Gwent | Archive | 2002 | September
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MORE than 100 campaigners staged a silent protest as Gwent councillors considered controversial plans for a recycling plant. Members of the Risca Quarry Action Group, pictured, held placards as and Caerphilly council officers and the planning committee visited the Darran Quarry in Risca. Construction firm Hanson, which runs quarries including one in Machen, wants to create a recycling facility on the site, which it would lease from the council. It would be capable of handling 70,000 tonnes of material per year - and would see about six lorries travelling through Risca and Cross Keys every hour. Jenni Long, spokeswoman for the action group said: "The protest went very well with well over 100 people turning up with banners and placards. There were also many new faces from Cross Keys at the protest which just shows that the word is still spreading. "I don't think the planning committee or Hanson were left in any doubt how strong we feel about the proposed recycling facility. I think from the start they underestimated the reaction this would provoke." Twelve councillors visited the quarry with council officers, and spent an hour locked in discussion. Unusually, the planning chairman, councillor Malcolm Parker, addressed the protesters following the site meeting and fielded a series of questions. Islwyn AM Brian Hancock also attended and spoke to protesters about their campaign. Action group chairman Keith Dixon said: "The location of the quarry is totally unsuitable for an industrial facility of this nature which can only be accessed along roads through the heart of our community." The protesters held a meeting later at the Darran Pub in Risca attended by Islwyn MP Don Touhig. He said: "I'm totally opposed to this application on three separate grounds. Firstly, it is too close to housing, and it is adjoining an area of beauty with the canal which the council intend to spend millions on developing. Thirdly, access to the facility for large trucks is through a built-up area." No one from Hanson was available for comment. The application will be discussed by the planning committee next Wednesday. more...
THE Argus campaign to re-open the Newport to Ebbw Vale rail link was yesterday given a massive boost. more...
TWO teenage boys have been arrested in connection with a fire which caused £250,000 worth of damage to a Gwent medical centre. The youngsters, aged 14 and 15, were questioned by Cwmbran police about the blaze on August 23 that gutted the Candwr Brook Medical and Dentist Centre in Stokes Court, Ponthir, near Caerleon. Patients at the centre's clinic and dental practice have had to travel to the Isca Medical Centre in Caerleon High Street since the fire. Firefighters were unable to save the building, which had been left empty and locked at the time the blaze started. Its roof was almost completely destroyed and the inside was badly damaged, with medical records and equipment ruined, and staff feared it may have to be demolished. Dr Ann Thomas said medical centre staff are all "a bit down" as they wait for the insurers to evaluate the situation. "At the moment it is all cordoned off and we have the loss adjusters in," she said. "It is very inconvenient for the Ponthir patients, particularly the elderly ones, to have to travel to Caerleon, but that is what we face for the foreseeable future. "We are a lot more hard-worked and pressured, and this is an unnecessary extra burden. We have an architect involved and the plan is to resurrect the centre, but we have a lot of bridges to cross before then, and we are monitoring the situation day by day." Following the fire, Gwent Police launched an arson probe and arrested two teenagers, who have now been released on police bail. Detective Inspector Paul Evans, of Cwmbran police, said: "Two youths aged 14 and 15 have been arrested and interviewed in relation to the alleged offence and a report has been submitted to the Youth Offending Team, who will decide what action should be taken against them." He added: "I would like to thank the community of Ponthir for their help in the investigation." more...
A GROUP of Gwent steelworkers are threatening to step up strike action in support of pension rights as delegates sought the government's backing today. more...
ARMED police were called in after two officers and a local resident spotted a black panther roaming near Newport. Peter Beese, pictured, said he spotted two large black cats while watching a kingfisher at the back of his garden in Shirebrook, near Goldcliff, yesterday morning. As later editions of the Argus reported yesterday, two helicopters fitted with thermal imaging equipment and police marksmen scoured the area. Mr Beese said: "In the last three years I have probably seen the cats 10 times. I was watching a kingfisher with a massive eel from my balcony. "I got my binoculars, went to look at it and then I saw the cat. I was watching it for about 20 minutes and it disappeared before the police arrived. He added another cat appeared and last saw the animals walking across a nearby farmyard. PC Mark Jones and PC Jodie Warren were the first officers on the scene. PC Jones said: "We ran out to the garden and saw the black head of a feline animal. "We believed it to be domestic, but then the animal broke cover and through binoculars we could quite clearly see then that it was far too large to be any sort of domestic animal. "It was about 2ft 6in tall with a quite strikingly long tail, slightly bigger than an Alsatian dog but more powerful and sleekly built. "Obviously we were quite taken aback because we turned up quite sceptical because there have been a number of sightings of such animals in this area. I was shocked more than anything because it's quite easy to disbelieve reports like this. But I'm convinced now that they are about." Police were stood down after they found a domestic black cat in a field nearby. A spokesman for Gwent police said: "These officers remain convinced that they saw something larger than what was found." A similar animal was reported in the area two years ago. Both sightings have been on farmer's William Baker's land. He said: "I have been farming here for 50 years and I have never seen one." more...
POLICE are searching ground in Germany looking for the missing daughter of an Abergavenny man. more...
BIGGER than Bristol - that's the claim of the man behind the redesign of Newport city centre. The new shopping centre will be bigger than Bristol's largest shopping mall once the new £100 million redevelopment is complete, scheme designer Ian Williams says. Mr Williams, of London-based Haskoll architects, told the Argus the shopping development would cover a little under 500,000 sq ft when it's finished, compared to Cribb's Causeway, which measures 700,000 sq ft. "What with the rest of Newport city centre, it is easily bigger than Cribb's Causeway," he said. The Argus exclusively revealed yesterday that plans to develop the Kingsway Centre and John Frost Square area of Newport were being submitted to the council. The plans include: * a doubling in size of the Kingsway Shopping Centre; * a 75,000 sq ft food store; * demolition of the Kingsway and Capitol car parks and replacing them with a *,370-space car park; * an 84-bedroom hotel; * 74 residential apartments; * cafes, restaurants and pubs in a new 15,000 sq ft leisure area. But which company will form the centrepiece of the development - a 100,000 sq ft department store - is still the subject of intense speculation. The architects, developers and city council have all refused to comment on interested parties. Mr Williams said he could not comment on which companies were interested in either the department store, the supermarket or the hotel. He said: "There have been discussions, but I can't comment beyond that. We wouldn't be putting it up without a fair bit of homework, though." And David O'Neil, head of property development at developers Dawnay Day, said the information was "commercially sensitive at the moment", but added: "We are in discussion with a number of department stores." The House of Fraser and John Lewis both told the Argus it was definitely not them. No-one from Debenhams was available to comment. Architect Mr Williams said of the Kingsway Shopping Centre: "We are not razing it to the ground and starting again, it would be uneconomic to do that. "We are working in the skeleton of the existing building, refacing it completely. It's more than cosmetic surgery." He said that the Dolman Theatre, based in the centre, would have its entrance moved so it faces out onto a new pedestrian area on the Kingsway. "They will be able to use the Kingsway pedestrian zone as an extended performance space with street performers to attract people in," Mr Williams said. And he said John Frost Square would be linked to Commercial Street, "but not by the nasty little alleyway you use at the moment". Graham Moore, chief executive of the Urban Regeneration Company, set up following the major job cuts at Llanwern steelworks, said: "To have such a development in the embryonic stage is the start we are after. "Why will it work? There's a new life coming into Newport and new investment coming in, and it's all about confidence and how to build that confidence. "For so long Newport has been in the shadow of Cardiff, which has come on tremendously as a city centre, and this development will address that, too. To some extent it will be a catalyst for all the work the regeneration company is going to bring forward. "We are going to work with the team to make sure it becomes a reality. "This is the first announcement of many over the next few years. We are talking about a long-term commitment to redevelopment; there are no quick fixes." Although the scheme is predominantly privately funded, it has the support of the council and is being discussed with the WDA. The leader of Newport council, Sir Harry Jones, said: "We are giving public support to the scheme, but wouldn't want to say what amount of money at this stage." The WDA, which has been working with the council through Newport Development Board to encourage major private-sector investment in redeveloping the city centre, welcomed the plans. A WDA spokesman said the announcement was testimony to the success of the partnership's work. "Newport's new city status, the imminent creation of an Urban Regeneration Company to attract new investment in commerce, retailing, housing and leisure - and the drive to improve the local environment - means an effort to enhance Newport's reputation as a place in which to live and work. "This announcement is an important step in this process." * In the picture: An artist's impression of Sovereign Arcade. more...
ABERGAVENNY police are warning elderly people to keep their doors locked after another spate of distraction burglaries in the area. Last week a 96-year-old woman living in a ground floor flat in the Chapel Road area watched in shock as a man walked into her home and grabbed her handbag before running off . Two days later an 82-year-old woman living in Park Crescent was in the garden when someone walked in to her home and stole her handbag. There was a third incident in Station Road, Govilon, when an 81-year-old saw two men in her house and challenged them. They left but she later discovered there was money missing. Abergavenny's crime reduction officer PC Peter Tkaczyk said: "The worst thing is when it dawns on them what has happened, the shock hits them very hard, and it can have devastating effects. "In Usk at the beginning of the year a pensioner who was a victim of a similar incident died within a few weeks. "She was sitting in a chair in her living room when two men walked into her house, picked up her handbag from the floor near where she was sitting and left." Police class the incidents as distraction burglaries. PC Tkaczyk said anyone worried about such incidents happening to them should contact him and arrange for a home visit to discuss their concerns. He said in all the cases, the doors had been closed, but not locked, and the thieves had merely pushed open the door and stolen items from the house. He said they were brazen enough to try and talk their way out of a situation if they were confronted by the resident. Anyone with information contact Abergavenny police on 01873 852273. * On Monday, the Argus reported how bogus callers had been targeting pensioners in Monmouthshire. In separate incidents an elderly woman from Monmouth and one from Caldicot reported men pretending to be water board officials had called on them. more...
DAVID Allen, the Gwent victim of legionnaires' disease, could return home today after more than three weeks in hospital. more...
THE CONTROVERSIAL revamping of the NHS in Wales is going according to plan, National Assembly chiefs have insisted. That's despite reports that nine of 22 top jobs at new Local Health Boards (LHBs) remain unfilled. Media reports have suggested only 13 LHB chief executive posts have been filled, West Wales proving a particular vacancies hot-spot. Shadow LHBs start operating from November 1, taking the reins completely from health authorities next April 1. Attempts to recruit leaders for three proposed Assembly regional health offices have also proved unsuccessful. But the Assembly has issued a bullish statement claiming the recruitment process is on schedule: "The process was planned in two phases since initially, posts were restricted to staff currently employed by the five health authorities in Wales, or Powys NHS Trust. "Although offers have been made to candidates, we are unable to provide details until formal acceptance of appointments has been made. We are very pleased with this first round of appointments, both in terms of the number and quality of candidates. "The next stage has already begun and adverts will be placed in the press later this week. The closing date will be September 24. Assessments and interviews are scheduled for mid-October, and offers of appointment are to be made in late October." It is little wonder the Assembly has put a positive spin on the recruitment issue, as the whole restructuring has been roundly criticised. Replacement of health authorities with LHBs has been condemned by figures inside and outside the NHS. The proposed system, aimed at making the service more locally accountable, has been denounced as too bureaucratic, confusing and unworkable. In July a row erupted over restructuring costs, after it was revealed that start-up costs would be £15.5 million. Health Minister Jane Hutt and NHS Wales director Ann Lloyd repeatedly stated last autumn in the debate over restructuring, that the new system would be cost-neutral, costing no more than the current system. When start-up costs were revealed Ms Hutt insisted, to widespread scorn from opposition politicians, that these were not part of the cost-neutral claim. Gwent will have five Local Health Boards - Newport, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent, Caer- philly and Monmouthshire. Chairmen have been appointed, but it is not known what level of interest the chief executive posts have generated. more...
Newcastle look set to release Craig Bellamy to join up with the Wales squad for Saturday's Euro 2004 qualifier against Finland. more...
"THERE'S no stopping us now if we continue to play like that," was man-of-the-match Matthew Maynard's verdict after Glamorgan had all but sealed the Norwich Union League title with a crushing defeat of only challengers Worcestershire at Cardiff last night. more...
NEWPORT'S Wales A wing Ben Breeze is almost certainly out for the entire season -- another crippling injury blow for the club. more...
EBBW Vale have been handed a boost ahead of their Celtic League match against Munster on Friday night with the news that hooker Jon Evans does not have concussion. more...
COLIN Addison said goodbye to Newport County to take up the managerial reigns at Conference basement-boys Forest Green Rovers last night and insisted: "It's an opportunity I couldn't resist." The veteran, who quit as Tim Harris' assistant at Dr Martens Premier League County as exclusively revealed in the Argus yesterday, admitted he understood why County fans are livid by his departure just two months after he took the job. more...
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