REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2014: We look back at events in Gwent in January and February

THE BIG STORY:

January 9:

NEWPORT staged its very own Big Bang to rid the city centre of an eyesore and signal the start of preparations for what city bosses hope will be a retail revolution.

At 8.30am on a bright, crisp Sunday morning, 35 kilograms of strategically placed explosives were triggered at the former Capitol car park, creating a bang loud enough to be heard in Pontypool, and reducing the multi-storey building to a heap of rubble.

Around 2,000 spectators braved the winter chill along the banks of the River Usk to witness the spectacle, the culmination of two weeks of preparation by contractors Cuddy Group.

Eleven roads were closed shortly before the blast, to keep people and vehicles out of harm's way.

Thirteen-year-old Ellis Moore, from Blackwood, was the boy with his finger on the button, after a friend of his father's offered him the chance to take part.

Many of the onlookers - including Derek Jones from Cwmbran, who was part of the workforce that built the car park - took photos of the explosion or filmed it on mobile phones or with video cameras.

Mr Jones, in his 20s when he worked on the site, said he had been determined to watch the building come down, saying its demise was "long overdue."

The car park, opened early in the 1970s as part of a previous city centre regeneration programme, had been closed since 2010 amid safety concerns and was the biggest obstacle in the way of a start being made on the £90 million Friars Walk shopping centre.

A corner of the car park building was left standing - the explosives planned in such a way as to leave it intact due to concerns about a nearby gas main.

Once the smoke cleared, onlookers were left with a very different and more open view of the site, and Cuddy's managing director Mike Cuddy said the aim was to remove all the rubble within four weeks, and to have the demolition in the area complete by the end of February.

Almost a year on, work on the new shopping centre has transformed the site, and by this time next year, it should be busy with shoppers breathing new life into the city centre.

The flagship Debenhams store - occupying the part of the site where the bus station used to be - will be the biggest single unit, but a range of well-known retail and restaurant names have been signed up.

January/February:

A MAJOR search was launched by Gwent Police for teenager Nida Naseer, who went missing from her home in Linton Street, Pill, Newport, on December 28.

More than 40 specially trained search officers carried out inquiries across the city, sniffer dogs were brought in, and posters and leaflets produced in an effort to find the 18-year-old.

The family of the former Duffryn High School pupil - who disappeared while putting out rubbish at around 8pm that Saturday evening - made a public appeal for her to return home, and the search effort and their pleas gained UK-wide coverage.

Gwent Police checks of her mobile phone, computer and financial records revealed no evidence that she intended to leave and provided no clue as to where she might have gone.

Her friends at Coleg Gwent, where she was studying, also joined in the search effort, distributing posters at Newport Retail Park.

On January 25, her 19th birthday, Nida's family made another public appeal for her to get in touch.

As the weeks went by, 50 sightings across the UK were reported, but none were verified.

January 6:

NEWPORT'S Richard Parks became the fastest Briton to reach the South Pole solo, unassisted and unsupported, reaching his goal in 29 days, 19 hours and 24 minutes.

The ex-Wales and Newport Gwent Dragons rugby star, who was the first person to climb the highest mountains of seven continents and stand on all three poles - all within seven months - travelled 715 miles on his own, taking almost 10 days off the existing record. He spent 366 hours skiing and burnt the calorific equivalent of completing two marathons a day.

On reaching the South Pole, he described himself as "physically shattered and mentally frazzled" but "happy, proud and grateful."

January 8:

A VALLEYS man was jailed for more than six years after his discarded cigarette started a fire which destroyed a £6 million crisp factory.

During a night shift on September 20 2012, Newport crown court was told, Colin Goulding, aged 31, broke company rules at the Real Crisps factory Crumlin and took a short-cut through the goods warehouse, where he lit a cigarette.

CCTV caught him throwing it away when he thought he heard someone coming and the resultant blaze caused a £25m loss. Factory owners Tayto Group Limited did not reopen the site and 77 people lost their jobs.

Sentencing him, Judge Philip Richards told Goulding, who had pleaded guilty to reckless arson, that it was most serious arson case he had ever overseen.

January 16:

FEARS were raised for the future of Pontypool RFC's tenure at Pontypool Park following an arson attack.

A fire started in a bin near the stand caused what a club statement called "significant damage" and the club's corporate director Ben Jeffreys later said the club's future at the venue was in "jeopardy." He said that as long as there was open access to the ground the problem would persist.

The commentary and media section at the stand was badly damaged. The ground had been the target of previous arson attacks, and seats had also been ripped out, and the pitch vandalised.

January 25:

GWENT'S Police and Crime Commissioner Ian Johnston confirmed that seven of the area's police stations would reopen Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.

Front counter services were to be reopened during these periods at Maindee in Newport, Risca, Pontypool, Chepstow, Monmouth, Caerphilly and Ystrad Mynach, with a further two stations - Abertillery and Brynmawr - opening for two-three days a week and sharing resources.

The decision followed extensive consultation triggered by what Mr Johnston said was "the public's disquiet about police stations closing" two years ago.

"The constant message from the public was, that's what they want," he said.

January 28:

AFTER being told he had just weeks to live, the family of three-year-old Ben Campling, from Malpas, Newport, spoke of their relief at his remarkable recovery from a rare heart defect that evaded diagnosis for two years.

Ben finally underwent complex surgery after he was found to be suffering from cor triatriatum - a membrane had grown over the left side of his heart, causing the right side to have to work harder and become enlarged.

The condition caused a range of problems and when it was finally diagnosed at the Royal Gwent Hospital, doctors estimated he had barely two weeks to live.

Five months after the surgery, at Bristol Children's Hospital, for which mum and dad Andy and Helen Campling raised £2,300, they told the Argus he had been "incredibly brave."

February 7:

SIX-year-old Olivia Banton became a video star to help the NHS in Gwent spread a vital message about the appropriate use of A&E services.

The Newport youngster was the face of a 90-second film called Why A&E Is Such A Special Place, in which she explained the importance of only using A&E for serious and life-threatening conditions.

The St Julians primary school pupil is also shown asking people to contact their GP, pharmacy, or NHS Direct Wales for minor ailments and non-life threatening problems.

The video subsequently picked up 75,000 hits on Aneurin Bevan University Health Board's Facebook page.

February 8:

SHOCKED workers told the Argus they had been "left hoping for a miracle" after the loss of a major contract with Marks and Spencer left up to 650 jobs in jeopardy at the Avana Bakeries site in Rogerstone.

The loss of contract meant the loss of 85 per cent of the site's work and a 45-day consultation began, to examine options for the future.

Unions and politicians expressed shock and a determination to try to help save the threatened jobs, with the Welsh Government and Wales Office pledging to work with owners 2 Sisters Food Group Limited.

February 10:

TWO Gwent families spoke of their gratitude to fundraisers who raised more than £130,000 to pay for the operations and physiotherapy required to help their children walk.

Leo Dixon, fromNewport, and Maisie Cooper, from Cross Keys, both required a procedure called selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) to help overcome the mobility problems caused by a condition called spastic diplegia cerebral palsy.

Separate fundraising efforts raised the money, with Leo having his operation in November 2013 and Maisie in January this year, both in the St Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri USA, where the operation was pioneered.

Leo's mum Kate said she had noticed massive changes in her son, including improved posture and strength.

Maisie's dad Gareth said he and her mum Hayley were "incredibly proud of her bravery."

February 12:

NEWPORT County AFC were at their "lowest ebb" according to then director of football Tim Harris, as pitch problems continued to cause repeated cancellations and fixture pile-up.

Prolonged wet weather caused the Rodney Parade pitch to deteriorate to such an extent that the club estimated it had lost £200,000 due to postponements during the first weeks of 2014.

"We are at our lowest ebb, there is no point pretending otherwise," said Mr Harris.

Newport Gwent Dragons head coach Darren Edwards called the state of the pitch "heartbreaking."

February 18:

PLANS for a new film studio on the outskirts of Newport were unveiled.

The Welsh Government announced it was investing £30 million in a 180,000 square feet facility at the former Energy Centre at Wentloog between Newport and Cardiff, in partnership with the world famous Pinewood Studios.

It will be the first venture outside of Pinewood and Shepperton for the company, which has played host more than 1,500 films including the James Bond franchise, Harry Potter and Gravity.

The Pinewood Studios Wales project was set to support 2,000 jobs over five years, generating £90m for Welsh firms.

February 26:

A NEWPORT version of the board game Monopoly was announced, with suggestions invited from members of the public on which city landmarks ought to be included.

The game was to be made by Winning Moves UK, which manufacture Monopoly on licence from board game giant Hasbro.

Tredegar House, the Transporter Bridge, and Newport Cathedral were among the early suggestions.

The game was scheduled to be launched to coincide with the city's hosting of the Nato summit in September.

February 28:

A COUNCILLOR who died after spending 15 months waiting for a heart operation was let down by the NHS he loved, his grieving partner told the Argus.

Newport councillor Ron Jones was waiting for surgery after doctors told him he required a triple bypass and a new valve - but he died of heart failure in August 2013, aged 78.

Pam Allen, his partner of 30 years, complained to the Aneurin Bevan and Cardiff and Vale University Health Boards about the delays in the hope that similar delays and deaths can be avoided.

"Why was he waiting 15 months (from diagnosis)? To me, heart surgery is an emergency," she said.

ON MONDAY: We look back at March and April