ANOTHER CANNABIS FARM UNCOVERED

A massive cannabis factory has been uncovered in an outbuilding at a farm in Newport, with Gwent Police seizing 500 plants during a raid.
Officers estimated the value of the cannabis grown in a rented building at the rear of Sluice Farm, Peterstone, would total £150,000 a year. They arrested three men aged 31, 32 and 38, all from the Cardiff area, on suspicion of cultivating cannabis. The men were later released on police bail pending further investigation.

JOBLESS HELP SCHEME SET FOR LAUNCH

Tomorrow see the launch of a scheme to assist the jobless in areas of Newport affected by higher than average unemployment. The scheme is a joint venture by the City Council and Jobcentre Plus.


The Futures Project is a community project to help people back into work. If you live in Bettws, Pillgwenlly, Tredegar Park or Ringland and are not working for whatever reason, the Futures Project is available to you now. The scheme helps jobless people with access to:Local employers with local jobs / Opportunities to train and up skill / Free action planning and guidance / Help with your basic and key skills / Advice on Childcare and financial help available / One to one support.

RINGLAND RESIDENT VOWS TO FIGHT DEVELOPMENT

A Ringland resident has vowed to fight plans to develop the area near his home.When plans were put forward to develop the open land opposite Paul Jordan's home in Handel Close he was furious. He said he was watching bit by bit every piece of green disappear from the Ringland area and he was not prepared to stand by and do nothing."It was time someone took them on." He said. Paul took his neighbours' case to the planning committee but missed out when Councillors voted to pass the plans for houses to fill the grassed area between Handel Close and Ringland Way.

Paul, who grew up in Ringland Circle, has vowed to continue to oppose the development, despite planning permission and will try to block any other plans to build in Ringland."This area needs green space as well as houses." he said. "There will be 1,000 houses the other side of Ringland Way and thousands more on the Steelworks site. We don't need to close up the green spaces of the Ringland Estate."

BUTLER WELCOMES BENEFIT TAKE UP SCHEME

Rosemary Butler has welcomed a scheme to improve take up of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. The Welsh Assembly Government will be making £1 million per year to local authorities to target those not claiming their entitlements. Newport City Council has over 22,000 claimants and will receive an additional £70,000 per annum to encourage take up. She stated "Newport City Council will now find it easier to target the advice and support it offers on benefits. I want to see everyone who is eligible receiving these benefits."

DRIVERS WARNED NOT TO USE BUS LANES

Police in Newport have warned motorists they will issue £30 fixed penalty notices to anyone caught driving or parking illegally in bus lanes. Officers have noticed that drivers are using bus lanes in the city centre as shortcuts during rush hour congestion, particularly in Emlyn Street. Now Newport Central neighbourhood officers plan to observe problem roads and punish impatient drivers who break the bus lane rules. Sergeant Colin Thomas said: "Some people are trying to escape heavy traffic in the city centre by breaking the law. This has been causing problems and is proving a hindrance to buses, therefore we will issue fixed penalty tickets to anyone caught using bus lanes. We will actively put officers in problem areas to catch the offenders."

CRITICISM OVER DURHAM ROAD DELAY

St Julian's Liberal Democrats have slammed the announcement that there will be a further delay to the replacement for the Durham Road Schools. Newport City Council announced this week that the new School on the Glebelands site will now open in 2010 rather than in 2009. Ward Councillor Ed Townsend said: "The real story to the Council's press release (see story below - Feb 20) is a further delay. It follows the news that the housing developer has pulled out and that the new version of the PFI Scheme has yet to be sent to the Welsh Assembly Government for approval. The replacement for the Schools has taken 15 years to date." According to Construction News the City Council and Vinci Investments are expected to sign final contracts in March with a prompt start to the development. The scheme was also to have a housing development attached to it, but the bidder on that side - Charles Church Developments - has withdrawn from the process.

NEW FOOD WASTE TRIAL STARTS

Newport City Council has announced that it will be extending its recycling services even further, with the start of a food waste collection trial in March of this year.
Let’s collect it, let’s compost it – that’s the message from the council as 1,300 households are offered the chance to recycle their food waste on a weekly basis.Households involved in the trial have already received a notification leaflet, informing them that the new collections will be coming to their street.This will be supported with the delivery of a detailed user guide, as well as new food caddies and liners in which to place their kitchen scraps. From mid-March, a specialised Wastesavers lorry will follow dedicated food waste collection routes that incorporate streets in Rogerstone, Riverside, Baneswell and Maindee. If the trial proves to be a success, the council hopes to roll-out the scheme to the rest of Newport in manageable stages. With kitchen waste making up 39 per cent of the rubbish left in Newport bins, the trial follows years of development by a council that is committed to reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill.In 2006 Newport was one of the first city’s to develop a food waste collection scheme.

FLYNN DESCRIBES RUGBY STADIUM PLANS AS A "DISAPPOINTMENT"

Newport West MP Paul Flynn has described the latest designs for the proposed replacement for Rodney Parade as a "disappointment". In his website blog the MP states "Yes, it will be great to have a modern stadium and agreeable new student and public houses on this city centre site....The new main stands are not the popular sided stands but positioned at the extreme ends of the stadium. The most popular seats are always on the halfway line. There will be few of those. "