Author: Rhys Gregory

Talented athletes in Wales are invited to apply for support from the largest athlete support programme of its kind in the UK. Awards include financial bursaries, free access to gyms, pools and other sports facilities, physiotherapy, lifestyle mentoring and mental health wellbeing support.  Celebrating its 18th year, the GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) Awards 2026 are now bigger and better than ever. A record-breaking £2m of bursaries and ‘in kind’ support for 2026 will enable talented young athletes to take part in the UK’s largest scheme of its kind. In 2025, twenty-three champions were among the 98 athletes to receive GSF support…

From saving treasured belongings to making dream trips happen, three North Wales lawyers are changing lives in the most remarkable of ways. For solicitors Sarah Noton, Yvonne Hughes and Managing Director Lynette Viney-Passig, no two days are the same at law firm Swayne Johnson – and that’s exactly how they like it. The trio have recently successfully been appointed as Court of Protection Panel Deputies, trusted to step in and safely manage the finances of people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions themselves. Sarah and Yvonne have both carried out the role for more than 10 years and…

A man from Aberdare has been jailed for assault and being in possession of a knife following a South Wales Police investigation. Daniel Price, aged 43, from Aberdare, was sentenced on Tuesday January 20 at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates to 12 months in prison. This sentence follows a guilty plea for one count of assault by beating and one count of being in possession of a knife. This followed officers attending an address on Sunday January 18, 2026, in Aberdare after reports of an assault on a female. When officers turned up at the address the victim claimed that Price had…

An attempted cable theft was stopped in its tracks with Transport for Wales working with South Wales Police and British Transport Police to prevent crime on the railways with successful arrests made. In the early hours of New Year’s Eve 2025, hidden security cameras positioned along the Core Valley Lines (CVL) detected three individuals trespassing on the tracks near Pentre-bach. The system alerted Transport for Wales (TfW) security teams, who coordinated a response with South Wales Police. Officers intercepted the suspects at the scene, who were then arrested on suspicion of theft. The case has now been transferred to British…

Cardiff Council’s newest housing development for older people, Llys Y Goetre in St Mellons, has officially opened. The new ‘housing with care’ scheme provides 60 modern, self‑contained one‑ and two‑bedroom council apartments, centrally located within the community and close to local shops and essential facilities. Supported by Welsh Government’s Social Housing Grant, it is the latest development to be delivered as part of the Council’s older person’s accommodation programme, following the recent completion of the Ty’r Groes development on Leckwith Road, with a further Community Living scheme on Bute Street due to complete in the coming months. Council Leader, Cllr…

Swansea Council is launching a £300,000 campaign this week to fix roads across the city damaged by ice, snow and rain this winter. Council teams filled more than 760 potholes in December alone and are working day and night this month to tackle the problem and keep traffic on the move. Some of the busiest periods saw the council receiving up to 150 new reports of potholes a day. But wintry weather and heavy traffic is causing road surfaces in some areas of the city to break up, causing shallow large area surface defects, so extra teams are being drafted…

A consultation has been launched for those aged 50 and older living in Pembrokeshire about the communities they live in. Age Friendly Communities focuses on how older people live a good quality of life at home and within the County. The survey asks people to think about their later years and how communities support those, how statutory services and voluntary and community organisations can help. An Age Friendly Community is a place that enables people to age well and live a good later life, somewhere that people can stay living in their homes, participate in the activities they value and…

Councillor Andrew Morgan OBE has reconfirmed his decision not to seek re-election in 2027. For this reason, Cllr Morgan will step down as Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf in advance of the Council’s Annual General meeting in May 2026. Cllr Morgan, who also leads the Welsh Local Government Association, is the current longest-serving local government Leader in the UK, leading Rhondda Cynon Taf Council over the last 12 years. Andrew Morgan makes this announcement at the same time as Full Council considers the local authority’s Panel Performance Assessment, which praises the Council as a good, well run and ambitious Council, focused…

A scheme offering Newport residents the chance to access green home energy upgrades has reopened for applications. Newport City Council has selected iChoosr, who are independent experts in group-buying, to bring the Switch Together scheme to the city’s homeowners. Switch Together, which was formerly known as Solar Together, previously offered residents the chance to join together in a group-buying scheme to purchase solar panels. Now, the relaunched scheme is offering access to a much wider range of green home energy solutions, including heat pumps, battery storage, electric vehicle chargers, and smart energy tariffs, in addition to solar panels. The new…

Caerphilly County Borough Council is pleased to share a further update on the proposed new integrated Children’s and Adults’ Respite Centre in Pontllanfraith, Blackwood. The statutory Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) has now officially closed, and the Council has confirmed that no objections were received in response to the proposals. This represents a significant and positive milestone for the project and reflects the constructive engagement and feedback received from the local community and partners during the early stages of the project. The proposed development includes a new purpose-built, six-bed Children’s Respite facility for children aged 5 to 18 years located alongside a…