Giles Martin reveals how he took The Beatles master tapes and remixed them in surround sound for the Fab Four's new video collection.

Abbey Road is full of gremlins.
Giles Martin - son of record producer George Martin - can't play any music through his mixing desk at the iconic North London studios.
He re-boots his computer while two engineers crawl on the floor, plugging in cables and fiddling with various switches. At one point, someone unplugs a hard drive.
"Oh God, you've just deleted the Beatles," Martin deadpans.
Eventually, the equipment springs to life. The producer dismisses a workman, who has appeared to drill locks into the door, and apologises for the delay.
"I just moved into this studio yesterday," he explains.
With that, Martin loads up a file that contains dozens of versions of the Beatles' back catalogue. There are the original recordings, mono mixes, stereo remasters and various other snippets - all of which Martin can flick between at will.
He used these tracks as a reference while producing a new DVD compilation, Beatles 1+, which sees the Fab Four's biggest hits re-imagined in stereo and 5.1 surround sound, accompanied by restored promotional videos and films.
"The goal is to bring the band closer to you," says Martin. "To have that same feeling at home that I get when I put on the tapes in the studio."
Rather than viewing the originals as sacred, the band appreciate their music being tweaked this way, he says.
"My dad went to see John Lennon in 1980 before he died, and John said to him: 'Do you know what I'd really like to do? I'd love to record everything again.'
"Dad said, 'Really? How about Strawberry Fields?'
"And John said: 'Especially Strawberry Fields.'"
Counter-intuitively, Martin's new mixes are often simpler than the existing stereo versions - but he has a solid explanation.
Up to Yellow Submarine, the Beatles treated the mono mixes of their albums as the definitive documents. The stereo versions were created as an afterthought, often without the band's involvement.
"My dad was never happy with the extreme panning that went on," explains the producer. "You'd have the band on one side and all the vocals on the other.
"And you have what I call the socks and sandals brigade saying: 'The only way to listen to Sgt Pepper's is in mono.' To be honest, they're probably right, but no-one does that any more."
So he set about recapturing the power of those mono recordings. "In Beatles world, if you can make something more aggressive, they want it more aggressive," Martin says, cueing up Paperback Writer to prove his point.
"If you listen, this mono mix is very crunchy, very in your face," he says, as the textured harmonies give way to Paul McCartney's guitar riff.
"The stereo sounds wider," Martin continues, switching seamlessly to that version, "but the problem is that all the action - the guitar and drums - are on the left speaker."
"The guitar riff is what you remember about that song," he says, but it loses its oomph by being shifted to one side. Accordingly, the new mix puts the instruments into a focussed central point, while spreading the vocals across the front speakers.
The rear speakers present a separate challenge. Rather than placing Ringo's drums behind the listener, or making vocals circle the room, Martin opts for restraint.
"Dolby came to see me with 5.1 when it was new," he explains, "and they'd mixed What's Going On by Marvin Gaye in surround sound, with the guitar coming out of the right rear speaker.
"But if you went to see Marvin Gaye performing and his guitar player decided to stand at the back of the audience with his amp, you'd go: 'Could you put him on the stage, please?'"
Over-using those rear channels is "really distracting," Martin argues, so he came up with an ingenious solution. He went into Abbey Road's Studio 2, wired up a "really big" loudspeaker and played the original Beatles recordings at full volume.
"We acted like the band were playing in there again, and recorded the walls using the original Beatles microphones," he says. Those reverberations and echoes were then placed into the rear speakers to give "the illusion of being in the room with the band".
"And they are really good as a band," Martin says. "That sounds stupid, but they do actually make a good sound. You want to get the least stuff between that and what's at home."
With the later Beatles recordings, however, he had more opportunity to be playful.
"Strawberry Fields is more of a sound picture than a song," Martin says, scrolling over to John Lennon's masterpiece, and locating the descending svarmandal figure (the one that sounds like a sitar) between the first chorus and second verse.
"On the stereo remaster, the svarmandal does something cool - it pans. So in our new version, we can steal that and make it even better. Now it goes around all five speakers like a horseshoe."
But Martin also made a more elemental tweak.
"The mono Strawberry Fields - the one the Beatles mixed - is slightly more intense and more condensed. There's a mellotron pulse under John's voice which forms a sort of harmonic for his vocal. In the stereo it's off to one side and, as a result, John's voice sounds thinner.
"I said: 'OK, if we're doing a new mix of this, we should do one that sounds like the mono. So we came up with this," he says, pressing play on the updated version which, it has to be said, sounds much more fulsome.
In making such decisions, Martin tried to put himself into the mindset of John, Paul, Ringo and the two Georges as they worked - just metres away from where he's sitting - in the 1960s.
"All of the songs should sound like you remember them," he says. "It's not meant to be the 'Giles Martin version'. I work for the Beatles."
Martin confesses to one glaring mistake: The stereo mix of Lennon and McCartney's kitchen sink symphony A Day In The Life is missing a piano, because he opted to use the version created for the Cirque Du Soleil show, Love.
"All of these fans will be going: 'Why did you take this piano off?' And the answer is I didn't - I just used the Love version," he cringes.
Martin is modest about his achievements, saying more than once that "there's no talent in what I do". And he admits his every decision will be pored over by Beatles obsessives.
"There are people who know this material better than I do," he says. "But generally I get a pretty good ride. They know I do it because I care, rather than showboating and going: 'This is how I think they should sound.'"
Ultimately, he would have liked to be more inventive with the surround mixes but had to "rein myself in, because these are the Beatles number one hits".
"If I was doing a 5.1 of the White Album, though? Let me at it!"
The Beatles 1+ is out now.


A former Austrian interior minister and Euro MP, Ernst Strasser, has been charged in Vienna with corruption.

Mr Strasser, 56, of the conservative Austrian People's Party (OeVP), was one of four MEPs caught up in a "cash-for-laws" scandal last year.
He resigned as an MEP in March 2011 after reporters from the UK's Sunday Times newspaper alleged he had accepted offers of cash in exchange for proposing amendments to EU laws.
Mr Strasser has denied wrongdoing.
He was accused of bribe-taking after a 15-month investigation spanning five countries, in which Austrian authorities questioned 90 people, carried out house searches and examined various bank accounts. He could face up to 10 years in jail if found guilty.
Austrian media say the EU anti-corruption agency Olaf is still investigating Mr Strasser.
Prosecutors in Vienna accuse him of having asked for a 100,000-euro (Â£79,000; $129,000) annual payment in exchange for influencing EU legislation in the European Parliament. The indictment was triggered by the Sunday Times investigation, in which two journalists posing as lobbyists had met Mr Strasser and three other MEPs.
Mr Strasser and Slovenian MEP Zoran Thaler resigned after the revelations. A third, Romanian MEP Adrian Severin, was expelled from the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) bloc in the parliament, but remains an independent MEP.
Pedro Zalba, an MEP in Spain's centre-right Popular Party (PP), also met the reporters but denied doing any "cash-for-laws" deal with them.


The patchy nature of a recovery in spending by households is shown in a fall in underlying sales at three of the UK's biggest and most famous retailers, Tesco, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer - while there were rises at Greggs and New Look.

What is also evident is the very fast growing importance of online sales, especially via mobile phones and tablets.
Worst results were from Morrisons, which has the smallest online presence. Its so-called like-for-like sales fell 5.6%.
At the market leader, Tesco underlying sales in the UK fell 2.4% in the six weeks of Christmas and overseas sales were down 3.6%.
But Tesco's online sales in Britain were a big £450m, up 14%.
As for Marks & Spencer, its underlying sales in core general merchandise fell a worse-than-expected 2.1% over three months - because few bought winter clothes in warm October - but nudged up slightly, by 0.5%, in the last two months.
Strikingly - and perhaps embarrassingly for Morrisons and Tesco - M&S's food sales were 1.5% higher on a like-for-like basis over the eight weeks of Christmas, and 1.6% higher over the third quarter of its financial year.
So when you pull all this together, what does it mean for the owners of these large businesses?
Well Morrisons has warned that its profits will be at the lower end of expectations, as a result of its "disappointing" sales performance.
By contrast, Marks says that an improvement in the profitability of its food sales will offset a squeeze in clothing and homeware.
As for the Tesco leviathan, it still expects trading profit to be in the range of £3.2bn to £3.4bn.
Even so, today's results confirm the structural difficulties faced by all three of these giants - which is why, at a time of rising household consumption, none are benefiting as Next, John Lewis and (to a lesser extent) Sainsbury have done.
And the more general industrial picture?
It is important to note that households are currently splashing out on bigger and more expensive items, such as electronics, DIY and cars, but are still being very careful and cautious in their everyday expenditure on food and clothing.
But there is bigger lesson - which is that a retailer without a substantial online presence, including mobile, is on a fast road to obsolescence.
Morrisons, slightly plaintively perhaps, points out that the first deliveries from Morrisons.com start tomorrow.


Google has revealed it has built a London data centre for the cloud computing services it rents to third parties.

The facility is its second in Europe, after Brussels, and promises to provide faster access times to nearby clients.
Google is currently the third most capable cloud computing service provider, according to a recent study.
But the report, by Gartner, suggested Amazon and Microsoft had a clear lead.
The technology consultancy added that in terms of sales to the "cloud infrastructure as a service" market, Google's share was also a "distant third".
Until now, the search giant has focused on opening data centres for its cloud computing platform in the US and Asia, where it has bases in Singapore, Taiwan and Tokyo.
But in announcing the London centre, it also disclosed plans to open facilities in Finland, the Netherlands and Frankfurt.
"GCP [Google Cloud Platform] customers throughout the British Isles and Western Europe will see significant reductions in latency when they run their workloads in the London region," said product manager Dave Stiver, referring to processing delays caused by the distances data has to travel.
"In cities like London, Dublin, Edinburgh and Amsterdam, our performance testing shows 40% to 82% reductions in round-trip latency when serving customers from London compared with the Belgium region."
A spokeswoman for the company added that the decision to build a London centre had been taken before the Brexit vote and was therefore unrelated to speculation that the UK's data privacy laws may diverge from the EU's in the future.
Google's platform allows clients to offload data processing tasks and information storage, including support for apps they may offer to the public and analysing feedback gathered from internet-connected devices.
By charging customers for the amount of compute time they use rather than a flat rate, Google seeks to provide IT departments with a cheaper alternative to maintaining their own data centres.
The company's existing customers include the Telegraph newspaper, Coca-Cola and the online education service Khan Academy.
At present, GCP offers fewer features than Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure, but it is catching up, according to Gartner.
"Google uses deep discounts and exceptionally flexible contracts to try to win projects from customers that are currently spending significant sums of money with cloud competitors," its June report said.
And that had led some companies to use Google to supplement their use of Amazon or Microsoft's rival platforms.
Gartner added: "GCP is increasingly chosen as a strategic alternative to AWS by customers whose businesses compete with Amazon."
Last month it emerged that Wal-Mart had urged its IT vendors not to use Amazon's service because it did not want its "most sensitive data... sitting on a competitor's platform".
Google does not disclose revenue for its cloud platform, but analysts estimate that it generated about $1bn (Â£776m) of sales last year and forecast it will double that amount in 2018.
By contrast, market leader AWS generated $12.2bn of sales in the past financial year, and is more profitable than Amazon's better-known retail business.
Microsoft will update investors on Azure's performance when it posts its full year's results next week.
On Monday, it announced a new hybrid service that would allow customers to run Azure's technologies on their own servers.
Azure Stack is being targeted at operations that have slow or non-existent internet connections - such as oil rigs and ships - as well as countries where data must be stored locally.
In a related development, Apple has announced it is setting up its first data centre in China.
The facility is being developed in conjunction with a local company - Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry - and will be used to deliver its iCloud services to the public.
"This data centre will allow us to improve the speed and reliability of our products and services while also complying with newly passed regulations," Apple said in a statement.
"No backdoors will be created into any of our systems."
China introduced a law in June that requires overseas-based companies to both store data about its citizens locally and to give Chinese companies control over the operation of the computer servers involved.
Apple has said it will retain the relevant encryption keys and has indicated the move will not compromise users' privacy.
But some experts have suggested it could put the company under more pressure to acquiesce to government demands in the case of future disputes.


A 15-year-old boy has become the first child in the UK to get a satellite-tracked tag, police have said.

Thames Valley Police said the new devices track a person's movement via GPS at all times, rather than just when they enter and exit a building.
The teenager - who cannot be named - was convicted of burglary, robbery, threatening a 14-year-old girl and brandishing an imitation firearm.
He is from Oxfordshire and will now have to wear the tag for six months.
PC Mike Ellis, Oxford anti-social behaviour officer, said: "We believe this is the first such order in the country with a youth. I think it will be very successful not just in this case but also in the future.
"He must wear [the tag] at all times and it allows us to see if he is involved in any anti-social behaviour we get reported to us.
"This is really to act as a deterrent to the offender as they know we will be able to see whether they were near where a crime took place."
PC Ellis said the device, called a Buddi tag, was used after the police applied for a Criminal Behaviour Order, which replaced Anti-social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) last year.
The 15-year-old had already been convicted of burglary offences in August 2015.


More than 370 jobs are at risk after the US drugs giant Pfizer announced plans to shut two of its UK sites.

The firm said its Hospira UK Ltd site at Park Royal, north London, was expected to shut by August next year.
Its packaging and distribution site in Havant, Hampshire, is set for closure by the end of 2020.
The plans are part of an ongoing review of Pfizer's worldwide operations and are not related to the outcome of the EU Referendum, the firm said.
Pfizer proposes transferring work currently undertaken at its Havant facility - which employs more than 270 people - to its site in Puurs, Belgium.
The Park Royal site - which has about 100 staff - is due to complete production in May next year, with a site exit in August.  However, the firm said it was subject to consultation.
It added its decision to close the Park Royal site was based on it being "an ageing facility which will require significant investment in the near future and due to the expiration of the building lease".
A Pfizer spokeswoman said the plans were not a reflection on the "excellent work performed by our colleagues" and "in no way related to the result of the Brexit decision".
The firm will work to support affected staff who will be considered for "a limited number of positions elsewhere within Pfizer", she added.
Pfizer plans to sell the Havant site as an ongoing pharmaceutical manufacturing facility.
The firm said it would work to ensure its north London customers, with existing contracts, were able to find a new supplier without any disruption to supply.
Leader of Havant Borough Council Michael Cheshire said the authority had tried to convince Pfizer to remain in the town but added "global economic forces have prevailed".
He said it would now seek to support affected staff.


A teenage boy who sustained serious head injuries after he was hit by a van on a coastal road has died in hospital.

The 14-year-old was airlifted to Hull Royal Infirmary after the crash on the A1031 in Lincolnshire on Friday evening.
Police said the boy died on Monday morning. The 33-year-old driver of the white Ford Transit was uninjured.
The crash happened near Theddlethorpe St Helen, about half a mile past Meers Bank, at about 19:30 GMT.
The van was driving towards Theddlethorpe from the Mablethorpe direction.
Lincolnshire Police has appealed for witnesses to contact them.


Roger Federer was beaten by French Open semi-finalist Dominic Thiem in the Mercedes Cup semi-finals at Stuttgart.

The top seed claimed the first set 6-3, but the Austrian saved two match points in winning a tie-break 9-7 and then took the decider 6-4.
Thiem, who beat Federer on clay last month in Rome, will play for his fourth title of the season on Sunday.
He will face either Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro or Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Thiem, 22, moved into the world's top 10 for the first time this week and wore down his 34-year-old opponent in a gripping grass-court battle, which also included two rain breaks.
Federer, who had tied with Ivan Lendl for the most wins in the open era (1,071) after his second round win against American Taylor Fritz, had missed the French Open last month with a back problem.
The defeat will be a blow to Federer as he aims to win a record eighth Wimbledon singles title later this month.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.


Great Britain's contenders for the Rio Olympics will aim to prove their credentials at the World Triathlon Series in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Alistair and Jonny Brownlee have already qualified for Rio and will not compete until later in the season.
Vicky Holland and Non Stanford have also met the qualification criteria.
A place on the men's and women's team remains, with rivals Gordon Benson and Tom Bishop, and Jodie Stimpson and Helen Jenkins, battling it out.
Bishop, a world under-23 bronze medallist in 2012, Commonwealth champion Stimpson and two-time world champion Jenkins are on the start list for Abu Dhabi.
Bishop will also be joined by former British champion Adam Bowden, 34.
But European Games champion Benson has opted to train in Tenerife with Alistair Brownlee and will start his season on the Gold Coast in Australia on 9 April.
Selectors for the men's team are looking for a support partner for the Brownlees with qualification for the British team to be decided by the Yokohama race on 14 May - the fourth World Series race of the year.
But a decision on the women's team will be based on their medal potential and made after the Gold Coast event.


Dundee have signed Queen of the South left-back Kevin Holt on a pre-contract.

The 22-year-old will join the club on 1 July after agreeing a three-year deal.
Holt was part of the Doonhamers team that finished fourth in the Scottish Championship and lost out to Rangers in the play-offs, making 41 appearances throughout the season.
He becomes the fifth player to sign with Paul Hartley's men ahead of next season, joining Kane Hemmings, Nicky Low, Rory Low and Daryll Meggatt.


Warwickshire have signed England all-rounder Jenny Gunn from Nottinghamshire for the 2016 domestic season.

Gunn joins up with fellow England players Becky Grundy and Amy Jones, to play in the One-Day Cup and for the Birmingham Bears in T20 matches.
The 29-year-old will turn out for Yorkshire Diamonds when the new Women's Super League starts on 30 July.
"Warwickshire have made good progress in the women's game. They have a base of young, talented players," said Gunn.
England players are required to play division one cricket and, in the wake of Notts' relegation last summer, Gunn follows the lead of Danni Wyatt, who also left Trent Bridge to sign for Sussex.
The pair will meet at the Bears' new second home at Portland Road on 1 May when Warwickshire start their Women's One-Day Cup campaign at home to Sussex.
Gunn's signing follows the arrival last week at Edgbaston of Australian all-rounder Anna Lanning.
Gunn is the daughter of former Nottingham Forest footballer Bryn Gunn.
"Jenny has been one of the leading cricketers in the women's game for several years," said Darren Franklin, Warwickshire's head of women's cricket.
Since making her England debut against New Zealand in 2004, she has gone on to play 129 one-day internationals, making 1,460 runs and taking 120 wickets, 92 T20s and has won 11 Test caps.
She was also part of the England teams that won the Women's Cricket World Cup and World T20 in 2009 and has played in five Ashes series wins.


Scotland has been hit by a big freeze as overnight temperatures plummeted to as low as -10C in places.

The Met Office has issued yellow "be aware" warnings for snow for southern, north east and northern Scotland on Saturday and Sunday.
BBC weather presenter Stav Danaos said -10 was seen in parts of the country with lying snow - with further snow falling on Saturday.
Snow and ice have also been affecting travel in many parts.
Scotland has seen freezing temperatures for several days.
While it has meant challenging travel conditions for some, the weather has also allowed all five of Scotland's snowsports centres to open their slopes for skiing and snowboarding.
Glenshee, Lecht, Glencoe Mountain, CairnGorm Mountain and Nevis Range are preparing to mark World Snow Day on Sunday.
Climbers and hillwalkers, however, have been warned that the risk of avalanches in Scotland's highest hills and mountains has been rated as "considerable".
The Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service has given the rating to the six areas it covers - Northern Cairngorms, Southern Cairngorms, Glen Coe, Torridon, Creag Meagaidh and Lochaber.


It was supposed to be one of the best training colleges of its type anywhere in the world.

But with more than a decade having passed since it was first proposed, the planned state-of-the-art centre for Northern Ireland's police, fire and prison services has yet to materialise.
BBC News NI looks at the problems that have dogged the stop-start project over the last 10 years.
A new £80m police training college for Northern Ireland is to be built near Cookstown in County Tyrone, the Policing Board announces.
It will be situated on a 210-acre site at Desertcreat on the outskirts of the town and is expected to open in 2007.
Planning permission is granted for a state-of-the-art college.
Sir Desmond Rea, the chair of the Policing Board, says the new facility will "be a real improvement on existing facilities available to the police".
The new academy is to cost £50m more than first expected, and will not be completed until 2009.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) says land costs, fees and changes to the original plan caused the rise.
Government funding issues put the future of the new college in doubt, a Policing Board member says.
With the building cost now set at £150m, the government is offering £40m less than that total, according to Democratic Unionist Party MLA William Hay.
The government plans to provide all of the funding for a new joint police, fire and prison service college, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain announces.
Each service had wanted to build its own centre, with combined costs reaching £170m, but an integrated college could be built for about £130m.
The business case for the joint public services college is approved by Northern Ireland's Department of Finance and Personnel.
The PSNI's Dep Ch Con Judith Gillespie says Irish police and the FBI have also expressed interest in using the facility that is now expected to become operational in 2015.
Fresh planning permission is granted for the centre.
It is expected to create up to 2,000 construction jobs.
"Professional incompetence" by the design team working on the project led to the costs spiralling by more than a third, from £101m to £137m, it is revealed.
Justice Minister David Ford says he is optimistic work on the long-awaited college will finally begin in October 2013.
Contractors are appointed to build the college, with work now scheduled to begin in spring 2014.
Belfast company Gilbert Ash and Spanish firm FCC will carry out the work, and the next few months will be spent agreeing the final cost.
There is uncertainty over whether the preferred bidder can meet its tender requirement, a Stormont committee hears.
The PSNI's Dep Ch Con Alistair Finlay says the contractor has informed the project team that sub-contractor prices are above their estimates and it is looking "too big a challenge" for it to hold to its price.
Plans for the college are put on hold after the programme team decides the preferred bidder cannot deliver the project within budget.
The contractor says they can build the college for £133m, but they are told the budget will be no more than £104m.
A team in charge of plans to build the college makes a recommendation that the project should continue.
Work has still not started on the site that was bought 10 years ago.
A steering group overseeing the new college development says the project should not continue.
With more than £12m already spent on the site and design fees, the group says concerns about the current financial environment mean it "would not be prudent to press ahead".
The departments of justice and health accept a recommendation they should go back to the drawing board over the college project.
The programme team says the plan is no longer economically viable, and the college as originally envisaged is no longer needed.
Northern Ireland loses £53m of public money earmarked for the college.
A Stormont committee is told the Treasury has withdrawn the funding.
Plans for the college are radically redrawn by the programme board.
The fire service would get a £44m complex at Desertcreat, while the PSNI would be given about £20m to refurbish its existing training facilities in east Belfast.
The prison service would receive funding for training at Maghaberry and Magilligan prisons.


Sonita Alizadeh, a rapper from Afghanistan, was inspired to write music when her family "had to sell" her to "buy a bride for my brother".

26 November 2015 Last updated at 01:01 GMT
"Those girls who are forced into underage marriage lose their childhood. They lose their hope," she says.
"When I moved to America I couldn't get the image of my friends' faces out of my mind - all bruised and scarred as a result of standing up to their families," she adds.
Video production by Paul Harris and Anahita Shams.
Our 100 Women season showcases two weeks of inspirational stories about the BBC 100 Women and others who defy stereotypes around the world.
Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram using the hashtag #100Women and listen to our programmes here.


Olympic taekwondo gold medallist Jade Jones is BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality 2016.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Jones, 23, won a public vote to succeed rugby union's 2015 winner Dan Biggar.
Results of the vote were revealed at the Wales Sport Awards in Cardiff where BBC Cymru Wales and Sport Wales celebrated Welsh sporting success.
Wales' footballers are Team of the Year and boss Chris Coleman took a Special Recognition Award after their 2016 Euro success.
Jones secured the vote ahead of second-placed Wales and Real Madrid footballer Gareth Bale, with Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Elinor Barker in third.
Jones became the eighth person to twice win Wales' top sports award, having previously done so in 2012 after winning her first Olympic gold at the London Games.
"It is just amazing to win," Jones said. "Especially being from a low-key sport.
"There were so many big names and Wales had such a big year, I just can't describe the feeling. I did not think about doing the double, I just wanted to be Olympic champion again.
"I was just a naughty and cheeky eight-year-old when I started and went to my local club to burn off energy. And now I am here!"
Jones battled through four fights to retain her crown in Rio in 2016.
The Flint fighter has secured GB's two taekwando golds since the sport's introduction to the Olympics in 2000.
She defended the -57kg title won at London 2012 by again dominating her competition at Rio to become the first Welsh woman to defend an Olympic title.
Jones also won the European title earlier in the year to ensure a memorable 2016.
In 2017 Jones will be targeting the World Championships in Korea and the World Grand Prix series, which will host events in London and Manchester.
The other contenders for 2016 were Hollie Arnold (Para athletics), Owain Doull (track cycling), Aled Sion Davies (Para athletics), Hannah Mills (sailing) and Lee Selby (boxing).
They were chosen by a panel of experts, chaired by former Wales rugby international and Olympic 110m hurdler Nigel Walker.
Having ended ended a 57-year wait when they qualified for the final stages of a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World Cup, Wales' footballers reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
Under manager Coleman, Wales beat Slovakia, Russia and Northern Ireland to top their group.
They went on to beat Belgium in the quarter-finals before losing to Portugal in the semi-finals in France.
Cardiff-born Wales and Wigan rugby league player Billy Boston received a lifetime achievement award.
He was the first black player to tour Australia with Great Britain and Boston scored more than 500 tries in an extraordinary career.
Signed by Wigan in 1953 after playing a handful of games in first-class rugby union for Pontypridd and Neath, Boston was an overnight sensation.
He helped Great Britain claim the Rugby League World Cup in 1960 and won the Challenge Cup three times with Wigan.
The Carwyn James Award for the best young sportswoman was won by rising taekwondo star Lauren Williams. The 17-year-old won the World Junior Championship title this year as well as the European senior crown in the -67kg category.
The best young sportsman award went to athlete Jake Heyward, 17, who overcame illness to count winning European Youth Championships 1500m gold in Tblisi, Georgia in July.
Volunteer of the Year: Chris Landon, cycling, Cardiff
Community Coach of the Year: Paul Crapper, cycling, Monmouthshire
Young Coach of the Year: Daniel Johnsey, swimming, Monmouthshire
Young Volunteer of the Year: Joseph Jones, multi-sport, Conwy
Coach to Disabled People of the Year: Deb Bashford - Wheelchair Basketball/Gwynedd
Lifetime Achievement Award (Community): Nick Evans, cricket
Coach of the Year: Robin Williams, rowing
Coach of the Year Robin Williams took up rowing as a teenager at school in Monmouth.
He oversaw a 39-race winning streak - covering Olympic, world and European championships - for his women's rowing pair of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, culminating in a gold medal defence of their title in Rio.
The Unsung Hero award has already been given to netball and football coach Vicki Randall, of Cwmbran, who will go on to represent Wales at the UK BBC Sports Personality of the Year event in Birmingham on Sunday, 18 December.
A review of the sporting year will be broadcast on BBC Cymru Wales television on Monday, 26 December at 16:00 GMT.
Please note the event is not connected with the UK Sports Personality of the Year and is for the Wales award only.
The UK Sports Personality of the Year will be decided at a live show on Sunday, 18 December.


Gunmen have attacked a mosque in the northern Nigerian state of Kano, killing three worshippers and wounding 12 others, police say.

The attackers sprayed bullets into the mosque in the home village of Kano governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
His elderly father was in the mosque, but escaped unhurt, witnesses said.
No group has said it carried out the raid. Islamist group Boko Haram has also staged several attacks in Kano, and elsewhere in northern Nigeria.
The run-up to elections in oil-rich Nigeria is often marred by violence between rival political groups.
Mr Kwankwaso was among five influential governors who defected from President Goodluck Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in November.
Heshimu Suleiman, one of the governor's supporters, said the attack was politically motivated to punish Mr Kwankwaso for defecting, reports the AP news agency.
The PDP has not yet commented on the allegation.
In December, Nigeria's ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo said it would be "morally flawed" for Mr Jonathan to seek re-election next year.
He said Mr Jonathan had failed to tackle Nigeria's many problems, including corruption and an insurgency led by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
Mr Jonathan defended his record in  government, but has not yet declared his candidature.


(Close) London share prices rose slightly with the FTSE 100 share index up by just 36.23 at 6,843.13 points.

Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) rose by 6% after annual results that were better than expected.
Income went up 5% to £13.4bn and pre-tax profits rose 5% to to £1.1bn. The firm said it expected to benefit from Britain's vote to leave the EU.
Shares in Marks and Spencer opened higher but fell back 5%.
The retailer announced plans to cut store numbers both at home and abroad.
M&S is closing 30 UK clothing outlets, converting dozens more into food-only stores, and shutting 53 international stores in 10 overseas markets.
The retailer also reported a sharp drop in half-year profits and a fall in underlying sales at both its clothing and food businesses.
"Closing the foreign stores makes sense as M&S never quite understood its customers outside the UK," said Neil Wilson at ETX Capital.
"[Chief executive Steve] Rowe wants to focus on Mrs M&S, the retailer's core customer, and this means doing its own version of Brexit by focusing solely on the UK market."
Shares in Imperial Brands fell 3% despite the cigarette maker reporting a near 10% rise in full-year revenues and a 10% increase in adjusted operating profit.
On the currency markets, the pound was down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.237, and was slightly lower against the euro at €1.1213.


A driver "made a gun sign" at BBC presenter Jeremy Vine during an alleged road rage incident, a court heard.

Mr Vine was riding his bicycle in Kensington, west London, on 26 August when a row occurred, Hammersmith Magistrates' Court was told.
Shanique Pearson, 22, from Vauxhall, is said to have formed the shape of a weapon with her fingers and "cocked it" at Mr Vine's head.
Ms Pearson denies acting in a threatening manner.
In response to the charges she denies using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour and driving without reasonable consideration for other road users.
Ms Pearson has admitted driving an unlicensed vehicle on the day in question.
The defendant claimed Mr Vine was mistaken in what he thought he had seen and said she instead raised her middle finger at the presenter, who she thought was "a bit crazy" for following her after their initial row.
Footage of the argument, which took place in Hornton Street, west London and was filmed on Mr Vine's helmet camera, has since been viewed online millions of times, the presenter said.
The video was played in court.
After initially clashing when Mr Vine stopped his bike in front of Ms Pearson's Vauxhall Corsa, Ms Pearson drove past the Radio Two presenter, the court learned.
But the argument erupted a short while later when Ms Pearson spotted Mr Vine trying to take a photograph.
Explaining the next few moments to the court, he said: "She's gone back in the car, she's sitting at this junction. I am behind her with my cycle, the lights are red. I draw parallel to the car because I want to see inside.
"As I draw level and I look in [to the car] she produces her fingers like this, and aims them at me, and cocks her thumb and goes like that, in a firing sign."
In her evidence, Ms Pearson said she had initially reacted to Mr Vine's stopping in front of her car because: "It was too quick, it kind of shocked me.
"I could have hit him [with the car] and I don't think he understood the danger of that, hence why I was so angry."
The hearing has been adjourned until 26 January.


The frequency of extreme rainfall in the UK may be increasing, according to analysis by the Met Office.

Statistics show that days of particularly heavy rainfall have become more common since 1960.
The analysis is still preliminary, but the apparent trend mirrors increases in extreme rain seen in other parts of the world.
It comes as the Met Office prepares to reveal whether 2012 was the wettest year on record in the UK.
The study into extreme rain is based on statistics from the National Climate Information Centre, the UK's official climate record.
Extreme rain is defined as the sort of downpour you would expect once in 100 days.
There are big swings in rainfall from year to year, but the overall trend is upwards since 1960. Last year, for instance, extreme rain fell around once every 70 days.
The phenomenon of more frequent downpours has already been noted elsewhere, particularly in China and India.
Scientists say that as the world has warmed by 0.7C, the atmosphere is able to hold 4% more moisture, which means more potential rain.
The change in the UK trend is slight, but if the trend is confirmed it will clearly increase the risk of flooding.
This year is already the wettest in England's recorded history. And a series of downpours in late November brought one of the wettest weeks in the last 50 years, causing major disruption.
Professor Julia Slingo, chief scientist at the Met Office, said the preliminary analysis needed further research but was potentially significant.
"We have always seen a great deal of variability in UK extreme rainfall because our weather patterns are constantly changing, but this analysis suggests we are seeing a shift in our rainfall behaviour," she said.
"There's evidence to say we are getting slightly more rain in total, but more importantly it may be falling in more intense bursts - which can increase the risk of flooding.
"It's essential we look at how this may impact our rainfall patterns going forward over the next decade and beyond, so we can advise on the frequency of extreme weather in the future and the potential for more surface and river flooding.
"This will help inform decision-making about the need for future resilience both here in the UK and globally."
The Met Office no longer publishes a seasonal forecast and will not speculate on whether 2013 will produce frequent extreme rain. The immediate forecast, however, is for more stable weather.
Follow Roger Harrabin on Twitter @rharrabin


Car pick-up service Uber has had one of its services banned across Germany.

A court in Frankfurt ruled that the firm lacked the necessary legal permits to operate under German law.
It has emerged that the firm was told last week that its "low-cost" UberPop service could no longer take passengers and faced a fine if it continued.
But an Uber spokesman said it had decided not to suspend the service, adding that the ban was not enforceable while an appeal process was ongoing.
"Germany is one of the fastest growing markets for Uber in Europe," he said.
"We will continue to operate in Germany and will appeal the recent lawsuit filed by Taxi Deutschland in Frankfurt.
"You cannot put the brakes on progress. Uber will continue its operations and will offer UberPop ridesharing services via its app throughout Germany."
A check of the firm's software confirms that drivers continue to offer UberPop pick-ups in Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf.
UberPop was launched earlier this year and involves drivers - who are not directly employed by the company - over the age of 21 using their own cars to transport passengers.
Taxi Deutschland suggested that Uber could face up to a 250,000 euro ($327,840; Â£198,342) fine per trip if the American firm loses the case.
The body described its rival as a "form of locust share-economy" indulging in "anarchy capitalism" that could leave passengers exposed in the case of an accident.
"In Germany there's insurance that applies to private drivers," explained spokeswoman Anja Floetenmeyer.
"But if your insurer learns that you are driving for an app and you want to make money on that, they say this is a multiple risk and refuse to [pay] insurance on that.
"Uber doesn't care because security costs money. We don't believe it has the interests of [German] drivers and citizens at heart."
But Uber's spokesman in Germany, Fabien Nestmann, has previously blogged that safety is one of his firm's key concerns, adding that "all the rides - and thus all travellers - are insured by Uber".
The summary judgment follows a decision by London's transport authorities not to pursue a case against Uber in June this year.
The San Francisco-based firm allows passengers to summon cars using an app on their smartphones and calculates the fare en route. It is often significantly cheaper than rival taxi companies.
But taxi drivers argue that Uber has fewer regulatory burdens placed upon it than they do, and poses unfair competition.
The company - which is backed by Google and the bank Goldman Sachs, among others - has been the subject of protests by taxi drivers in many European cities, including Berlin, Paris and London.
Only last week, Uber said it was planning to rapidly expand its German operation.


More than 30 people could face prosecution as part of an investigation into sexual and physical abuse at a County Durham detention centre.

Almost 1,400 men have claimed they were abused at Medomsley, near Consett, during the 1970s and 80s.
Durham Police said it has put forward 32 cases to the Crown Prosecution Service, which will offer advice on whether the suspects should be charged.
It added it hoped to have decisions on each one "sometime in the summer".
Detectives launched the investigation, called Operation Seabrook, in August 2013 and have interviewed former members of staff.
It followed previous probes in 2003 and 2005 which resulted in the jailing of former Medomsley wardens Neville Husband and Leslie Johnson.
Both have since died.
Officers said of the 1,396 men who contacted Operation Seabrook to report abuse, approximately two-thirds said they were assaulted by either Husband or Johnson.
In a statement, police said 32 suspects have been identified and all had been spoken to, the majority voluntarily.
Det Supt Steve Chapman said: "We now have a significant understanding of how Medomsley Detention Centre operated and we have ensured victims have been fully updated on the investigation so far."
He said the investigation team are constantly reviewing all new material and so the number of cases forwarded to the CPS could increase.
The former detainees were all teenagers when they were sent to the centre - often for relatively minor offences.
The facility closed in 1988.


Education Secretary John Swinney has welcomed an overall increase in teacher numbers in Scotland - although he said "significant improvements" were needed in some areas.

New figures show the total number of teachers across Scotland has risen, but 12 council areas saw numbers fall.
Mr Swinney said the stats were "good news" in light of recruitment "challenges" in some areas.
Opposition parties said numbers were still down over the long term.
And they said parents "have a right to be very angry" about the attainment gap between pupils from better and worse-off backgrounds.
The latest figures showed teacher numbers were up for the first time in several years, with 51,000 employed in state schools in 2016.
But in 12 local authorities the numbers fell, with the largest percentage drop in Moray, which has highlighted recruitment problems in the past.
The figures were among a fresh batch of important statistics being published on the state of the Scottish education system.
The ratio of pupils to teachers was maintained across Scotland but the average size of a class crept up slightly to 23.5 students.
Nationally, the number of teachers fell between 2010 and 2014 then stabilised.
The number of teachers fell in 12 council areas, including in Highland and Dumfries and Galloway, although in both these regions the ratio of pupils to teachers was maintained at the same level.
In 12 council areas the ratio of pupils to teachers got worse in 2016, including in Edinburgh and Fife where teacher numbers had risen. These were:
The government expects the ratio of pupils to teachers to be maintained, although BBC Scotland understands the councils will not face any financial sanctions.
Many councils have told BBC Scotland that they are finding it hard to fill some vacancies.
Recently the Scottish government unveiled a number of initiatives to try to encourage more people into teaching, and some local authorities have also launched their own initiatives.
The latest statistics also showed:
Separate figures, published on Tuesday, looked at the number of children considered by teachers to be performing at the required level for their age in Curriculum for Excellence.
The data showed that between 65% and 85% of pupils in primary schools achieved the relevant level in aspects of literacy and numeracy. However, the proportion of pupils achieving the relevant level for their stage decreased throughout the primary stages.
Updating MSPs on the figures, Mr Swinney said: "I very much welcome the rise in teacher numbers compared to last year, the fact that class sizes are broadly stable and that the pupil-teacher ratio has been maintained.
"This is all good news, particularly when you consider the teacher recruitment challenges being faced in some areas.
"The data shows that significant improvements are required in some local authorities, and real challenges exist in delivering the progress in literacy and numeracy we seek.
"There is much to be proud of in Scottish education; we need to remain focused on and committed to Curriculum for Excellence and we need to continue to implement the reforms we are putting in place."
Scotland's largest teaching union, the EIS, welcomed the rise in teacher numbers but said some "significant challenges" continued to face schools.
General secretary Larry Flanagan said: "The number of teachers employed across Scotland has held steady, and actually shows a small increase overall, indicating the local authorities have adhered to a commitment brokered between the EIS and local and national government to maintain teacher numbers over the year.
"This is very welcome, and is helping to improve employment prospects for qualified teachers and ensure that young people have consistent levels of provision in schools across Scotland.
"The EIS would certainly expect the Scottish government to continue its commitment to maintaining teacher numbers, and we hope to hear confirmation soon from the finance minister in his forthcoming financial statement."
He added: "Given the welcome Scottish government commitment to tackling the attainment gap, the trend of rising class sizes is an issue that must be tackled through greater investment in a greater number of qualified teachers."
The Scottish Conservatives said teacher numbers were still thousands below the levels they were at in 2007.
The party's education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "With teacher numbers having plummeted from the levels they were at a decade ago, it once again calls into question whether the CfE can be delivered properly.
"There are a number of legitimate concerns about the curriculum, and these statistics are further evidence that we need to have proper independent scrutiny of how it is being implemented."
Ms Smith also told Mr Swinney that parents "have a right to be very angry" about the gulf in achievement between pupils from differing financial circumstances.
The Scottish Greens' education spokesman Ross Greer questioned the government's decision to publish statistics on how well schools pupils were doing in certain areas of the Curriculum for Excellence.
He said: "Today's figures demonstrate the utterly bizarre education priorities the Scottish government has. We see class sizes continue to creep up, making them the highest they've been since the SNP formed the government and nine years after they promised to reduce them to 18.
"More teachers and smaller classes are vital if we're to improve the quality of education."
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale accused the SNP of "slashing" spending on Scotland's school pupils by more than 8%.
She highlighted analysis by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) which she said showed that real-terms spend on education fell from Â£6,692-per-pupil in 2010/11 to Â£6,152 in 2014-15.
She said: "Nicola Sturgeon promised to make education her top priority, but Scotland has plunged down the international league tables on her watch.
"Year-on-year cuts to school budgets, teacher numbers and support staff are damaging the life chances of Scotland's children."
Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Tavish Scott MSP said: "Today's figures show that after a decade in power, the SNP has failed to deliver on its commitment of smaller class sizes for our youngest pupils."
The latest figures a week after it emerged that Scotland's schools had recorded their worst-ever performance in an international survey of pupils.
The country's scores for maths, reading and science all declined in the latest set of Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) figures.
It was the first time since the tests began in 2000 that Scotland's performance in all three subject areas was classed as "average", with none "above average", among the 72 countries that took part.
The Curriculum for Excellence has been introduced in Scottish schools in recent years, with the country's qualifications system also overhauled.
However, teaching unions have complained about "excessive and unsustainable" workloads as a result of some of the changes.


Yann Kermogant scored two late goals as Reading came from behind to snatch victory against Bristol City.

Tammy Abraham gave Bristol City the lead when he pounced on a rebound, before doubling his side's lead minutes after the break from the spot after Tyler Blackett felled Callum O'Dowda.
Liam Kelly began Reading's comeback before Kermogant lashed home an equaliser with four minutes to play.
And the striker struck again with a superb effort to win it for the Royals.
Reading, who began the day in third place in the Championship table, were looking for their third straight victory after their final game of 2016 against Fulham was abandoned due to fog.
But it was City, who have now lost nine of their last 10 games, who took a surprising 2-0 lead courtesy of top scorer Abraham's brace following Reading's defensive errors.
Goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi's poor pass out fell to Joe Bryan which led to Abraham's first, before the Bristol City striker added his 17th goal of the season in all competitions, after Blackett's clumsy challenge in the box.
Reading began their charge in the 72nd-minute through substitute Kelly, before Kermogant netted twice in seven minutes to complete the comeback in stoppage time, and they remain third in the Championship table, while Bristol City fall one place to 18th.
Reading manager Jaap Stam told BBC Radio Berkshire:
"We're very pleased with that, in terms of how we played as most of the time we controlled the game and scored three goals in the second half as well to win.
"At times in the first half, we were careless giving the ball away allowing them to break on the counter.
"We needed to step up and be better than that in the second half. After conceding a second goal, we stuck to our plan and were patient.
"We got our crisp, quick passing going and that's what we did right up until the end of the game."
Match ends, Bristol City 2, Reading 3.
Second Half ends, Bristol City 2, Reading 3.
Offside, Reading. Yann Kermorgant tries a through ball, but Yakou Meite is caught offside.
Goal!  Bristol City 2, Reading 3. Yann Kermorgant (Reading) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Joey van den Berg.
Attempt missed. Tammy Abraham (Bristol City) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Scott Golbourne with a cross.
Goal!  Bristol City 2, Reading 2. Yann Kermorgant (Reading) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Liam Kelly.
Chris Gunter (Reading) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Joe Bryan (Bristol City).
Substitution, Reading. Yakou Meite replaces Garath McCleary.
Corner,  Reading. Conceded by Mark Little.
Foul by Paul McShane (Reading).
Tammy Abraham (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Liam Moore (Reading) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Aaron Wilbraham (Bristol City).
Substitution, Bristol City. Aaron Wilbraham replaces Luke Freeman.
Liam Moore (Reading) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Liam Moore (Reading).
Bobby Reid (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Yann Kermorgant (Reading).
Joe Bryan (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!  Bristol City 2, Reading 1. Liam Kelly (Reading) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Chris Gunter.
Attempt saved. Garath McCleary (Reading) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Liam Kelly.
Liam Kelly (Reading) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Luke Freeman (Bristol City).
Corner,  Bristol City. Conceded by Paul McShane.
Joey van den Berg (Reading) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Joey van den Berg (Reading).
Joe Bryan (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Yann Kermorgant (Reading) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Bobby Reid (Bristol City).
Substitution, Reading. Liam Kelly replaces John Swift.
Mark Little (Bristol City) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Jordan Obita (Reading).
Bobby Reid (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Tammy Abraham (Bristol City) is shown the yellow card.
Jordan Obita (Reading) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Josh Brownhill (Bristol City).
Substitution, Bristol City. Bobby Reid replaces Callum O'Dowda because of an injury.
Chris Gunter (Reading) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Scott Golbourne (Bristol City).


The BBC's John Simpson told his Twitter followers on Sunday he was "back from the brink" after ending up in intensive care following an allergic reaction.

The BBC's world affairs editor, 72, first revealed his illness last week.
He tweeted: "Thank heavens for Stuart McKechnie & the ICU team at the Radcliffe. I'd not have survived, due to a rare & deadly allergic reaction."
On Sunday, Simpson thanked a well-wisher on Twitter, saying it was "terrifying but all fine now".
Simpson's wife Dee Kruger Simpson said he was suddenly taken seriously ill on Thursday 9 September with a bout of mild food-poisoning and dehydration.
She told the BBC he had "an acute and toxic shock to his system which made him suddenly very unwell".
"Within an hour of being admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital (in Oxford), Dr Stuart Mckechnie and his medical team were suddenly fighting to save John's life.  A rare and unusual case, was how doctors described it, and a certain amount of pure bad luck," she said.
"Doctors are expecting that John will make a full recovery and he is very much looking forward to resuming his work."
He was discharged from hospital on Sunday and is now resting up at home.
Simpson praised the staff of the hospital in another tweet on Sunday, crediting them with saving his life.
And on Monday, he posted: "Thanks again to the magnificent NHS - my Monday outlook is perfect."
Simpson joined the BBC at 25 as a sub-editor in the radio newsroom, before becoming a political reporter and then political editor. He later became a foreign affairs correspondent.
In 1991, he was the BBC's key correspondent in Baghdad during the Gulf War, staying in the city despite being ordered to leave by his employers.
Since becoming the editor of the BBC's world affairs unit, the stories he has covered included the fall of Ceausescu in Romania and Nelson Mandela's release from prison.
Simpson currently reports on areas including Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, China, Russia and Ukraine.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


A whirlwind is blowing through the European Tour in the shape of its new boss Keith Pelley.

The 51-year-old Canadian has been in charge for three months since succeeding George O'Grady and is intent on radical changes, with the aim of making the tour a "viable alternative to the PGA Tour".
Pelley spoke at length publicly for the first time before the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, his energy and ambition more than evident as he addressed the assembled media.
He was forthright too, raising eyebrows when he conceded that May's BMW PGA Championship should not be regarded as the tour's "flagship" event.
The tournament, at the European Tour's Wentworth home, has been marketed as such for several years but Pelley emphatically put paid to that with an extraordinary assessment of its stature.
"A lot of people talk about Wentworth as being a flagship event," he said. "Wentworth [prize money] is 5.1m euros (£3.5m). The other event in the US that week is 6.1m.
"That's unacceptable. Wentworth needs to be eight to 10 million dollars (£5.2m to £6.5m)."
Pelley also raised concerns about the state of Wentworth's West Course in spring when the tournament is held. The new owners are planning a major overhaul and the Tour chief executive is looking for a telling upgrade.
"I don't see it as our flagship event," he said. "The greens became a critical issue last year. In 2017 there is a detailed plan to significantly improve that.
"We are continuing at Wentworth until at least 2018 and expect if the West Course becomes exactly what they believe it can, then we can increase the prize purse.
"Then perhaps it can be a flagship event."
The tournament gains additional world ranking points because of its current designation as the tour's biggest event, but it is increased funding that is Pelley's priority.
"We have no choice but to work hard to raise our prize purses to provide a viable alternative, for all our players, to the PGA Tour," he told BBC Sport.
"This means our elite, medium- and low-ranked players. We are trying to provide a great option for them.
"There's obviously a lot of migration to America and all we want to do is provide a suitable option for those players before they go to America.
"Right now that doesn't exist because our prize purses aren't high enough, so we are going to have to significantly increase them over the coming years."
Pelley is not put off by uncertainty in European economic markets, highlighting the global appeal of his organisation.
"We are a world economy," he said. "We are a world tour, when you think about it. We are in 27 countries and four regions of the world.
"The ability for us to attract global players based on the global nature of our tour is a significant advantage for us."
Pelley's decision to rewrite membership rules should ensure big name Europeans stay with the circuit, which also keeps them eligible to play in the Ryder Cup.
He has done this by reducing the number of counting events from 13 to five, effectively removing the four majors and four World Golf Championships events from the required schedule.
This helps the likes of Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell who have slipped out of the world's top 50. They would be struggling to play the previously stipulated 13 tournaments if they are ineligible for the majors and WGCs.
"It's the status quo except for those who have dropped out of the top 50," Pelley explained. "This makes it easier for them to maintain European Tour membership and I think that's a fair thing for us to do and in the best interests of the tour."
It is a common sense move, as is his stated desire to tackle slow play - the scourge of the modern game.  "That's what the players have said and that's what the fans have said," he added.
"Through all of our stakeholder conversations with partners and rights holders, slow play is a critical component and one that needs to be addressed.
"We are going to take a leadership role in actually working very closely with the R&A in dealing with this problem."
These are all very welcome messages from a figure who seems to have potential to shake up the game.  Innovative tournament formats are under consideration and pre-tournament pro-am events are likely to be reshaped.
"We are going to be different, no question," Pelley said, as he described what he calls a "players-first philosophy".
Of course, it is one thing to make such statements. He will ultimately be judged on delivery.
But Pelley's forthright and confident messages suggest he is ready for such scrutiny while accepting his influence will take time to be fully felt.
So by 2018 how changed will the European Tour feel? Pelley paused before answering: "Eight out of ten."
Meaning?
"It'll be significantly different."
Hold on to your hats.


Sweden's chief prosecutor has questioned Wikileaks founder Julian Assange about a rape allegation at the Ecuadorean embassy in London.

He denies the allegation that he raped a Swedish woman in 2010.
Swedish prosecutor Ingrid Isgren listened as an Ecuadorean prosecutor put the questions to Mr Assange.
He took refuge in the embassy four years ago, fearing extradition. He says the sex was consensual and believes the allegations are politically motivated.
The accusations relate to a visit Mr Assange made to Stockholm in August 2010 to give a lecture.
Ms Isgren and Swedish police inspector Cecilia Redell left the embassy at 13:30 local time (13:30 GMT) without making any statement to the media. They may continue questioning Mr Assange for several days.
Q&A: Julian Assange and the law
Mr Assange has refused to travel to Sweden for questioning citing concerns he would be extradited to the US over Wikileaks' release of 500,000 secret military files on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. However, lawyers argue that his extradition from Sweden would be even less likely than from the UK.
Mr Assange is accused of raping a woman, named in legal papers as SW, at her home in August 2010.
Swedish prosecutors dropped part of their investigation last year because of a statute of limitations.
Mr Assange is "not hiding" at the embassy, but he will not go to Sweden because he would thereby risk losing his Ecuadorean asylum status, his lawyer Jennifer Robinson told the BBC on Monday.
"Sweden refused to provide assurances against onward extradition to the United States," she said, accusing the Swedish authorities of "dragging their feet" over the case.
It's taken many months of tortuous diplomatic and legal exchanges just to get the Swedish prosecutor in the door.
Under the agreement worked out with Ecuador, the Swedes were not allowed to question Julian Assange directly. Instead questions were to be submitted in Spanish and put to the Wikileaks founder by an Ecuadorean prosecutor.
No follow-up questions were allowed.
This may explain why the Swedish prosecutor had been reluctant to question Julian Assange in London, insisting it would "lower the quality of the interview". She changed her mind in March 2015, a few months before lesser allegations made against Julian Assange had to be dropped because of a time limitation.
At the embassy Mr Assange is beyond the reach of the UK authorities. Sweden has issued an arrest warrant for him, which he has appealed against.
Shortly after Ms Isgren entered the embassy, a cat - said to belong to Mr Assange - appeared at one of the windows and began watching the journalists and Assange supporters gathered outside.
The cat has its own Twitter feed, which says it lives with Mr Assange and is "interested in counter-purrveillance".
A statement on behalf of the Swedish prosecutors, quoted by the Press Association, said the investigation would remain confidential.
"Therefore, the prosecutors cannot provide information concerning details of the investigation after the interview," it said.
One of Mr Assange's lawyers, Per Samuelson, said his client "is very happy that he finally will be given the opportunity to give his statement to the Swedish prosecution.
"He has been waiting for this for over six years. He has prepared himself very carefully and will give a statement and will co-operate to the full extent."


British hopefuls, including Eddie Redmayne and Rosamund Pike, have begun arriving at the Bafta Film Awards.

Stars on the red carpet at London's Royal Opera House also include homegrown nominees Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley alongside US stars Michael Keaton and Reese Witherspoon.
The London ceremony, hosted by Stephen Fry, is the biggest awards event in the British film calendar.
Surreal comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel leads the pack with 11 nominations.
You can follow coverage of the award ceremony on our live page.
Showbiz satire Birdman and Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything are each nominated in 10 categories.
Redmayne, who plays physicist Hawking is the bookies' favourite to take the best actor award - though he faces tough competition from Birdman lead Keaton, as well as his rival and friend Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game.
Speaking on the red carpet about his overnight success, Redmayne said he was "just trying to put one foot in front of the other... and enjoy it".
"The most difficult thing was the fear of upsetting Stephen [Hawking], or Jane, or the children. When we heard that they enjoyed [the film], it was the most wonderful thing," he said.
"Their story is extraordinary, and it deserved to be told properly."
Cumberbatch, who plays computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing, has been widely nominated across the film season, but was piped to the post at the Golden Globes by both Keaton and Redmayne.
On the red carpet, he called for "more diversity" among award nominees, giving a particular nod to Selma star David Oyelowo, who was a surprise omission among this year's Bafta nominees.
Cumberbatch described British star Oyelowo's performance playing Dr Martin Luther King Jr as "flawless" and "absolute performance": "I just wish he was amongst our number," he said.
It follows a short-lived controversy last week which saw Cumberbatch criticised for using the term "coloured" in an interview on US television.
Cumberbatch later apologised prompting Oyelowo to come to his defence, calling the attacks in the press "ridiculous".
The Imitation Game, about war-time efforts to crack the German Enigma codes, has nine nominations; while coming-of-age epic Boyhood and jazz drumming drama Whiplash are each nominated five times.
Pike, who is nominated for her role in Gone Girl, is among the British hopefuls in the best actress category, alongside Felicity Jones and Knightley. On the red carpet, she described her role as "a wonderful cocktail of a woman to sink my teeth into".
Fellow nominee Jones, whom co-star Redmayne described as "formidable", told BBC News she was "so proud" of The Theory of Everything, "I could just keep talking about it forever."
However, US actress Julianne Moore is tipped to win the trophy for her performance as a linguistics professor with early-onset Alzheimer's.
The Baftas take place exactly two weeks before the Academy Awards in Hollywood and can often be an indicator of who will go on to win an Oscar.
The last six winners of the Bafta for best film have gone on to win the best picture Oscar. Last year's winner, 12 Years a Slave, won two Baftas and three Oscars.
Amanda Berry, Bafta chief executive, said 69% of Bafta and Oscar winners over the last 10 years have been same: "I think that makes us enough of a predictor to be relevant, but not too much the same to be a carbon copy."
Full list of nominees
Dan Higgins, editor of Pure Movies, predicts the best film race will be a battle between Richard Linklater's Boyhood - which was shot with the same cast over 12 years - and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman.
"Boyhood is a gimmick film, while Birdman's technical brilliance is unbelievable," said Higgins. "But I think Boyhood will get it."
The best British film category sees marmalade-loving bear Paddington up against Under the Skin's beautiful alien vampire in the form of Scarlett Johansson.
The betting suggests a win for The Imitation Game. "It would be a shock if Paddington won, and I'd love there to be a shock, but I don't think it'll be that one," added Higgins.
Mike Leigh, whose critically-lauded Mr Turner was frozen out of the main categories, will receive the Bafta Fellowship for his "outstanding and exceptional contribution to film". BBC Films, in its 25th year, will receive the outstanding British contribution to cinema award.
Rock band Kasabian will open proceedings at the Royal Opera House with a live performance.
The ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC One HD at 21.00 GMT on Sunday.  A special red carpet show will be broadcast by BBC Three, hosted by Edith Bowman at 20.30 GMT. There will be live coverage of the awards on the BBC website from 18:30 GMT.


Jade Lally has produced the longest discus throw by a British woman since 1983 to move to fourth in the 2016 world rankings.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist improved her English record to 65.10 metres at the New South Wales Championships in Sydney.
It puts her second in the all-time British list behind Scotland's Margaret Ritchie, who threw 67.48.
It is the second time she has thrown an Olympic qualifying mark in three days.
The 28-year-old threw 64.22m at the Auckland Track Challenge on Thursday.


The body of a man found on a Conwy county beach is that of missing fisherman Brian Hughes, police have confirmed.

The alarm for Mr Hughes, 66, was raised on Wednesday after his boat Susie Mo II failed to return to port.
Extensive air, sea and land searches were carried out over two days between Llandudno's Great Orme and Rhyl.
Mr Hughes's body was discovered just before 17:30 BST on Sunday at Kinmel Bay.


Former City trader Tom Hayes has had his jail sentence for rigging global Libor interest rates cut to 11 years.

The Court of Appeal in London considered mitigating factors including his diagnosis for Asperger's Syndrome, a condition on the autism spectrum.
He was previously sentenced in August to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to defraud.
Hayes was the first person to face a jury trial for manipulating the rate.
Libor is used as a benchmark for trillions of pounds of global borrowing and lending.
Many of the world's leading banks have paid heavy financial penalties for tampering with the benchmark.
The final sentence in the Appeal Court judgement on the Tom Hayes case is the one that carries significant weight.
It will serve as a wake-up call to any in the City that may still believe financial crime is somehow not as serious as other crimes.
Or, that because the rules were arguably unclear, the guilt of those involved is debatable.
"This court must make clear to all in the financial and other markets in the City that conduct of this type will result in severe sentences of considerable length," the three Appeal Court judges said.
Yes, Hayes had his sentence reduced slightly, but the court appears to want to make it clear that long sentences for manipulating markets - above the 11 years finally settled on here - could well be handed down in the future.
Lawyers failed to overturn the conviction of the former UBS and Citigroup trader.
Lord Thomas, sitting with Sir Brian Leveson and Lady Justice Gloster, said that none of the grounds of appeal on conviction had any merit.
"Those who act dishonestly in these markets must receive severe sentences to deter others from criminality that is often hard to detect and has such a damaging effect not only on the markets, but more broadly on the general prosperity of the state," he said.
Hayes said in a statement: "Today I lost a battle to have my conviction in relation to Libor overturned.
"Whilst I am immensely disappointed with this result, I am relieved and grateful that the extremely long sentence imposed on me has been reduced."
He added: "I continue to maintain my innocence."
The case was originally brought by the Serious Fraud Office, which said Hayes set up a network of traders over 10 financial institutions and persuaded them to help rig Libor rates for profit.


Salford Red Devils half-back Robert Lui has been ruled out of action for at least three weeks with a knee injury.

Lui, 26, has scored two tries in his six Super League appearances for the Red Devils this season after his move from NRL side North Queensland Cowboys.
"It's positive in that it's only a short time but he's someone who has played really well for us so far," boss Ian Watson told BBC Radio Manchester.
"We've got players who can come in now and take their opportunity."


A pair of sloths at an East Sussex zoo failed to breed after it emerged that they were both in fact males.

Keepers at Drusillas Park in Alfriston could not work out why Sofia and male Tupee had failed to bond since being introduced to each other in 2011.
Head keeper Mark Kenward said it was not easy to establish the sex of a sloth and medical records had shown Sofia was female when she arrived.
"We are going to have to find a more suitable name for Sofia," he said.
It is likely that either Tupee or Sofia will now be re-homed to another zoo, and another female introduced.
Mr Kenward said: "We had never looked after sloths before and were relying on the information provided.
"Unfortunately we cannot keep our two boys together and it would also be a waste of their breeding potential."
After enlisting the help of Bristol Zoo, Mr Kenward said it all made "perfect sense" given the problems they had been experiencing with the animals.


Apple's chief executive has confirmed it is developing a self-driving car system.

But Tim Cook indicated that it is too soon to say whether it would license the tech to other carmakers or try to build its own vehicles.
His interview with the Bloomberg news agency yielded his most detailed comments about the project to date.
Until now, Apple had avoided publicly discussing its plans, although it had confirmed the scheme in US filings.
There had also been leaked details of a change in leadership of the car team, with veteran hardware specialist Bob Mansfield reportedly put in charge last year, as well as images of test vehicles being published on rumour sites.
"We're focusing on autonomous systems and clearly one purpose of autonomous systems is self-driving cars - there are others," Mr Cook told Bloomberg.
"And we sort of see it as the the mother of all AI [artificial intelligence] projects.
"It's probably one of the most difficult AI projects to work on.
"We'll see where it takes us. We're not saying from a product point of view where it will take us, but we are being straightforward that it's a core technology that we view as very important."
He added that the rise of AI, electric vehicles and ride-sharing presented an opportunity.
"There is a major disruption looming," he said.
"You've got kind of three vectors of change happening generally in the same timeframe."
Apple invested $1bn (Â£785m) in China's ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing last year.
The publication of the interview coincides with an announcement by General Motors that it has completed production of 130 self-driving Chevrolet Bolt cars at a factory in Michigan.
It intends to start testing them in San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona, in conjunction with the ride-hailing firm Lyft next month,
Jaguar Land Rover also revealed plans this week to test self-driving cars with Lyft in the future.
Meanwhile, Audi has begun teasing a July reveal of a new car - the A8 - that will introduce semi-autonomous features of its own.
"It's still very unclear who is going to come out on top in this space," commented Jim Holder, editorial director of Autocar magazine.
"There has been a period of about five years in which car companies and tech companies have been dancing around each other being very wary of the other's motivations.
"Now it looks like they have realised they have to get into bed together to succeed.
"Apple appears not to have an appetite to get into the carmaking business, which is famously low profit margin and high investment. But it can succeed by being a supplier and doing what it does best, which is working to seven-month cycles, while the car industry is more used to working on a seven-year cycle to produce a vehicle."


More tourists could die from carbon monoxide poisoning unless the government and holiday industry do more to protect them, a coroner has said.

The warning comes in a report by David Hinchliff who investigated the deaths in Corfu in 2006 of Bobby and Christi Shepherd, from Horbury near Wakefield.
An inquest jury ruled in May they were unlawfully killed by a faulty boiler.
In his new report, Mr Hinchliff says: "There is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken."
The document, which has been sent to senior government ministers, travel agents group Abta and the Federation of Tour Operators, says the government must push for a new EU-wide safety standard.
He also called for:
The inquest jury also ruled that travel firm Thomas Cook had breached its duty of care after seven-year-old Christi and six-year-old Bobby were overcome by fumes while on holiday with their father and his partner at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel in October 2006.
Mr Hinchliff said Thomas Cook should lead the way with improving safety and raising awareness across the industry.
Thomas Cook said in a statement: "As a company we are now reviewing his report and the suggestions he has made for both the wider travel industry and for Thomas Cook.
"We will continue to work with the travel industry and ABTA to identify possible improvements that may be appropriate for implementation across the industry.
"We are already working with Sharon Wood [the children's mother] on a new initiative to raise awareness about carbon monoxide in order to tackle some of the issues head on."
An ABTA spokesman added: "We have received a copy of the coroner's report regarding the inquest into the deaths of Bobby and Christi Shepherd and are reviewing it in detail.
"We will consider the points raised in the report very carefully and we will provide feedback to the coroner by the date requested."
Mary Creagh, the family's MP in Wakefield, said: "I welcome the fact the coroner is pushing the UK government to institute new carbon monoxide standards in the UK and across Europe and is also pushing the holiday industry to better protect travellers."
The Labour MP said 43 holidaymakers had died of carbon monoxide poisoning since Christi and Bobby's deaths.
"The family's dearest wish is that this sort of tragedy does not happen to anybody else," said Ms Creagh.


June is the time of year when people are most likely to be attacked by seagulls.

After pairing up and nesting in May, the birds become defensive and are on the lookout for even more food than usual.
But local authorities have no legal power to deal with them.
The RSPB said even though more and more are being seen, they are actually protected because of their reducing numbers.
Margaret Parry from Moelfre on Anglesey, was attacked by a seagull which felt its chick had been threatened.
"She cut me on my face, couple of inches cut, hospital job," she said.
Ms Parry told BBC Radio Cymru's Manylu programme that her wound had to be glued, she needed a tetanus injection and experienced headaches for three days.
Contractor Geraint Williams, from Caernarfon, uses a distress alarm to attract seagulls and then releases a bird of prey which is trained to scare them away from the area.
It is a method designed to get rid of the birds from company buildings without killing them.
"They are very inquisitive birds and if they hear one of their own in distress, they will come to investigate," he said.


Reforms aimed at banning unpaid internships have been blocked after Tory backbenchers and the government spoke against the proposals in the Commons.

The draft legislation sought to ensure people were paid the minimum wage for workplace internships.
The bill's sponsor, Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke, said he wanted to "level the playing field" for youngsters.
But the government said it could "undermine existing employment laws".
The proposed National Minimum Wage (Workplace Internships) Bill would require companies to pay interns at least the minimum wage for their work.
The MP for Elmet and Rothwell, Mr Shelbrooke, said not paying interns had become the "acceptable face of unpaid labour in modern Britain" and should be banned.
He warned that the use of unpaid interns by MPs, more than 20 of whom were advertising such roles, sent a message to UK business that "exploiting" young workers was acceptable.
But the debate on Friday was forced to end after four-and-a-half hours of speeches, with Tory MPs David Nuttall and Philip Davies each speaking for more than an hour.
Also expressing his concerns was Bob Stewart, Tory MP for Beckenham, who said: "If they [the employers] have to pay internships then that comes off the bottom line, it's a cost to the business, and undoubtedly there will be fewer internships."
Business minister Margot James said the bill was legally "unnecessary".
She said: "While it's extremely well-intentioned, I do have concerns that it could have unintended consequences that might even undermine existing employment laws and protections.
"Legally the bill is unnecessary because... interns are eligible for the National Minimum Wage if they meet the definition of 'worker'.
"It doesn't matter what the individual or employer calls the arrangement, or whether or not the individual agreed not to be paid, only the reality of the employment arrangement matters and if interns are workers they are entitled to be paid."
Shadow business minister Gill Furniss said Labour supported the bill.
She added: "This is a system rigged in favour of those who can afford it, or perhaps better said, whose parents can afford it."
The Labour MP said these unpaid internships were "monopolised by the children of the wealthy" while poorer people were "shut out".
Ben Lyons, co-director of the Intern Aware campaign, said: "The government flunked an opportunity to tackle the problem of long-term unpaid internships, which leads to good jobs going to those who can afford to work for free, rather than the brightest and most hard-working."
Mr Shelbrooke asked for the debate on his bill to resume on 24 February, although it is unlikely to secure further parliamentary time.


At least nine people have died and more than 250 are injured after a powerful earthquake hit southern Japan, toppling buildings and cutting power supplies.

Officials say more people could be trapped under collapsed buildings.
Thousands fled their homes and many people spent the night in the open in the town of Mashiki, near Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu.
Troops have been sent to the scene but rescue operations are being disrupted by aftershocks, officials said.
No tsunami warning was issued after the magnitude 6.4 quake struck at 21:26 on Thursday (12:26 GMT) east of Kumamoto.
Nuclear reactors on the island are not reported to have been affected.
The two Sendai nuclear reactors on Kyushu were operating as normal while the three Genkai nuclear reactors still in operation were already closed for routine inspection.
The quake struck at a depth of 10km (six miles) and was followed by aftershocks measuring 5.7 about 40 minutes later and 6.4 just after midnight local time.
But Japan's seismology office recorded the shaking at some places to be as intense as the huge magnitude nine earthquake that hit the country in 2011.
That triggered a tsunami in a double disaster that left more than 18,000 people dead or missing and led to meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
"The shaking was so violent I couldn't stand still," Hironobu Kosaki, a local police official, told the Associated Press news agency.
Initial reports said two people had died but the toll rose to nine as rescue teams worked through the night.
Yasuhiro Soshino, of the Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Hospital, told BBC World News on Friday morning that they had received 254 injured people including 15 severe cases.
"Red Cross medical teams in other areas are also gathering at our Red Cross hospital," he said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at least 19 houses had collapsed and officials were still assessing the extent of the damage.
About 16,000 homes were left without electricity and 38,000 without gas, reports say.
At least two deaths occurred in Mashiki, where the shaking was most severe. The town lies 15km (nine miles) east of Kumamoto.
One victim died after being pulled from the rubble and another was killed in a fire, Kumamoto prefecture disaster management official Takayuki Matsushita was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
Mashiki residents said houses and walls had collapsed and the water supply had been cut off.
An official in the nearby city of Uki said houses there had also collapsed as well as part of the city hall's ceiling.
The BBC's Japan Correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says the quake took place at a time when most people were at home.
Some train services were suspended as a precautionary measure.
Japan is regularly struck by earthquakes but stringent building codes mean that damage usually does not occur.


Tommy Sheppard has announced he will stand for the role of deputy leader of the party.

The SNP MP for Edinburgh East said the party had to prepare for a second referendum on Scottish independence and still had "arguments to win".
The current deputy leader, Stewart Hosie, has said he will step down in the autumn.
Mr Sheppard wrote in a blog: "We need to prepare for the challenges ahead, including IndyRef2 when it comes.
"That will be a far tougher test, and we need to be ready."
Others to announce they are running are the party's Westminster leader Angus Robertson and MEP Alyn Smith.


A campaigner who said he was sexually abused in Nottinghamshire care homes has been banned from council premises and discussing the authority online.

Mickey Summers said he was raped as a child and has protested at meetings, claiming there has been a cover up.
Nottingham City Council has imposed an interim anti-social behaviour injunction and is taking him to court.
The authority said it will continue to help police investigate his case but his behaviour was unacceptable.
The injunction bans him from visiting all "non-residential" council premises or approaching staff and from posting "any material involving anyone from Nottingham City Council, its staff, councillors, employees or agents" on the internet.
Mr Summers, who has been at the centre of a campaign to uncover child abuse in Nottinghamshire, said: "I will not be silenced. This is a response to what happened to me as a child. How would they feel if this was their child?"
He added that he was prepared to breach the injunction and go to jail if it meant uncovering the truth.
The city council's director of children and families, Alison Michalska said they had gone to "exceptional lengths" to work with Mr Summers.
But she said his behaviour towards some members of staff - including picketing outside an official's home - was unacceptable.
Last year council officers warned they would take action but Ms Michalska said there was no improvement and so "regrettably" court proceedings had to be started.
In a statement, she added: "We remain absolutely committed to supporting and helping Mr Summers and others who are seeking answers and justice for abuse they allege they suffered in children's homes many years ago and will continue to be fully involved in supporting the police investigation."
Nottinghamshire Police currently has two investigations - Operations Daybreak and Xeres - into allegations of historic child abuse at care homes across the county.


The Department for Regional Development (DRD) is to reinstate safety measures at a fatal accident black spot on a main road in Belfast.

It has emerged that an original crash barrier was removed, even though the Roads Service could not find out why it had been put there in the first place.
It had been in place following a fatal crash in 1977.
It was removed three weeks before Enda Dolan died after he was hit by a van on the Malone Road last October.
According to documents received through a Freedom of Information request made by the BBC, officials from the DRD Roads Service -  now called Transport NI - ordered the barrier to be removed, even though they were unable to find out why it had been originally put there.
The documents show communication between officials discussing the barrier.
One asked: "Have you been able to find out why this barrier is at this location? I would like some more background before we remove it."
Another official replied: "We have not been able to find anyone who knows the history of why it was installed."
The barrier was later removed and not replaced.
According to a newspaper report from 1977, the barrier was erected at the bend following the death of two girl students in a car accident.
The headline on the story from then reads: "Barrier plan where two girls died".
Jim Beggs, who lives in the area, said the DRD would have found out the history of the crash site if they had asked him.
He said: "There are people living in this street for 40 years.  The people in this street know about the horrible accident that took place in 1977, a result of which the barrier was put in place. They did not ask me."
Since Enda Dolan's death, his family, students at Queen's University, where the 18-year-old was studying, and politicians have all called for the barrier to be reinstated, fearing another tragic accident.
The DRD has said arrangements are now being made to install new safety measures at the spot where the County Tyrone teenager was knocked down.
However, the barrier will not be replaced like-for-like. The kerb will be raised to deflect any traffic away from the pavement and a new waist-high fence will also be built.
A DRD spokesperson said: "Arrangements are now being made to put in safety measures at this location. This will take the form of a high containment kerb and vision panel guardrail. This work will be completed as quickly as possible.
"Detailed costs of the proposed works are currently being worked up in conjunction with the detailed design."
UKIP MLA David McNarry, who sits on the DRD committee at Stormont, said it will be looking for answers.
He said: "If the barrier was put there in the first place, it had to be there for a reason."
The Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy was unavailable for comment.


Hospital records belonging to 24 elderly patients were found dumped near a bin by a member of the public.

Steven Murphy discovered documents from University Hospital Coventry outside his flat in Foleshill in March and April.
Hospital bosses have apologised to the patients and their families and have launched an internal investigation.
The Information Commissioner's Office said: "We're aware of an incident and are making enquiries."
Dr Subahjit Basu, an expert on NHS data at the University of Leeds School of Law said it was "a serious incident".
More on this story and updates from Coventry & Warwickshire
Mr Murphy said: "I saw the hospital numbers, the ages, the names, the full medical conditions they were suffering from, the treatment they were receiving and their consultant's name.
"I thought that's sensitive information. They need to not allow this sort of stuff to get out of the building. They should do random searches of staff if necessary."
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said it had informed the Information Commissioner's Office itself.
The granddaughter of a hospital patient whose records were among those found dumped near a bin said she was "absolutely devastated".
Jemma Lake said the family had "put their trust" in the NHS to care for her grandfather, who has late stage dementia, but they feel staff "completely let him down".
University Hospital in Coventry says it is investigating how this could have happened.


Arsonists have set fire to a nail salon in Belfast in an overnight attack that police are treating as a racially-motivated hate crime.

Asta's Glam Factory, on Castlereagh Street, is owned by a Lithuanian woman.
Police received a report that a gang of men forced up the shutters shortly before midnight, poured accelerant on the premises and set it alight.
It follows a series of recent attacks on foreign nationals in Belfast.
Three fire crews were called to deal with the fire at the nail salon and the blaze was extinguished by 01:00 BST.
Police said no-one was in the salon at the time but the building has been extensively damaged by fire and smoke.
Det Insp Jenna Fitzpatrick said police believed that the gang may have fled the scene in a black 4 x 4 vehicle.
She appealed for anyone who had information about the attack to contact officers on the non-emergency number 101.
On Sunday, Northern Ireland's Honorary Polish Consul Jerome Mullen called on Stormont's first and deputy first ministers to take action after a series of racially-motivated attacks on Polish homes in north Belfast.
A gang of men forced up the shutters of the salon and set the building alight shortly before midnight