > :06:36.this money before the tap is turned off. Dorset thing that rather than
:06:37. > :06:41.having a mayor and combined authority they think they can save
:06:42. > :06:46.money by merging councils together making it simpler. But to councils
:06:47. > :06:51.don't want to be taken over so it has become a test case for the
:06:52. > :06:56.government whether they force councils to go along with the merger
:06:57. > :06:59.arrangement. It's a strange situation where you've got the
:07:00. > :07:08.government saying we want local people to work out what they want
:07:09. > :07:14.but it's down to Westminster to approve which ever plan. It in some
:07:15. > :07:19.ways, are watching for signals but they are very important sums of
:07:20. > :07:23.money and decisions for lovers in terms of the services we get.
:07:24. > :07:26.Now - here's a tale to restore your faith in human nature.
:07:27. > :07:29.It starts with a letter taped to an empty bike rack
:07:30. > :07:34.The letter was addressed to the thief who'd stolen a brand
:07:35. > :07:37.new bike, belonging to someone who'd saved-up for a year to buy it.
:07:38. > :07:39.A passer-by saw the note, and decided to do something
:07:40. > :07:41.about it, as Allen Sinclair reports.
:07:42. > :07:43.Flapping from an empty bike rack, this letter caught
:07:44. > :07:46.Rachel's eye as she was walking along Reading's
:07:47. > :07:52."Dear bike thief, have you ever thought that you make
:07:53. > :07:56."You might have seen that the bike is new and
:07:57. > :08:01."Letting you know that I could only afford that bike after one year
:08:02. > :08:06."I was saving and dreaming of having a new bike one day."
:08:07. > :08:10.Well, it's a pretty forlorn looking note, as you can see.
:08:11. > :08:14.Everything I read just make me feel sad for the person, really.
:08:15. > :08:19.It was signed, "From Alex", who added that he or she would wait
:08:20. > :08:28.by the bike rack at 6pm each evening this week in the hope that
:08:29. > :08:33.It's not a great welcome that, is it?
:08:34. > :08:37.I've lived here for coming on 17 years now and, actually,
:08:38. > :08:40.And that's what motivated me to do something.
:08:41. > :08:43.Within half an hour, Rachel had set up an online appeal
:08:44. > :08:45.aiming to collect enough money to buy a replacement bike,
:08:46. > :08:48.24 hours later, the total had already reached over ?700.
:08:49. > :08:52.I've got no idea but Alex says that they will be here at 6pm.
:08:53. > :08:55.I don't know if Alex is male or female, even because it is a name
:08:56. > :08:59.But I will be here at 6pm, hopefully, to give Alex
:09:00. > :09:11.Hi. My name's Rachel.
:09:12. > :09:15.Alex, understandably wary at first, was deeply moved to know
:09:16. > :09:24.It's given back my faith in humanity.
:09:25. > :09:28.All the money left over after buying a new bike and a decent lock will go
:09:29. > :09:30.to a cycling charity helping provide affordable bikes for Reading people,
:09:31. > :09:38.a charity which Alex says he'd now like to join as a volunteer.
:09:39. > :09:46.That's all from the South Today news team this evening.
:09:47. > :09:48.We're back tomorrow with bulletins in BBC Breakfast and there's more
:09:49. > :09:57.Here is our regional weather forecast.
:09:58. > :10:05.Temperatures falling below freezing. Already, we are down 2-3 in the
:10:06. > :10:11.countryside. The winds will be brisk from the south. The chants in West
:10:12. > :10:14.Sussex and Surrey of patchy ice where we have wintry showers
:10:15. > :10:29.trysting in during the early hours of the morning. A chilly start. Mist
:10:30. > :10:35.and fog will lift. Patchy rain will spread in, mainly light in nature.
:10:36. > :10:42.Temperatures will rise to around nine Celsius, in contrast to today
:10:43. > :10:49.when we saw a high of just three Celsius. Feeling less cold also into
:10:50. > :10:54.Saturday. The rain moves eastwards during Saturday morning. Following
:10:55. > :11:01.eight, sunny spells and the chants of a sunny shower. A fair amount of
:11:02. > :11:05.cloud and also the risk of a weekend. It's swings and
:11:06. > :11:11.roundabouts, higher temperatures but some rain as well.
:11:12. > :11:19.Good evening. It's been dry so far this January but as it draws to a
:11:20. > :11:22.close it looks like we will see some rain at last. It's been an
:11:23. > :11:24.interesting today a bitterly