:00:10. > :00:20.Wales's biggest housebuilder hit out at the Welsh government after it
:00:20. > :00:26.
:00:26. > :00:33.Also tonight. Round-the-clock support for
:00:33. > :00:35.terminally ill patients. A promise of better care.
:00:36. > :00:45.Parents and pupils find out Cwmcarn Comprehensive could reopen in
:00:46. > :00:47.
:00:47. > :00:51.September after an asbestos scare. We are so happy that it is opening
:00:51. > :00:54.back up again. Calls for better protection for our
:00:54. > :00:59.trees after one of the oldest oaks in Britain is brought down by strong
:00:59. > :01:06.winds. And the �20 million Hollywood drama
:01:06. > :01:13.filmed in South Wales. We're on the red carpet at its UK premiere in
:01:13. > :01:16.The directors of Redrow have told Wales Today they're disturbed that
:01:16. > :01:21.the Welsh Government has scrapped a scheme designed to help people buy
:01:21. > :01:26.homes. Wales' biggest house-builders say they've invested time and money
:01:26. > :01:36.in the plan and feel they've been treated in a shabby way. Caroline
:01:36. > :01:38.
:01:38. > :01:47.Evans reports. The scheme was meant to help people
:01:48. > :01:53.like Ian. 49 and divorced, he is looking to get back on the housing
:01:53. > :01:57.ladder but a deposit of 20 % is out of the question. He was pinning his
:01:57. > :02:03.hopes on the scheme which offered a chance to secure a home with around
:02:03. > :02:09.a five % deposit. This scheme was a great opportunity for me to get back
:02:09. > :02:14.as a first-time buyer. A �5,000 deposit would have been affordable
:02:14. > :02:19.to me but sadly �20,000 is not feasible. The scheme was due to
:02:19. > :02:21.start in June. The Welsh government said the housing industry has
:02:22. > :02:28.withdrawn support after similar plans were announced by the UK
:02:28. > :02:34.government. Since the UK government made its announcement, there have
:02:34. > :02:38.been doubts whether the scheme can continue so we are reviewing that.
:02:38. > :02:41.But today, Wales's biggest housebuilder said they could not
:02:41. > :02:49.believe it is not going ahead as promised. They have already started
:02:49. > :02:53.training staff and have booked a radio advertising campaign. Shocked
:02:53. > :02:57.and very saddened to receive the news. The Welsh government want to
:02:57. > :03:05.drop the initiative. They have actually said developers will not
:03:05. > :03:12.support it. They did not support -- talk to read no -- Redrow and we
:03:12. > :03:18.would like to see it reinstated. this estate agent, they believe they
:03:18. > :03:24.will have to be a rethink. market is improving and it is time
:03:24. > :03:27.another initiative is announced, sooner rather than later. The scheme
:03:27. > :03:33.was agreed as a deal with the Liberal Democrats to get the budget
:03:33. > :03:43.approved. People in Wales have not had the same advantages as the
:03:43. > :03:44.
:03:44. > :03:46.people in England in terms of having helped as a first-time buyer. That
:03:46. > :03:54.is one of the reasons why house-building in Wales is so
:03:54. > :03:59.repressed. The housebuilders were going to put around �27 million into
:03:59. > :04:04.the scheme. They say they are still committed to the scheme but they are
:04:04. > :04:07.now exploring what they can put in place to Welsh -- help Welsh
:04:07. > :04:09.homebuyers until the scheme comes into force.
:04:09. > :04:12.People with incurable illnesses should have access to
:04:12. > :04:15.round-the-clock support and the best possible care leading up to their
:04:15. > :04:19.deaths. That's one of the commitments of a new plan by the
:04:19. > :04:22.Welsh Government. It also says patients should be fully supported
:04:22. > :04:28.if they choose to die at home. Our health correspondent, Owain Clarke,
:04:28. > :04:32.reports. Since Ken Fletcher from North Wales
:04:32. > :04:39.was diagnosed with an into rubble condition, he values every second he
:04:39. > :04:45.has with his wife. He needs constant care, but he's determined, given the
:04:45. > :04:53.right support, to stay at home until the end. Whatever happens, yes. We
:04:53. > :05:00.don't want to be separated. I don't see the point of going to a nursing
:05:00. > :05:04.home if I can carry on at home. Wales's biggest residential hospice
:05:04. > :05:10.run by Murray Durie in Penarth, medical staff give round-the-clock
:05:10. > :05:14.care to 30 patients at any one time who are dying. But the plan says a
:05:14. > :05:18.similar level of cake should be available across Wales for those
:05:18. > :05:25.people who do not want to spend their last days at a hospice like
:05:26. > :05:31.this one but would prefer to be at home with their families. Something
:05:31. > :05:37.like 70 % of people in Wales would prefer to die at home. At the
:05:37. > :05:42.moment, something like 65 % of people die in hospital. And to
:05:42. > :05:45.deliver that, the plan launched in Bridgend today pledges that the NHS
:05:45. > :05:55.social services and charities will work together to provide good end of
:05:55. > :05:56.
:05:56. > :06:00.life care in the community. What these services bring to the table is
:06:00. > :06:05.the message of the plan. Then there is the message about working more
:06:05. > :06:11.closely together. Today was a very good example but there is more we
:06:11. > :06:14.can do and there is more we need to do. Few questioned the aims but some
:06:14. > :06:24.doubt how achievable they are at a time when budgets are being severely
:06:24. > :06:33.squeezed. This plan is worse nothing -- worth nothing if it is not backed
:06:33. > :06:38.up. I am very concerned that we don't have the hospice at home
:06:38. > :06:42.movement in some parts of the country that is available in others.
:06:42. > :06:47.The Health Minister admits that in an age of austerity, delivering
:06:47. > :06:50.services will be a challenge, but a lack of resources should not detract
:06:50. > :06:53.from the aim of delivering the best possible care for individuals like
:06:53. > :06:59.Ken Fletcher. Joining me now is Baroness Ilora
:06:59. > :07:03.Finlay, an expert in end of life care. We have talked about this on a
:07:03. > :07:08.number of occasions. Do you think this plan is going to make a
:07:09. > :07:15.difference? I do, because this is building on what we have already
:07:15. > :07:23.done. We have a network across Wales of seven-day specialist palliative
:07:23. > :07:29.care nurses. We also have 20 47 advice available from consultants to
:07:29. > :07:35.other healthcare professionals if they have a patient with this rest.
:07:35. > :07:41.-- distressed. But the other thing we have got to remember is that bad
:07:41. > :07:46.care costs more than good care. We want to join up the pieces of the
:07:46. > :07:49.jigsaw puzzle, get social care, healthcare and the voluntary sector,
:07:49. > :07:54.and it becomes more efficient, and it meets the needs of the
:07:54. > :07:58.individual. We want people to have the conversation early, to talk
:07:58. > :08:04.about where they want to be looked after, what they want and what they
:08:04. > :08:08.don't want to happen, talk about their fears. Normally those fears
:08:08. > :08:13.can be allayed, but talk about where they want to be because that is the
:08:14. > :08:19.way we can give them the care they want. It is not necessarily an easy
:08:19. > :08:27.conversation to have. Funding is very tight, isn't it? Why should
:08:27. > :08:32.this be a priority? When somebody dies, the way they die lives on in
:08:32. > :08:38.the memory of those left behind. If children are being bereaved, they
:08:38. > :08:42.will carry that memory for the whole of their lives. They need support if
:08:42. > :08:48.they are facing losing someone they love. It is a huge investment and it
:08:49. > :08:55.is like preventative medicine. If we get the dining rights, the next
:08:55. > :08:59.generation will cope better. -- the dying right.
:08:59. > :09:02.The number of cases of measles in the epidemic centred in the Swansea
:09:02. > :09:06.area has increased to more than 800. Officials say 43 new cases have been
:09:06. > :09:09.reported in the last 48 hours. Public health officials say they've
:09:09. > :09:13.been disappointed at the uptake of MMR jabs being offered at schools in
:09:13. > :09:17.Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. Sessions at schools in Cardiff and
:09:17. > :09:19.Powys will start in the coming weeks.
:09:19. > :09:23.Cwmcarn High School pupils could be returning to their old classrooms
:09:23. > :09:26.this September. Councillors have unanimously approved a million
:09:26. > :09:29.pounds worth of work to treat asbestos at the site. It was closed
:09:29. > :09:35.six months ago after a report said the asbestos posed a potential
:09:35. > :09:42.health risk. Pupils are currently being taught 12 miles away. Jordan
:09:42. > :09:48.Davies reports. A Champagne moment for parents
:09:48. > :09:51.fighting to reopen Cwmcarn High School. They have been waiting six
:09:51. > :09:58.months for this and now they will be returning to the school they call
:09:59. > :10:07.home. We are so happy it is opening back-up. We can be a family again.
:10:07. > :10:11.We need to come back. But why has this taken half the year to resolve?
:10:11. > :10:15.Cwmcarn High School was closed last October after a report found that
:10:16. > :10:20.what's best is posting health risk but in February this year, the
:10:20. > :10:25.health and safety executive report said the site was essentially
:10:25. > :10:29.contamination free so another report was commissioned in March. It found
:10:29. > :10:33.there was little difference between the two apart from the conclusions,
:10:33. > :10:40.which were profoundly different. The council believes the only safe
:10:40. > :10:43.option is to remove the asbestos in time for September. This has caused
:10:43. > :10:48.concern but we knew we did the right thing in gaining those reports that
:10:48. > :10:52.came through, even though they were conflicting, we were not happy at
:10:52. > :11:00.that point to go forward until we knew exactly what level of risk
:11:00. > :11:02.there was the school. But some parents have been unhappy. Two
:11:02. > :11:09.months ago they marched through Cwmcarn calling for the school to
:11:09. > :11:17.reopen. Parents and pupils also attended special health clinics
:11:17. > :11:20.because of concerns about potential asbestos exposure. We were at a
:11:20. > :11:30.stage coming up to our January exams and it could not have been a worse
:11:30. > :11:35.time. We had a lot of tears along the way. �700,000 will be spent on
:11:35. > :11:39.removing the asbestos and making the building safe. 300,000 will be spent
:11:39. > :11:44.on hiring temporary classrooms. Pupils could be back behind these
:11:44. > :11:50.gates by September but the planned work will not upgrade the school in
:11:50. > :11:53.anyway. That will be considered on the wider ongoing debate.
:11:53. > :12:02.Still to come tonight. A rare collection of Welsh banknotes
:12:02. > :12:08.dating back to the 18th century go under the hammer.
:12:08. > :12:12.And it has stood tall for more than 1200 years but Wales's oldest oak
:12:12. > :12:15.has finally been felled by last night's strong winds.
:12:15. > :12:17.Farmers' unions say they're angry about a massive backlog of dead
:12:17. > :12:21.animals waiting to be collected after being killed in the recent
:12:21. > :12:25.snowstorms. Today, dozens of ponies in Snowdonia were buried after they
:12:25. > :12:29.froze to death. Sheep farmers are also counting the cost of losing
:12:29. > :12:32.their animals in the middle of the lambing season. You may find some
:12:32. > :12:35.pictures in Rhodri Lewis' report disturbing.
:12:35. > :12:40.A dreadful sight as 35 Carneddau ponies wait to be buried this
:12:40. > :12:44.afternoon. They've lived for hundreds of years in Snowdonia and
:12:45. > :12:47.have always been left to wander freely. But dozens were killed by
:12:47. > :12:57.the freezing temperatures, drifts and blizzards and farmers say there
:12:57. > :12:59.
:12:59. > :13:04.could be more grim discoveries to come. These have just come from a
:13:04. > :13:11.very small piece of this mountain. What is up there, I could not tell
:13:11. > :13:17.you. There are 35 there from this little piece. How many we have lost,
:13:17. > :13:20.we know it is over 50. But I am thinking it might be closer to 100.
:13:20. > :13:25.Over at Glyn Ceiriog, south of Llangollen, Eryl Morris keeps more
:13:25. > :13:29.than 1,000 ewes, roaming his 700 acres. He knew he'd lost 140 of them
:13:29. > :13:34.already, but as the snow thaws he's now found dozens more. He'll have to
:13:34. > :13:40.pay to dispose of them and says it'll take years to recover.
:13:40. > :13:47.can't put a value on them because they are breeding ewes and you lose
:13:47. > :13:57.the breeding. This year, I will be very surprised if I get 50 % on the
:13:57. > :14:01.
:14:01. > :14:06.rest of the lambing flock. A lot have aborted their lambs. We get
:14:06. > :14:12.numerous calls of that nature. It shows that the problem is growing
:14:12. > :14:15.rather than going away at this point in time. As the search for more
:14:15. > :14:18.animals goes on, Ministers have given farmers more time to bury
:14:18. > :14:28.their livestock. They've rejected calls for direct financial help, but
:14:28. > :14:31.have made �500,000 available to charities working with the industry.
:14:31. > :14:34.A lack of aspiration by teachers in Wales means fewer pupils here end up
:14:34. > :14:37.going to top universities. That's according to the man tasked with
:14:37. > :14:40.increasing the number of our children going to Oxford and
:14:40. > :14:43.Cambridge. Paul Murphy told BBC Wales more pressure needs to be put
:14:43. > :14:47.on schools and colleges to address the situation.
:14:47. > :14:53.They are the elite, world renowned for their quality. Presidents and
:14:53. > :14:59.prime ministers have studied here. So why are so few Welsh pupils
:14:59. > :15:05.getting to Oxford and Cambridge? The number of pupils who get to the top
:15:05. > :15:09.institutions have been falling. In 2008, 96 pupils got into Oxbridge
:15:09. > :15:13.but by last year the number had fallen to 76 and according to the
:15:13. > :15:20.man tasked by the Welsh government to bump up those numbers, a lack of
:15:20. > :15:25.aspiration could be at fault. think it mainly teachers. When I
:15:25. > :15:29.went to Oxford, the people who taught me had been to Oxford and
:15:29. > :15:34.Cambridge. I am not convinced so many of our teachers have been to
:15:34. > :15:39.those universities and so have less knowledge about how you get in and
:15:39. > :15:49.what it is like when you get there. This pupil has been accepted to
:15:49. > :15:49.
:15:49. > :15:53.Cambridge. There were some schools which were all about widening
:15:53. > :16:02.participation. That was good because I got to see the range of different
:16:02. > :16:04.people who would be there. Paul Murphy spoke to admission directors
:16:04. > :16:11.at Oxford and Cambridge last year and they said the Welsh
:16:11. > :16:15.baccalaureate was part of the problem. That a pupil studying that
:16:15. > :16:20.qualification and just two A-levels would be disadvantaged and could not
:16:20. > :16:24.compete with English students fairly for a place. They said it was clear
:16:24. > :16:29.it was not valued as appropriate academic preparation. In response,
:16:29. > :16:34.the Welsh government said it is in the process of revising the Welsh
:16:34. > :16:38.baccalaureate to make sure it is robust and fit for purpose. Recent
:16:38. > :16:42.research shows that part of the south Wales valleys and north-east
:16:42. > :16:47.Wales have the lowest application rates for Oxford and Cambridge in
:16:47. > :16:51.the whole of England and Wales. Paul Murphy says the interest is there
:16:51. > :16:56.and the ability is certainly there but perhaps more needs to be done to
:16:56. > :16:59.harness it. Schemes like this one could help. At Gower College in
:16:59. > :17:05.Swansea they have extra lessons for the brightest students who might
:17:05. > :17:10.want to go to Oxford or Cambridge. You have to be able to think
:17:10. > :17:15.critically. It also helps with things like writing a personal
:17:15. > :17:21.statement and what they look for in applicants. It can be very
:17:21. > :17:27.intimidating to apply for Oxford given it is one of the most famous
:17:27. > :17:33.universities in the world. The tutorial has explained what to do.
:17:33. > :17:38.Unions say they are always keen to help the brightest. We want to do
:17:38. > :17:41.their best by our pupils in all circumstances. Teachers do encourage
:17:41. > :17:48.pupils who they think may be able to get into Oxford or Cambridge to
:17:48. > :17:52.apply. For these pupils, and Oxbridge education will offer an
:17:52. > :17:56.opportunity only available to a few. But with needs to be done to make
:17:56. > :17:59.sure more students with similar abilities get the same
:17:59. > :18:02.opportunities. There have been calls for greater
:18:02. > :18:05.protection for our ancient trees after one of the oldest oaks in
:18:05. > :18:08.Britain was knocked down in strong winds. The Pontfadog Oak, near
:18:08. > :18:09.Chirk, is believed to have been more than 1,200-years-old.
:18:09. > :18:19.Conservationists had been campaigning to improve its
:18:19. > :18:23.stability. Matthew Richards is in Pontfadog tonight.
:18:23. > :18:27.It stood here during the Battle of Hastings, the birth of Shakespeare
:18:27. > :18:33.and the great Fire of London, but unfortunately the heavy winds last
:18:33. > :18:36.night proved too much for it to take. I spoke to the people who live
:18:36. > :18:41.here and they were rudely awakened by the tree falling down just after
:18:41. > :18:46.two a.m. This morning. They say it feels like the village has lost an
:18:46. > :18:53.icon. Most of the people who live around
:18:53. > :18:58.here know the tree. It is on the badge of the local school. People
:18:58. > :19:03.say the village will never be the same. My mother-in-law is so upset,
:19:03. > :19:10.she came here this morning and she was devastated. She said she feels
:19:10. > :19:17.like she has lost a friend. With me now is an engine to treat
:19:17. > :19:25.specialist. What is the significance of this tree? You can see from the
:19:25. > :19:31.size of it, even in the situation it is at the moment, it is a massive,
:19:31. > :19:35.agent oak tree, possibly one of the most agent on the planet. What was
:19:35. > :19:40.your reaction when you came here this morning? A bit of devastation
:19:40. > :19:46.for me. I know we have got to get things in context because people
:19:46. > :19:50.have not been hurt but people have come up from the village today and I
:19:50. > :19:58.can see how even more embedded in the psyche of the local area this
:19:58. > :20:07.tree was. People say trees to get old and die. Is there anything you
:20:07. > :20:12.can do to protect them? This has been a managed tree all its life.
:20:12. > :20:17.Perhaps, given a small amount of funding, this tree could have been
:20:17. > :20:22.saved from this fate. I don't think anybody could have predicted it but
:20:22. > :20:32.we could have tried to do something. At the moment these trees are not
:20:32. > :20:36.protected to the degree they need to be protected will stop --. It is all
:20:36. > :20:39.to be decided what will happen to this incredible ancient monument.
:20:39. > :20:43.A rare collection of banknotes from across Wales went under the hammer
:20:43. > :20:47.today and sold for nearly �150,000. They were part of a large, private
:20:47. > :20:50.collection dating back to the 18th century. The most valuable lot of
:20:50. > :20:55.the day was a five pound note from Lampeter Bank, as Kate Morgan
:20:56. > :21:00.explains. It's not quite the deal the makers
:21:00. > :21:04.of this 18th century money had in mind. But they'd probably be pleased
:21:04. > :21:14.with the price. A collection of banknotes from across Wales and the
:21:14. > :21:18.UK sold at auction for a total of more than �154,000. To get an
:21:18. > :21:24.auction with so many Welsh notes, good-quality notes, is quite rare.
:21:24. > :21:27.You will get notes in auctions all the time, but to get such a large
:21:27. > :21:30.collection is not common. They belonged to David Kirch, a
:21:31. > :21:35.millionaire who's selling off 4,000 notes, including these. A seven
:21:35. > :21:38.pound note from Carmarthen and a rare ten pound note from Chepstow.
:21:38. > :21:48.But the star seller was a five pound note from Lampeter dating back to
:21:48. > :21:50.
:21:50. > :21:59.1905, going for 1,400 pounds. one is interesting because it is in
:21:59. > :22:03.beautiful condition for its age and it is printed by a firm we owe so
:22:04. > :22:07.much of our currency to. Back in the 18th century, it was much easier to
:22:07. > :22:10.start a bank and print notes thanks mostly to a lack of regulation.
:22:10. > :22:14.Anyone, anywhere could set one up. The notes could only be used in the
:22:14. > :22:23.local area and made the men who signed them very rich and, in some
:22:23. > :22:26.cases, very famous. They are signed by recognisable names. Mr Lloyd, Mr
:22:26. > :22:30.Berkeley. These banks were taken over eventually by very recognisable
:22:30. > :22:33.names. Hundreds of years on, they may have found themselves in a
:22:33. > :22:37.London auction house, but staff here say many of the Welsh notes have
:22:37. > :22:41.been bought by collectors here. And they may now be heading home to the
:22:41. > :22:44.different corners of Wales they were made for.
:22:44. > :22:49.Cricket, and an unbeaten half-century has helped Glamorgan
:22:49. > :22:56.take control of their championship match against Worcestershire.
:22:56. > :22:59.Glamorgan have reached 234-7. In a moment, the latest from the
:22:59. > :23:09.premiere of a Hollywood blockbuster, filmed here in Wales. First though,
:23:09. > :23:14.
:23:14. > :23:17.The north and northwest bore the brunt of the gales last night. On
:23:17. > :23:24.the Lleyn Peninsula and in Snowdonia, the wind reached storm
:23:24. > :23:31.force ten with a gust of 84mph at Aberdaron. While at Hawarden in
:23:31. > :23:34.Flintshire, a gust of 67mph was recorded. In the next 24 hours, the
:23:34. > :23:39.brisk wind will slowly ease with a calmer day in prospect tomorrow and
:23:39. > :23:45.on Saturday too. This evening may start dry, but a front will move
:23:45. > :23:51.southeast, bringing a spell of rain. Breezy, but the wind easing once the
:23:51. > :23:54.rain clears. Lowest temperature around five degrees Celsius.
:23:54. > :24:00.Tomorrow's chart shows a front moving across Britain followed by a
:24:00. > :24:07.ridge of high pressure. Here's the picture for eight in the morning.
:24:07. > :24:12.Better than today. Much drier. The wind lighter as well with a moderate
:24:12. > :24:17.breeze on Anglesey. Not much sunshine first thing, but that will
:24:17. > :24:21.change. During the morning into the afternoon, the cloud will break and
:24:21. > :24:26.it will brighten-up with increasing amounts of sunshine. Top
:24:26. > :24:33.temperatures of 13 degrees Celsius. A little cooler on the north and
:24:33. > :24:36.west coast with a breeze off the sea. Tomorrow night will be dry and
:24:36. > :24:42.clear and with little wind it will turn quite cold with a widespread
:24:42. > :24:47.ground frost. Even a slight air frost in some rural spots inland. So
:24:47. > :24:53.a chilly start on Saturday but a nice day. Fine and dry with plenty
:24:53. > :24:56.of sunshine. Saturday will be a good day for a trip to the seaside.
:24:56. > :25:01.Temperatures not that high but feeling pleasant in the sunshine
:25:01. > :25:08.with light to moderate winds. The sea still pretty cold. Seven or
:25:08. > :25:12.eight degrees Celsius. Sunday will bring a change. A dry start but rain
:25:12. > :25:16.will spread from the northwest during the day. The wind picking-up
:25:16. > :25:26.as well. Saturday will be the best day of the weekend. Ideal weather
:25:26. > :25:29.for the Spring Flower Show in The Gwyn Hall in Neath rolled out
:25:29. > :25:32.its red carpet this evening for the UK premiere of a multi-million
:25:32. > :25:35.dollar Hollywood drama shot entirely in South Wales. Da Vinci's Demons,
:25:35. > :25:39.set in Renaissance Italy, is an eight-hour television series from
:25:39. > :25:49.the writer of the Batman films. Carwyn Jones caught up with the cast
:25:49. > :25:53.A year in production at a cost of around �20 million, Da Vinci's
:25:53. > :25:57.Demons finally takes flight. The series turns the early life of
:25:57. > :26:02.Leonardo into a swashbuckling adventure. Although it's set in 15th
:26:02. > :26:05.century Florence, it was filmed in Swansea, Port Talbot and Neath.
:26:05. > :26:11.That's why tonight, it was the Gwyn Hall, not London's Leicester Square,
:26:11. > :26:15.which hosted the UK premiere. The creative force behind the series is
:26:15. > :26:25.this man, David S Goyer. He's the Holywood screenwriter who penned the
:26:25. > :26:30.movie scripts for Batman, Blade and this summer's Superman film. As an
:26:30. > :26:36.American, Wales was unusual for me. We don't have castles, we don't have
:26:36. > :26:39.things like abbeys or things like that. For me, Wales was very exotic.
:26:39. > :26:42.The production spent most of last year transforming the landscape of
:26:42. > :26:45.South Wales into Renaissance Florence. The gothic splendour of
:26:45. > :26:48.Margam Castle stood in for the Medici Palace while the Duomo
:26:48. > :26:53.Cathedral and Ponte Veccio Bridge were built here at the old Ford
:26:53. > :26:56.factory in Swansea. In fact, the site became a fully functioning film
:26:56. > :27:03.studio and, at 265,000 square feet, that's made it the biggest sound
:27:03. > :27:06.stage in the UK. Bigger than even the 007 stage at Pinewood. The
:27:06. > :27:16.production also created nearly 3,000 full and part time jobs, from
:27:16. > :27:18.
:27:18. > :27:21.craftsmen to caterers. We have got a lot of skilled personnel. We have
:27:21. > :27:26.taken the training issues very seriously. I am not talking about
:27:26. > :27:31.actors, I am talking about the backstage stuff. Da Vinci's Demons
:27:31. > :27:35.has proved a huge hit in the US. So much so that it's just been
:27:35. > :27:43.commissioned for a second series. And for Leonardo himself, that could
:27:43. > :27:47.mean returning to Wales for more filming later this year. We were
:27:47. > :27:52.just outside Florence for the Italian premier last week and the
:27:52. > :27:56.landscape was very similar. Having been there and seen it first hand,
:27:56. > :28:04.it is closer than you expect. is gaining an enviable reputation as
:28:04. > :28:07.the go-to location for TV dramas. Viewers can judge just how well
:28:07. > :28:11.Wales doubles for Renaissance Italy when the show hits our screens
:28:11. > :28:16.tomorrow night. A reminder now of the headlines. The
:28:16. > :28:20.moment a chemical plant in Texas explodes. People living nearby say
:28:20. > :28:25.it was like an earthquake. At least five people have been killed and
:28:25. > :28:29.hundreds could be injured. Redrow says it is disturbed by a
:28:29. > :28:33.Welsh government decision to halt a scheme to help people buy homes. The
:28:33. > :28:35.Welsh government says it is reviewing the scheme because a