:00:11. > :00:16.The fight over a new incinerator for Plymouth is decided - the plans
:00:16. > :00:19.get the go ahead. Good evening and welcome to Spotlight. The news came
:00:19. > :00:22.in late this afternoon following a debate which began first thing this
:00:22. > :00:31.morning. We'll have all the reaction. Also tonight: Truro pays
:00:31. > :00:40.tribute. The family of a soldier who died after he was injured in
:00:40. > :00:44.Afghanistan are supported by a whole city. He was always laughing.
:00:44. > :00:48.A really nice boy. Too hot to handle - the Government is accused
:00:48. > :00:51.of panicking in its cut to subsidies in the solar rush. Losing
:00:51. > :00:55.out in Looe - businesses say closing a road will leave them out
:00:55. > :00:58.of pocket, but builders promise to work around the clock. And as a
:00:58. > :01:07.baby they didn't think she'd live beyond a day, but today Hilda
:01:07. > :01:10.celebrates 101 years. Months of protest came to a head in hours of
:01:10. > :01:15.debate today as councillors in Plymouth met to decide whether to
:01:15. > :01:19.agree to a new incinerator being built. The list of concerns was
:01:19. > :01:21.long, but the project will now go ahead. Reacting to the news tonight
:01:21. > :01:24.campaigners said it was disappointing. But the local
:01:24. > :01:26.authority said it was the right decision. In a moment we'll be
:01:26. > :01:36.speaking to the company behind the plans. First Spotlight's Scott
:01:36. > :01:37.
:01:38. > :01:42.Bingham reports. Stuart's home is just 60 metres from the site where
:01:42. > :01:48.the waste to energy plant will be built. He was one of many left
:01:48. > :01:53.disappointed by today's decision. Well apart from boarding up the
:01:53. > :01:58.windows and bars with sound- reducing panels, I can't see any
:01:58. > :02:03.way of reducing the impact. We have already experienced noise from test
:02:03. > :02:07.drillings. That has made residents evacuate their houses. I sigh no
:02:07. > :02:11.choice, I won't be able to stay. well as noise and traffic some
:02:11. > :02:15.locals are concerned about the potential health risk of emissions.
:02:15. > :02:22.They also feel they haven't been given a fair hearing. All I'm
:02:22. > :02:27.trying to do is fight for clean air for a safe place for my two
:02:27. > :02:31.children and myself. Call me what you will, but the fact they
:02:31. > :02:35.couldn't respond in that chamber today I think was a very bad
:02:35. > :02:38.judgment. We think there is a problem. The protesters were out
:02:38. > :02:42.early and they packed into the public gallery for the meeting. The
:02:42. > :02:47.meeting became heated on a number of occasions, at one point a public
:02:47. > :02:52.speaker was threatened with ejection after deliberately
:02:52. > :02:57.exceeding his five minutes speaking time. The chairman was forced to
:02:57. > :03:03.call the public gallery to order several types. It took planners
:03:03. > :03:12.five hours to approve the application. It was clear that a
:03:12. > :03:15.building of this size, of this design, so close to local residents
:03:16. > :03:22.was unacceptable. It is the only decision for the people of Plymouth.
:03:22. > :03:27.There is nowhere else to go with refuse now. We have to built an
:03:27. > :03:32.incinerator somewhere. It had to go somewhere and it is going in Nair
:03:32. > :03:42.area. The approval comes with �16 million worth of conditions,
:03:42. > :03:42.
:03:42. > :03:50.including money for schools and a community trust. 3 hundred jobs
:03:50. > :03:53.will be create -- 300 jobs will be created during construction. But
:03:54. > :04:02.protesters feel that is little compensation for the cost to their
:04:03. > :04:06.lives. One of the concerns is the level of emissions, Paul Carey is
:04:06. > :04:13.the managing director of company that runs the plant. Can you
:04:13. > :04:20.guarantee there will be no risk to people's health. It is clearly an
:04:20. > :04:24.emotive point. Our application inclued a detailed record of the
:04:24. > :04:28.impact. The planning officers have looked at that, the health
:04:28. > :04:31.protection have looked at that and come to same condition collusion
:04:32. > :04:37.that it should be given consent. That is not the same as saying
:04:37. > :04:43.there is no risk. Nothing is risk- free, you walk across the road you
:04:43. > :04:47.take a risk, you throw waste in a bin and it goes to landfill. What
:04:47. > :04:53.we have here is a state of the art design, the best you can get and it
:04:53. > :04:58.is as low risk as you can get. The impact have been deemed as Cemable,
:04:58. > :05:02.as not significant. That -- acceptable. That means people
:05:02. > :05:06.should be rest assured that it won't cause the concerns they have
:05:06. > :05:10.stated. We understand those concern and want to continue talking with
:05:11. > :05:15.the community about what we do, how we do it and reassuring them what
:05:15. > :05:19.will happen is no t what they fear. The protesters say there were 28
:05:19. > :05:25.incident in three years at your plant in Germany, is that true?
:05:25. > :05:30.There were some problems a few year ago to do with mercury and we shut
:05:30. > :05:36.the plant down. That shows how we respond. That was to do with a
:05:36. > :05:41.particular type of fuel. It is not the same kind of plant as here. And
:05:41. > :05:46.we took action. These plants are built to high standard and have
:05:46. > :05:52.extensive control systems. The emissions are monitored every
:05:52. > :05:58.second and they are always under observation, 24 hours a Kay, -- day,
:05:58. > :06:02.seven days a week and they will always be kept under clot scrutiny.
:06:03. > :06:08.Just reassure them, they will be worried about that, how can you
:06:08. > :06:11.reassure them? We want to carry on talk. For this is the beginning of
:06:11. > :06:15.a journey of being part of community and we want to be a
:06:15. > :06:20.significant part and play our role. We want to carry on talking with
:06:20. > :06:27.people, as we have been doing over the last year or two. That is an
:06:27. > :06:36.important part after trying to -- of trying to proindividual
:06:36. > :06:39.reassurance. Thank you. -- provide reassurance. Thank you. Hundreds
:06:39. > :06:42.gathered to pay tribute today to a Cornish soldier who paid the
:06:42. > :06:45.ultimate price of his life on a mission aimed at improving the
:06:45. > :06:48.lives of Afghan people. Sapper Elijah Bond was described as a
:06:48. > :06:51.soldier who always had a smile on his face and who was an inspiration
:06:51. > :06:55.to all. Spotlight's Matt Pengelly was at his funeral today in Truro.
:06:55. > :07:03.The centre of Truro stood silent as the hears carrying sapper Elijah
:07:03. > :07:07.Bond moved through the city. The 24-year-old had been serving with
:07:07. > :07:12.35-engineer regiment in Helmand when he was badly injured by a
:07:12. > :07:20.roadside bomb. He was flown back to the UK, but died two days later.
:07:20. > :07:25.Today, Elijah Bond's parents, Liz and Mark watched as his brother and
:07:25. > :07:30.sisters paid their own tributes. will always remember you for your
:07:30. > :07:33.beautiful big brown eyes, noticeable ears and gorgeous
:07:33. > :07:36.grinment your personality has tumped not om your family, but
:07:37. > :07:42.everyone who met you. -- touched not only your family, but everyone
:07:42. > :07:47.who met you. Now you're free in heavens light up the sky and make
:07:47. > :07:52.the night spectacular. However hard it is though we will take comfort
:07:52. > :07:57.in the thought of all the memories we have and the happiness you
:07:57. > :08:03.brought. You lived life to the full. But our won't be the same until the
:08:03. > :08:07.day we can see your smiling face again. Elijah Bond was an an
:08:07. > :08:13.engineering reconnaissance mission, looking at ways to improve the
:08:13. > :08:18.infrastructure for local Afghan people, when he was wounded.
:08:18. > :08:23.squadron has been devastated and our thoughts and prayers are with
:08:23. > :08:28.his family and friend. His millimetrery lives on -- memory
:08:28. > :08:38.live on. After the service, a firing party paid their last
:08:38. > :08:41.
:08:41. > :08:44.tribute. Before the cortege moved away to a private family burial.
:08:44. > :08:47.The Government's plans to cut solar energy subsidies by half from this
:08:47. > :08:50.month suffered another blow today. Yesterday the High Court ruled that
:08:50. > :08:52.changing the so-called feed in tariffs before the end of an
:08:52. > :08:54.official consultation period was legally flawed. Now two influential
:08:54. > :09:04.committees of MPs have also been severely critical Our Political
:09:04. > :09:05.
:09:05. > :09:09.Editor Martyn Oates joins us now. The brief hisry of the fees in
:09:09. > :09:13.tariff has been a roller coster. Yes it started before Labour lost
:09:13. > :09:19.power. The coalition came in and confirmed they would go ahead with
:09:19. > :09:23.the scheme. In Cornwall we had Cornwall council predicting a solar
:09:24. > :09:27.power gold rush. Then the Government said the scheme was
:09:27. > :09:32.becoming unaffordable and the Government's cutback in a big way
:09:32. > :09:35.the subsidies to bigger solar installation and wants to do the
:09:35. > :09:40.with -- same with staller installations. Two committee said
:09:40. > :09:44.the Government was right to do that, but they were critical of way in
:09:44. > :09:49.which ministers have gone about the process. They say that could put
:09:49. > :09:53.jobs at risk. Well, the department could have realised back in the
:09:53. > :09:58.summer that actually so many people were taking up these incentives the
:09:58. > :10:03.position could not be sustained. If they had started a consultation
:10:03. > :10:09.process back in July, they could have conducted the whole thing in
:10:09. > :10:12.an orderly manner and not damage the industry and penalise people.
:10:12. > :10:18.What will happen now? Government seem determined to stick
:10:18. > :10:22.to its guns. It doesn't have to listen to select committees, the
:10:22. > :10:26.legal judgment is different, there noise option of ignoring it. The
:10:26. > :10:30.Government wants an appeal heard as soon as possible. If it can't get
:10:30. > :10:36.the judgment overturned it seems likely this cut off for the higher
:10:36. > :10:39.rate of payments will have to be extended. Thank you. If you're
:10:39. > :10:43.driving a float in a carnival or cutting grass for the local
:10:43. > :10:46.community, should you be allowed to fill up your tank with cheaper red
:10:46. > :10:49.diesel? Well BBC Spotlight has found there may be an answer after
:10:49. > :10:58.some have got caught out by the law. The Treasury is hoping common sense
:10:58. > :11:00.will prevail. Hamish Marshall assess whether it will. It is a
:11:00. > :11:04.spectacular sight, bring communities together and raising
:11:04. > :11:09.money for charities. But fears over prosecution led some carnival
:11:09. > :11:15.committees to make changes this year, for fear of breaking the law.
:11:15. > :11:20.Last summer John was prosecuted for mowing the local football pitch in
:11:21. > :11:27.Devon. His crime was to use his tractor filled with red diesel,
:11:27. > :11:33.which has a lower rated of tax than normal diesel. The Treasury has
:11:33. > :11:36.said its telling revenue ooh customs to adopt a common-sense
:11:36. > :11:42.approach with community events. But the details haven't been released
:11:42. > :11:47.and until they are, those who have been campaigning remain wary.
:11:48. > :11:53.course it is ease y toy discern what is being -- easy to discern
:11:53. > :11:57.what is being done unpaid for the community and what is a business
:11:57. > :12:03.enterprise. The latter would be wrong. The former must be permitted.
:12:03. > :12:08.As well as tractors that keep the roads clear during winter, the
:12:08. > :12:12.carnival seen could benefit. Many use normal diesel. At the moment,
:12:12. > :12:18.no one knows where they stand. There are several clubs have been
:12:18. > :12:23.on white diesel and it has cost them a fortune for no reason.
:12:23. > :12:30.Whether that that clarity comes will only be known when the
:12:30. > :12:34.guidelines are publisheded - published. On the eve of Plymouth
:12:34. > :12:37.City Airport closing for good, an MP is making a last attempt to save
:12:37. > :12:39.the runway. The final passenger flight took off in the summer. The
:12:40. > :12:42.Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View, Alison Seabeck, says she's written
:12:42. > :12:48.to the Department for Transport calling on ministers to subsidise
:12:48. > :12:51.regional air services. Police in Dorset say the number of people
:12:51. > :12:54.caught drink driving in December has risen. They arrested 90 people
:12:54. > :12:57.in the first three weeks of the month, compared with 50 in the same
:12:57. > :13:02.period last year. Repairing the collapsed river wall in Bridgwater
:13:02. > :13:05.is now expected to take until the end of next summer. The work will
:13:05. > :13:11.begin in the New Year and will cost �1.5 million. The wall fell down in
:13:11. > :13:14.November. Residents in the Cornish town of Looe are furious about
:13:14. > :13:17.plans to close one of the main roads into the town. They say the
:13:17. > :13:20.closure next month will cause huge disruption and put businesses at
:13:20. > :13:30.risk. The developers say they'll do the job as fast as they can.
:13:30. > :13:32.
:13:32. > :13:37.Spotlight's Janine Jansen reports. This is the B 235 to Looe. The
:13:37. > :13:42.developer is building an estate of around 180 new houses. The work's
:13:42. > :13:47.already causing congestion, but in January, the road will be closed so
:13:47. > :13:53.a new sewer can be laid. The work will take weeks, locals are unhappy,
:13:53. > :14:01.they're planning new routes and a fight back. This road clesure will
:14:01. > :14:08.cost this business �3,000 each day. We're one of 300 businesses. So the
:14:08. > :14:13.impact on Looe will be huge. South West Water and Barratt Homes say
:14:13. > :14:19.they will do their best to minimise disruption and the developers have
:14:19. > :14:24.promised to work around-the-clock. But locals are still unhappy about
:14:24. > :14:27.problems for the emergency service. If there is a problem on one side
:14:27. > :14:32.of town, the fire service will not be able to get to the other side of
:14:32. > :14:37.the town in the time they need to for aen emergency. So where it
:14:37. > :14:42.might be four minutes to get across town f they have to take the
:14:43. > :14:47.alternative route, we're looking at 15 or 20 minutes. Cornwall's fire
:14:47. > :14:55.and rescue service say they will work with the contractors and
:14:55. > :15:00.making a specific effort to push a fire safety message. Safety is the
:15:00. > :15:07.top of our agenda and we will make sure you get a fire appliance as
:15:07. > :15:12.soon as possible and we will be in the area pushing fire prevention
:15:12. > :15:19.messages. The road will close on 4th January. People are worried it
:15:19. > :15:22.will be a far from happy new year. The troubled economic waters are
:15:22. > :15:25.lasting longer than many expected so what if you swam against the
:15:25. > :15:28.tide in 2008 and opened up shop? This week we're returning to three
:15:28. > :15:31.small businesses we've been following since 2008; a restaurant,
:15:31. > :15:34.a garage conversion firm, and a B&B. Today it's the turn of The Green
:15:34. > :15:37.Door restaurant at Woodbury, near Exeter. It's now decided to go from
:15:37. > :15:39.pile high, sell it cheap to expensive and exclusive and is now
:15:39. > :15:49.turning a profit. Our business correspondent Neil Gallacher
:15:49. > :15:51.
:15:51. > :15:56.reports. If any of our three businesses has had a battle, it
:15:56. > :16:02.appears to be Mark's restaurant. have been open for lunch for about
:16:02. > :16:06.a month and we have done about 20 lunches. That is terrible really.
:16:06. > :16:10.Hopefully we will take enough to pay the bills and pay the rent. I
:16:10. > :16:18.think I have spent some money that we're going to earn in Christmas
:16:18. > :16:24.already. So 2011 ends and Mark is not only in business still, but has
:16:24. > :16:29.done well. He has arrived a t a decision that may sound perverse.
:16:29. > :16:34.We have cut the number of customer, make the restaurant smaller, but
:16:34. > :16:39.make the food better. So we're doing less customer, but better
:16:39. > :16:43.food, which you can charge more for and so in the long rung you,
:16:43. > :16:49.hopefully you make more. You have tot try this and if you don't try
:16:49. > :16:54.that, you try something else. I have done the cheap three courses
:16:54. > :16:58.for �10. But your busy and can fill the restaurant, but you don't make
:16:58. > :17:03.any money. After three years of hard work, how does Mark feel about
:17:03. > :17:10.the fact that we could be slipping to another recession? I don't we
:17:10. > :17:17.have come out of recession have we? I don't know. Business is normal?
:17:17. > :17:27.Yes I don't know, you have to just keep the food good. Some people
:17:27. > :17:28.
:17:28. > :17:32.have got money! So the Green Door still open. Now, to the final BBC
:17:32. > :17:34.South West sports award of 2011. Tonight, it's the turn of the
:17:34. > :17:37.Sportsman of the Year accolade. Spotlight's Dave Gibbins has been
:17:37. > :17:47.to the Midlands to present the trophy to someone who's been making
:17:47. > :17:49.
:17:49. > :17:57.something of a splash! We're here at the where the top swimmers train
:17:58. > :18:04.and also our own top twimer from Exeter, Liam lan cock. He made a
:18:04. > :18:10.big splash this year by retain your 50 metre world backstroke title in
:18:10. > :18:13.Shanghai. Although you were disappointing in the 100 metre, you
:18:13. > :18:18.won gold earlier in the British Championships. So I have no
:18:18. > :18:22.hesitation for the second year running in announcing Liam
:18:22. > :18:28.Hancock's the BBC South West's sportsman of the year for 20 lever.
:18:28. > :18:35.Well done. It is a pleasure. It has been a great year. I have retained
:18:35. > :18:41.my bitele -- my title and that hadn't been done for 36 years. To
:18:41. > :18:47.retain it two years on the trot is amazing. Thank you and I'm looking
:18:47. > :18:52.forward to coming back to the South West. 2012 is the big year for you,
:18:52. > :19:01.to complete your set you need a medal in the Olympics, prefer Blay
:19:01. > :19:08.gold. Do you feel as though --ibly plefribly a cold. -- prefer Blay
:19:08. > :19:12.gold. I train hard and for me it is about doing the hard work so when I
:19:12. > :19:18.get to next summer, hopefully I qualify at the trials in March and
:19:18. > :19:22.let's see what happens. I have a feeling I might be here again this
:19:22. > :19:31.time next year and you have won yourself a medal in the Olympics.
:19:31. > :19:34.We hope so, well done. Thank you. A patient from the South West has had
:19:34. > :19:38.a pen removed from her stomach 25 years after she swallowed it. The
:19:38. > :19:40.woman, who's not been named, was using the pen to check her tonsils
:19:40. > :19:44.in 1986. When she reported the accident at the time, nothing
:19:44. > :19:47.showed up on the x-rays and her GP and husband didn't believe her.
:19:47. > :19:54.Doctors at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital took it out after
:19:54. > :20:03.she complained of weight loss and diarrhoea. You know what?
:20:03. > :20:06.Apparently it still works! I mazing - it must have been the write time!
:20:06. > :20:09.Celebrating your 101st birthday is something of an achievement, but
:20:09. > :20:13.Hilda Marchant was never expected to live beyond a day. On 22nd
:20:13. > :20:16.December 1910, her parents were told she probably wouldn't survive.
:20:16. > :20:25.More than a century later she's still proving everyone wrong.
:20:25. > :20:35.Spotlight's John Henderson joined the party in Dawlish. I'm Caitlyn
:20:35. > :20:44.and I'm seven and I'm here to celebrate my big gran's 101st birth
:20:44. > :20:49.Tay day. David it is a good thing to be here. I'm Charlotte a great
:20:49. > :20:55.grand daughter and this is my son. He is a great, great grandson.
:20:55. > :21:01.Hello I'm a great, great grandson. This is the birthday girl giving
:21:01. > :21:06.only a day to live after being born two months premature in 1910.
:21:06. > :21:13.doctor said I wouldn't live out the day and told my mother to get the
:21:13. > :21:19.vicar to get me Chris tened and so I could die properly. I'm still
:21:19. > :21:24.here. I'd like to see that doctor today. I'd tell him to where to go
:21:24. > :21:28.to. Hilda has lived in Devon through two World Wars, countless
:21:28. > :21:35.Prime Ministers and many changes. She's been through a lot. He has
:21:35. > :21:40.had three or four major cancer operations and she fell coming home
:21:40. > :21:45.from choir practice when she was 925 broke her arm, which is still
:21:46. > :21:52.wrobg broken. She has to wear a plaster on it. Her family
:21:52. > :21:57.celebrated with lunch in Dawlish. Top of the table was hill ta. -
:21:57. > :22:07.Hilda. I don't know what it look like, but she has stuck it on me
:22:07. > :22:17.head. You haven't had a kis then? No. -- kiss then. Ore thank you.
:22:17. > :22:18.
:22:18. > :22:25.oh thank you. Many happy returns. Now time for the weather. It -- I
:22:25. > :22:28.it cold and Christmassy. Well grey it cold and Christmassy. Well grey
:22:29. > :22:34.and mild is the weather. A brief frost on Saturday morning and then
:22:34. > :22:38.mild and a lot of cloud and Christmas day and Boxing Day. This
:22:38. > :22:42.stripe of cloud is coming towards us tomorrow. It will bring some
:22:42. > :22:46.rain, not tonight, just some drizzle. That will move in and by
:22:46. > :22:51.lunchtime it is across most of the South West. Some heavier bursts of
:22:51. > :22:59.rain and then a change of direction and north-west winds will bring
:22:59. > :23:05.colder air and the risk of a frost. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
:23:05. > :23:12.we have the mild temperatures of double figures. Earlier we had some
:23:12. > :23:16.brightness, but it has been very mild. That is the case at Rose Moor
:23:16. > :23:20.Gardens where our camera woman went to see what is happening here. We
:23:20. > :23:30.have a few flowers out that shouldn't be out at this time of
:23:30. > :23:35.year. That is a Snowdrop, which shouldn't be out until February. So
:23:35. > :23:41.many of the flowers have been fooled into thinking they should be
:23:41. > :23:45.starting to flower. There will with be a brief frost tomorrow. But not
:23:45. > :23:49.tonight. Mild and damp. After a light drizzle, more rain turns up
:23:49. > :23:53.by the end of the night sm Particularly in the west. Breezy
:23:53. > :23:59.too and temperatures no lower than eight or nine degrees. Tomorrow we
:23:59. > :24:04.have some rain coming in. Wit bill heavy for a while and it moves --
:24:04. > :24:08.it will be heavy for a while and it moves away. A a clearance does
:24:08. > :24:12.happen in Devon and Cornwall. Slightly colder air following
:24:12. > :24:15.behind. After a strong south-west breeze, the winds become north-
:24:15. > :24:20.westerly, remaining strong and by early evening the temperatures are
:24:20. > :24:24.back down to eight or nine degrees. For the Isles of Scilly the rain
:24:24. > :24:30.will clear and there will be some showers, but some fine weather and
:24:30. > :24:40.better in term of seeing sunny spells. Times of high water are on
:24:40. > :24:47.
:24:47. > :24:53.screen. For surfers, for north and south coast it will be quite choppy.
:24:53. > :25:00.A change in the coastal waters wind, the winds first thing sou westerly,
:25:00. > :25:03.force six to seven. Veering north- westerly. Rain then showers,
:25:04. > :25:07.moderate or poor visibility and the visibility becoming good. I
:25:07. > :25:13.mentioned we could have frost. This is Christmas Eve morning where
:25:13. > :25:16.there will be some frost. Especially in east Devon. But
:25:16. > :25:20.Christmas day we are expecting milder air returning and look at
:25:20. > :25:30.the temperatures, by Boxing Day up to 12 degrees and quite a bit of
:25:30. > :25:32.
:25:32. > :25:35.cloud. Have a good evening. Thank you. We're back tomorrow. But
:25:35. > :25:38.before we go tonight we've had a number of calls and e-mails asking
:25:38. > :25:41.for the name of the church which has been the setting for the
:25:41. > :25:45.Christmas Carols we've been ending the programme with all this week.
:25:45. > :25:48.You may need a pen and paper for this one - it's the Garrison Church
:25:48. > :25:55.of Saint Katherine The Virgin-Upon- The Hoe. So here with Silent Night
:25:55. > :26:05.is Plymouth's Military Wives Choir. From us all - goodnight. # Silent
:26:05. > :26:13.
:26:13. > :26:23.night # Holy night # All is Kwai -- calm # All is bright # Round yon
:26:23. > :26:30.
:26:30. > :26:40.virgin mother and child # Holy infant so tender and mild # Sleep
:26:40. > :26:52.
:26:52. > :27:02.in heavenly peace # Sleep in heavenly peace # Silent night #
:27:02. > :27:13.