Five people, including a baby, were rescued from a blaze at a block of flats in Newport. Another 16 people escaped after thick smoke and fire took hold of the ground floor of the three-storey building. Chief officers said the lives of those trapped were saved by firefighters, including a baby carried down a ladder to safety at 23.25 GMT on Tuesday. South Wales Fire Service and police are invesigating the cause of the fire in Frederick Road in the city's Pill area. An initial investigation into the cause of the fire, carried out by South Wales Fire Service and Crime Scene Investigators has been undertaken today and is inconclusive, therefore investigations are continuing to establish the cause of the fire. Police are appealing for anyone with information or who may have seen anyone in the area at the time or may have witnessed anything to contact them on 01633 838111.
COUNCIL STEPS UP ACTION ON 'LAWNS CLUB'
Newport City Council planners have taken action against the owner of the former Lawns Club in Kensington Grove, Eveswell.
The Council has powers under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 to take action in the form of a Repairs Notice. The notice will require the owners to restore the building to its condition at the time of its listing.
It is hoped that the serving of this notice would encourage the owners of 11, Kensington Grove to undertake the necessary repairs to safeguard the building’s future. However if this does not happen, authority will be sought from the Planning Committee to proceed with a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO)to bring the building under the Council's ownership. Local councillor David Hando supported the action being taken, and indicated that residents were appreciative of the
Council’s ongoing involvement.
COUNCIL SLAMMED OVER MAINDEE DECISION
Newport Liberal Democrats have slammed the decision by the City Council to sell off the Maindee Pools at auction. They claim the Council's decision now means that the future of one of Maindee's landmarks is up in the air.
Commenting on the decision Beechwood Councillor Jeff Evans said: "This is a disgraceful decision. The handling of this building has been shambolic from the day its closure was announced. For two years, residents have had to put up with an empty building and now its future is more uncertain. It has become another Art College."
WORK TO START ON CITY CENTRE CAMPUS
Work is due to begin on a new multi-million pound university campus in Newport city centre. The £35million campus will be situated on the banks of the River Usk in the city centre, and will be the first phase of an intended £50 million development for University of Wales, Newport, with partnership funding from Newport City Council and Newport Unlimited.
The new campus will house Newport Business School and part of Newport School of Art, Media and Design. Newport’s Business School recently came top in the UK for its level of student satisfaction and the Newport School of Art, Media and Design enjoys an international reputation for its innovative courses and research. The Leader of the Council, Councillor Bob Bright, said: “We are continually working to attract new investment into the city and we are pleased to hear that work on this exciting development is due to begin. The city centre campus symbolises our ambition to ensure that Newport remains a fast-moving, dynamic, enterprising city, with excellent opportunities for people and business. I am sure that this development will be a huge success for the university, its students and the city of Newport itself.”
It is hoped that the campus will help transform the city centre by becoming a magnet for cultural activity along the riverfront and a centre for enterprise that embraces a contemporary arts centre, extensive exhibition space and a national photographic archive. Contractors HGB will be moving onto the site on the banks of the River Usk in Newport to conduct initial site clearing work in the coming weeks. The Riverfront car park closed on 13 January to make way for the new university campus development. Alternative parking is available in the Granville Street car park opposite, which has 350 car parking spaces making it larger than the current Riverside car park.
POST OFFICE CLOSURES
Christchurch Road, Malpas Road and Risca Road (West Park) Post Offices will close in plans announced by the Post Office today. 30 post offices will remain open in the Newport area. Jessica Morden MP said: “I am disappointed that the Post Office has come to this conclusion, and advise any members of the public affected to speak out. I have spoken in detail to the sub-postmasters involved and am prepared to examine all possibilities to avoid closure."
