History made at gateway to Wales, as County go Fox hunting

For the first time since the Severn Bridge opened in 1966, and the now Prince of Wales Bridge opened in 1995, travel into Wales via either was free.

The abolition of the tolls - three separate charges based on vehicle size - came as an early Christmas present for crossings regulars, and followed a reduction in prices at the start of 2017, when it was first announced that tolls would be abolished.

From about 6.30am on December 17, the Prince of Wales Bridge had three free-flowing lanes.

The first driver to benefit from not having to pay - haulier Craig Evans - said it felt “fantastic”, and countless thousands of others will doubtless concur.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns MP was at the toll plaza near Rogiet to witness the first vehicle drive through for free.

Several weeks of work will be required to remove the toll plazas on both bridges, with closures and diversions planned into spring 2019.

“We want to make sure that journeys can be completed safely and free of charge by the end of the year and will then focus on the next stage of work,” said Hannah Milliner, general manager of the Severn Bridges for Highways England.

In 1966, the fee to cross the newly-built Severn Bridge stood at two shillings and sixpence, or 12.5p. The final fee for a car crossing from England into Wales was £5.60.

Mr Cairns said regular commuters are expected to save about £1,400 a year, and there would be an immediate benefit of more than £100 million per year for Wales, with more than £1 billion of economic benefit over the next 10 years.

“The end of the tolls is a major milestone for the economies of south Wales and south west of England, and will remove historic barriers between communities,” he said.

November 1:

THE Argus reported that Newport City Council plans to pull out of the Gwent-wide Sensory & Communication Support Service (SenCom) next April, in a move that sparked protests from parents with children aged 0-19 with a wide range of hearing, visual and language needs.

The council believes that setting up a service of its own to support the more than 500 children in the city - and their families - who currently use SenCom, will save money, but more importantly provide a more ‘joined up’ service for the children.

The proposal has been condemned however, by SenCom chiefs - who have warned of job losses and restructuring - by other Gwent councils, and by parents, many of whom fear their children will suffer from the disruption to services and personnel that will result.

The latest plea - on December 28 - for Newport to remain within SenCom came from one of its users, 11-year-old Ben Mills, of Newport, who said that he has made many friends through the service, though none of them are from the city, and it is helping him prepare for life in secondary school.

November 1:

THE former TJ’s music venue building in Clarence Place, Newport, was the subject of plans that could see it transformed into an hotel.

Developers 45 Croydon Way Ltd, proposed that 14-18 Clarence Place - where the famous venue was located - should become a 58-bedroom hotel, and are hoping to get full planning and listed building consent for the part-demolition, restoration, redevelopment and extension of the site.

The idea was being consulted upon, ahead of a more formal planning process. The proposed development would restore the listed buildings which face onto Clarence Place and provide an additional, fourth, storey.

This was the second hotel proposal for the area to be made public in the autumn, weeks after plans were revealed for a 123-room hotel in the former HMRC tax office, 100 metres away at the top of Chepstow Road.

November 6:

SHOCKING images emerged of fireworks being set off in the middle of a residential Newport street.

Taken from video footage from the previous night - Bonfire Night - they show fireworks shooting down the middle of Keene Street, Newport.

Lliswerry Ward councillor Allan Morris said such dangerous antics had no place in Newport, adding that this had been the worst year for such behaviour that he had ever seen.

“This mindless madness has to stop,” said the independent councillor.

“At an organised display, setting off fireworks can be fun for the whole family. But when idiots get hold of them and start throwing them around then it’s only going to end in damage to people or property, or in tragedy.”

November 8:

A £13.4m investment in Gwent to transform the way in which health and social care services are delivered, was announced by health secretary Vaughan Gething.

The money - from the Welsh Government’s £100m Transformation Fund for health and social care services - will be used to enhance child and adolescent mental health services, to set up a 24/7 hospital discharge scheme, and to develop ‘place-based care’, providing a range of services to communities to ease people’s reliance on GPs

The funding will be used to redraw the landscape across child and adolescent mental health services, to deliver improved access to better services, closer to home.

The 24/7 hospital discharge scheme is intended to get patients home faster, with the right package of care in place.

A trial of the place-based model of care will be run in Caerphilly, to determine the range of services required to help reduce reliance on GPs.

November 11:

THOUSANDS of people attended Remembrance Sunday services across Gwent, as the sacrifices of service personnel in two world wars and other conflicts were acknowledged.

This year’s commemoration was especially poignant, marking as it did the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that brought an end to the fighting in the First World War, at 11am on November 11 1918.

Many exhibitions and other events have been held across Gwent to mark the centenary, and to remember those who laid down their lives - and the Argus produced a commemorative supplement packed with stories about Gwent’s contribution to the war effort, and of the lives of those who saw action.

November 14:

THE future remained uncertain for several leisure centres in Caerphilly county borough, after council plans to overhaul sport and active recreation were approved.

After months of heated debates and protest marches, Caerphilly council’s cabinet voted to adopt a 10-year strategy aimed at supporting residents in leading a healthier lifestyle.

Part of the scheme involves services being provided from four ‘strategic’ leisure centres in Caerphilly town, Risca, Newbridge and in Bargoed/Aberbargoed, which is currently served by Heolddu.

The council had said it was unable to retain all its facilities amid growing financial pressures, and that investing in fewer leisure centres would lead to a more commercially sustainable service.

It was anticipated that the remaining six sites - Bedwas, Cefn Fforest, New Tredegar, Pontllanfraith, St Cenydd and Sue Noake - would transfer to school management or close completely.

A petition against Pontllanfraith and Cefn Fforest leisure centres closing was signed by more than 5,000 people, while hundreds of people marched in protest on November 3.

November 23:

A MAN who suffered injuries similar to that of a bomb victim after a firework exploded as he lit it, spoke of his experience in the hope that others would not have to go through the same experience.

James Eveleigh, from Maesglas, Newport, was in a coma for three days after he suffered a ‘thermal impact blast’, which is usually seen in bomb victims.

“I lit the multi-shot firework and it exploded in my face as soon as I lit it,” he said.

“They were going everywhere. One rocket hit the window. My step-son was out in the garden with me when I lit it.”

His partner Carolanne Carter said: “My son, Kyle, was out there with him when he lit the fireworks. James was protecting him, making sure that he wouldn’t get hit. He saved my son’s life.”

Mr Eveleigh had emergency surgery and further operations at the Royal Gwent Hospital, and was in a coma for three days. He suffered extensive facial injuries.

He backed a call for a ban on the sale of fireworks to the public.

November 29:

THE Argus reported that a grandfather’s dream of spending one last Christmas with his family had come true after Royal Gwent Hospital staff brought an early festive season to his bedside - the day before he lost his fight with cancer.

Leslie Wheeler, of Cwmbran was looking forward to spending Christmas with his four grandchildren Hope and Jakob , both 15, Tommy, 13, and Bobbie-Anne, 5.

Despite being in hospital for a month fighting terminal oesophageal cancer, the 63-year-old former security guard was making plans for Christmas, but on November 15, his condition worsened, and his family knew his last wish was fading.

Daughter-in-law Kirsty McCarthy asked nurses if they were allowed to bring decorations in, and the response took the family’s breath away.

“Within hours they had raided the whole hospital, and brought in Christmas trees, decorations, food, drink and even presents for the grandkids. One of the nurses knits handwarmers, and she gave him some to give to the children,” she said.

“They got a CD player and played music by Elvis, his hero. It was great, his eyes lit up when he saw it all. He woke up and it brought all his energy back for a short time. You could see he was just enjoying it.”

Mr McCarthy’s son Colin said: “I’m tearing up just thinking about it now. It was just absolutely amazing. I can never thank them enough.”

December 4:

A DERELICT Grade II listed toilet block was spectacularly transformed into a sought-after performance space.

For decades, the former Victorian gentlemen’s toilet, in Alexandra Road, Pill, has been viewed as an eyesore - but after an eye-watering £40,000 refurbishment by its new owner, the site has now been given a new lease of life as The Phyllis Maud Performance Space.

Owner Janet Martin, who also owns Barnabas Arts House in Pill, believes the site has given a new meaning to the vicinity. It is named after her aunt, from whom she received an inheritance following the latter’s death aged 96 in 2017.

“It is here as a facility and people can contact me to hire it. I have had interest all over the UK - from Leeds, Birmingham, London and other areas,” she said.

December 5:

BLACKWOOD’S market was revealed as being in line for a major makeover, with plans to create an ‘artisanal’ marketplace and to build more than 40 new homes.

FCFM Group, which owns the market square, wants to provide an “innovative” retail opportunity for shoppers and independent traders.

The revamped marketplace would include 21 retail units, with a redeveloped space retained for open-air market stalls and communal toilet facilities.

Under the proposals, the former Somerfield supermarket would be partly demolished to make way for 43 apartments with a mixture of one and two-bed units.

December 5:

IT was announced that no decision would be made on the M4 relief road until after a new First Minister was in place.

Carwyn Jones had repeatedly said he would decide whether or not to give the scheme, currently estimated to cost around £1.7 billion, the green light before he left office. But he had reportedly not seen the report of the public inquiry into the scheme, along with the Welsh Government’s official legal advice, as his time in the top job ticked away.

AMs were due to debate and vote on the scheme before Christmas, but that has been delayed into 2019.

December 11:

NEWPORT County AFC guaranteed there will be another major FA Cup tie staged in the city, after booking a place in the third round on January 6 2019, by beating non-league Wrexham 4-0 in a second round replay at Rodney Parade.

The club’s reward for the victory - following a hard fought 0-0 draw in north Wales on December 1 - is a home tie with 2015/16 Premier League champions Leicester City, currently in the top half of the top flight, and more than 60 places above their League Two hosts next weekend.

Leicester, nicknamed the Foxes, are packed with star names, including prolific striker Jamie Vardy, fellow forward Shinji Okazaki, England defender and World Cup star Harry Maguire, and midfielder James Maddison, for whom great things are being predicted by those in the know.

Tickets have been selling fast and there is set to be a great atmosphere - and a sell-out crowd to give Leicester a hot reception - at Rodney Parade.

December 19:

MORE than 1,000 entries were received for the 2018 South Wales Argus Prettiest Pet competition.

From terriers to tortoises, ponies to poodles, readers submitted their favourite photographs of their pets.

Scamp the rabbit, owned by Zoe Bourne, from Rogerstone, won a hotly-contested online vote for the readers’ favourite award, while the prize for the judges’ favourite went to Indy, a puppy owned by Lisa Banton, from Newport.

Indy is a jackahuahua, a cross between a Jack Russell and a chihuahua.