05/02/2014 BBC Wales Today

rise. That is

Welcome to Wales Today. Our top story.

There's no end in sight as storms batter our coastline again. Roads

are closed and homes are damaged. I have never seen it so powerful as

it is at the moment. We have had big serve over the years but the

devastation it is doing is surfing. Much of the land is already

waterlogged and with the threat of flooding still very real. We ask how

can future damage be prevented? And there's no let up tonight, with gale

force winds continuing to cause disruption.

Also tonight. After Swansea City sack their

manager, captain Garry Monk is put in charge ahead of their crucial

clash with Cardiff. They have taken a brave decision.

They have taken brave decisions in the past and they have worked.

A former police officer who was removed from front line duties after

this video of an arrest was seen by millions on YouTube is awarded

thousands of pounds in compensation. And house prices on the rise and

record mortgage lending for Wales' biggest building society helps boost

the Principality's profits. Good evening. Storm force gales and

torrential rain have again been battering the coastline of Wales.

The south from Pembrokeshire to Penarth has been the worst affected,

with winds up to 70 miles an hour. There are currently three tidal

flood warnings in Newgale, Amroth and Dale and nine river flood alerts

across the country. And forecasters say more bad weather is expected.

Nick Palit has the picture across Wales.

It's now an all too familiar image. Just a month in to 2014, gale force

winds, rain, a battered coastline. Here at Penarth in the Vale of

Glamorgan, the esplanade was shut to traffic as a precaution. The force

of the high tide showering the seafront with rocks and pebbles and

seaweed. The nearby Cardiff Bay barrage was also closed for time.

With the noon high tide at Aberystwyth came the now familiar

scenes of a waterlogged seafront. Though the waves were more muted

than in recent weeks, those who came to see the spectacle were aware of

the risks of getting too close. It is dangerous, very dangerous. People

need to take care when they are out here. People don't listen. They

still go to the edge and those waves are very strong. You have got to be

careful. The renewed bad weather hit last night and storm force winds

brought down power lines leaving 1,700 homes in South Wales were

without power for a time. Western Power Distribution say they have all

now been reconnected. As dawn broke, the gales continued, producing these

dramatic images in Porthcawl. There have also been reports of houses

being flooded in the Brecon area. In the West, visitors to Cefn Sidan

beach have been warned of collapsing sand dunes. Millions of tonnes of

sand have been sheered off the dunes in the recent storm surges, leaving

dangerous drops of up to 35 feet. As it dries out, it will then collapse.

That is the danger. In Langland on the Gower, those who ventured out

took shelter from the wind. The seafront cafe was flooded for the

second time in as many weeks. They were reopening this morning after a

swift clean up operation. With the storm at the beginning of January,

it knocked off some of the wall and there were a few cracks. But we have

done that so hopefully this has not caused more damage on top of that.

Further north in Dyffryn Ardudwy in Gwynedd, a tree fell on this hotel,

wrecking its conservatory. It's the second time this year it's been

damaged. Last month, falling trees hit the children's play area and the

nearby Cambrian Coast railway line. It felt like an earthquake. I looked

out of the window and the branches hit the window. A big tree had come

down in the main drive. Today, Prime Minister David Cameron announced

another ?100 million will be available for repairs and

maintenance and flood prevention. But that's little comfort here in

Wales, as the money will be coming from DEFRA's budget and will only be

available in England. As forecasters warn that more severe gales are on

the way, it seems that any break in the bad weather is a long way off.

Britain has just experienced its wettest January for half a century

and Wales experienced more than its fair share of rain. Up to 40

millimetres of rainfall is expected today and winds reaching 70 mph

lashing the South Wales coastline. Derek is here. Derek, what's causing

all these storms? Lucy, it's certainly been wet and

wild over the last few months. This was Rhyl at the end of last year.

Many families were forced to flee the flooding. The New Year, the same

old problem. Aberystwyth's seafront battered by gales and big waves

causing chaos. And this is the reason for it all. Our old friend

the jet stream. The jet stream is a river of strong winds way up in the

atmosphere about six miles high. It is strongest in winter with winds

over 250mph. It's a bit like a roller coaster. It moves up and down

but at the moment it's stuck in a rut and is pointing straight across

the Atlantic. The jet stream is like a weather machine with areas of low

pressure developing on it along its path. The storms deepen explosively

as they track across the Atlantic and move towards the UK, bringing

spells of heavy rain, gales and large waves. Of course, intense

storms are not unusual in winter but what is unusual is the frequency.

We're being hit by one storm after another. December was the stormiest

since 1969. January the wettest for 40 years. And for Wales and England

combined, January was the wettest since 1766. Looking ahead, there's

no sign of the jet stream slowing down with more stormy weather on the

way. I'll have a full forecast in 20 minutes, so stay tuned!

So more rain to come then and more than likely some flooding as well.

So how should these problems be managed? For decades, the

authorities have simply built bigger and bigger flood barriers and

drainage ditches. Well, now there are suggestions things can be done

differently through managing the natural environment. Roger Pinney

has spent the day near Welshpool to find out more.

More rain, more rain and the forecast offers no letter. This is

the River Severn. It concentrates the mind. Fields are waterlogged,

draining systems for two capacity. How much more of this can we take?

Now there is a rethink about how we deal with flooding. Or rather how we

stop flooding happening. It involves planting trees. The soil here

actually feels quite dry. When I pick it up, it just crumbles. The

second sample was dug just a few yards away. It is hard and

compacted. The first can absorb rainwater and the second card. It is

because of these trees, planted to provide shelter for animals but also

preventing floods by holding water in the land. This is part of a

project run by farmers. They argue they have a natural solution which

slows the rate at which water gets into streams and rivers. If you

flood in Wales, it is probably because the rain fell within 20

miles of your house. This is the kind of process that will help

prevent that. Supporters of the solution are quick to point out it

does not involve vast plantations. The ones already planted in the

Welsh blends are probably part of the problem. They speed up the rate

at which rainwater moves. The parents are running here. Heavy

engineering to keep the floodwaters at bay. A local farmer's immediate

country -- concern is the scrapping of a local board which manages

watercourses. Decision-making will be taken out of local hands, he

says. With the work being sent to the new environmental body, I am

sure the cost per metre of train maintenance will be considerably

higher and therefore there will be either less work done or

considerably more charged. But the minister insisted today the Welsh

government is investing in prevention and protection. The

defence is that we do have in place have saved over 50,000 properties

from flooding. That is a real demonstration of the investment that

this government has made. And in flood threatened areas, any

investment can't come soon enough. If only the rain would pause for a

bit. Swansea City's club captain Garry

Monk is in charge this evening after the club sacked manager Michael

Laudrup last night. They say the decision to part company was taken

reluctantly, but it's in the best interest of the club. Our sports

reporter Ashleigh Crowter is at the Liberty Stadium for us tonight.

From he wrote to zero in a year. 12 months ago, Michael Laudrup was

being praised by fans for leading them to their first major trophy.

Tonight he is out of work. The players arrived at training this

morning, tight-lipped about events. They had been rumours that some

players were unhappy with Michael Laudrup's hands of style and

training regime. People at the club had been aware of unrest for a while

but the timing of his departure still a surprise. It was a

remarkable decline but the first issues arose at the end of last

season. There was a public disagreement over transfer policy.

Michael Laudrup's agent was very vocal in the media. Clearly there

were issues there and a lot of people thought he would probably go

last summer. The story is a tale of two seasons. After his appointment

in 2012, he made a flying start. Better was to come as he led Swansea

to the League Cup. Their first major trophy. Anti-capitalist's best ever

season with a top half finish in the league. But even by then, their form

was on the slide. The writing was on the wall after Saturday's lacklustre

defeat at West Ham. The chairman had initially denied rumours the board

were discussing his future. But things changed quickly and the

club's captain, Garry Monk, will now be the head man for the foreseeable

's future. They have taken a brave decision. They have taken brave

decisions in the past and they have worked. From the Supporters' Trust

point of view, we have every confidence. No one from the club was

available to speak on camera today. Even the normally talkative club

ambassador who was helping to launch a Premier League scheme for primary

school. But ordinary fans were more forthcoming. Something had to

happen. He was having a sticky moment. But everybody does. The

style of his departure but the recent trend at Swansea. His

predecessor, Brendan Rodgers, was headhunted by Liverpool. And today

he wished the new head coach well. It is always sad when somebody loses

their job. Michael has done an excellent job. But they feel they

have had to make a change. Garry Monk, in time, is going to be a very

good map -- manager. This afternoon, the management team call players in

for a second training session. They are hoping it will have an immediate

impact against their local relegation rivals on Saturday.

Still to come tonight. House prices in Wales are on the

rise, but it's a very different picture across the country.

And if you think the weather is bad now, there's worse on the way. We'll

have a full forecast. Plans to give Wales some control

over income tax are in jeopardy tonight after Labour said it would

oppose the proposals. The Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith said the

Labour-run Welsh government hadn't asked for the power to vary income

tax and wouldn't seek it in the future. Let's talk to our

parliamentary correspondent David Cornock, who's at Westminster.

David, how significant is this? This is potentially very significant. The

UK government wants to give the Welsh government the power to vary

income tax within limits but only after a referendum. But only after a

referendum triggered by Assembly Members. Owen Smith was pretty clear

today that as long as Labour are in control in Cardiff Bay, they are not

about to trigger a referendum to get a power they don't want and would

not use. Certainly, what he had to say surprised MPs today. Owen Smith,

previously very enthusiastic about the idea of devolution but certainly

he did recognise the power of this. He thought the important thing was

not the income tax power as the borrowing powers. The first minister

has been extremely clear. He does not think it is a priority for

Wales, he does not think it is necessarily going to benefit Wales.

And we will not be seeking income tax varying powers in future. We

feared there is a trap being laid for the Welsh people by the

Conservative party. When this package was put forward last year,

the Welsh government welcomed it as a big step forward for devolution.

Tonight, the Welsh government says that Owen Smith is echoing the

concerns of the first Minister in the sense that the model of income

tax put forward as far as the Welsh government sees it is pretty

useless. What does the coalition make of this? The Conservatives

think it is a big deal. I have just had a text from a Tory MP to

highlight what he sees as a money mental change of policy on Owen

Smith's behalf. There is also relief in conservative circles because I

think they were expecting the focus to be on Conservative divisions over

devolution. Some very public spat is quite recently between Andrew RT

Davies and David Jones, the Secretary of State for Wales. Those

divisions were raised at Prime Minister's Questions but David

Cameron told MPs he wanted devolution to go further. We are in

favour of taking these further steps, we will be bringing forward

legislation and making sure that people in Wales have a real say. I

want the Conservatives in Wales to stand as the low tax party in Wales.

At the next general election, we could have the Conservatives saying,

vote for us we are in favour of further devolution, and labour

saying, vote for us, we will stop the Conservative plans for more

devolution. The Silk Commission recommended that

stamp duty be devolved. The Welsh Conservatives have said they would

scrap stamp duty up to -- on all properties up to ?250,000.

A former Gwent Police officer who was removed from front line duties

by the force after a video of him arresting a pensioner was seen by

millions on YouTube has been awarded more than ?400,000 in compensation.

Mike Baillon from Torfaen resigned in 2012. A tribunal ruled senior

officers made a clear attempt to silence his complaints against the

force. Tonight, he's spoken out for the first time about the case.

Here's our Gwent reporter Paul Heaney.

71-year-old Robert drives off in his range Rover without warning. He had

been stopped for not wearing his seat belt and then chased for 70

minutes before Mike Ballion smashed his window to stop the pursuit. It

was the moment that changed his police career. Ultimately, he was

the author of his own downfall. I simply wanted time to pop his seat

belt on and then I was going back to headquarters. I had no attention to

issue him with a fixed penalty or to pursue him or break the window or

arrest him. That all came about as a result of his actions. He was found

guilty of several motoring offences. Later settled of court in a civil

claim for ?65,000 in costs and damages. It is a terrific waste of

public funds and money. It is about time the police were held to

account. Mike Ballion was cleared from any wrongdoing but then

received threats when this video was posted on the Internet. The way the

incident was reported deeply affected him and his family.

Unfortunately, my wife suffered a miscarriage shortly after the story

came out in the press the first time around and I feel that was brought

on as a result of the stress of the way the story was reported. When he

complained to senior officers at Gwent Police about the way they

handled the incident in 2009, he says they failed to listen and

undermined him in his job. Last year, an employment tribunal ruled

Mike Ballion was punished by senior officers when they removed him from

the front line policing he loved. Now he is in line for at least

?400,000 in compensation for the police pension he lost when he was

forced to quit. Gwent Police says it is disappointed and is reflecting on

today's judgement. Mike Ballion is now moving on, having started his

own Woodcraft business. But he says he would rather have his old job

back. Former police officers from North

and South Wales Police are among those who've won an employment

tribunal claim for indirect age discrimination. Around 200 former

officers from five forces in Wales and England claimed their careers

were unfairly terminated when they were forced to retire after 30

years' service. An employment tribunal has now ruled that the

policy was discriminatory. The forces can appeal but could face

large compensation claims. Further education colleges say

they'll have to cut courses because of a reduction in their funding. The

organisation representing colleges says it would be unreasonable to

expect them to deliver the same amount of learning after two years

of budget cuts. The Welsh government has promised to protect the funding

for all 16 to 18-year-olds studying in colleges.

Over two years we have had around ?17.5 million of cuts. We have got a

look at the number of courses it provides and the number of students

it in roles. We don't know yet if volumes will become but we know

Fleming has been reduced. Once we know that, we will be in a much

better position to plan ahead. Labour MP Ann Clwyd has criticised

the Welsh Government for not answering her concerns about the

standards of health care in Wales. The Cynon Valley MP, who's spoken

out about the poor care her husband received in hospital, says she

outlined complaints in a letter to the First Minister, but she's still

waiting for a response. The Welsh government say they're considering

the issues raised in detail and will reply shortly.

I wrote to him on December the 3rd. I have had a holding reply but two

months have gone by so I don't consider that satisfactory.

And you can see more on that story in The Wales Report at 10.40pm

tonight here on BBC One Wales. The latest figures show that house

prices in Wales are increasing but that the picture is very different

across the country. The news comes as Wales' biggest building society,

the Principality, releases it annual results showing its profits are

growing, boosted by record mortgage lending levels. Here's our business

correspondent, Brian Meechan. This shop brings together two sides

of the Principality's business. The building society and the estate

agency. Overall, the company made a profit of almost ?29 million. The

housing market was an important part of that business with mortgage

lending reaching ?1.1 billion. That is an increase of 10.7 percentage in

loans to home-buyers. Two years ago we set out to grow this business and

this is the second year we have successfully managed to grow our

lending and that helps people buy their own homes. But alongside that,

we have managed to grow our profits as well. All in all, growth together

with growth and profits has been a successful year. The Principality

has reproduced 95% mortgages. It follows UK and Welsh government

schemes to encourage lending to house buyers using public money.

Joanne Powell is one of those who has benefited. The 29-year-old

police community support officer is moving out of her parents home for

the first time. Mortgages are more accessible with the 5% deposits now

available. I could afford to buy a home and finish it. If the mortgages

were as high as they used to be, I would not be able to afford a

deposit. Critics argue that easy access to credit played a major part

in the economic crisis but is there a danger of a housing boom in Wales?

The latest figures from December showed the average house price in

Wales is just over ?118,000. That has gone up by 3.5% in a year. And

the picture across the country varies significantly. Prices are

increasing in Wrexham and Monmouthshire but they are falling

in Swansea, Flintshire and Newport. Experts say that is not a housing

boom. It is actually getting back to normal because what we have had is a

credit fanning in mortgages which is now being reversed to some degree.

Even now mortgages are not back anywhere near where they were before

the crisis. Particularly not for first-time buyers. Interest rates

are at a record low but will certainly rise in the years to come.

Mortgage providers say they are taking future affordability into

camp, especially as taxpayers money is being used to help finance many

of these new loans. Bad weather again today and more to

come. How's it looking for rugby fans travelling to Dublin?

Improving for a while on Friday but there's more heavy rain and severe

gales on the way. At the moment, there are 14 flood alerts in force

in Wales with a risk of more flooding to come. We also have an

amber strong wind warning this evening for southern counties.

That's in force until 11.00pm. These are the gusts we've had so far

today. 71mph at Pembrey on the Carmarthenshire coast. Here's the

reason for all the wind and rain. This deep area of low pressure. This

depression west of Portugal will bring more heavy rain tomorrow

afternoon. In the meantime, windy this evening. Further rain and

showers as well. Tomorrow will be a calmer day, but there is more rain

on the way. So here's the picture for 8.00am in the morning. Much

drier than today. Lighter winds too. Just the odd shower here and there.

So dry for a while tomorrow. Some brightness. A little sunshine but

more rain will spread from the south across most of the country during

the afternoon. Again some heavy rain. Top temperatures of seven to

nine Celsius. The wind easterly in the afternoon. In the Vale of

Glamorgan, most of the morning will remain dry but turning wet in the

afternoon. The wind lighter than today. In Wrexham, most of the day

dry. The rain not arriving until late afternoon. Tomorrow night, more

rain and showers. Again some heavy rain. Another 15mm to 25mm. Snow on

high ground in Mid Wales and the north. The wind picking up again as

well. On Friday, showers will gradually clear, becoming dry and

brighter with sunshine. The wind easing as well. So if you're

travelling to Ireland, a window of better weather, but it won't last.

Friday's chart shows another deep low over the Atlantic heading

towards Ireland, bringing yet more severe weather. Saturday will be

very windy with gales. More rain and heavy showers as well. Hail and

thunder possible. Snow on the mountains. A few sunny intervals as

well. And it's a similar story on Sunday. So more bad weather on the

way. Further travel disruption and flooding likely. Becoming dry on

Sunday night but low pressure may bring another dose of rain on

Monday. Still no sign yet of a prolonged dry spell on the horizon.

And that is Wales Today. We'll have an update at 8.00pm and more news at

10.25pm. For now though, from all of us on the programme, have a good

evening.