01/01/2017 BBC Wales Today

Estate agents in Monmouthshire say they're seeing a big increase

in the number of people from England buying property in the area.

They say it's partly because of the promise to cut

the Severn Bridge tolls which have risen today by 10 pence - to ?6.70.

The UK government says it will halve the fees in 20-18 when the bridges

To commemorate the first crossing of the Severn Bridge, I have great

They've opular since the first bridge was opened

Less popular - the charge to use either of the two Severn

crossings when travelling from England into Wales.

Especially if you live or work near the border,

And my partner does so we are paying sort of ?13 a day to get to and from

I train over in Portishead two nights a week.

It becomes a struggle to get back and forth

So as house prices in places like Bristol rise sharply, the UK

Government says it's going the half the tolls for the bridges in 2018

when they come back into public ownership.

Estate agents say that combination is resulting

in more sales in Chepstow, Caldicot and here in Magor,

About 70 to 80% of all buyers recently have

And of course with the bridge coming down in

price, people are assuming that they are going to be able

to work over the bridge and save a lot of money.

says people moving into the area could be great for business.

But it also says there's also a challenge.

Cheaper tolls might make it more likely that people to go

Causeway shopping centre across the water too.

The traders should wake up a little bit and think about working together

more to do something in the town, to make sure that we are attractive,

more attractive than we are at the moment, because the cribs Cosway is

going to expand, there will be a temptation of people to go out of

the town and go there. The Welsh government says it wants

control over the bridge tolls. The UK government has no plans

to hand it over but will confirm more details about lowing

their cost in due course. A man has been arrested in Llanberis

following the suspicious death North Wales Police say they're not

looking for anyone else in connection with the incident -

which happened at around They are currently

awaiting the results A teenager is in a critical

condition in hospital following an incident

in Newport last night. Police were called to Edward

the Seventh Avenue just after ten o'clock, where they found

a 19-year-old man Two people are in custody

in connection with the incident - and detectives are appealing

for witnesses. A wetland centre in Carmarthenshire

has re-opened, nine days after closing, following a case

of an infectious strain of bird flu. The UK's first H5-N8 strain

in a wild bird was found in a wild duck on the Burry Estuary,

near the Llanelli Wetland Centre. It closed "as a precautionary

measure", but now says all the birds "look fine" and would

be watched closely. the Scarlets completed

the season's Pro12 double over the Cardiff Blues,

in a compelling match in Llanelli. A try by Willis Halaholo wasn't

enough to turn things The final score 15-10

to the Scarlets. At Rodney Parade, the Ospreys

continued their winning streak, beating the Newport

Gwent Dragons by 7-0. Justin Tipuric opened

the scoring in the first half, In football - as Swansea City look

set to appoint the club's third manager this season -

the Supporters' Trust say they're happy with

the choice of Paul Clement. It's believed the former Derby boss

and current Bayern Munich assistant-manager has been in talks

with the Premiership club The American, Bob Bradley,

was sacked on Tuesday. It's understood an official

announcement may come As a 21% shareholder we have been

kept fully involved in the selection process. Paul has a very good

pedigree, albeit inexperience as a manager. But his pedigree is

something that we welcome. We think he will be well-placed to keep us in

this league. But if that fails, we think he is the man to mount a

promotion challenge that is needed next season.

Meanwhile in the National Leage Wrexham were in

action this afternoon - but Southport avenged their Boxing

Day defeat at the Racecourse - beating Wrexham by three

Thousands of people in Wales got 2017 off to a chilly start

with a New Year's Day swim in the sea.

Nearly 2,000 swimmers braved the waves at this charitable event

Other events were held around the Welsh coast with up

to 500 swimmers at events in Barry and Abersoch.

But organisers cancelled a dip at Morfa Nefyn

in Gwynedd due to high winds - that's now been

It should be a bit warmer by then - so let's take a look

at the New Year weather forecast - skies will clear overnight and it'll

A much colder night ahead than recently,

A clear and cold start tomorrow morning, then largely dry

with plenty of sunshine and lighter winds.

Top temperature for the Bank Holiday, six Celsius.

That's all from us for the moment - we'll be back with another

Good evening. Well, to Bake Off 2017, the weather has been fairly

mixed, wet and cloudy in the South, colder but