Author: Rhys Gregory

Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip Jane Hutt has praised the progress and uptake of the Basic Income pilot scheme after meeting care leavers taking part in the innovative programme. The Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot provided care leavers turning 18 between 01 July 2022 and 30 June 2023 with the opportunity to receive £1,600 (before tax) per month for a period of two years. During the 12-month enrolment period, which ended on 30 June this year, 635 young people leaving care in Wales joined the pilot. The provisional uptake rate of 97% represents a significantly…

Callum Beer was arrested when plain clothes officers patrolling the city centre witnessed suspected drug dealing. The police officers noticed Beer was attracting a steady stream of suspected drug users in an area close to the River Taff in Sophia Gardens. He was seen to carry out 10 to 15 exchanges while placing bank notes in his man bag and constantly taking and making calls on a mobile phone. Beer tried to make off and discard his mobile phone but was arrested and taken to Cardiff Bay Police Station. In his man bag, he had a black pot containing 10…

A scheme to repair a wall at Abernant Road will take place next week requiring a local footway closure – scheduled for half term to minimise disruption. The wall (pictured) is located just south of the turn into the former hospital site, and will be repaired using Council revenue funding. The scheme will take place from Monday, October 30 – and will be completed by the end of the school half term break. Work will include removing vegetation, repointing works, reconstructing small sections of the wall, and resetting several coping stones. The Council has appointed Hammonds Ltd as the contractor…

A Bridgend man has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of over 160 child sexual offences following an investigation by the South Wales Police Online Investigation Team. Enquiries first began in December 2022 when police received intelligence about suspicious bank transactions and online activity, linked to the downloading of indecent images of children from the dark web. An IP address was linked to an address in the Bridgend area and further checks led to the offender being identified as 23-year-old Lewis Edwards – a serving police officer. In the following days, a warrant was executed at his…

After a five-year closure and £1.4m major revamp by Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars, Cardiff residents and Cardiff Gate workers and visitors have a reason to celebrate this week as The Unicorn, near Cardiff Gate Retail Park, officially opens tomorrow 26th October at 12.00 noon. Local political and community representatives, who have been keen for the pub to reopen, met the new licensee, Gemma Morgan, and were given a sneak preview of The Unicorn.  The upgraded once-derelict building has been transformed into a fantastic country style pub with a more contemporary look and feel, serving great food and drink and…

A global aluminium recycling giant has announced a £30 million investment at its Wrexham plant to create 30 new jobs and double its recycling capacity to over 100,000 tons a year. The planned expansion by Norsk Hydro was announced at a campaign event to help secure an £80 million Investment Zone for Wrexham and Flintshire. The Norwegian-owned company was hosting a visit by members of the steering group leading the drive for Investment Zone status. The consortium includes the North Wales Business Council, Wrexham and Flintshire councils, Wrexham University and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Broughton, and is chaired…

A home builder has secured full planning permission to bring 93 new homes to Carmarthen. Persimmon Homes West Wales will construct the properties on land north-west of the old St David’s Hospital site in the town, off Ffordd Pendre, which is allocated for housing in Carmarthenshire’s Local Development Plan. As part of the housebuilder’s commitment to the local community, 11 of the properties will be designated as affordable housing for local people. The site will also include SUDS attenuation ponds and drainage features, and active travel routes. As part of the development, a play area – which will include balance…

More than 200 new food and drink products by Welsh businesses will be on show at BlasCymru/TasteWales, Welsh Government Minister for Rural Affairs, North Wales and Trefnydd Lesley Griffiths has announced. Organised by Food & Drink Wales (Welsh Government) and held bi-annually, this year’s event will be the fourth international food and drink trade event for Welsh companies. Featuring thousands of meetings and hundreds of industry professionals from across the globe, the event is expected to result in millions of pounds worth of sales for producers. This year’s event features some of Wales’ leading celebrities, who have branched out into…

Cardiff Bus is offering travel advice to customers ahead of Halloween and Bonfire night. The bus operator is alerting customers to service diversions that will come into effect from approximately 17:00 on Tuesday 31st October for Halloween and on Sunday 5th November for Bonfire Night. These diversions will be put in place for the safety of both customers and staff, in collaboration with South Wales Police. Route alterations will apply to City Circle services 1 and 2, along with services 11, 13,44, 45, 49, 50, and 102. Full information on the route diversions can be viewed on the Cardiff Bus…

‘Socially responsible procurement, increased collaboration, greater community impact,’ these are just some of the core objectives of Ardal, a new innovative procurement service launched by Cardiff Council which will deliver its collaborative procurement partnership with Monmouthshire County Council, Torfaen County Borough Council, and the Vale of Glamorgan Council. The new collaboration has been formed to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving procurement landscape and to provide solutions in line with Welsh Government legislation, including the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023. Ardal will harness the skills, knowledge and…