Author: Rhys Gregory

A rogue builder, who destroyed the homes of his customers, as well as taking all their savings, has been sent to prison for more than five years. Lee Slocombe, who ran his Swansea-based building company – Kamlee Builders, appeared in Swansea Crown Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to defrauding seven families out of more than £147,000. All the families paid huge sums of money for building work that was either not needed, not completed or finished well below standard. One of the families, from Swansea, paid out more than £78,000 for work and for rectifying problems caused by the…

A brand new library building for Narberth is due to be handed over to Pembrokeshire County Council by local developers Andrew Rees and Charles Salmon of Narberth Old School Developments by early June, ready for fitting out. The new library is due to open in early 2024 and will be located next to the old Narberth primary school site – now known as The Hwb. It will continue to be run by the successful three-way partnership of Pembrokeshire’s Library Service, the Friends of Narberth Library and Narberth Town Council. Developer Charles Salmon said they were pleased to be involved in…

The new Mayor of Caerphilly County Borough Council, Cllr Mike Adams, has unveiled his chosen charity of the year as The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Mike accepted the position of civic head at the Annual General Meeting of Council held on Thursday 11th May. He has chosen Guide Dogs as the charity for his year in office, after supporting them individually for a number of years.  He hopes that the people of the borough will join him and Gloria in 2023 – 24 by raising some of the funds necessary to breed, foster and train puppies to give…

Parc Penallta, in Ystrad Mynach, will soon boast three new climbing features. Caerphilly County Borough Council successfully secured funding through the Welsh Government Rural Development – Rural Communities 2014:2020 Programme to develop a series of climbing stones to compliment the natural climbing features at the park. The new climbing structures at Parc Penallta will offer opportunities for different levels of ability from beginner to more advanced; the bespoke structures, which will be free to use, will be named ‘Nursery’, ‘Revelation’ and ‘Remarkable’. Cllr Chris Morgan, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Green Spaces, said “The new climbing features will…

A project to build a new primary school in north Powys went over its projected budget by £150,000, Cabinet will be told next week. Welshpool Church in Wales Primary School was opened by Powys County Council in January 2021 as part of its Transforming Education programme. The project experienced a number of setbacks since the original business case was approved in 2017 including the Cadw listing of Ysgol Maesydre, the collapse of the main contractors with the school partially built, the impact of Covid-19 and inflationary costs. Since the school opened, external access and highways works have been carried out…

In Water Saving Week, Minister for Climate Change Julie James is appealing to everyone in Wales to be conscious of their water use as we approach summer. In a statement to the Senedd today, the Minister confirmed that Wales’ Drought Liaison Group – consisting of water companies, Natural Resources Wales, the Met Office and other partners- has officially started meeting to plan ahead for all weather scenarios. A particularly dry February this year was followed by the wettest March in forty years, with Wales experiencing double the long-term average rainfall. This has been good news for reservoirs, rivers and groundwater…

Strengthening North Wales’ links with Ireland and North West England is vitally important to take advantage of new opportunities, First Minister Mark Drakeford will say today (Thursday 18 May). He will welcome the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram and Consul General of Ireland Denise McQuade for an historic meeting with Welsh Government Ministers and Local Authority leaders in North Wales. The visitors will have a chance to see the innovative work taking place at the advanced manufacturing facility, AMRC Cymru in Broughton, and to tour the Port of Mostyn to…

Staff who work in Wales’ tourism industry play a vital role in ensuring visitors receive a big Welsh ‘croeso’ and return home with great memories of a wonderful experience, Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Dawn Bowden said today to mark Wales Tourism Week. As part of a series of events to mark the annual Wales Tourism Week, the Deputy Minister visited Pembrokeshire’s Bluestone Resort to meet some of the staff who make unforgettable holiday experiences for visitors. The Deputy Minister also got a sneak-preview of the resort’s new developments for the summer. The Bluestone Resort, which celebrates its…

A pilot programme supporting people working in Wales’ screen sector with their mental health is set to benefit from additional £150,000 funding following a successful first phase, the Welsh Government has announced this week. Funded through Creative Wales, the WellBeing Facilitators programme  is a partnership between CULT Cymru – the Creative Unions Learning Together programme and mental health and wellbeing specialists 6ft from the Spotlight CIC. The programme has been driven and shaped by an Advisory Group of employers, unions and industry bodies to respond to issues and challenges that people working in the sector have raised. In the first…

Technology companies looking to invest in Wales are being put off from doing so by the UK Government’s continued delay in publishing a Semiconductor Strategy, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has warned. With the support of both the Welsh and UK Governments, South Wales has developed a strong and internationally recognised cluster of activity specialising in compound semiconductors, one of the UK’s key strengths in microelectronics. In a letter to the interim Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Chloe Smith MP, the Minister said the Welsh Government is in active dialogue with several companies with interest in investing further…