22/02/2017 Spotlight

Tonight on Spotlight, the importance of one of our oldest

fishing ports and the benefits to the wider economy.

The quay is vital, a vital component of not just

the south-west fishing industry, but we can see it as an important

But there's disagreement over plans for this fishing quay -

the owners would rather invest in shops,

We'll take a look at the plans for Plymouth's fishing quay and why

there's a difference of opinion over its future.

Inside the fire-damaged leisure centre in Exeter.

Firefighters show us how the blaze spread through the building,

as an investigation is launched into the cause.

In the sauna and the health suite area, it's really quite bad, it is

burned, the ceiling's down, lots of water, fire and heat damage. In the

rest of the building, there's smoke damage throughout but we have tried

to keep that to a minimum. Amid intense pressure on the NHS,

a brand new intensive care the dog which underwent emergency

surgery after swallowing a train. Fishing is one of the south-west's

oldest occupations and still After the vote to leave the EU,

the industry is now looking for ways to expand one

of the country's largest ports. Fishermen say they're pleased

Plymouth City Council's draft plan has earmarked the Fish Quay

as an area which should be developed But there's still a difference

of opinion over what the final plans Adrian Campbell is there for us

tonight. The Fish Quay is a very important

area, very busy area, not just the local boats but for vessels further

afield. We have seen vessels from Lowestoft, also from Scotland, and

it is not just busy in the port area, it is also busy on land. A

small area, small footprint. There is concern the area isn't big

enough. They had ?10 million land of growth here, it is going up to ?20

million. There is concerns among the fishermen, they say this land needs

to be kept them totally and they feel it is very important they

should keep the access here for themselves. It is a very busy port.

Plymouth has hundreds of fishing boats coming into port every year.

These ones landing scallops are from Brixham.

The Fish Quay covers a small area, but it's important to the city

Plymouth handles more fish by weight than any other port in England.

Plymouth trawler agents auctioned more than ?17 million of fish

in 2016 and fishing employs more than 700 people afloat and a further

Plymouth trawler agents also act as the market for smaller ports

around the south-west, as well as other ports

But post-Brexit, south-west fishermen

and the owners of the Fish Quay Sutton Harbour Holdings

have different ideas about expanding the business.

There are two distinct divisions about how the Fish Quay should be

Both sides, though, agree on one thing, this area is really important

for Plymouth and it needs to be developed very important

for Plymouth and it needs to be developed very carefully.

As the industry plans for a future outside the European Union,

fishermen have put forward their own ambitious ideas to ensure this

important part of the city is developed for its industry,

rather than shopping, leisure or housing.

The leader of the Labour group on the council thinks that should

benefit the fishermen, rather than the alternative vision

The policy talks about preventing things that are detrimental

to the fishing industry and so I guess luxury flats would be

detrimental to the fishing industry, rather than places where fishermen

could lay up their nets, repair their boats and all the rest

of it, so it's not just about tying up alongside and hoping

for the best, the quay is vital and a vital component of not just

the south-west fishing industry, but we can see it as an important

But Sutton Harbour Holdings thinks its proposals are in line

with the city council's plan to develop the area

for the enhancement of the Fish Quay.

What our plans are now is to ensure there is enough footprint available

to service the fishing industry going forward.

The remaining footprint that is left, which will be partly

unused land at the entrance to the complex, will be used

for purposes sympathetic to the industry, sympathetic

to the area and it will be used to provide funding

What kind of things might that be, then?

I really can't go into detail on that because

The owner of the Fish Quay, Sutton Harbour Holdings,

may not be able to explain the details of its plans for now,

but the local MP says the zoning of the area is designed

Well, it's about protecting the fishing industry and the fishing

facilities within the city and that is something

which is really important and post Brexit, the fishing community's very

keen to make sure they are going to improve the fish taken

and all of those kind of things as well, so I'm really delighted

that the council have decided to protect all those facilities

in Plymouth and right down to Sutton Harbour as well.

The city's plan won't be fully ratified for months,

but it will affect what happens to this important area

The fisheries Minister George Eustice was here just a few days ago

and told me that post Brexit, he is very supportive of the idea of

growth here. There could be some tussle, though, in the months ahead

between what the fishermen want and what the owners of the land think is

the best way forward. Thank you, Adrian.

Councils in the south-west have condemned the Government's final

funding settlement for local authorities, debated

Devon County Council leader John Hart -

who chairs the South West Councils group - says they are "seriously

concerned" and claims "it has totally failed to address the crisis

Our Political Editor Martyn Oates joins us now from Westminster.

Well, another February, another local government finance settlement

and another chorus of disapproval from conservative politicians in the

south-west. Amongst them, as you say, the characteristically

forthright voice of John Hart, leader of Devon County Council, who

as well as being disappointed at the level of funding is very cross this

year about the way in which the Government has handled the timing of

all of this. When they give us a provisional

settlement late and then they give us a final settlement after we have

all set our budgets, and we've got to set our budgets

because of legal reasons, And then it comes through at 11

o'clock at night within 36 hours of it being debated

in the House of Commons. What Members of Parliament are

actually going to have a clue I am joined by one of the MPs who

has had to do her best to work out what it is all about in the time

available, and Marie Morris. You are also a vice-chair of the fair share

group of MPs which campaigns for better funding for rural areas and

you must be very disappointed, like John Hart. I'm very disappointed. We

have had so many promises from this government about looking at the

inequality between rural and urban and it hasn't delivered and John

Wright is absolutely right to be cross because the deal we have got

is not fair and frankly not appropriate, given the level of

people we have over 85, we have 20% in the west Country. How are we

going to fund that with what the Government is doing? They can give

us the odd percentage here and they can say we will take it through

council tax, but you can only squeeze the pip so far and we in the

urban areas are actually paying more council tax than those in urban

areas, so we are subsidising what the Government put in any way. But

as you and your colleagues reminders so often, we have wall-to-wall

Conservative MPs across the south-west, you are there and have

this lobbying force in theory but it isn't achieving anything, is it? The

answer is that what you achieve is sometimes on the floor of the house

and sometimes enclosed doors. A lot of backroom lobbying has gone on as

well, but still no result. That is right. I think what you need to do

is look at those signals. I abstain tonight. We have heard that before!

But I did it. I want to say to the Government, I understand where you

tell me you are going but I want you deliver it and see Ukip good your

promises and see something in the budget coming up, because why should

our tax payers there is a disproportionate share of the burden

of social care? -- and see Ukip your promises. Well, on Sunday, we will

be discussing this issue on the Sunday Politics.

It's something firefighters say they joke about -

tackling a fire in a swimming pool next to a river.

But Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says

yesterday's blaze at the Riverside Leisure Centre

It's revealed that using new water spray technology helped stop

the intense fire spreading across the entire building.

The fire's believed to have begun in the sauna and today investigators

began a detailed search to establish how it started.

This is what remains of the Riverside Leisure Centre's

health suite, the day after a fire broke out here, prompting

In the sauna and the health suite area, it is really quite bad.

It has burned the ceilings down, lots of water, fire and heat damage.

In the rest of the building, there is smoke damage throughout

but we have tried to keep that to a minimum.

So there were sort of three lines of attack, really.

Firstly to put the fire out in the sauna and the health suite area.

And we've had to cut holes in the roof structure to get water

mist into the roof space and put the fire out in there.

At its height, around 120 firefighters were

The Fire Service has now revealed that they were using new technology,

a special water misting system which helps them stop

what they are calling an intense fire spreading

Two people received minor injuries and some of the first emergency

crews on the scene feared it could have been much worse.

Certainly initially, I had a lot of concerns

Clearly, this is a busy city centre location,

rush-hour was occurring, it's a swimming pool,

A detailed investigation is now under way as to

At the moment, leisure centre staff are back in the building behind me

I've just been inside to take a look and the smell

There's no indication yet when the building

Legacy Leisure, which runs the Riverside on behalf

of Exeter City Council, said this afternoon that customers

would be able to use the facilities at other centres it operates around

Exeter, but it said the Riverside would remain closed

We're live at a world record attempt later:

Right on cue - these pool players are aiming to keep going

And the toy train which got stuck in the tunnel of this dog's throat -

A brand new ?15 million intensive care unit to treat patients

who are critically ill has been officially opened at

The project comes as the trust is also looking to close 32 beds

in the hospital, but it says this is all part

of its plans to provide the best care to patients who need it most.

Tucked away in the corner of the brand-new intensive care

unit, the last of 100 or so staff were finishing up

Just help me with your breathing a bit there, Gary.

In shiny new surroundings, with state-of-the-art equipment,

A rare good news story about the NHS.

There are 14 bays in the new intensive care unit

and the first thing you notice is how much lighter and brighter

they are, with daylight lighting and so much more space for staff

As you can see, it's very clean, it's very bright, we have got top

of the range equipment and there is space for them

to get on with their job, because you feel very uncomfortable

when you're doing things for a patient and you are having

to kind of trip over their wife, their mum, saying I'm sorry

and you don't want relatives to feel like they are in the way.

The hospital's League of friends raise an incredible ?1.6 million

The hospital's League of friends raised an incredible ?1.6 million

which has helped to pay for much of the top of the range kit and two

I'm very proud, actually to be standing here and saying that

The trust has effectively borrowed the money to pay

for the new facilities at a time when it is also looking to cut

costs by closing beds elsewhere in the hospital.

In a sense, this is all part of the plan that we described,

which is, where possible, we move people's care

into the community and provide additional services there.

For those people who need to be at the hospital,

and there will be fewer of those in the future, we need to provide

the highest level of care possible and this is at the very extreme end

of that, in the sense that it has the sickest

The makeover also includes new reception and cafe areas

The ICU is expected to open to patients in June.

Yeovil District Hospital has created a private company to carry out

It says the new venture, which is part owned by an American

company, will reduce waiting lists and cut the number of cancelled

operations but the Royal College of Nursing says it's members aren't

happy at being transferred from the NHS.

Here's our Health correspondent Jenny Walrond.

There's a big operation in progress at Yeovil District Hospital.

It's starting with a new multistorey car park.

And that will allow operations to be carried out on the side

of the old car park, a new purpose-built theatres

A private company called Daycase UK is due to take

over all the hospital's planned day surgery.

It's 70% owned by the hospital and 30% owned by an American

Doctors working for Daycase will stay within the NHS because it

60 nursing and administrative staff are due to be transferred

The union representing them isn't happy.

I don't think they have to do it at all.

The NHS is the best place to have care and the fact that YDH chooses

to transfer their care into the private sector isn't

necessarily going to be better for patients and I'm absolutely sure

The hospital trust says the new theatres and the new company

will allow them to keep up with rising demands,

use the latest surgical procedures and prevent operations

being cancelled when there's pressure on the main hospital.

In the past, the department hasn't taken over as

In the past, the department has been taken over as

an emergency temporary ward, but the Royal College of Nursing's

legal team has questioned whether the hospital has complied

with rules on competition and procurement and whether it has

the authority to create the new company.

Yeovil District Hospital insists that it does and says

the establishment of Daycase UK, including the procurement process,

has been conducted in line with its statutory responsibilities

and in the full knowledge of NHS regulators.

Yeovil District Hospital says the current staff working in day

surgery are at the heart of its plans and many

are enthusiastic about these changes, but those who do transfer

across to the new company will continue to receive

many of the same terms and conditions

Now a brief look at some of the other news tonight.

The investigation into allegations of financial irregularities

against Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner

Alison Hernandez is alleged to have failed to properly declare election

expenses whilst a Conservative election agent in Torbay in 2015.

Archaeologists working on the site of The Royal Clarence Hotel

have discovered a rare medieval decoration of a peacock

The hotel was gutted by fire last October.

Weymouth Beach has been named the best in the UK.

The three-mile long stretch of sand was also ranked number nine

across the whole of Europe, in reviews posted on the

Some say that the ability to play Pool is the sign

Some say that the ability to play pool is the sign

of a misspent youth, but two Devon men are hoping

to prove hanging out in pubs can be a virtue as they attempt to break

the Guinness World Record for continuously playing pool.

They're raising funds in support of Rowcroft Hospice in Torquay.

They started at noon today and hope to break the record on Sunday.

Our reporter Johnny Rutherford is with them now.

Right on cue! Did someone say cue? I'm not very

good ideas. Luckily, it is not me taking the challenge, it is a macro

guys here at the pub and they have got to go for 100 hours and more to

be at the world record, which was actually set in America. If you look

on this screen here that they have constantly running, it says three

days, 21 hours, in 11 minutes and 46 seconds. So that is quite some way

to go. Let's go across and talk to Darren. Tell me what you're doing.

We are raising money for Rowcrofts Hospice, we are up to ?5,000 and

counting, we are looking to do over 100 hours continuous play, as I

said, in aid of Rowcroft. 100 hours nonstop, do you get a break? We are

allowed five minutes per hour, so we are going to bank those five minutes

in order to have some kind of sleep and whatnot in the next day or two.

And who are you playing against? Graham, the landlord. Who is the

best player of the two? Probably me. Sorry about that. That's not what

you told me earlier! Coming across to you, you are the landlord and why

did you come up with this and why? It was just a chat between myself

and Darren, it was Darren's idea and we both thought it was possible. You

know, it is a great thing to do for Rowcroft, we wanted to do it for a

local charity and it all added up and we have had such great support,

as you can see this evening, and it has been constant, trying to do it

since last October. It is very official, you have cameras appear

showing you are live and everything. If you are going to do it, do it

properly! What is worrying is the number of times you are literally

bending over, have you got a misuse on stand-by? Yes, my daughter. For

real? For real, she is qualified. And someone is witnessing this at

all times? We have to have professionals in place because it is

a case that the adjudication has to be covered, the video footage has to

tie up with the adjudicators and what they say, that is really how it

works. We will go across to your wife, the landlady. Carroll, tell

me, this is all for a particular reason. Tell me what this is?

Basically to raise money for Rowcroft Hospice, a hospice in

Torquay that is very dear to locals' hearts and it is very underfunded

and threatened with closure. They helped over 200,000 people per year

with light limiting illnesses, so it is very important that we keep this

Hospice going and get some money in the bank for them. Brilliant. Well,

they'll still playing, still a long way to go. Just setting up here

ready for the next game. Good luck, guys. Yes, brilliant

cause, let's hope they go well with it.

I was a bit worried that they had stopped playing very minute there!

Now you've heard of dog training treats, but how about this -

a dog is recovering at home in Torpoint after somehow

eating a train that certainly wasn't a treat.

The toy which became a snack only came to light when Cyril

He was x-rayed by vets in Plymouth, and happily, the nine-year-old has

Why a dog should choose to eat a toy train rather than a conventional

But, luckily, he didn't eat that too.

He loves to eat and he will eat absolutely anything.

He is always hungry, always want biscuits.

crisps, sweets, and chocolate but we don't allow it

but he would constantly eat if he could.

Clearly, Cyril has a good appetite, but there were signals something

was wrong and when he fell ill, the Mellors took him to the vet.

We checked him over, realised he was unwell,

he had stomach pain, so we gave him an anaesthetic

and x-rayed him and on the x-ray, we could clearly see of white object

We were a bit perplexed as to what it was, we thought it

might be a Lego brick or a child's toy or something like that

and in fact, it turned out to be a railway carriage.

You can just see the wheels on the top of it here.

The discovery has brought a whole new meaning

After his operation, Cyril's back and full of beans.

Meanwhile, lessons have begun on eating a healthy diet.

not sure he took that in! C what the weather is doing, with warnings of

storms on the way, how will we be affected? We have Doris, you can

make all of the Doris Day jokes later that you like, we have had fog

today but some have seen sunshine, the strength of the wind has picked

up and it has broken up a cloud in places. Tomorrow, we have Doris is

starting to move in across the UK, so wet start, a little more

sunshine than in recent days but it is the strength of the winds that

will be noticeable, 50-60 mph gusts, 70 of the high grounds and some

minor disruption could be on the roads. At the moment, we have a

westerly airflow, quite a bit of cloud over us but the winds have

started to pick up ahead of Doris. Tomorrow, you consider strengths of

the winds, heavy rain will clear quite early on forth to most -- most

of tomorrow, we should see some sunshine and a much quieter day on

Friday. Try and bright, a lot of sunshine with winds, but feeling

cool. Saturday, the wind pick-up again, not in association with

Doris, but a slightly breezy day. A lot of cloud across the South west

today, a few holes given the strength of those winds, but we have

a lot of low cloud still out there and we will see further outbreaks of

light rain and drizzle overnight. In terms of temperatures, another mild

one, down at around nine or 10 degrees. We get the rain quite

quickly tomorrow pushing in from the west so for most of the day, dry

with a lot of sunshine. The peak of the winds during the middle part of

the day and early afternoon and we can see 50-60 mph gusts, particular

across the coast of Devon and Cornwall and over higher ground. So

don't be fooled, we see sunshine and mild temperatures, offset by the

strength of the winds, highs of nine or 10 degrees. The Isles of Scilly

will get the rain early on, so for a good part of the day, it will be

bright and the winds will be strong, Gale force at times. Here are the

times of high water. In terms of surfing, we recommend heading to the

coast tomorrow, particularly the north coast of Devon and Cornwall,

they will see some fairly big waves, less so towards the South coach. --

coast. The coastal waters forecast, the winds will come around to a

north-westerly direction towards the tail end of the day and they will

increase. Some rain first thing but the bulk of the day should be dry

with some sunshine and visibility will be good. So we have been

talking about Doris all week and that will hit as tomorrow. The winds

are already starting to pick up. We will see heavy rain during the

morning between six and eight, the heaviest of the rain, so

mid-morning, most of seeing dry and bright weather and the winds start

to pick up coming in from the north-west, Gale force at times and

they will fairly strong throughout the day, only easing as we go

through the night. That does mean on Friday a much quieter day and we

will see the winds ease, cooler and temperatures dropping but more in

the way our sunshine. The winds pick up as we head towards the weekend,

nothing to out of the ordinary and while we were see a lot of cloud,

you can see temperatures recovering so once again returning to more mild

weather. Thank you. So, tonight, we met Cyril

the dog survivor and now it is over two dogs you couldn't survive

without. Thank you for all of your e-mails and pictures about dogs with

jobs. We are featuring some of your stories over the coming weeks and in

the meantime, here are a few of your dogs with incredibly important jobs.

From all of us here, good night. Good job, guys.

We totally nailed it. This year, fundraising kits are

going to be sent through the post.