Author: Rhys Gregory

A community hub pilot scheme is now underway in the Garw and Ogmore Valleys so residents can receive support on a selected number of services right on their doorstep. Currently until the end of July 2023, Customer Service Advisors will be based at Halo’s Garw Valley Life Centre in Pontycymer every Wednesday between 10am and 1.30pm, and Halo’s Ogmore Valley Life Centre in Ogmore Vale every Thursday between 10am and 1.30pm. Residents should note that the support available in the hubs is limited to the below: Blue badge queries and applications Housing/homelessness applications Council tax account queries Reporting issues for:…

The SA1 Waterfront will again take centre stage as the world’s best paratriathletes race in Swansea this summer when the World Triathlon Para Series returns to the city on Saturday, July 15. The Waterfront last year was the venue for the start, transition and finish and when the event returns in July the area will have even greater significance. Athletes will race through after each bike and run lap – and it’ll be the place to go to experience entertainment for all the family in the event village. Thousands of spectators lined the route last year for the inaugural event…

The Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council, Cllr Steve Hunt, says he is ‘humbled’ to have been appointed to lead the authority’s ruling Rainbow Coalition for another year at the council’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, May 24th, 2023. He said that almost a year after the coalition was formed the council had made great strides, having won the contest – with partners Pembrokeshire Council, Associated British Ports and the Port of Milford Haven – to secure one of Wales’s two new Freeports with the prospect of creating 16,000 high quality, green jobs for south west Wales. The council’s…

Councillor Chris Williams (Bryncoch South) has been sworn in as the new Mayor of Neath Port Talbot. Cllr Williams has worked for Tesco Stores for 34 years and also works as a support worker for Rushcliffe Independent Hospitals. He was sworn in at Neath Port Talbot Council’s Annual General Meeting at Port Talbot Civic Centre on Wednesday, May 24th, 2023, where he paid tribute to the excellent work during the past year of outgoing Mayor and Mayoress, Cllr Robert Wood and Sylvia John, who attended more than 200 events in their busy civic year. The Mayoress of Neath Port Talbot…

Welsh national treasure, comedian, television presenter and proud Velindre Patron Rhod Gilbert is calling on 17-30 years olds to help patients with blood cancer by supporting the Welsh Blood Services’ ‘Chilled Out Lifesaver’ campaign to recruit 4,000 volunteer donors to its Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry over the next year. The ‘Chilled-Out Lifesaver’ campaign is looking to recruit 4,000 new volunteers to join the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry this year. The campaign highlights how simple it is to join the Registry and donate bone marrow if called upon. Rhod is currently recovering from head and neck cancer, having received…

Powys County Council has signed up to become an Endometriosis Friendly Employer, the first local authority in the UK to do so. The scheme, led by Endometriosis UK, provides guidance on how to support employees with endometriosis, with employers committing to providing those with the condition the necessary support to thrive at work. By becoming an Endometriosis Friendly Employer, Powys County Council is showing a commitment to support staff who have the condition and tackling stigma and changing culture surrounding endometriosis in the workplace. Councillor Jake Berriman, Cabinet Member for a Connected Powys, said: “As an employer, we are committed…

An exciting project that will transform education for south Powys learners has moved a step closer with the publication of a tender package. Powys County Council is looking for contractors to build a new 150-place dual stream school for Sennybridge C.P. School. The project will help the council deliver its Strategy for Transforming Education in Powys. The school will be funded by the Welsh Government, who will provide 65% of the funding through its Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme (formerly the 21st Century Schools Programme). The remaining 35% will be funded by the council. The project will see the council…

The Welsh Government has awarded a series of small grants to community cooperative projects in order to protect and help the Welsh language to thrive. Community groups were invited to apply for funding to set up or support co-operatives, social enterprises, and community-led housing. 21 applications succeeded in securing funding. The grants, known as Prosiect Perthyn, were managed by Cwmpas, a development agency supporting cooperatives and social enterprises. One of the successful projects will see a former chapel in Pembrokeshire, now owned by the community, turned into a local heritage centre and café with two affordable flats. CarTrefUn is a…

Wales’ leading training provider and its Economy Minister have joined together for a first person update on delivery of the Jobs Growth Wales+ (JGW+) programme, part of the Welsh Government’s Young Person’s Guarantee scheme during a special event in Cardiff. ACT welcomed Vaughan Gething MS to its Hadfield Road Skills Academy to meet with staff and, most importantly, hear from the young people who continue to benefit from JGW+ since it launched just over a year ago. First introduced in November 2021, the Young Person’s Guarantee provides under 25s in Wales with the offer of support to gain a place…

You’re never going to have a lot of spare time when you’re an entrepreneur. You’re going to be constantly pulled in several different directions. You’re going to be wearing about nine different hats at once, and you’re going to have to have an answer for pretty much every question. And the market hasn’t exactly made things easy on people who run their own businesses. Rising prices have meant that everyone is having to work twice as hard and twice as smart to keep their heads above water. This is all a long way of saying that time is a valuable…