A 23-year-old man is in a critical condition in hospital after falling from a moving vehicle in Newport. Police are trying to trace the driver of a dark coloured people carrier or Land Rover type vehicle involved in the incident in Newport on Saturday night.
Part of the A48 southern distributor road near Carcraft, where he was found lying at 2330 GMT, has since reopened. Gwent Police said they are "keeping an open mind" over how he came to "exit" the passenger side of the vehicle.
Detectives believe he was socialising in the Maindee area of the city and had bought a kebab prior to getting into the vehicle in Maindee Square. He was found later lying by the roadside and police said following the incident, the vehicle continued to travel along the distributor road towards the slip road to Stephenson Street.
Newport City Council has agreed to formalise shared working with two neighbouring authorities as part of its drive to reduce costs.
Newport's Chief Internal Auditor will provide a similar role for Monmouthshire on a formal basis from now onwards as part of a new agreement between the two Councils.
In addition, Newport's Student Services function will be transferred to Cardiff City Council from April.
Members allowances for Newport City Council are set to be frozen for the 2010/11 financial year to reflect the difficult economic circumstances being experienced by residents.
Councillors currently receive a salary of £13,030 per annum. The Leader receives an additional £30,591 and Cabinet Members £15,396. The Leader of the Opposition receives an additional £9,236.
Newport paid her respects today to John Sicolo, the inspiration behind the TJ's music venue in Clarence Place.
Mr. Sicolo died on Sunday March 14. A massive turnout at St. Paul's Church in the city centre commemorated the life of a merchant seaman from Pill who became a leading figure in Newport's rough and ready independent music scene. The funeral cortege started its route with a slow drive past TJ's greeted by a round of applause from those gathered to remember Mr Sicolo.
Later that evening hundreds gathered at TJ's as a number of bands played in his memory.
A tribute issue of the Frug zine has also been produced. See here. Donations will go towards a possible memorial for John Sicolo in Newport.
Police in St Julians, Newport, are appealing for help to tidy the local area at a special clean-up day during the Easter holidays. Newport East Neighbourhood Policing Team joined forces with Church of Christ minister Paul Halliday to organise the St Julians Clean-up Day on Wednesday 31 March.
Newport City Council, local councillors, Newport City Homes and Keep Wales Tidy are also involved. Car company Vauxhall have offered to supply the transport on the day. High school pupils under the age of 16, particularly those living in the Old Barn Estate area, are invited to take part on the day. The day will involve two-hour morning and afternoon sessions and lunch will be provided for all helpers at the Church of Christ on East Usk Road. Youngsters who take part will also be rewarded with a high street shopping voucher.
St Julians ward police officer Alex Jones said: “The clean-up day promises to be a fun event, which will be rewarding for youngsters who take part in a number ways.Helpers will see a visible difference to their local neighbourhood, but they will also be rewarded with a shopping voucher and a tasty meal for lunch."
Newport Gwent Dragons have signed an agreement to move the majority of the region’s training to Newport High School.
In a move that addresses many of the region’s concerns regarding training facilities, the Dragons will also be able to develop greater links with the local community. It is hoped that the deal will help raise the profile of rugby at the school and in the local area, as well as giving local pupils the opportunity to rub shoulders with professional sportsmen as role models.
Newport High School, which is in the final stages of a major redevelopment, boasts some fantastic sports facilities, including 2 football and 2 rugby pitches, a full-size Astroturf, hard court surfaces, an indoor gym and an indoor 25 metre swimming pool.
The school have also made office facilities available for the region so that analysis sessions and team meetings can take place on site.
"This is a very important step forward for the Dragons," said Rugby Manager Robert Beale. "We have lived a very nomadic existence up until now and to have resolved our training facilities issues at the same time as gaining closer links with the local community is a great position to be in.
"DW Sports Fitness will continue to play a vital role in our rehabilitation programmes and our partnerships with both DW and Spytty Sports village remain strong and crucial to our strength and conditioning plans, but to have a training base within the region is a very important breakthrough.
"We would like to thank Paul Lidster and his team at Cardiff University who have worked very hard to accommodate us at Llanrumney over the past few years and provided us with excellent facilities and support.
"The teams at Rodney Parade have always had strong community links and it is in keeping with this ethos that we are integrating further into the community instead of building more private facilities."
The Dragons marked the deal by inviting pupils from the High School to join in a training session on Friday morning before players Jason Tovey and Ashley Smith presented certificates at a swimming gala hosted by the school for primary schools.
Dragons Chief Executive Gethin Jenkins is also delighted at the move. "This deal enables us to address our training facility issues within the region as well as ensuring that the squad are accommodated during the regeneration works. It is a great opportunity for all parties to work closer together for the promotion of rugby and sport in the local area."
Newport City Council leader, Councillor Matthew Evans, said: "Newport City Council is delighted that the Newport Gwent Dragons has signed an agreement to use the new facilities at the Active Living Centre in Bettws.
"This announcement reflects the ambition of the rugby side who are performing well in the Magners League. We are pleased that they have chosen to train in the region and that they do not have to move outside the area to find first class training facilities."
People from in and around the city have been signing up for Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile taking place from 10am tomorrow (Sunday 21st March) at NewportInternationalSportsVillage, Velodrome Way.
An event for all the family to enjoy, from tiny tots to mums and dads, to sprinters. Money raised from the Mile will be spent by Comic relief to help transform lives of people here in the UK and across the world's poorest countries.
Manager of NewportInternationalSportsVillage, Neil Sargeant said: “The Newport Mile is set to be an amazing day. It’s fantastic that so many people of Newport are gathering together to show their support for Sport Relief 2010. But we want this to be the best Sport Relief event yet, so we still need more people to raise their game, enter the Newport Mile and join us to raise plenty of cash.”
In aid of Diabetes UK Cymru, husband and wife, Adrian and Katie Sully will be walking from London's Trafalgar Square to Newport's John Frost Square between Saturday 27th March and Friady 2nd April
The couple are planning to walk 20 miles a day for the 140-mile challenge, which they hope will raise £1,000 for the charity. They decided to do the walk as Adrian, 36, has Type 1 diabetes, a condition which cannot be prevented and is treated with insulin injections.His father Bob and his brother Richard also have Type 1 diabetes.
Katie, 26, who is also a teacher, said: “Adrian and his brother were diagnosed with the condition within six months. His diabetes is really well-controlled as he has had it from such a young age. The walk was Adrian’s idea. He has always wanted to do something for diabetes and he wanted to raise money to give something back. Diabetes is a big issue and it has a huge impact on anyone who has got it.”
The couple have been training hard for the challenge, spending three days during the half term holidays walking 50 miles. “The training has been going quite well and we’ve got lots of blister plasters ready for the walk itself,” said Katie.
The couple have already raised £800 towards their target.You can sponsor Adrian and Katie at www.justgiving.com/Katie-Sully.
Dai Williams, National Director of Diabetes UK Cymru, said: “We are delighted that Katie and Adrian have decided to support Diabetes UK Cymru with this fantastic challenge.By doing this walk Adrian is an excellent example of how you can lead a fit and healthy life with Type 1 diabetes. Diabetes is increasing rapidly across Wales, with more than 7,000 people in Newport alone living with the condition. Money raised by their walk with raise vital funds for research into the condition and help us to provide advice, support and information to people living with diabetes across Wales and their families.”
For information about diabetes, you can call Diabetes UK Cymru on 029 2066 8276 or email wales@diabetes.org.uk.
A group of 8 soilders from The Royal Signals will stop at Rodney parade on Friday as part of a charity cycle ride to the rugby clubs that are involved in the Anglo Welsh Cup.
Having already visited the likes of Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers, the Newport Gwent Dragons will receive a visit on route from Gloucester to Scarlets.
They aim to be arriving at Rodney parade just after 9am, and will be making a collection for Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion.
You can track their progress, and donate to the cause here.
A review commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government has recommended changes to the way Newport Unlimited, the City's regeneration company, is run.
Formed in 2003 urban regeneration company Newport Unlimited was tasked as being the engine room for change in Newport working alongside WAG and the City Council.
The review, however, warns that Newport Unlimited is "very disconnected from the people, businesses and communities in Newport". This needs to change so that local people are better informed and see Newport as a 'city of change'.
The review recommends a review of Newport Unlimited's Masterplan for Newport and a 'reality check' on the developments planned and the dates for delivery.
It concludes:
"This interim evaluation has concluded that the URC approach has proved to be a powerful and effective mechanism for driving forwards the physical regeneration and economic change needed in Newport. To date much still needs to be done which will require the continued co-ordination and direction of partnership efforts and resources."
Police investigating the murder of a woman almost two years ago have arrested a 27-year-old man. Aleksandra Lipska, born Kaczmarska, 27, was found dead at a house on Dewstow Street, Maindee, Newport, in May 2008.
The suspect, who is from Cardiff, is being questioned by detectives at Ystrad Mynach police station in Caerphilly county. Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Det Supt Paul Griffiths said: "This investigation has been ongoing for nearly two years and I am appealing to anyone not previously approached by police who has any information with regards to Aleksandra's death to come forward."
Police and the ambulance service had been called to the house in Dewstow Street in the early hours of Tuesday, 13 May where they found Ms Lipska's body. At the time of the murder, detectives appealed to the Polish community in Newport for any information that could help the investigation. Detectives distributed posters in Polish and set up a telephone line with a Polish and English voicemail message.
One of the leading lights of the music scene in Newport for 40 years and owner of TJs, John Sicolo, has died in hospital aged 66.
Mr Sicolo died at 0600 GMT on Sunday at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport.
John's daughter Leanne Jane Sicolo responsed to the facebook tributes: "thank you everyone for your kind messages my dad died early hours of this morning he passed away in his sleep he will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him love you dad x."
Mr Sicolo was a former merchant navy seaman, where he served as a cook. He is described on the club's website as 'half Welsh, half Seychellean'. He founded the club in 1971, first christening it El Sieco's before renaming it TJ's Disco. The late BBC DJ and presenter John Peel dubbed the venue "the legendary TJs" on his radio shows. Oasis, Echo and The Bunnymen, Catatonia, Manic Street Preachers, the Buzzcocks and Primal Scream were among the thousands of bands who appeared there.
Paul Flynn MP for Newport West stated TJ's gave Newport fame, excitement and musical chutzpah. "It was TJs that won for Newport the title the New Seattle. A generation of Newportonians relished the buzz of hearing top World groups on their own doorstep. They fondly remember TJ's at it's thrilling best, robust, loud and bursting with talent."
The future of the club had been shrouded in uncertainty and Mr. Sicolo had planned to sell off some of his memorabilia to keep things afloat. In the next month there was a busy schedule of events including the return home to Newport of Skindred.
A supermarket could re-open on the site of a former shopping centre in Newport that had been due for a £90m facelift.
A plan to demolish the Cambrian Centre to build shops and a 100-metre tower was scrapped last year when developer Modus went into administration. New owners Scarborough Development Group are now considering building a supermarket on the land, believing it is more economically viable.
There have been plans to regenerate Cambrian Centre going back to 2004. Mark Jackson, managing director at Scarborough Development, said: "The food store market is understandably proving to be one of the more robust in this recession, and is a great sector in which to be investing and in which to found our new business." The Cambrian Centre used to house a Somerfield supermarket before it was closed down to pave the way for regeneration.
Welcoming the news of the acquisition Robert Carew- Chaston, director of Newport- based Hutchings & Thomas Chartered Surveyors told Wales Online :
“I’m keen to know more about Scarborough Development Group’s plans for Newport but on the face of it this is fantastic news for our city. This could well be the first sign that the private sector is now ready to act and get back into the marketplace and take up what are in the case of the city of Newport ‘oven ready’ development sites such as the one worked up by Modus for the centre of Newport."
Rosemary Butler AM stated
"I was ...glad to hear that the Modus subsidiary company which originally set out to develop the Cambrian site, has now been acquired by the Scarborough Development Group. That's another piece of good news and I hope that the Friars Walk redevelopment will also get back on track . All this, as well as the Ryder Cup in October, means that Newport is still very much on the map."
Dwr Cymru Welsh Water is urging customers in south Wales to be vigilant, following an increase of bogus calls in the area.
The water company is issuing the warning, after concerned customers called its contact centre to report suspicious phone calls from someone claiming to be from Welsh Water.
Welsh Water’s communications manager, Helen Smith, said: “We are aware that some customers have been told that their water will be off for three to eight days.
“We would like to assure customers that we always communicate planned water interruptions by posting information through the door but we would not ring them to let them know. If anyone is concerned we advise they call 0800 052 0130 to check if there is any planned work in their area.”
More than half of bogus caller related crimes committed in the UK are carried out by criminals pretending to be from a water company – and Welsh Water is also reminding customers about the measures they should take to reduce the chance of falling victim to bogus callers. If you are unsure about the identity of a person claiming to be from Welsh Water, don’t let them into your home.
Customers can ring the company on 0800 281 141 to confirm the caller’s identity and Welsh Water also operates a password scheme to help customers verify the identity of a caller from the company.
Information on this is available on the website www.dwrcymru.com, or by contacting the publications helpline on 0800 052 0138. Just ask for a copy of the ‘Additional Services’ booklet.
Work is under way at the site of Sainsbury's landmark 'Gateway to Wales' in Crindau.
The new superstore will be just two minutes from the M4 with its own designated slip road linking the dual carriageway (Heidenheim Drive) with the site. Sainsbury's acquired the former Gas Works site from the National Grid in April 2008.
A new bridged road access is being built from the A4042 Heidenhiem Drive to connect with a new roundabout on Albany Street.
This new access from the A4042 will serve the Sainsbury’s store and the wider Crindau area. A dedicated access route to the store is formed from this roundabout. An 8 pump petrol filling station (PFS) complete with jet and car wash is located from a mini roundabout on the access road. The access to the customer car park passes through a box culvert bridge to face the main entrance elevation to the store.
The store will comprise the following:
● A sales area of 7063 sq m incorporating general merchandise and food sales
● Back of house facilities extending the full length of the store with general goods delivery at one end and goods on line (GOL) at the other
● The main entrance lobby facing on to the car park
● Public WC and baby change facilities located near the John Sainsbury's Restaurant (JSR) - A new Goods Online delivery facility to serve the surrounding area is also provided in a dedicated service enclosure. - In total 670 parking bays are provided including 29 disabled bays and 28 parent & child bays all with safe and easy access to the store.
Newport's Council Taxpayers face a rise in their charges of 3.95 per cent.
The Revenues Budget for 2010/11 before the City Council Cabinet on Tuesday proposes the increase, is significantly ahead of the rate of inflation - currently 2.4 per cent.
Despite the increase in funding from the central taxpayer Newport continues to be affected by a fall in come from capital receipts and the downturn in the property market.
The current administration argues that it is trying to improve the financial position of the Council and is reducing reliance on reserves.
The cost of using City Council leisure facilities is set to rise significantly following the decision by the Conservative-Liberal coalition to implement a new charging structure from April 2010.
Most of the increases proposed are ahead of inflation, thought to try and reduce the council's budget deficit.
Some of the proposed changes include:
a 20 per cent increase in the cost of adult swimming sessions at the new Active Living Centre from £2.40 to £2.90
a 15.4 per cent in swim instruction classes for adults up to £45 from £39 (for 10 weeks) on the premise that 'price differential to grow to work towards adults paying 100% more than children'
a 63 per cent increase in pitch hire (with changing facilities) for Newport and District Football League clubs
a 73.64 per cent for the same clubs (without changing facilities)
Charges for wedding receptions at Belle Vue Park will rise from £395 to £44
The Council's Fitness Solutions membership will increase to £32 placing it ahead of Torfaen and Cardiff. The Council argues it must find budget savings towards its £9 million deficit.
The decision has been criticised by Labour Councillor Mark Whiticutt.
He said "Charges are being increased when facilities such as those at Lliswerry, which are needed by the community are being closed. In other words ordinary people are being asked to pay more for less at a time when people need to use these facilities more to cope with the stresses and demands of the recession. I call for a reconsideration of the increase in these charges."
The last seven members of a twenty-strong drugs gang who conspired to transport heroin with a street value of £700,000 into the Newport area have been sentenced.
The men were charged as a result of an 18-month police operation codenamed Rebus. Between July 2007 and September 2008, Gwent Police recovered 7kg of heroin brought from Birmingham to Newport. Supt Julian Knight of Gwent Police told the BBC it was "an excellent result" for "a complex operation".
In last of three trials at Newport Crown Court, Garry Rabjohns, 21, and Benjamin Brown, 26, both of Newport, were given prison sentences of six years and six and a half years respectively. Ofe Ahmed, 31, of Birmingham, was sentenced to five years and Tariq Hussain, 37, of Newport, was given four years. Abdul Mohib, 23, from Birmingham, received 15 months in prison. Shah Hussain, 27, of Birmingham, and Amir Ali, 31, of Newport, were both given nine months suspended sentences and ordered to carry out 140 hours of unpaid community work.
The Mansion House in Stow Park Circle will be converted to become a new Registry Office for Newport within the next few months.
Originally built as a private home, planning permission granted today will see the historic building converted into a new public building.
It was used for many years as the official residence of the mayor, but a decision was made in 2008 to cease using it for that purpose and a number of different proposals were put forward.
After an in-depth investigation by the overview and scrutiny forum for resources, which included asking the public for their views, the favoured option was to relocate the present registrar service from Goldtops to the Mansion House.
Councillor Peter Davies, cabinet member for resources, said: “I’m delighted that the proposal has been approved and I hope that work might be able to start later this month.”
University of Wales, Newport has started to address the transition of several thousand students to the new City Centre campus site. University managers recently met with students affected by the move.
Immediately, students have been made aware of severe constraints relating to parking at the new Campus site. Only 18 disabled spaces will be available with the possibility of subsidised parking at the nearby Kingsway Car Park and a park and ride scheme from Newport Stadium.
The lack of parking will act as a planning incentive as the University demonstrates its 'green' credentials in order to facilitate the extension of the campus to include a new research facility on adjacent land between the current site and Castle Bingo, subject to negotiations over the land with Newport City Council. Students have been advised that security will be paramount with swipe cards enabling access to lecture theatres and other facilities, but public access to the open main area of the building will also be encouraged. (We are grateful to a first year student for supplying this information).
According to the Keep Wales Tidy, Newport and Monmouthshire top the list for cleaning up their streets. While Cardiff, and Blaenau Gwent have the most littered streets.
Volunteers from the charity inspected every county in the country across 12 months, and found Conwy to be the cleanest but that Blaenau Gwent was strewn with drink waste and dog fouling and Cardiff was littered with discarded fast food.
Only last year, Newport had been rated the Wales Dirtiest Area, with Monmouthshire coming a close 2nd.
The campaign group checking 3464 streets, the overall cleanliness has improved in Wales.
The most common litter volunteers found were smoking related which was found in an average of 86% of locations, the worst affected being Cardiff, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Daughter of Assembly Member Mohammed Ashgar, who defected from Plaid Cymru to the Conservatives before Christmas last year, because he wasn't allowed to employ his daughter, has her now officially on his staff.
Natasha Ashgar's name has appeared on the official list of AM support staff.
Ashgar the only ethnic minority AM, said that he left Plaid, because of their refusal to employ her daughter was 'the last straw'. Even
after her selection by an independent panel and offering to work for free, Plaid Leader Ieuan Wyn Jones refused to her as his assistant.
Plaid made this decision after the last AMs’ expenses, and put forth that no new family members should be taken on it's AM members.
Mr Asghar told the Western Mail: “Natasha is working for me as a volunteer – she is not being paid. She’s not giving up her bank job in London, and will be working for me on her days off, during holidays and at weekends.”
Peter Jenkins is relishing the exciting challenges he faces in his new role as head teacher of Hartridge High School, according to Newport City Council. Working alongside him is new deputy head teacher Rob King. Both have taken over the top posts as Hartridge prepares for future changes, including a much-needed replacement school building.
The 51-year-old has joined the school after nine years as head at Ferndale community school where official inspectors described his leadership as dynamic and of high quality. Mr Jenkins said the opportunity to be part of a new team taking the school forward was one he could not ignore.
"Schools are going through transition to a skills-based curriculum which offers a lot of opportunities in terms of developing our youngsters."
Mr Jenkins was also enthusiastic about the new school building with work due to start this summer.
"It will give the children the very best facilities in Wales."
Duffryn High School Head Jon Wilson had previously held the post as an interim measure.
An exclusive interview with Bance Group developers CEO Dave Bance, has revealed that the FormerArtCollege on the riverfront will be open as luxury apartments in June of this year.
Bance Group developers took over the listed building, and have been working on its restoration and redevelopment since 2007. With scaffolding being a permanent feature of the former ArtCollege building it was undetermined when these luxury apartments would be completed. Issues of parking provision, and elaborate roof repairs on this listed building led to continued delays on completion of the luxury flats.
Dave Bance explains, that the development is due to complete in June, the luxury apartments, will be open for sale and to let – “It’s a unique building, a listed building, transferred flooring, glazed brickwork, we’re fusing that with contemporary living…there is no comparison on this building, if I said that it would similar to X,Y or Z, I’ll only be lying because it is a landmark building in a prime location, by the shopping centre, coach station and railway station”
The building also boasts a penthouse in the dome of the building, with a 360 view of NewportCity. Savill in Bristol are the letting agent for the property, however they clarified that the apartments are currently not on the market.
When NCR News enquired over whether the Bance Group planned for any further investments in Newport, Dave Bance said that he maintained a commitment to South Wales and he had some projects in the pipeline, but nothing set-in-stone as they were currently premature.
Newport West AM Rosemary Butler was given assurances by First Minister Carwyn Jones today that Newport is still a place where investment is taking place, despite a report from a firm of leading economic analysts which suggested that Newport is one of the worst affected cities in the UK during the current recession. The Centre for Cities think tank said recently that Newport was near the bottom of the league table when it came to new business start ups and lost private sector jobs. Mrs Butler raised the findings of the report during questions to the First Minister Carwyn Jones.
Rosemary Butler, Newport West: Will the First Minister comment on yesterday's report from the independent think tank "Centre for Cities" which suggests that Newport is one of the UK's biggest victims in the current recession. It's clear that more new businesses and more private sector jobs are needed, as well as a higher level of skills for the local workforce. Will the Welsh Assembly Government make a special effort to make sure that Newport doesn't get left behind once the recession ends?
First Minister: Newport is in quite a favourable position in terms of its geography - its proximity to the M4 and of course the main railway line. Even when we have gone through difficult times, there have been significant investment projects that have been secured in Newport - Admiral Insurance for example, the HSBC insurance services sector, the new power station, the new railway station, the new university campus of course, the city centre and of course Bettws School. So roughly 2,000 jobs have been created across the city between April 2008 and September 2009.It shows that Newport is still very much a place where investment is taking place and very much a place which is attractive for business.
It may not look like much, but the crumbling former Police Box in Somerton is much loved by the locals, who say it has fallen into disrepair due to lack of money to repair it's damaged concrete walls.
Help is now at hand for what's known locally as 'The Tardis' thanks for a £10,500 Cadw grant to contribute towards it's 'regeneration'.
The RASCAL centre in Somerton have been trying to raise money to repair the building and have recieved the boost as part of a dozen other conservation projects sharing £410,000 in Welsh assembly cash.
Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones, said: "The range of buildings from this famous telephone box to a school and stables shows the rich variety of heritage sites we have in Wales and the range of sites that Cadw helps preserve.
The old police box is currently fenced off for safety reasons."These grant offers will ensure these important buildings are restored and maintained for the enjoyment of future generations."
Deborah Clark of the Regeneration Association Somerton Community at Large (Rascal), who made the application for the grant, said: "We're delighted to receive this money which will help restore and maintain this very popular local landmark.
"Everyone from this community loves this telephone box as do many people from further afield and we will now be able to ensure future generations can enjoy it too."
The leader of Newport Council says a new developer to replace the ill-fated ‘friar’s walk’ in the city centre could be appointed this summer.
Speaking at the launch of the Newport 2010 festival, Councillor Evans explained that the compulsory purchase of property and land in John Frost Square should be completed by the end of march, paving the way to appoint a new retail developed a few months later.
“March will be the milestone for the compulsorypurchase” said the council leader.
“There is a lot of developer interest already and they’re looking at plans. We’re looking at hopefully getting a developer in towards the end of the summer”.
When questioned whether any new plans would be of a smaller scale, Mr Evans was in no doubt.
“It will be the same scale of development. People deserve to have something of that size. Newport needs a big centre, it’s no good having a tiny little development down there. We’ve got the area, we've got the population, we’ve got the infrastructure and we’ve got the car parks all ready to go.”
On a day that seen a big push to promote Newport’s features, assets and potential, the council clearly see no reason to dwell on the ‘Centre for Cities’ think tank report published earlier this week that see the outlook as ‘tough’ for this year’s Ryder Cup City.
Despite being seen in just a handful of cinemas in a limited release in South Wales the low-budget movie 'A Bit of Tom Jones?' is set for a premier in London.
Filmed in South Wales for just £100,000, the edgy comedy follows the main character, who attempts to sell the severed body parts of legendary Welsh singer Tom Jones.
The likes of Eve Myles of Torchwood fame and Margaret John, most recently proving a hit playing Doris in Gavin and Stacey join forces to produce a film that has outsold some blockbusters over the Christmas period at some cinemas in Wales.
After its runaway success here it's set to get its red-carpet UK premiere in London on Monday, January 25.
Robert Wagstaff caught up with the cast and some film goers at the screening of the welsh premier last year. Check out his video piece below.
Newport Council's Deputy leader Ed Townsend has hit back at a report which described Newport as a city with a 'tough outlook' coming out of the recession.
The Lib Dem councillor says he was not a fan of the 'league table' format of the report and suggested that the challenges facing Newport are the same as those faced by Cities across the UK.
"It's a thorough piece of work and I respect the work they've done, but Newport is a city is a city that has already attracted a number of private and public sectors jobs to the area"
Independent think tank 'Centre for Cities' highlighted a number of issues affecting the city's ability to recover from the economic downturn. It mentioned the number of people with qualifications, the percentage of new businesses in the area, along with public and private sector employment levels as areas which need to be addressed.
It placed Newport towards the bottom of a list of 64 British cities as part of a report into relative wealth, citing the likes of Cardiff and Edinburgh as examples of cities that were better placed to recover well after the recession.
Councillor Townsend says placing Newport near the bottom of the list isn't necessarily helpful and that groundwork for taking advantage of any upturn in the economy is already under way in our city:
"What you have is a city that's absolutely ready to take off - look around you, you have a city centre site for redevelopment, a new railway station, a new road system, an ideal position between Bristol and Cardiff, we've got the right communications - as soon as there are people ready to invest, Newport will be a very attractive proposition."
When questioned about the education levels of the area he conceded that Newport has a larger challenge than most due to it's past reliance on manufacturing.
The report stated that the loss of private sector jobs over recent months was a big issue with one in six of the population having no formal qualifications. They described Newport as having a 'weak business base'. The deputy leader said
"All cities need to make sure that they have the right skills, Newport can draw on a workforce from the entire region. That's not to say we cannot improve - we really do have to improve the skill base to give the people of Newport the skills they need to get decent jobs and we will work hard on that. It's not a problem unique to Newport problem - it's a UK wide problem."
Dermot Finch, chief executive of the Centre for Cities was quoted as saying that the UK faces an 'uneven recovery', and that party leaders needed to 'wake up to the reality that some cities will still feel in the middle of a recession until well after the election'.
He added that the next government needs to address the fact that some cities are better placed to take advantage of an economic downturn than others, calling on them to help with 'improving schools and public transport so they can attract new business and jobs'.
It also said Newport also had a low rate of business start ups - they increased by 28.8 per cent in 2008 grading it the 61st out of 64 cities polled. Cardiff saw an increase in 34.6 per cent and Swansea had 31.6 per cent more.
The report named Brighton, Milton Keynes, Reading, Cambridge and Edinburgh as having the right ingredients to succeed after the recession has passed - strong private sectors and high levels of entrepreneurship with high levels of education in their workforces.
Newport was listed with Stoke, Burnley, Barnsley and Doncaster as five cities facing a 'tough outlook'.
Ed Townsend feels that other cities face the same kind of challenges however:
"I wasn't very keen on the league table format. If you look inside the criteria they used in the report you'll find the need in every single case to 'up-skill' the workforce. That's something that is a challenge whether you're Cardiff the capital of Wales, Basingstoke or the so called richer places like Oxford and other market towns around the country."
"The challenge for them is the same - ours is on a larger scale coming out of a large manufacturing base we need to change the emphasis and we are doing, but the challenge is there for every city."
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