03/05/2016 BBC Wales Today

at the UK's largest opencast mine at Ffos-y-Fran in Merthyr Tydfil.

If we continue to burn coal, that crosses a line for the planet and we

need to keep it in the ground if we are going to avert climate change.

Coal is part of electricity and I think that's what we need to

remember. There are now two confirmed bidders

interested in buying Tata Steel. Sarah Brooks getting

baby clothes ready. We've been asking you what you want

from the next Welsh Government. Sarah wants employers

to support women going The night that fire

burnt Llandudno's Pier 20 years on, could the site

finally be redeveloped? And, after all the cold weather,

we're in for a taste of summer Some places warmer than

Barcelona next weekend. Work at the UK's largest opencast

mine in Merthyr Tydfil was halted today, as hundreds of climate

activists protested The campaigners are calling for more

renewable power and green jobs. One group chained themselves

to heavy machinery. The mine's operator says

the business supports more than 200 jobs and helps

generate affordable electricity. Our environment correspondent

Steffan Messenger is there. Yes, I am at the camp where hundreds

of campaigners have been gathered since Saturday. Behind me, you can

see the heaps and the largest opencast mine. It has been the focus

point of today's demonstrations. People set off from the scam to shut

it down. As the sun rose over their makeshift camp, these climate

campaigners set off for what they called a day of mass action. A

smaller group had gone ahead, entering the site and chaining

themselves to heavy machinery. Usually, the mind behind me would be

a hive of activity. As you can see, it has fallen silent for a fewer

hours. They have halted operations here at FFos-y-Fran. The main

entrance was also closed off by demonstrations. It is all in

response to plans from the owners here from another opencast site. We

grew up here. This environment is irreplaceable. If we continue to

burn coal, that crosses a line for the planet. We need to keep it in

the ground. The future of energy does not lie with coal. It relies on

Green, renewable energy. It is the largest opencast mine in the UK. Its

managing director told me it supports jobs in the local

community. As well as the steel industry in south Wales. Mining for

locally means it does not have to be important, reducing its carbon

footprint. It is also part of land reclamation, returning it to open

more land as the coal is extracted. Coal is part of the affordable

electricity. That's what needs to be remembered. We need a balanced

debate about climate change policies, which we recognise our

important, but also for generation and supporting our own industries.

Those protesting are urging politicians to call time on coal.

Timing their protests swivels days before the local and national

elections across the UK. They say they support the jobs and the steel

industry. A lot of people will lose their work, if they go your way.

There is a massive opportunity here. If we look towards renewable energy

and improving houses, there is jobs in the long-term. We need to look at

that. We can use those people and skills they already. These

protesters will tonight pack their bags after a long weekend at this

giant coalmine. The thorny issue of whether they have a future in the UK

will be far from dead and buried. The last of the campaigners have now

left the mine. They appeared an our -- and our ago. There has been a

strong police presence, including a helicopter. But they say they have

been peaceful. Back to you. Two brothers who worked as teachers

have been charged with making and possessing indecent images of

children. His brother was a teacher as well. The charges do not relate

to their work for the local authority. Both have been bailed to

appear at Magistrates' Court. To business groups who want to buy Tata

Steel's plants have formally entered the negotiations.

One is Liberty House, the commodity group which owns

a former steelworks in Newport as well as Uskmouth Power station.

The other interested party is a management buyout

team called Excalibur, which includes the billionaire

Nick Palit has spent the day at Tata's Port Talbot Plant.

The hot strip mill here at Port Talbot has just

3.2 million tonnes of steel in the last year.

Tata UK's operation supplies 50% of the metal for

From BMW and Honda to Tata's own brands of Jaguar and LandRover.

Workers here are proud of what they do and hope

their quality and commitment will help them find a buyer for this

currently loss-making iron and steel business.

Blast Furnace number for here is one of the most efficient in Europe. But

how many buyers will be prepared to keep this facility open? -- number

four. Today, the Liberty group

expressed its official interest in buying Tata Steel's

remaining UK assets. However, they've always talked

about steelmaking from recycled steel and not utilising

these blast furnaces. Another letter of interest has also

come in from a management employee They say they're confident

they can make it profitable. Staff here say whoever buys

the plant, they'd be getting They would be buying a fantastic

asset. They are buying the people as well, who are skilled and proud to

work here. But they are buying assets operating at the top of their

game. At the centre of this 13.5 kilometre site, are the remains of a

monastery. Legend has it, if the wall tumbles, it will bring a curse

on the surrounding town. It is being propped up by bricks.

Hoping to help keep this plant propped up, First Minister Carwyn

Jones was at Port Talbot today promising workers he wouldn't stop

But, on the frontline, those workers remain apprehensive

Workers like Alan Hooper who's been working in the steel industry

My father worked here. And his father worked here as well,

probably. So it's been a long time. For it to close would be probably

devastating. Tata Steel has not set a deadline, but says it cannot

sustain and does not want to prolong uncertainty. The government has

promised to support any buyer by taking up to a 25% stake in a new

business and making hundreds of millions of pounds of finance

available. On Thursday, Wales goes to the polls

to vote in the Assembly Election. Your chance to make your mark

on the future direction of this In a moment, our Political

Editor, Nick Servini. First here's what's been going

on on the campaign trail today. The leader of the Welsh

Conservatives began a 36-hour tour Andrew RT Davies says,

public services here are verging on crisis after 17 years

of Labour rule. Kirsty Williams met members

of the Royal College of Nursing, saying a vote for her party

was a vote for dignified care. The Welsh Liberal Democrats leader

is pledging to ensure a minimum number of nurses on mental health

and maternity wards. Plaid Cymru are focusing on a pledge

to scrap care charges for older The party wants to scrap fees

over a 10-year period, Ukip leader Nigel Farage says

the party will win five seats The party has never won

an assembly seat before, but polls suggest that

could change on Thursday. Is Nigel Farage right -

Ukip heading for five seats? It's been a source of huge

speculation as to how many seats they could get. Partly because we

haven't got any precedent as to how they have done in the past. The

leaders have talked about nine or ten. Party leaders never talk about

how many seats they are going to get. They don't want to put

themselves up as a hostage to fortune. Nigel Farage broke the

rules today. He said he thought they would get five. Straight from the

horse's mouth. The key question for Ukip is, we know supporters will be

infused for the EU referendum. But will they be infused to come out

this week? But I have to say five is more broadly in line for what people

think they have a realistic chance of getting. -- will they be

enthused? And what are the party's

focussing on? At this stage, none of the parties

can be indulgent. What they choose to campaign on now they feel can

have an impact on getting their vote. That is important if we are

talking about a low turnout, as we have been in recent weeks. Labour,

the steel industry. The Liberal Democrats, a broad strategy. Plaid

Cymru talking a lot about health this week. That focus on social

care. The same for the Lib Dems and eight disciplined campaign on one or

two issues. -- the Conservatives have a broad strategy.

All the parties are, no doubt, going to be pounding the pavements,

canvassing for your vote, right up till the last minute.

10 o'clock Thursday night is when polls close.

So, how could the parties fare on Thursday?

Here's our Political Correspondent Arwyn Jones.

Hello and welcome to our virtual reality election studio here

The authorities very kindly allowed us to use this building.

I want to start off by showing you how the parties got

And show you our virtual reality chamber.

And you can see Labour clearly are the largest party,

Just short of that overall majority, crossing this white line,

the second party, the Conservatives, on 14 AMs.

Just ahead of Plaid Cymru in yellow here, not their traditional green,

And the fourth party in that Assembly over the last five years,

the Liberal Democrats there, with five Assembly Members for them.

Let's get rid of all of these, because we do not have

Only candidates asking for your vote.

But what we can do is look at, historically, how they have got

on in the last four Assembly elections that we have had.

We can see very clearly Labour in each of the elections

are the main, dominant political force in Wales.

But when you look at the second place, the battle is always there.

Plaid Cymru are far ahead of the Conservatives in 1999.

But what we see for the Conservatives in each election

after that is them sort of dragging themselves back

And they are getting more and more support in each of these elections.

At the same time, Plaid Cymru are seeing a dwindling fortune

Losing more and more support till the Conservatives

And then the Liberal Democrats are always in the fourth position.

Not really gaining or losing too much ground.

So what can we expect this time round?

We do not know, because we haven't had the vote yet, but we have

And this is the latest opinion poll from ITV Wales

You can see, again, Labour in the lead on about

But a lot lower than they have been in the previous Assembly elections.

I told you that the second place is always an interesting one.

And, according to this latest opinion poll,

Plaid Cymru now have leapfrogged the Conservatives into second place.

Although not a lot in it, I think you'll agree.

But then we are looking at an interesting development

In terms of Assembly election votes, getting 15% of the vote,

It would be a huge improvement on what they have seen

in previous years and would put the Liberal Democrats

How does this look, in terms of seats in the chamber?

Let's open up the floor again and bring up our virtual chamber.

It shows you that Labour would still be the largest

party on 28, so two fewer than they had last time.

A switch here would mean that Plaid Cymru would be

They would be ahead of the Conservatives,

who would be down to ten Assembly Members.

And then we would have this brand-new block

The first time the Assembly would have had Ukip members.

And they would be ahead of the Liberal Democrats,

But let's clear this all away again, because we do not have

The chamber is empty and, of course, it won't be filling up

until we have all had a chance to have our vote on Thursday.

Sarah Brooks getting baby clothes ready.

She wants employers to support women going through fertility treatment.

And the night that fire burnt Llandudno's Pier

20 years on, could the site finally be redeveloped?

Taxpayers in Gwynedd and Swansea could be facing a bill of tens

of thousands of pounds for legal action to defend a motion

Jewish Human Rights Watch has won the right to a judicial review

hearing over motions passed by the local authorities.

Both councils have denied the claims.

Our reporter Ben Price is live for us in Swansea this evening.

What's the background to all of this?

In 2010, Swansea Council had dealings with Veolia -

a company which at the time was looking to build

a railway linking Israel with occupied Eastern Jerusalem.

A number of Swansea councillors recognised this project as one

Was in contravention of international law.

After a vote, the non-binding motion was approved.

Then, in 2014, a proposal was put before Gwynedd Council calling

It condemned what it said were attacks by Israel

Jewish Human Rights Watch says it wants the authorities to quash these

motions. Earlier this year, Swansea Council

held a second vote on the motion But councillors chose to uphold it,

which some say is astonishing. I cannot see how a reasonable

authority could possibly have refused to receive and emotion. They

are treading a very difficult path. A very unpleasant one. It is time

they worked out that they really do need to take some serious action and

rescind this motion. Both councils have denied an interview.

They said it would be inappropriate to do so,

But both said it would be defending the motion in court.

The judicial review gets underway tomorrow.

So we go to the polls on Thursday to elect our Assembly members.

Over the past few weeks, we've been asking what you'd do,

As part of My Manifesto 2016, Lucy's been to meet Sarah Brooks

from Blaenau Gwent, who thinks employers should support women

Sarah Brooks is getting ready to become a mum for the first time.

She's had three cycles of IVF and wants employers to give more support

to women going through treatment. If I were First Minister, I would

encourage companies across Wales to give extra leave for IVF patients.

She found the demands meant she had to take time out of work. After the

procedure they do advise you to take about three days worth. You try not

to do too much, because it gives you the best chances of the treatment

working. You reckon the NHS. I imagine that is quite a full on job.

I work in the operating theatres. You are on your feet constantly. A

lot of lifting and moving. She raised the issue of extra leave with

her local MP. As a result, all staff working for health boards across

Wales are entitled to three days of paid special leave. It makes me feel

good to know that... It's fine when it's difficult for you and your

partners to go through. But there is extra help now to give you the extra

time for appointments. And if you do need a few days just to relax

afterwards, it was an achievement. Why would you like to see other

employees across Wales adopt this policy? There are policies in place

in other industries. It would be nice for other companies to offer

it. It would just help take some of the strain off. And you have some

wonderful news as well? When is your baby due? The 2nd of June. There was

something I never thought would happen. But we kept going and trying

and it paid off in the end. And we got exactly what we wanted. Sarah

knows exactly what she would change if she was in charge of Wales. And

there is still time to tell us what you would do if you were First

Minister. You can e-mail. We are on Facebook and Twitter. Or you can

write to us. We will pass on all your ideas to the next Welsh

government. The campaigning is nearly over,

and polling stations across the country will open at 7am

on Thursday morning. Here's everything you need to know

about casting your vote. At the polling station, you will be

handed three different ballot papers. Two are for the Assembly

election. There's the constituency paper, that is your chance to vote

for the person you want to represent your local area. So put one cross

next to the name of the candidate getting your vote. And there is also

a regional ballot paper. Again, you will need to put one cross. This

time, you are choosing which party, or independent candidate you want to

represent your region. And then you will have another ballot paper to

choose the Police and Crime Commissioner for your area. You have

two votes this time. A first and second choice. But one cross in each

column. Do not forget that the polls open at 7am and close at 10pm.

And from the near future of this week's election, to an event

20 years ago, which robbed one of our seaside towns of one

Llandudno's Pier Pavilion burnt to the ground.

Two decades on, could its site finally be redeveloped?

The sea front pavilion once provided a stage for everyone from singing

Now a new developer has stepped forward.

A prime location with sea views. Just a stone's throw from the beach.

You can imagine the advertising now. You may think how this plot has

remained an eyesore for so long. As the battles continue, thick smoke

filled the night air. This was the fire that destroyed the pavilion

back in 1994. No one who saw the blaze will ever forget it. Within

minutes, the building was engulfed. With flames shooting 100 feet into

the air, guests and staff were evacuated from the adjacent Grand

Hotel. The heat was so intense, cars nearby burst into flames. It has to

work financially. That is the first thing. But then you have got to take

into consideration the sensitivity of the site and the location. This

man has bought it and is in the process of putting together a plan.

In Llandudno, there have been some good investment and good players, so

the hotel side of it we have left alone. What we're looking at here,

because it is a hole in the ground, we are looking at parking,

commercial and some residential. It will cost a lot of money. You have

got to look at the finances. To be fair to the local authority, they

know this is the reason the site has not been redeveloped. They are

talking around ?15 million and hope to start building next year. The

pier Pavilion, where Conservative leaders have been thrashing out an

election policy... It had quite a history. It hosted political party

conferences. In the 50s, the Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke

there. At the time, of the fire, the building was already in decline.

Many remember the old place. Visitors will tell you the state of

it now let the resorts down. It's a disgrace, because it is so nice

around here. Everything is kept. They have painted all the buildings.

It is nice and that spoils it. Then she recalls meeting the singer Tommy

Steele there. I hope it fits in with the pier. It has got to be

Victorian. It is a Victorian town. You can't get anything more

beautiful than this. -- he remembers. Previous ideas involves

putting a hotel here. This is a prime site in Llandudno. It is also

an extremely difficult site to develop. They jealously guard the

look of the place. Whatever the developer comes up with will be

subject to plenty of scrutiny. And is the good weather

is set to continue? Last week, we were shivering

with hail, frost and snow in places. But, if you're fed up with the cold

weather, and I know some of you are,

it's going to warm up Temperatures rising into the mid

to high teens. Warmer than Barcelona

in some places. Temperatures in Powys

and Monmouthshire falling as low as 2 or 3 Celsius

with a ground frost. Milder on the Pembrokeshire coast

with a breeze. Here's the picture

for 8am in the morning. The whole country is dry and bright

with plenty of sunshine. Temperatures rising

quickly with lighter winds A nice day tomorrow,

dry with sunny spells. Generally warmer than today as well,

with high levels of tree pollen. Especially on the coast with a wind

off the sea. In Monmouthshire tomorrow,

a fine day with plenty of sunshine. Tomorrow night is dry, with

some cloud in the north and west. Elsewhere clearer and turning

cool again inland. On Thursday, maybe a spot of rain

on Anglesey for a time. More sunshine and a few

clouds and feeling warm Temperatures rising into the

mid to high teens. Some dry, bright spells

but it will turn muggy. And the rising humidity will bring

a risk of some rain, heavy showers From all of us on the programme,

good evening.