Transcripts For BBCNEWS Inside Out North West 20200216 10:30

Understand, does not currently, we understand, have plans to evacuate the 57 british citizens and 20 british crew from the ship. For everyone else not evacuated they will have to remain on board at least until wednesday, when they are tested. Those who are negative will be allowed to leave and the quarantine will end on wednesday but there is a proviso. Anybody in close contact with someone anybody in close contact with someone who has tested positive, their quarantine will be set again to zero and they will have to spend another 1a days, possibly still on board the ship. Now its time for a look at the weather with ben rich. Strong winds have affected many parts of the uk so for this weekend thanks to storm dennis. It seems as if rain has causing bigger problems for many. A red warning from the met 0ffice issued this morning for parts of south wales. Rain following into flooded areas, a risk to life. Numerous platforms across wales, england and scotland, the bbc weather website will keep you up to date with those. 0utbreaks weather website will keep you up to date with those. Outbreaks of rain through the afternoon, particularly south and east of england, risk of flooding here not unless, thanks to dry up and brighten up, still some showers and Northern Ireland and scotland particular some heavy thundery showers over high grounds. Temperatures between six and 9 Degrees Turning colder as the day wears on. Through tonight as they wears on. Through tonight as they wears on, storm dennis passes close to northern scotland and a swathe of strong winds, 75 mph for the north of the mainland and 0rkney, could cause some damage. The next couple of days, stays windy with a mix of sunshine and showers. Hello this is bbc news. The headlines. As tributes continue to pour in for the love island presenter, caroline flack, her management have criticised the Crown Prosecution Service for refusing to drop charges that she assaulted her boyfriend. Heavy rain and strong winds continue to lash large parts of the uk, with a number of severe Flood Warnings in place wales and scotland, meaning theres a danger to life. American citizens quarantined on a cruise ship injapan, are to be flown home, after a jump in the number of new cases of cronavirus on board. Now, inside out. Hello, welcome to inside out. Coming up on the programme. We investigate the new type of Investment Scheme that is already costing people thousands. They offer high rates, unrealistic, unsustainable rates of return. Alarm bells should ring. We hear from those who fear that the Lake District is at risk of becoming a theme park. The Lake District, in many ways, is strong. It needs some improvement. There are certain things which could make it better, but not this assault, not this, we will change it into a noisy theme park. Oh, no. And a blast from the past, how the discovery of some old photographs has brought wigan casino back to life. I was really impressed by his dancing. I saw that he was doing this amazing handstand, and remarkably, the hat never came off his head. Do you have a few thousand pounds lying around in a bank account . Did you know you can invest in a hotel room or even a student pad, and it might even earn you a return of 10 . Sound too good to be true . Well, it probably is. Ive been investigating a new way of investing your money which has left hundreds of people high and dry. Manchester and liverpool are in the uks top ten most attractive cities for hotel investment. It may surprise you to find out that many of the hotel rooms in our region are leased out to private investors. Its an innovative way to raise funds for a building project, but it means the leasehold could belong to ordinary members of the publicjust like you or me. So, just how much money is being invested in this way . It is estimated that it could be in the region of £6 billion in total. 0ne scheme in its own right could potentially raise anything between 80 million to 100 million. Louise is an independent financial adviser, and an Expert Witness for the courts. She says she has seen an increase in the schemes across the north. Theres quite a high prevalence of Investment Schemes for ordinary investors. Property is a lot cheaper in these northern cities, as opposed to, for example, down in london. But are there risks to your investment . Is your money really as safe as houses . The schemes we are talking about today are unregulated, and they offer high rate, unrealistic, unsustainable rates of return. We are talking 8 10 in the promotional literature. It is just totally unobtainable. Alarm bells should ring. After the financial crash, developers found it much harder to get loans from banks, so how do these Companies Raise the money . This scheme encourages people to write the cheques out £50,000, £100,000. So, by definition, that Property Company doesnt actually need a mortgage. Its gone and got its money from ordinary investors. It wouldnt surprise me if some people have unlocked money out of their Pension Scheme and directed it into one of these schemes. So, these arent very wealthy people with tens of thousands of pounds in the bank ready to just invest. In total, its estimated more than 1000 people handed over about £80 million to a Company Called Northern Powerhouse developments and other companies owned by Gavin Woodhouse. There was free wine, food. Stayed overnight for nothing. It was. So slick. The group is now in administration. You feel stupid. You feel you have been duped. All this stuff was so professionally done. Gary invested £65,000 in a room overlooking the sea at his familys favourite hotel, the queens in llandudno. He was offered a 10 profit as a return on the room, and after ten years, he was promised his original investment would be returned plus an additional 25 . We used to drive past it. My mum and dad stayed in it. And it seemed a bit romantic, to actually own a room in hotel. We had about two years income, i think, and then we purchased a second room. It was soon after we purchased that one that the income started to dry up. And then we were getting e mails saying theyd purchased another hotel. Itjust didnt sit right, really. In total, gary invested £92,500. He is now in limbo, waiting to see if hell get his money back. Im about 72,500 down at this current time. The reason why these schemes take some time before they fall apart is, by the very nature of them, once you put the money in, straightaway, your pot is probably going to funds for an earlier investor. Unless somebody is coming in behind you, you have got to no one there to protect your investment. But gary says he was cautious when investing, and refused to buy into any unbuilt development. I wasnt going to purchase a field, you know, with nothing on it. I could see the queens, i got the land registry, and as far as i was concerned, i was invested in the queens hotel. I know people have had to go back to work. I know some have had nervous breakdowns. I know some people who are having to go to food banks. Theres millions missing, and they dont know where it is. It is unregulated marketing and unregulated investing. But these are ponzi schemes. Its like pyramid selling. These are very, very dangerous investments, and unfortunately, there is no regulatory mechanism that actually. 0r legal mechanism. That stops the investor from losing their money. If it was a ponzi scheme, i would never have invested in it. Lawyer david niven says it is one of the biggest failed property schemes that they have ever come across. We have been approached by Something Like 400 or so investors with enquiries coming in still on a daily basis. The use of solicitors and lawyers in these schemes gives them a veneer of credibility that they really otherwise dont have. David is bringing a class action against the solicitors and lawyers who acted for the buyers in the Northern Powerhouse scheme. What is startling in this case is that the lawyers were being paid by the seller. I mean, the seller has obviously got a vested interest in seeing this transaction complete, and yet on the other hand, the solicitors are supposed to be acting in their buyers best interest. Its hard to make the two compatible. They had a panel of solicitors, and if we used theirs, it was free. If we used our own, you would have to pay about £800. Well, you think, at the end of the day, a solicitor is a solicitor. I spoke to one of the solicitors, and he told me that the money was ring fenced to the queens. There has been a wholescale failure by solicitors and licensed conveyancers to properly advise people. Not warning their clients properly of the very serious risk that existed to their money. Some of these buyers have paid away money to Northern Powerhouse entities in return for absolutely nothing. We approached Northern Powerhouse developments and Gavin Woodhouse for a comment, but received no response. To protect investors. David niven believes that measures need to be put in place to protect investors. That might include, for example, the developer having to secure a Bank Guarantee or a bond from a Reputable Company that has to remain in place until the development is properly built out and the buyer has received what he is expecting to receive. I feel really hurt that i was taken in by it. But davids final piece of advice is buyer beware. Think very carefully. Think twice before you proceed. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. The Lake District is well known for its peace and tranquillity, but campaigners believe a battle is under way for the future of the fells. They fear the National Park faces over commercialisation, but planners insist tight controls protect the area. Peter marshall has the story. Faint chanting. If you listen closely, there is disquiet in the Lake District. Save our lakes Insensitive Development is now becoming an issue across the Lake District National Park. Protect these lakes i know that the real value is the tranquillity and the peace, and i want other people to share that. National park, not theme park. Its going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. The Tipping Point that brought all of these hundreds out in protest was a plan to moor ten 40 foot yachts on grasmere. They turned out even though the proposal was subsequently withdrawn. They fear one battle has been won, but a war still wages against what they see as overcommericalisation. The save our Lake District, or sold campaign, is run by the friends of the Lake District charity, which aims to protect and enhance cumbrias landscapes. It claims the National Park is under siege from commercial interests. Zip wire proposals, cable car plans. A long running dispute over 4x4 vehicles on some fell tracks. Well, i guess im a spiritualist. I feel in tune with nature and the environment. Film maker Terry Abraham loves the Lake District. He is the man behind the Award Winning life the Award Winning life of a mountain documentary series. The third, which features helvellyn, is premiered this may. This is a place with land and lives interwoven. He says, like others, he is worried about how the park may develop in the future. This is bubbling up, this momentum growing now, that the people are basically getting sick and tired of it all. Its about conservation, protecting and enhancing what we have here. Its about sustainability, where, in many respects, how the Park Authority has been led, the direction it has taken in the last few years, it is all focused on commercial interest. You know, its about. I hate to use the phrase, but its about turning the National Park into a theme park. All the rules are there, how a National Project should be managed, the statutory purposes. Everything is in place which says that the landscape should take precedence, and itjust doesnt seem to be. They dont seem to be being applied and adhered to. If you looked at these individual things, whether it is the gondolas or zip wires somewhere, or the house boats, you see one thing, and you think that isjust happening there. But then when you step back, theres something happening there, and its happening there and it is happening there. What is going on . The fact that all these incidents are going on, epidemic is the only way i could describe it. Well, one prominent businessman in the Lake District, who didnt want to go on camera, has privately told me he believes that there is over commercialisation campaign has been constructed by a highly vocal minority, who use in inflammatory language and polarise opinion. Whereas he says the vast majority of business here works in harmony with Lake District landscapes and the local communities. And there are others who believe their campaign is misleading. The boats and steamers of Windermere Lake cruises carry 1. 6 million passengers every year. It is one of englands most popular paid for tourist attractions. The campaigners expressed the view that a lot of business view of the Lake District as a balance sheet. Do you think that that is a fair criticism of the business . I really dont think that is the case. Most of the businesses in the Lake District are long established owner managed businesses, where the owners and the managers live in the communities. We care passionately about this. My livelihood depends on this spectacular landscape, and we will do everything we can to ensure that that continues. But that doesnt mean no development. It means sustainable development. I listen to the protests from lobby groups, such as friends of the Lake District, and i genuinely really wonder whether those people want any visitors coming to the Lake District apart from themselves. Some people would say that the friends of the Lake District is a very vocal minority and youre trying to protect the Lake District for the middle classes, the middle aged. Is that something you accept . No, not at all. If you look at our membership, we have people from that demographic in our membership, but we have people from across the country, we have people from across the world, we have people from all ages. Apart from bringing all our 6500 members out to show you, thats what we have. And there are high profile voices who fear over commercialisation. Cumbrian born broadcaster melvyn bragg believes he knows what visitors want. They go there to see nature, as near as you can get, sympathetically left alone, so that they can enjoy what has been enjoyed by people for three or four or more of hundred years. That is what they go for. They dont go for the sort of thing you quite rightly get at blackpool and morecambe. Good for them. They dont go for zip wires sending noisy things down the valley. They dont go for flashy ideas. I think there are allowing too much commercial development, and i think in prospect theres even more commercial development. And to have to defend the Lake District against attempts to change it from being the Lake District is ludicrous. Weve got to have a balance. Weve got to have the right sustainable development. We cant have no change. We need to be having the right change. But the notion that this area is under siege, as the Campaign Group is saying, thats one that i cant relate to. Business leaders would argue its highly unlikely a rash of adventure attractions, like these zip wires on the fringes of the snowdonia National Park, are about to appear in the Lake District, even though Cumbria Chamber of commerce has said the economic benefit could be substantial. 0ne plan was withdrawn after opposition, one at a slate mine was only approved after a ten year battle and has yet to be built. Do you accept that the Lake Districtis under siege from development . No, i dont, actually. I think there are always challenges and i get the passion that is behind the friends of the Lake District and it is something that i think we all feel, but i think the language used is a little bit over the top. These are very small issues. They seem big at the time, but they are very small issues compared to the net migration of people from the Lake District, and the fact that we have less people of working age, and with families, living in it, and making this a proper, living community. The chamber of commerce believes the National Park authority is reaching an adequate balance. But the friends of the Lake District want changes in the way the park is managed. It believes landscapes are being overly exploited. We had hoped to speak to the chief executive of the Lake District National Park authority to dis