Latest news with #Newport
BBC News
6 hours ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Newport cleans up after 'awful' flash flooding
Residents and businesses in Newport are cleaning up after flash floods hit the town on shut in order for staff to clear its floors, and local business, Catherine's Bakery, had to sweep water out of the building. Newport Library closed on Tuesday and will remain shut on Fire and Rescue Service was called to Sandiford Crescent at 20:12 to reports of flooding affecting electrics in a property. The crew also assisted with unlocking drains and helped people in neighbouring streets."It was terrible, absolutely awful, [the water] came in through the front door and the back door," said resident Mary Kitson. "Next door alerted me because I was in bed, because I'm a night carer."She, along with other residents, said there was sewage in the water BBC has contacted Telford and Wrekin Council and Severn Trent for comment. "I've been washing all morning," she said."It's happened before, but not to this degree, this is the worst."Another resident, Ken Allen, said he saw cars floating down his street."The thunder and lightning started, and then it was just horrendous downfalls – and then the next thing we saw was the water just rising outside, all the gutters were running over on the houses.""We were lucky, we knew that, but we knew those down there [the road] weren't."It's a horrible thing to see the day after, when you see the mess that it's left." Newport Library said it would remain shut on Wednesday, but hoped to re-open on Thursday after the building dried out."There was significant flooding coming though the roof panels," said town clerk, Joanne Reay."We turned the electrics off, and came to assess damage this morning."She added that the building had been assessed and the electrics were not affected."We think we've lost about five books, so that was a massive relief." 'Only call 999 if your life is in danger' Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said it received more than 20 calls in a short period of time from residents in the urged residents to only call 999 if their lives were in danger, and said it prioritised rescue operations over property protection."We have no statutory duty in England to attend floods - unlike other parts of the UK... our crews focus on people trapped or in danger... entering floodwaters poses serious risks to responders," it said on its Facebook said residents should isolate electrics and move pets and valuables upstairs. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Council sets out final list of roads which could revert to 30mph speed limits
Newport City Council is expected to revert 14 roads back to higher 30mph speed limits following a review. The local authority invited residents to nominate roads they believe should have been exempted from the Welsh Government's decision to lower the nation's default speed limit to 20mph. Earlier this year, the council said 16 stretches of road complied with government road safety advice and could revert to 30mph limits. Members of the public were then invited to offer any objections or comments on those proposals, and the council received a total of 12 representations. A new report shows that after further consideration of the objectors' claims, the council has decided two of the original 16 roads will remain at 20mph. One is a stretch of Caerphilly Road, between Bassaleg and Rhiwderin, which an objector said now 'feels safer for pedestrians'. The council said a lower speed limit was 'appropriate' for the road, which has 'narrow footways' and is an 'established walking route to school'. The other road to remain at 20mph, following the review, is a section of Usk Road to the east of Caerleon. An objector also raised concerns the route is 'well-used' by schoolchildren and people accessing the village. In response, the council said people 'would feel unsafe about using the established route to walk to school safely' if the speed limit was increased to 30mph along a road which 'carries a high pedestrian footfall, including young vulnerable children and the elderly'. According to the report, 'valid' objections were made in relation to other roads, but the council judged those cases met the government's criteria for exemptions, meaning they may be changed to 30mph speed limits. These were a part of Bettws Lane, George Street Bridge, a part of Lighthouse Road, Tredegar House Drive, a part of Tregwilym Road, and Wharf Road. There were no valid objections to council proposals to introduce 30mph speed limits on the other roads – namely a part of Bassaleg Road, Duffryn Drive, Duffryn Way, Frederick Street, Morgan Way, a part of Royal Oak Hill, Wern Industrial Estate, and a part of West Nash Road. Cllr Rhian Howells, the cabinet member for assets and infrastructure, is expected to approve an officer's recommendation later this week to proceed with the speed limit changes on the agreed 14 stretches of road.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Fourteen 20mph roads in Newport could revert to 30mph
The maximum speed limit on 14 roads in Newport is set to be changed back to 30mph from 20mph.A review of the Welsh government's 20mph speed limit was announced last year following a public default 20mph speed limit, covering 37% of the Welsh road network, was brought in by the Welsh government in September this year, Newport council said 16 stretches of road could revert back to 30mph. Transport Minister Ken Skates previously said the decision to reverse parts of the controversial £34m default 20mph policy was in response to "consistent" concerns raised by "a lot of people".Last July, the Welsh government gave councils more flexibility to assess the "movement" and "road characteristics" of specific routes, beyond just proximity to schools, hospital and other key March, the maximum speed limit on four busy roads in Cardiff was changed back to 30mph from 20mph, and in February it was announced more than 50 stretches of road in Wrexham would revert to comes as the data for the first year of the policy showed there had been about 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured on 20 and 30mph roads. Newport council invited residents to nominate roads they believed should have been exempted from the Welsh government's decision to lower the nation's default speed limit to of the public offered any objections or comments on those proposals, and the council received a total of 12 representations, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.A new report shows that after further consideration of the objectors' claims, the council decided two of the original 16 roads would remain at 20mph. One was a stretch of Caerphilly Road between Bassaleg and Rhiwderin, which an objector said now felt "safer for pedestrians".The council said a lower speed limit was "appropriate" for the road, which has "narrow footways" and was an "established walking route to school".The other road to remain at 20mph is a section of Usk Road to the east of objector also raised concerns the route was "well-used" by schoolchildren and people accessing the council said people "would feel unsafe about using the established route to walk to school safely" if the speed limit was increased to 30mph along a road which "carries a high pedestrian footfall, including young vulnerable children and the elderly". The council said "valid" objections were made in relation to other roads, but it judged those cases met the government's criteria for exemptions, meaning they may be changed to 30mph speed were a part of Bettws Lane, George Street Bridge, a part of Lighthouse Road, Tredegar House Drive, a part of Tregwilym Road, and Wharf were no valid objections to council proposals to introduce 30mph speed limits on the other roads - namely a part of Bassaleg Road, Duffryn Drive, Duffryn Way, Frederick Street, Morgan Way, a part of Royal Oak Hill, Wern Industrial Estate, and a part of West Nash Rhian Howells, cabinet member for assets and infrastructure, is expected to approve an officer's recommendation later this week to proceed with the speed limit changes on the agreed 14 stretches of announcement by Newport council follows a decision by Denbighshire and Monmouthshire council to reject calls to raise the default 20mph speed limit on a number of roads in the counties.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Oasis tribute act more than DOUBLE their fees since band's reunion
An Oasis tribute act say they have almost quadrupled the price of their gigs since the band announced their reunion. Joe Birchley, who performs as Liam Gallagher in their act Supernova, says that he's been playing four gigs a week since the announcement, compared to their previous three a month. The 42-year-old has gone from charging pubs around £850 per performance to playing in football stadiums and in theatre halls. READ MORE: 5 games released in 2025 guaranteed to take you back to the good old days of gaming READ MORE: 5 retro RPGs you can play right now guaranteed to make you feel like a kid again - you won't have heard of one of them Joe and bandmate, Ben Armstrong, 40, who acts as Noel, now charge up to £3,500. 'The band was already on the up, but when Oasis announced the reunion, there was a massive outcry,' Joe, from Newport, Shropshire, told What's The Jam. 'I always knew a reunion would happen. It was just a matter of when - but it's driven the price up. "Our pricing does fluctuate massively depending on the event and venues. The market was saturated with tributes, but we wanted to be the ultimate. 'We started doing one or two gigs a month at local pubs, and we were charging from £800. Now, we're doing bigger and better venues." The band say they now perform at festivals and football stadiums, charging £2,000 on average but netting as much as £3,500 from a single performance. 'Every gig we do turns into four or five more gigs - and our calendar is so full we're filling up 2026 and 2027," Joe continued. 'It's changed the way our weekends work, so there are pros and cons. 'After the announcement, it was chaos, and we were taking eight bookings a day. We had to start turning bookings down because it's a labour of energy.' The Oasis superfans formed the band in 2020 after being introduced by a mutual friend and had their first gig in October 2021. Joe said: 'We've always been Oasis fans. There's a lot of tribute acts, but we set out to be the ultimate and to get the sound and energy completely right. He ditched his job in recruitment to dedicate his time to playing Liam. He now works part-time as a carpenter to keep him busy on his days off from the band, while band-mate Ben still has a full-time job as an education manager. Joe said: 'I could give up carpentry and do the band full time, but it's something to do in the week while recovering from the weekend's exploits. 'When Oasis announced the reunion, I did have to shelve carpentry for a month. 'Performing is very tiring, and there's a lot of travel. We can do two gigs a day that are a 380-mile round trip. It's intense. Joe is convinced that Supernova will continue even after the Oasis reunion hype has died down, as their fan base is getting younger. He added: 'Guitar music has been put back in the forefront of the media, so hopefully we'll see some more young guitar bands and bring that music back. 'We've noticed the crowds are getting younger - that's a sign it could last.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Search underway for escaped prisoner in Northern Kentucky
An active search for an escaped prisoner is underway in Northern Kentucky, according to Enquirer media partner FOX19. A man in a black and white jail jumpsuit escaped from the Campbell County Courthouse in Newport Monday morning, according to Newport police. Multiple law enforcement agencies were notified and asked to assist starting around 8:18 a.m. The Campbell County Sheriff's Office and police from Cincinnati, Covington and Villa Hills are involved in the search. FOX19 NOW spotted officers and a K-9 near the bridge over the Licking River between Newport and Covington. Cincinnati police provided drones that are currently searching near Ovations Event Center in Newport. Police also were seen at Newport Landing Dock. So far, few details have been released with several agencies referring FOX19 to the sheriff's office. A sheriff's employee said workers at the courthouse were dealing with a prisoner, and everyone there was too busy on this to provide details at this time. This report was provided by Enquirer media partner FOX19. It may be updated. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Search underway for escaped prisoner in Newport Solve the daily Crossword
