Review of the year 2016 - July to December

In July, shoppers welcomed Pontypool Community Council’s backing to repair four old CCTV cameras in the town.

Meanwhile, standard bearers and veterans— led by the Royal British Legion — flooded Blaenavon to commemorate the battle of Mametz Wood.

The same week, a candlelit vigil was organised outside the Welsh National Assembly by Cwmbran GP Rebecca Ratcliffe, to raise awareness of her sister-in-law’s imprisonment in Iran.

British-Iranian mum, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, was arrested on April 3 in Iran on spying charges when visiting family. As 2016 draws to a close, her family are still campaigning for her release.

Later in July, Torfaen council announced they would press ahead with the closure of Victoria Primary and Brynteg Nursery, despite 770 objections from residents.

His Royal Highness Prince Charles also paid a special visit to Torfaen to re-open Blaenavon’s ‘Abergavenny Fine Foods’ factory — only a year after the £10million building was destroyed by fire.

Blaenavon hit the headlines later in July after figures were released revealing 27 anti-social behaviour incidents happening in Blaenavon from May until the end of June.

A victim of this crime was Grade II-listed Ty Mawr in Blaenavon, a former-nursing home targeted by arsonists.

Fundraiser Emily Clark — a Cwmbran teen that died after suffering from blood cancer — was awarded a posthumous honorary science degree while poultry farmers made a egg-citing discovery.

Nick and Sally King, of Abersychan area, were shell shocked when they found a 123g egg — double the size of a normal chicken egg and “one of the biggest hatched in the country”.

Another shock discovery was a hoard of priceless Bronze Age artefacts discovered in Trevethin.

The hoard —declared treasure by a Gwent coroner —included spear heads and axe heads estimated to be over 2,800 to 3,000 years old.

In the final week of July, Pontypool carer Caroline Hamer was found guilty of dangerous driving for a road rage incident that happened in Cwmbran in 2015.

In August, the 42-year legacy of Torfaen swimming club ‘Blaenafon Barracudas’ came to an end, due to rising costs, falling membership and lack of swimmers.

Adam Waters, 29,of Brynwern, was locked up for six years to “protect the public” after robbing Pontypool’s Spar store with a kitchen knife.

A fine of £100,000 was given to a construction company for running an unsafe timber-frame building site in Blaenavon.

Blaenavon’s Big Pit National Coal Museum and Ironworks attractions also invited the public to go back in time as part of a ‘living history’ event paying tribute to the unsung heroes of the Second World War.

Around £100,000 worth of damage was caused to Pontypool’s Tesco store after a car smashed through a glass window destroying the newly opened phone shop inside.

Appearing at Newport Magistrates court on August 30, 44-year-old driver Nicholas Morgan mounted his own defence, saying the incident was caused by his bum bag falling off.

A job boost to the Torfaen area came courtesy of Frog Bikes, which announced it could create 50 new jobs after receiving £1.7million to expand its operation from its Pontypool manufacturing base.

Care home residents of Melin Homes-run Ty George Lansbury, in Croesyceiliog, spoke out as council cuts threatened the “lifeline” of their meal service.

Students also jumped for joy on A-level results day, with Torfaen seeing an overall increase in students achieving the qualifications.

This included around 98.5 per cent of pupils gaining A* to E A-level grades compared to 98.1 per cent last year, which is above the Wales average of 97.3 per cent.

Later the same month, a film from Pontypool director Keri Collins made its way onto popular streaming service Netflix, while three Torfaen swimmers raised more than £4,500 after swimming the English Channel.

Torfaen council also hit the headlines for being one of three areas in Wales that failed to meet its Welsh Government recycling targets.

St Peter’s Church in Blaenavon also decided to take an unusual approach to clear up its graveyard by unleashing a drove of goats to eat the overgrowth.

In September, concerned residents from Sebastopol spoke out against a planning application to convert a residential property into a care centre for ex-substance abusers and ex-offenders.

Applicant Hope Ministries withdrew the application for the centre and residents have since submitted a petition against the development, which will be discussed by council next year.

Cwmbran girl, Madison Sadler, hit the headlines when her first day at school was cut short due to a registration mix-up with Cwmbran High.

An NHS nurse from Cwmbran was also given an eight-month suspended prison sentence for forging a doctor’s signature to obtain Botox prescriptions worth more than £3,000.

On September 14, the Free Press urged residents to support independent traders as part of our campaign ‘Your High Street: Use it or Lose it’.

Choirmaster Gareth Malone paid a special visit to Coed Eva to record with the primary school choir for his upcoming Christmas album.

The same week, Torfaen County Borough councillors announced they will spend to £3.7million to rebuild school buildings at the site, after they were destroyed by fire on New Year’s Day.

Tributes flooded in for Ray Jones, from the Pontypool area, who died in a car crash in Blaenavon, with family describing her as the “rock of her family, always full of life, love and happiness”.

A campaign to protect Pontypool’s War Memorial from being “abused” and “desecrated” by illegal parking also took a step forward when Torfaen council agreed to install bollards.

In October, residents of Wainfelin Avenue were evacuated after a car fire spread to a gas main and electricity supply, causing explosions, smoke and sparks as fire fighters tackled the blaze.

An inquest into the deaths of Pontypool teen Courtney Smith and boyfriend Thomas Lawrence — who died in a car crash in Caerleon — was described as a “tragic and needless loss” by a coroner.

The inquest heard that both driver and passenger failed to wear seatbelts and that driver Thomas Lawrence was over the legal drink drive limit.

Torfaen sports teams, including Pontypool RFC, spoke out after being hit by several acts of vandalism ranging from arson to deliberate pitch damage caused by a car.

Pontnewynydd artist and former Greenmeadow Community Farm employee, Candice Bees, celebrated receiving a London award for her animal-themed wire sculptures.

A Trevethin family also celebrated defying the odds after having a daughter, mother and granddaughter all born on the same day — a staggering odds of 133,225 to one.

Long awaited proposals to revitalise ‘The British’ site — the largest derelict industrial site in South East Wales — were backed by Torfaen Council in a momentous decision on the issue.

Councillors agreed to invest £3.7 million to both buy the site from HSBC and to contribute to its capital programme, ending a 30-year battle by campaigners to end the site’s private ownership.

In November, Pontypool shop owner Bradley Kirby, re-opened his store offering a defiant message to thieves who stole £12,000 worth of designer goods in September.

A bid to save parts of the clock tower from demolition at the former Llantarnam School took a blow after a cost of £25,000 was placed on removing the timepiece.

The tower was knocked down in November and campaign groups are appealing for a memorial to the school when the site is transformed as part of a 226 property development.

Thousands of people across Torfaen also took to the streets to remember the war dead as veterans and the general public attended several remembrance services.

A woman with incurable cancer was also given access to a potentially life-saving drug after a change of heart by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board — who declined the drug ‘Avastin’, weeks earlier.

Cwmbran cake maker, Paul Williams, scored top marks for Alien-themed cakes at the ‘National Cake Expo’ in Birmingham while Cwmbran Shopping centre held Torfaen’s first festive light switch-on.

Florence Millicent ‘Millie’ Jenkins— believed to be the oldest woman in Wales —sadly died months after her 110th birthday.

Described as “resilient and hardworking” by family, she leaves behind nine grandchildren, 13 great grand children and 10 great great grandchildren.

At the end of November, Cllr Bob Wellington stepped down as the longest serving council leader in Wales after his 13-year service with Torfaen County Borough Council.

In December, Pontypool Park was named as the ‘best in Wales’ by the Fields in Trust Foundation, making the final shortlist in a competition entered by 214 parks.

A row broke out between Pontypool RFC boss Ben Jeffreys and Newport West MP, Paul Flynn, about rugby and boxing officials tackling the dangers of concussions.

Shocking statistics from Welsh Government revealed costs of £331,000 to clean-up illegally tipped waste in the borough.

A 68-year-old walker, from Blaenavon, also raised a Welsh flag against the backdrop of the Himalayas after tackling a nine-day trek to the Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal.

Following a visit in October, Estyn inspectors labelled Abersychan Comprehensive School as “unsatisfactory” citing issues including results, attendance and pupil behaviour.

Additional governors have been appointed by Torfaen council who will demand an action plan from the school and a parents meeting will happen in the New Year.

Stepping into the shoes of outgoing leader Cllr Bob Wellington, Deputy Leader Cllr Anthony Hunt was elected to lead Torfaen council in the New Year.

On the day of his appointment, he stressed his focus as leader would be to mitigate the impact of council in response to the “confines of reducing budgets and increasing demand”.