Estate agents on either side of the Severn Estuary are ramping up their marketing in anticipation of the imminent axing of the hated bridge tolls at the start of 2019.
Bristol is coming, says one.
Taken in isolation the main thrust of the advertising is that Bristol home buyers are straining at the leash just waiting for the word before stampeding into South Wales.
Apocryphal stories abound about houses virtually being snatched out of sellers’ hands as soon as they pop up on the market. Prices, we’re told, are increasing almost as fast as the numbers scrolling at a superstore petrol pump.
Good or bad news? Well no tolls must be good especially for hauliers who will instantly slash thousands of pounds from their annual overheads.
Good for small traders nipping between countries in their vans. And also good for commuters.
Good too for home owners looking to make a quick buck. 
Good also, maybe, for retailers, shops, pubs and restaurants welcoming new people, with more liquidity, as customers.
Good too for investors looking to set up and attract skilled, high-value talent across the bridges.
Perhaps not so good for those looking to buy their first home; those looking to use the bridges which will become even more choked to commute, those using the packed trains and those looking to retain the status quo.
The Newport railway underpass is a dangerous, unsightly, stinking, unhygienic joke. How is it allowed to continue in its current state? 
Prospective developers of the former Royal Mail sorting office at Mill Street are offering £250,000 to Newport council to make it better. Don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth and all that, but £250,000? And is it ring fenced?
Work’s started at the city Sainsbury’s site. Hurrah. Not a moment too soon. 
We’re not now going to have high-rise student accommodation and all that was proffered previously. It’s a prime site. It deserves something really very special seeing as it’s next to Newport Castle – that sad, neglected, barricaded forgotten bastion of past glories on the River Usk.
What have South Wales’ other two cities got what we haven’t? I know the list is quite long but at the risk of starting an argument – a major sports stadium. 
Yes Rodney Parade is steeped in history. After all Newport RFC ‘thrashed’ the All Blacks there but despite recent relaying of the playing surface it’s far from ideal.
The city must have a new purpose-built multi-sport stadium. Yes it’ll cost millions but if the city means business it’s a no brainer. 
Perhaps Sir Terry Matthews could be persuaded to tag a sports stadium on to the side of the ICC he’s building at Celtic Manor?