Author: Rhys Gregory

If the worst happens and you need a defibrillator to help save a life, a network of 650 machines means one is never far away Swansea’s become the UK’s first defib-friendly city and you can find your nearest one with this interactive map here. The charity Heartbeat Trust UK partnered with Swansea Council with the aim of achieving the accolade and saving lives. The council has contributed £175,000 over a three year period, and many other organisations and individuals have also supported this drive by purchasing defibrillators for their communities. These include town and community councils, sports clubs, charities, grassroots…

A Caerphilly shop owner has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for selling counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco. Amanj Mawlod Tawfik, aged 36 of Bwlch Road, Cardiff was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment at Newport Crown Court on 26 January 2024. His associates, Dana Nadir Kadir, 38 of Talywaun was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment suspended for 2 years, ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work, and attend 6 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and pay Caerphilly Council £1200 costs. Arshad Ahmad Rashid aged 46 of Cardiff Road, Caerphilly was ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work and pay Caerphilly…

Allelys, the haulage company responsible for transporting the abnormal load vehicle has said the third and final transportation is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 28 February 2024, between the hours of 00.30am and 05.45am. A rolling road closure under police escort will be in place while the vehicles are in transit and sections of the road will be reopened as soon as the vehicles have passed through. A number of pedestrian traffic light signals, street lighting columns, road signs and other street furniture will be temporarily removed as the transportation will overhang the footpaths along the route. These will…

A major project to create a new multi-agency hub in Brecon is to begin on Monday 4 March thanks to £3.5 million in UK Government Levelling Up funding. The money has been used by Powys County Council to buy the empty former call centre at Unit 1b, Brecon Enterprise Park, and to fund its refurbishment. It will see the creation of offices for council staff and partners from the public, private and voluntary sectors to use, in a flexible working environment, that will be known as Tŷ Brycheiniog. The move will then free up a much-needed development site, in…

A public consultation on public realm and highway improvements for the busy coastal village of Porthgain has been launched. Increased congestion in the village, one of North Pembrokeshire’s tourist hotspots, has caused traffic management issues and has had an impact on the area. Five preliminary design options for ‘Porthgain for All’ have been developed for public consultation  following workshops with a local working group, Pobol Porthgain, and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA). Welsh Government’s Brilliant Basics Fund has awarded £248,000 to Pembrokeshire County Council to undertake the two-year scheme, in conjunction with Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and Pobol…

The Vale of Glamorgan Council has reached a legal agreement with the consortium of developers at Barry Waterfront through a Consent Order, which restricts their ability to sell further properties until much-delayed community facilities are completed. The Council first announced it was considering legal action against the Waterfront Consortium, made up of national housebuilders Persimmon Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Homes, last August. There have been severe delays to landscaping, road surfacing and work on open spaces at the waterfront. Through meetings with the Council, residents have also raised complaints about the empty retail units within a commercial development known…

The Treherbert line will reopen for passengers on Monday 26 February following nine months of transformational works to upgrade part of the South Wales Metro. Initially, the service will return to two trains per hour, with brand-new Class 756 trains being introduced later this year, as part of the South Wales Metro works. As a thanks to passengers for their patience, customers in the Rhondda will be able to travel at half price until the end of May 2024. Transport for Wales (TfW) and partners have removed some of the oldest railway infrastructure in Wales, and replaced it with a modern,…

The vast majority of people who need treatment for an eating disorder are seen in Wales and treated in their local communities. A new team and clinical lead for eating disorders is helping to drive positive changes to eating disorder care, with a focus on early intervention. Over the coming year, a number of health boards will be working with the clinical lead to explore the introduction of the First Episode and Rapid Early Intervention in Eating Disorders (FREED) model, which is targeted at young people aged 16 to 25. Health boards are already providing early intervention models of care…

The Youth Work Excellence Awards are a chance to recognise and celebrate the outstanding youth work taking place across Wales. The winners of this year’s awards were announced last week at a ceremony in Llandudno. The awards reflect the diverse nature of youth work in Wales and demonstrate the impact youth work and youth workers have on young people and their surrounding communities. Winner of the ‘Outstanding Youth Worker’ award, Kelly Powell, runs GoodVibes, an LGBTQ+ youth group in Swansea. She has been a powerful force, providing a life-changing service to young people who attend the group, many of whom…

Resilient Roads improvements will take place at Lewis Street in Aberaman over the coming weeks, to upgrade the drainage infrastructure. Work from Monday, February 26, will install two manholes in the carriageway, along with new surface water drainage and gullies – while completing a small repair to a section of culvert. The four-week scheme is funded through Welsh Government’s Resilient Roads Grant, to reduce the risk of flooding during periods of heavy rainfall. A local road closure is required at Lewis Street (from the Rock Inn to One Stop store), along with a nearby 17-metre section of Park Road. An…