Author: Rhys Gregory

A comprehensive school in Swansea is the first in the region to earn a gold award for encouraging pupils, staff and the wider community to speak Welsh more often both inside and outside the classroom. Gowerton Comprehensive has achieved the gold Siarter Iaith award which has just been presented to the school. It is a Welsh Government initiative to inspire children and young people to use Welsh in all aspects of their lives. But it is not just for pupils with all members of the school community having a part to play, the school council, learners, workforce, parents, carers, governors…

Donna Forkin has paid a heavy price for littering the street in High Street, Glynneath, unaware a Neath Port Talbot Council Waste Enforcement Officer was nearby. The incident happened in October 2022 while the officer was conducting a dog fouling / littering patrol in the Glynneath area. Ms Forkin did not attend the trial, which proceeded in her absence.  The officer told Swansea Magistrates on May 18th, 2023, that he saw Ms Forkin, 47, of Heathfield Avenue, Glynneath, smoking on High Street, Glynneath. He added that after a short time he witnessed Ms Forkin throw the cigarette she had been…

Haverfordwest High VC School pupils have left a gift for future generations at the town’s Western Quayside regeneration scheme. The Year 7 students filled a time capsule with items to show what their life is like in 2023 before a group came along to the former Ocky White store to bury it on site. The time capsule project, spearheaded by development contractors John Weaver (Contractors) Ltd, allowed learners to focus on their town as well as the exciting archeologically finds unearthed during the build. Victoria Hooper, Humanities Teacher at Haverfordwest High VC School said: “Pupils at Haverfordwest High VC School…

CB Refrigeration has been in business for over 50 years and in 2016 relocated their main office to Caerphilly. Since then, owner Andrew Hall has seen the business grow from strength to strength with turnover now more than £4.3 million and increasing by 25% this year alone. They specialise, throughout the UK, in supplying, maintaining and fitting refrigeration and air conditioning for Retail, Hospitality and Distributor sectors, with some of the major blue-chip companies in hospitality among their clients. Despite the aftereffects of the pandemic, 2022 saw an expansion of the company with a further 18 new staff being taken…

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Bargoed May Fair, which took place on Saturday the 13th of May, attracted a record-breaking number of visitors to the town, making it an incredible success. Bargoed welcomed an outstanding 16,410 visitors to the fair, with the peak attendance being at mid-day. People even came from Rhondda, Newport, Tenby, and Carmarthenshire!  This was the busiest day for the town in a very long time, with 15,266 more visitors in the town compared to the previous Saturday. It was the highest footfall in Bargoed since footfall counters were installed in 2018. The day was fun filled with…

Cllr Malcolm Colbran has been elected Mayor of Merthyr Tydfil for the second time in three years after Covid-19 prevented him from carrying out the role fully in 2021-22. At the Council’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 17 May 2023, immediate past Deputy Mayor Cllr Colbran took over from Cllr Declan Sammon as First Citizen of the County Borough. Having grown up in Hailsham, Sussex, Malcolm moved to Merthyr Tydfil to take over Bedlinog Post Office in 2003. He has represented the Bedlinog electoral ward since 2017. “While I’ll always be proud of my Sussex roots, I’m equally proud to…

Food businesses can now find guidance and advice from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in one easy to access business guidance hub on food.gov.uk. The new hub brings together guidance on how to set up a food business, how to achieve a good food hygiene rating and manage allergens to keep customers safe. Businesses can also find new case studies on the FSA blog, telling real stories about how working with your local authority and the FSA helps get your business off the ground and grow safely and successfully. Cllr Richard Church, Powys County Council’s Cabinet Member for a Safer…

Free school meal holiday provision will be available to children from lower income families this May half term. The Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles has also confirmed that eligible Further Education students in college and six form will also receive free meal provision during the May break, with an estimated 4000 learners set to benefit. An estimated 115,000 school learners are eligible to benefit from the free holiday provision. Funding for eligible school aged children is through the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru cooperation agreement. In 2020 Wales became the first UK nation to guarantee free school meals…

South Wales Police is investigating a serious road traffic collision and scenes of violent disorder which happened in the Ely area of Cardiff last night (Monday, May 22). Shortly after 6pm yesterday we received a report of a serious road traffic collision on Snowden Road which resulted in the deaths of two teenage boys. Police responded to this collision which had already occurred when officers arrived, and they remained on scene to manage a large-scale disorder until the early hours of this morning. Specially-trained public order officers were also deployed, including officers from neighbouring police forces. Several vehicles were set…

Free bus travel for residents will be returning this summer as part of a major new investment from Swansea Council to benefit hard-pressed families and communities. Being made available during the summer school holidays and the main school holidays at Christmas and Easter, the free bus travel is among a package of support the council is providing.Other schemes being funded by the £4.53m boost over the next year include: Continued improvement of bus shelters The continued replacement of old litter and dog mess bins Further investment in road repairs More dropped kerbs in areas of high footfall Continued extra resources…