Author: Rhys Gregory

Young people from a Llandudno special school have enjoyed a day of cricket, lovely cricket at the town’s famous Oval. The ground which has played host to touring teams from the West Indies and New Zealand as well as to Glamorgan welcomed 60 pupils from the town’s Ysgol Y Gogarth special school for their own Cricket Festival. They enjoyed over four hours of cricketing activities under the skilled eyes of volunteers from Llandudno Cricket Club’s men’s and women’s teams as well as from Cricket Wales with barbecue catering provided by club sponsors Harlech Foodservice. Harlech Development Chef Stephen Griffiths was…

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is awarding £5.5 million to organisations within the voluntary and community sector to support customers who may need extra help with their tax affairs. HMRC is inviting eligible organisations to bid for the funding, worth £1.8m a year from 2024 until 2027, through HMRC’s Voluntary and Community Sector Grant Funding programme. Bids can be submitted between 24 July and 21 August 2023 with successful organisations being announced in October ready for the new funding to start from 1 April 2024. This is the 12th round of funding HMRC is awarding as part of its commitment to…

Bellway Wales has started construction work on phase two of a housing development in Lisvane, near Cardiff. The housebuilder is delivering a total of 270 new homes at Longwood Grange, off Maerdy Lane in the village. The developer is building 64 new homes in the first phase with 36 of the 49 private homes for sale now completed and the keys handed over to their new owners. All 15 affordable homes available for local people through low-cost rent or to purchase at a discount to market value have also been built and are occupied. On phase two the housebuilder is…

RSPCA Cymru has welcomed the support of the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd who has pledged to encourage all local authorities in Wales to ban the giving of pets as prizes on their land. As part of its #NoFunAtTheFair campaign, the animal welfare charity is calling on the outdated practice to be banned – and has been campaigning for all councils in Wales to introduce their own local bans on their land. So far 12 have done so following tireless RSPCA campaigning and overwhelming public support. During questions in the Senedd from Heledd Fychan MS and…

The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society is delighted to announce that the 2022 winner of the Grand National, Sam Waley-Cohen will judge the Supreme Horse Championship at this year’s Royal Welsh Show. Now in its 102nd year, the Royal Welsh Show attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the heart of Mid-Wales to come together and celebrate the very best of Welsh and British agriculture. Equine competitions form a huge part of the event, with exhibitors traveling across the globe to compete in the Royal Welsh judging rings. The Supreme Championship is gifted to the best horse exhibit at the Show.…

MAKE it a firm date in your diary-Chepstow Spud Fest is coming to town. The free festival, organised by Chepstow Town Council and to be held principally in the town’s historic Drill Hall and on the riverbank and the castle dell, will be on Saturday, October 21, from 11am to 5pm. Exact programme details are being finalised but a range of potato-themed events are being considered by the council’s newly-created Chepstow Spud Fest (CSF) Working Group. The CSF is now inviting groups and organisations within the town and any others with an interest and any spud-based ideas, to get involved…

A new report has highlighted how Pobl Group is still delivering a significant programme of new affordable homes despite all the competing challenges facing housing associations. Influential trade publication Inside Housing’s annual Top 50 Biggest Builders development survey of how many homes housing associations in the UK are building highlights that the Group completed 362 homes across all tenures during the period, placing Pobl at 42nd on the list, the only Welsh association included in the top 50. Pobl has also been working with Welsh Government and local authorities to address the many obstacles affecting the building of new homes.…

A new floodlit all-weather pitch that will bring huge benefits to pupils and the wider community in Pontarddulais is now complete. More than £450,000 has been invested in creating the sports facility that includes a multi-use games area at the town’s comprehensive school. It is being used by pupils during school hours and is being made available to the wider community in the evenings and at weekends. Swansea Council Leader Rob Stewart was joined by cabinet colleagues, local members, school governors, senior officers and school pupils for the official opening this week. Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Chair of Sport Wales, recorded…

TV chef Jamie Oliver has praised the work of Tenby VC School’s catering team who provide nutritious meals for five schools in the area. Cook in Charge Lisa Roberts, and her dedicated catering team, cook tasty and healthy lunches for the children of Tenby VC School as well as providing meals for St Teilos School, Penally Learning Centre, Manorbier School and Ysgol Hafan a Môr – around 500 meals a day! The team were shortlisted for a Catering Team Champions Award as part of the 2023 Jamie’s Good School Food Awards having impressed the judges with their efforts and real…

Work will begin to upgrade links for cyclists at three locations in Llantwit Fardre and Efail Isaf. The scheme is being delivered via Welsh Government’s Active Travel Fund, and the work will cause minimal disruption locally. The Council has appointed Calibre Contracting Ltd to deliver the scheme, which starts on Monday, July 24. Aside from minor footway obstructions, the work is not expected to cause disruption to the community. The scheme will last around eight weeks, and will upgrade cycle links at the following locations: The northern end of Ffordd Glas-y-Dorlan in Llantwit Fardre, where it meets the Llantrisant Road…