Author: Rhys Gregory

It’s official, an important Welsh Marches tourist attraction has one of the tallest trees in Great Britain! Hergest Croft Gardens at Kington, one of the UK’s most important horticultural sites, has the third tallest tree in Great Britain, a Douglas Fir standing at 200 feet and more than 160 years old. That’s the verdict of The Tree Register of the British Isles (TROBI) registrar, Owen Johnson, who recently visited the gardens. The tree register is a charity which collates and records a database of notable trees throughout the UK and Ireland and has the largest database in the world. Currently…

Bridgend County Borough Council has published designs which set out its ambitions for how public open space could be used in the Porthcawl waterfront area, and what new community facilities it will seek to develop over the next few years as part of the town’s ongoing regeneration. The latest proposals are focused on the waterfront regeneration area, which encompasses 32 hectares of open space located around Salt Lake, Hillsboro, Griffin Park, Coney Beach, Sandy Bay, the Relic Dunes, Rhych Point and numerous links in between, including land that runs through the funfair and former Monster Park sites. The concept designs…

Renewable energy initiatives and a scheme to celebrate one of Europe’s oldest ceremonial burial sites are among those set to boost Swansea’s rural communities. Swansea Council has now awarded funding worth a combined £205,000 to 17 schemes as part of the rural anchor project being funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Schemes due to benefit include: A Red Lady visitor trail and exhibition, led by Tourism Swansea Bay. The Red Lady is the name given to the discovery in 1823 of ancient remains in Paviland Cave, South Gower. The project will help Gower residents and…

The contract for construction of seven new bungalows in St Davids has been signed over to a private developer, GRD Limited, to develop on behalf of the Council. The first phase of a two-phase project at Glasfryn, St Davids, will see three one-bedroom and four two-bedroom homes built. The bungalows will be energy efficient properties and built to EPC A specification including solar panels to assist tenants with running costs. The second phase of the development will see a further 11 bungalows built for Pembrokeshire County Council. Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery Cllr Jon Harvey said: “We are…

Following Storm Ciaran which hit Pembrokeshire on November 2nd 2023, rock falls have occurred onto the shared use coastal path between Wisemans Bridge and Coppet Hall. The path has subsequently been closed to ensure the safety of the general public, and the rock face now needs to be made safe during this winter period. The Council is organising a specialist to assess the cliff face above the path and a geotechnical expert to review the area, in order to consider means to make the area safe. This may lead to the need for further cliff stabilisation work. A Council spokesperson…

The second Winter Food and Craft Fair of the year happened in Blackwood town centre on Saturday 25th November. The fair brought a wonderful 7,627 visitors to the town, it was the busiest day in Blackwood since the Spring Fair in March. There were also 4,730 more visitors than the previous Saturday. There was a vast array of fantastic entertainment and activities at the fair, such as Santa’s Grotto, live music acts, craft workshops, funfair rides, food vendors, and much more. Small and local businesses benefited from the day’s festivities as all the town’s high street stores joined in the…

Jack Liam Carroll has been sentenced to 11 years in prison plus an extended licence period of four years after being found guilty of 9 charges including assault and rape. The 27-year-old from Caerau, Cardiff, denied the charges but was found guilty of one count of rape, three counts of assault by penetration, and five counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was described in court as a high-risk to women. During the sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court, on Wednesday, November 29 the judge commended the victim for her bravery during the trial and when she read her victim…

Ten projects that will help Powys play its part in tackling the climate crisis have received nearly £2 million in funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). The grants – a key part of the UK Government’s Levelling Up programme – have been awarded by the Powys Shared Prosperity Fund Local Partnership, which is supported by Powys County Council’s Regeneration Team. The projects that have received funding include one that will help to protect homes and businesses from flood damage (£825,000), another that will help companies cut their fuel bills and CO2 emissions (£403,392), and a third that will…

Plans are in place to regain pre-pandemic progress in reading, maths and science, says Education Minister Jeremy Miles as PISA results are published. Of the 73 countries who took part in the Programme for International Student assessment (PISA) in 2018 and 2022, all but ten saw a decline in at least one area this year. Wales is alongside countries such as the United States and Norway in our reading, maths and science scores in 2022, following an improving picture in the 2019 PISA results. The Minister has committed to bring together education leaders across Wales to drive a system-wide response…

Eagle-eyed viewers may spot locations very familiar to them in the recently released teaser trailer for the much-anticipated second season of House of the Dragon, as support from Creative Wales has seen North Wales used as a filming base for the second series of the hit show. In a boost to the local economy, HBO used eight locations across Ynys Môn and Gwynedd earlier this year. Creative Wales support helped to ensure that the five-week shoot saw over 250 local people employed to work as crew members facilitated through CrewHQ, a Warner Bros. Discovery training initiative. In addition, Creative Wales…