Author: Rhys Gregory

This month will see the largest ever One Stop Info Shop as organisations take-over the National Waterfront Museum between 11am and 2pm on Monday January 22. More than 60 groups, charities and services will have engagement stalls while this month there will also be guest speakers and interactive sessions. There will be advice and support across a range of areas such as health, well-being, employment, poverty and housing. Swansea Council has teamed up with the National Waterfront Museum and many other organisations to promote activities and services they run for a diverse range of communities. People are welcome to turn-up anytime…

RCT Council has provided an update on the ongoing programme of work to improve local bus stops along several key routes in the Aberdare area, using funding secured from Welsh Government. Local Transport Fund allocations for 2023/24 were announced in September 2023, and the Council was successful in securing around £200,000 funding for bus stop enhancements under the Bus Priority Scheme. The work programme is being delivered in three phases, focusing on improving 106 bus stops in Aberdare and along local bus corridors in surrounding communities. Phases one and two of the programme are now substantially complete. The works at…

Two men have been jailed after breaking into a 78-year-old’s house while he slept. Martin Conway, 36, and Christopher Llewellyn, 34, broke into a Canton property in the early hours of the morning,stealing £500 from the 78-year-old victim. Llewellyn entered the victim’s bedroom and took the victim’s debit card before running to the end of the street and giving it to Conway. Conway then used the card at a nearby cashpoint and took £500 from the victim’s account. Both suspects changed clothes and shoes in an attempt to avoid detection. The pair were then be seen using the money for…

A McDonald’s bought by a thief using the victims card lead to his arrest. Jason Jones, 38 has been jailed for four years after a burglary in early hours of 3 June 2023, when he entered the victim’s home in Church Village while the victim was sleeping. Whilst inside, Jones stole an array of items including the victim’s wallet and car keys. Jones then used the victim’s card to buy a McDonalds. He then also stole the victim’s car and crashed it a short time later before running away. A McDonalds coffee cup was retrieved from the stolen car and…

The project team that delivered the Hafan Yr Afon community building in Newtown will find out on Friday if it has won a UK-wide excellence award. Powys County Council is keen to say pob lwc (good luck) to Open Newtown, Architype and Pave Aways Building Contractors at the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Building Excellence Awards 2023 Grand Finals in London. The council was one of the supporters of the £2.25m project which received a large part of its funding through the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns programme and from The National Lottery Community Fund. Hafan Yr Afon was named…

The introduction of measures from 1 February, including Pre-Movement Testing, will be vital in helping to tackle bovine TB in Wales, Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths has said. The steps being taken follow responses to the consultation on a refreshed approach to TB Eradication in Wales and the subsequent delivery plan which was published in March 2023. From 1 February 2024, Pre-Movement Testing of cattle or other bovine animals located in the Low TB Area (LTBA) of Wales will be re-introduced. This change is being made in response to an increase in the local spread of TB in the LTBA,…

Neil Fry, 52, burgled three houses on Penllyn Road, Canton, whilst the occupiers were asleep upstairs. On 3 September 2023 in the early hours of the morning Fry burgled the three houses and attempted to burgle a fourth. He stole high-value items including, bank cards, jewellery, a purse and a Macbook. Fry is believed to have travelled between the back gardens of the homes to commit the offences. Following the burglaries, he went on to use the stolen cards in Tesco the same day to buy alcohol and cigarettes. Fry’s DNA was found by detectives at the scene of the…

Seals will be helping an Aberystwyth University academic monitor ocean warming in the Antarctic during a voyage of the RRS Sir David Attenborough. Later this month, Dr Guilherme Bortolotto will be boarding the new British Antarctic Survey vessel to survey the ocean near the western Antarctic Peninsula, in the Weddell Sea. How far and how fast the warm current is flowing under Antarctic glaciers, melting them from below, will affect how quickly they collapse. Their disappearance could lead to a catastrophic sea-level rise; leaving major coastal settlements across the world underwater. Even with advanced equipment, measuring the temperature of deepwater…

The headline NatWest Wales Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – registered 48.0 in December, down from 48.5 in November, to signal a modest and quicker drop in output at Welsh businesses. The fall was due to weak client demand, economic uncertainty and a further decrease in new order inflows. The sharper decline in activity in Wales contrasted with the wider UK trend, which indicated a moderate upturn. In fact, Welsh firms recorded the second-fastest drop in output behind the North East…

An entrepreneur from Prestatyn has launched a conscious clothing brand with the support of Big Ideas Wales. Founded in June 2023, Inside the Box is a minimalist streetwear label with a powerful message behind every product; to slow down, embrace a simple lifestyle and celebrate the little things. In the months since launching Inside the Box, 25-year-old transport design graduate Alexander Pichushkin has already released two capsule made-to-order collections from his bedroom, with his third collection coming early 2024. Despite vibrant hand-drawn designs, chequered sport-inspired prints and structured fittings, Inside the Box’s products are designed to remind consumers to embrace…