0:00:00 > 0:00:00too far. Thank you for joining us. That's
0:00:00 > 0:00:00too far. Thank you for joining us. That's it.
0:00:03 > 0:00:05Welcome to Wales Today. Our top stories:
0:00:05 > 0:00:07Ten sites are in the running for a share
0:00:07 > 0:00:11of almost ?30 million in a bid to boost tourism.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15After a meltdown in the price paid for recycled waste the councils that
0:00:15 > 0:00:19claim it's cost them more than a million pounds.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39Good evening.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Welcome to Wales - it's a phrase which greets visitors
0:00:44 > 0:00:46from the UK and abroad every year.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49But where in Wales should tourists go and what can they do
0:00:49 > 0:00:50when they arrive?
0:00:50 > 0:00:53A multi million pound investment has been announced to help establish ten
0:00:53 > 0:00:54so-called "must visit" destinations.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55Caroline Evans reports.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57In the sunshine there is, of course, nowhere
0:00:57 > 0:00:58better than Wales.
0:00:58 > 0:00:59In Aberystwyth today tourists were full of
0:00:59 > 0:01:01enthusiasm for what we offer.
0:01:01 > 0:01:02It's got everything.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Compared to England.
0:01:04 > 0:01:05It's brilliant to be fair.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09What brought us here today was the hope of a bit of sunshine
0:01:09 > 0:01:11which we were lucky enough to find.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15It is a relatively easy and very, very beautiful journey.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18We enjoy going down to Brecon and areas like the Gower.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22As much as anything else it is because we can actually go out
0:01:22 > 0:01:24and about where we want to.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27And down in Pendine the minister agreed.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Edwina Hart believes this is among one of the places in Wales
0:01:30 > 0:01:34which could become an iconic destination.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37I believe every place in Wales is a destination of the tourists
0:01:37 > 0:01:39and that is important but sometimes people
0:01:39 > 0:01:42get bogged down with what they think people want.
0:01:42 > 0:01:43But the world has changed a lot.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45When you look at activity holidays for instance,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49places in Wales we thought people would not be interested in 30 years
0:01:49 > 0:01:52ago, it is going viral across the globe what we can do
0:01:52 > 0:01:54in Welsh terms.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58In all, ten places are set to get a boost and include
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Saundersfoot Harbour, an adventure climbing centre
0:02:00 > 0:02:05near Merthyr Tydfil and a new railway museum in Aberystwyth.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08The man behind one of Wales' current main tourist
0:02:08 > 0:02:11attractions, Dan yr Ogof caves, which is not on the list says
0:02:11 > 0:02:15he welcomes the news that these other locations will get money
0:02:15 > 0:02:17but says that is only a starting point
0:02:17 > 0:02:20for building up tourism.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22We have got to do more.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25It's no good adding to the attractions' number
0:02:25 > 0:02:28unless we get more people coming into Wales.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31From all the surveys we do at Dan yt Ogof,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34not many people know us abroad.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37The reason is quite simply that we don't spend
0:02:37 > 0:02:43enough on marketing and our marketing compared to other regions
0:02:43 > 0:02:45of Britian is very, very poor.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Back in Pendine a starting point is most welcome.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51They are looking to open a land speed museum,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54a heritage art centre and an eco-holiday resort,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57among other plans.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59It is looking to the future and getting
0:02:59 > 0:03:01people who had not thought about Pendine before to think
0:03:01 > 0:03:04of it as a place, not to go for the day but
0:03:04 > 0:03:05to stay as well.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07That's a part of the overall vision.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11While regeneration here is already under way,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13like all of the projects they will now be
0:03:13 > 0:03:16individually assessed and if they get through the next
0:03:16 > 0:03:21stage they say more work will begin here next year.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24A senior Ukip politician says the party's National Executive
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Committee will consider the de-selection of an Assembly
0:03:27 > 0:03:29candidate at the centre of a race row.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Gareth Bennett has linked immigration in Cardiff to rubbish
0:03:33 > 0:03:36in the city road area of the capital.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38He's threatened to sue for 300-thousand pounds
0:03:38 > 0:03:43if he is deselected without due process.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47All I can observe is the empirical evidence that 15 years ago
0:03:47 > 0:03:49the rubbish problem in that area was not
0:03:49 > 0:03:51as great as it is today.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53In the last 15 years, possibly in a shorter
0:03:53 > 0:03:57space of time than that, we have had a large influx
0:03:57 > 0:04:00of Eastern Europeansin particular.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Therefore, there is clear empirical evidence that the two are connected.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07A former magician from Cardiff has been jailed for 14 years
0:04:07 > 0:04:10for sexually abusing boys in the 1980s and 90s.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15Cardiff Crown Court heard 55-year-old Mark Davis targeted boys
0:04:15 > 0:04:19from single parent families, dazzling them with magic tricks
0:04:19 > 0:04:21before abusing them.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23He was found guilty of 13 sex offences, including
0:04:23 > 0:04:27three counts of rape.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Some Welsh councils have lost more than a million pounds in income
0:04:30 > 0:04:34because of a collapse in the global price paid for recycled waste.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39Six authorities have told BBC Wales that a meltdown in waste markets has
0:04:39 > 0:04:41hit their budgets.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44George Herd has the details.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48It's bin day in Buckley and the weekly recycling
0:04:48 > 0:04:50round is well under way.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Nearly 60% of the rubbish picked up in Flintshire is now recycled,
0:04:54 > 0:04:58making it a record year for the county.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02This is where all the recycled waste collected in Flintshire ends up.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05The plastic is being sorted here.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Then it will be bailed up and sold on and that is where
0:05:08 > 0:05:10the problem lies.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13The amount of cash being received for recycled waste
0:05:13 > 0:05:16across the world has collapsed.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19In fact, Flintshire Council estimates it has cost them more
0:05:19 > 0:05:24than ?400,000 in lost income over the last year.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27We try to play the market as best we can but obviously we have got
0:05:27 > 0:05:31to manage our budgets as we go on through the financial year so it
0:05:31 > 0:05:34makes it difficult when we do have a drop in issues that we can't
0:05:34 > 0:05:38control, such as the global price of oil or when larger countries
0:05:38 > 0:05:40flood the European market with steel.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42It does affect the prices we get for our materials.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47Across Wales, six councils who sell on their own recycling waste have
0:05:47 > 0:05:50told us that they have been feeling the pinch.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Taking a hit of anything from just a few thousand pounds in Gwynedd
0:05:54 > 0:05:57to six figure sums in places like Pembrokeshire.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01So what can councils do when the drop in recycling markets
0:06:01 > 0:06:04are completely out of their hands?
0:06:04 > 0:06:07The answer may be to aim for zero waste in the first place
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and that is what this project in Bangor has been looking at under
0:06:10 > 0:06:13the banner Love Your Clothes.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16What we really need to be doing is looking at how we prevent waste
0:06:16 > 0:06:17in the first place.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21You can't always rely on the fact you're going to have a
0:06:21 > 0:06:23global market for your textiles.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26At the moment the global market for textile is a bit iffy so really
0:06:26 > 0:06:30we need to be reusing more of it in the communities we live in.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Finding a new home for an old piece of clothing might seem like a tiny
0:06:34 > 0:06:37step forward when it comes to saving on waste but it's
0:06:37 > 0:06:40something we might all have to consider in the future.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44By 2025 we need to recycle 70% of what we throw away.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47By 2050 that goes up to 100%.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Of course, it's not all bad news for councils because it costs them
0:06:51 > 0:06:55more than ?80 in landfill tax for every tonne of waste they bury
0:06:55 > 0:06:56at a dump.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00So every scrap of rubbish sold on is money in the council coffers
0:07:00 > 0:07:05at a time when they desperately need every penny they can find.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08There should be a single ticketing system for all bus,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12rail and Metro services across Wales by 2018,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14that's according to a committee of Assembly Members.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17They say customers should be able to make contactless payments
0:07:17 > 0:07:20for travel, through bank cards or smartphones,
0:07:20 > 0:07:24similar to the Oyster system in London.
0:07:24 > 0:07:30A bible which a 15-year-old girl walked 26 miles barefoot to buy has
0:07:30 > 0:07:32returned to the Gwynedd town she purchased it from more
0:07:32 > 0:07:34than 200 years ago.
0:07:34 > 0:07:40Mary Jones made the journey to Bala in 1800.
0:07:40 > 0:07:41Rugby.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Wales Under-20s have won their first ever Six Nations Grand Slam
0:07:44 > 0:07:54by beating Italy at Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay 35-6.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04What's the weekend weather got in store for us?
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Derek has the latest.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09Hello, shwmae?
0:08:09 > 0:08:11We have enjoyed some lovely weather this week.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Blue sky, sunshine and frost but unfortunately it is a different
0:08:13 > 0:08:15story for the weekend.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18A lot more cloud around, mostly dry bar the odd
0:08:18 > 0:08:21spot of drizzle and it is going to feel on the chilly side.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Tonight, low cloud will become more expensive, misty in places too.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Some hill fog even the odd spot of drizzle.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Temperatures generally above freezing tonight so most
0:08:30 > 0:08:32places frost free.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Tomorrow morning, much cloudier than today.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38The odd spot of drizzle, misty in places.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Otherwise dry and hopefully there will be a few bright intervals.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Across the rest of the UK, it is a similar story really.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Plenty of cloud.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49One of two spots of drizzle otherwise most places drive.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Hopefully, some sunshine for parts of Scotland, maybe Cumbria.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57Temperatures on the cold side, eight Celsius in Liverpool
0:08:57 > 0:09:00with a chilly breeze across the south-east of England.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03In Wales tomorrow afternoon, plenty of cloud around.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Still the spot of drizzle possible but mostly dry.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Maybe a little sunshine in parts of the west.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Temperatures, only 6-8 Celsius, maybe ten Celsius
0:09:14 > 0:09:17on the Carmarthenshire Coast with a light to moderate breeze.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22Grey and chilly in Cardiff tomorrow for the rugby but mostly dry.
0:09:22 > 0:09:23Good luck to Wales.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25For Sunday, it is the spring equinox.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28The sun over the equator.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Weather-wise, we still have high pressure in charge
0:09:30 > 0:09:33and that is the reason for the settled spell of weather.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Maybe the odd spot of light rain or drizzle on Sunday.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Otherwise dry.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Plenty of cloud but hopefully it will brighten up in places.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Temperatures, nothing special but at least the wind will be light.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Next day, more dry weather but we may see some
0:09:47 > 0:09:51wind and rain arriving from the Atlantic by
0:09:51 > 0:09:52Maundy Thursday.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57Have a nice weekend. Mwynhewch y penwythnos.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59That's Wales Today.