Author: Rhys Gregory

A well attended round table discussion at the Swansea University Bay Campus on February 17th began a major examination of how best to maximise the skills and training needed for the fast expanding green economy in South West Wales. Topics under discussion at the Skills Round Table at the Bay Campus on Friday, February 17th, chaired by Neath MS Jeremy Miles, included: •    The steps we can take to ensure South West Wales maximises its skills and training base. •    How current skills challenges facing the renewable energy industry can be addressed in the short to medium term, including the…

An urgent road closure of Union Hill, Haverfordwest is required from 10am today (Friday 24th February 2023) and will last for approximately two weeks. The road closure is required due to the deteriorating state of the wall on Union Hill which has now been deemed a dangerous structure. Urgent works will take place to make the wall safe, during which time the road and footpath will need to be closed. There will be a manned two way traffic management system put in place to allow for vehicular access along Quay Street (manned 6am – 5pm, traffic lights 5pm – 11pm…

Emergency support is being given to people who are sleeping outdoors during the current cold weather. Newport City Council’s Rough Sleepers team, along with partners Horizon, the Wallich, Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service (GDAS), Eden Gate and Housing First, may be able to offer a temporary warm overnight space. If you are sleeping outdoors in Newport during the current cold weather and are working with one of these partners, please contact them for support and advice. If you are not working with one of these services, you can also contact them for support and advice on one of the following…

Caerphilly County Borough Council has endorsed proposals to take part in the Welsh Government National Empty Home Grant programme which will see £2.54 million available to return privately owned empty homes back into use. The total grant per home through the programme is £25,000 which could see 101 empty private homes brought back into use in the Caerphilly county borough, for the programme’s two year duration between April 2023 – 25. Welsh Government will allocate £2.31million to the Council, with Cabinet members approving an additional £231,000 funding to support the grant and enable more owners of empty homes to bring…

Councillors in Blaenau Gwent have today agreed a Budget for 2023/24, following widespread engagement with residents on savings ideas and spending priorities. The Council had earlier warned of difficult decisions about services following its financial settlement from the Welsh Government, which at 6.5% is significantly below the All Wales increase of 7.9%. Like all organisations, the Council is facing some well-publicised financial pressures, despite increased funding from Welsh Government to almost £140 million, due to the global pandemic, cost pressures, rising inflation, soaring energy and fuel costs and social care demands. As a result, the funding gap for next year’s…

A Merthyr Tydfil community and residential centre which recently underwent a £1.2m redevelopment programme is being officially opened next month. Compass Community Hub and Housing Project at Gurnos, formerly the Neighbourhood Learning Centre (NLC), will be opened by Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Social Services Julie Morgan MS on 22 March. On 23 March, the hub will host an open day where people will be invited to take part in workshops on wellbeing and mindfulness, IT and digital skills, carpentry, retail training and customer service, jewellery making, craft activities and a taster session in beauty. The NLC opened originally as…

Wales will welcome the highest number of cruise ship calls to date this year, with 91 ships expected to call at Welsh ports. The cruise calls will include more than 80,000 passengers and 39,000 crew, which equates to a potential passenger day spend income of £8.3 million for the Welsh economy. The first calls of the 2023 season will be on 6th April, when the Hurtigruten Spitzbergen sails into Fishguard, while the Viking Venus sails into Holyhead. For the first time this year, Holyhead will welcome the prestigious MS Queen Victoria in June – which is the 3,000-passenger ship’s first…

Wales senior men’s head coach Warren Gatland has named the team to play England at a sold-out Principality Stadium on Saturday 25 February (KO 4.45pm live on BBC and S4C) in the third round of the 2023 Guinness Six Nations. Mason Grady will make his senior international debut on the weekend. He partners Joe Hawkins in the Wales midfield. Joining captain Ken Owens in the front row are Gareth Thomas (loose-head prop) and Tomas Francis (tight-head prop). Alun Wyn Jones is named alongside Adam Beard in the second row. In the back row, Christ Tshiunza makes his second consecutive start…

Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island), north Wales has today received International Dark Sky Sanctuary certification by the International Dark Skies Association (IDA). This makes Enlli the first site in Europe to achieve this status. International Dark Sky Sanctuaries are typically situated in a very remote location with few nearby threats to the quality of its dark night skies. With its new designation Enlli meets strict criteria and joins just 16 other sites worldwide. Sian Stacey, Chair of the Bardsey Island Trust said: “We are delighted to announce the news of Ynys Enlli’s new status as International Dark Sky Sanctuary (IDSS) today.…

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has been instructed to sell the former Llanyravon Court Nursing Home in Cwmbran, South Wales. Llanyravon Court Nursing Home closed for trading in November 2022 and, and on 31 January 2023, Chris Stevens and Steve Baluchi of FRP Advisory Trading Limited were appointed Joint Liquidators of Llanyrafon Court Limited. Christie & Co has been appointed by FRP Advisory to sell the freehold interest of the property on a closed basis with vacant possession. Llanyravan Court Nursing Home was constructed in the late 1980s, with an additional extension added in 2008. Historically, it traded…