PROCUREMENT FOR RECYCLING CONTRACT BEGINS

A group of five South Wales councils has formally begun the procurement process for one of Wales' largest ever waste treatment deals, with a projected value of £1.1 billion over 25 years.

The 'Prosiect Gwyrdd' partnership issued a notice on the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) last week (November 24), inviting anyone interested in bidding for the public private partnership (PPP) deal to contact them and complete a pre-qualification questionnaire.

The partnership - which is being led by Cardiff Council but also involves Caerphilly County Borough Council, Monmouthshire County Council, Newport City Council and Vale of Glamorgan council - is looking to procure facilities to treat the 30% to 35% of its waste that it believes will be left after recycling and composting in the future.

COUNCIL PROVIDES EMERGENCY FUNDING TO PILL MILLENNIUM CENTRE

Newport City Council has stepped in to provide sufficient funding to run the Pill Millennium Centre for three months to allow the centre to stave off financial problems.

At its meeting held on 17 November 2009, the Cabinet was informed of difficulties being faced by the Pillgwenlly Millennium Centre which is operated by a Trust as a company separate to the Council.

The Council had provided three years revenue assistance with the proviso that the Trust should stand alone financially at the end of three years, as stipulated in the Service Level Agreement between the Trust and Newport City Council.

The three year support was to cease at the end of November. The Cabinet was also informed of difficulties which meant that the Trust may not be in a position to run as a stand - alone organisation effective from 1 December 2009.

Cabinet expressed concern about the matters raised which had led to the position but wanted to explore ways in which it could assist the Trust to safeguard this community facility if at all possible and within financial constraints.

TAXI DRIVERS WIN COURT BATTLE WITH COUNCIL

Justice Beatson, a Cardiff High Court judge has ruled in the favour of taxi drivers in Newport, who challenged a council decision to impose age limits on vehicles.

A new rule had said Hackney cabs must be less than 12 years old, and private hire cars less than eight from 2010. The judge said Newport Council failed to consult properly, a ruling which drivers said would save jobs.

The authority said it was "obviously disappointed" and would reconsider the issue "as quickly as possible". In a statement, the council said it would "amend our proposals taking into consideration the comments of the judge". "Our priority has always been the safety of people using taxis in the city and we will continue to tackle this matter," the statement added.

The taxi driver's association claimed 59 of the current 135 Hackney drivers in the city would be put out of business by the rule change. Back in March a demonstration was staged in the city centre over the planned changes.

RAIL PASSENGERS STRANDED BY SIGNAL FAULT

Rail passengers were left stranded for over an hour this evening due to a signalling failure on the South Wales main line.

Trains between Cardiff Central and Newport were stopped after a vital cable was reportedly struck by lightning.

Network Rail said it was made aware of the problem shortly before 4pm and halted engines between the two cities for around an hour.

BONUS PAYOUT FOR NEWPORT TRANSPORT STAFF

Staff at municipal bus operator Newport Transport will each receive a windfall of more than £150 in December after bosses announced details of another strong year for the business.

Turnover at the company grew by more than £1m in the last financial year (08/09) to £10.15m, while pre-tax profits broke £180,000 thanks to passenger numbers of more than 7.5m.

As part of its Performance Related Pay Scheme staff will share 10% of the company’s overall profits.