Author: Rhys Gregory

Young apprentices were celebrated at a construction awards event covering the Swansea Bay region, held last week, which raised more than £3,000 for local charity, Hands Up for Downs. The Swansea Bay Construction Support Group’s Apprentice Awards 2023 ceremony took place on 22 June at the Swansea.com Stadium, to support and recognise the achievements of new entrants, apprentices and future talent within the construction industry in the South Wales region. The ceremony, hosted by Swansea legend Kev Johns, was also part of an overall objective to promote the construction industry and showcase the benefits of considering construction as a career…

Jakir Hussain, 39, picked up his victim in Cardiff city centre and asked to use her bathroom when they arrived at her address. After first locking her in his taxi and then following her into the house, he made his way into her bedroom where he raped her. Hussain, from Grangetown, was arrested two weeks later when he was traced through CCTV. He denied any sexual activity had taken place but later changed his story when his DNA was found at the scene. Hussain then claimed everything which had taken place during the early hours of November 19, 2022, had…

Welsh tech firm Vindico offers first glimpse at the new branding that people will see on the side of the newly named Vindico Arena in Cardiff Bay. The new branding, which will feature both externally, and internally throughout the venue, marks a significant milestone in the transformation of one of Cardiff’s most-loved venues – and home to the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team of the Elite Ice Hockey League. A symbol of progress, collaboration, and boundless possibilities, the sleek and dynamic design encapsulates Vindico Arena’s commitment to pushing boundaries and embracing innovation.  “Vindico Arena’s new branding embodies the essence of…

Saturday, marked St John Day, an important event in St John Ambulance Cymru’s calendar as the charity uses the day to celebrate the lifesaving work it does to enhance the health and wellbeing of communities across Wales. St John Ambulance Cymru has a vision – ‘First Aid for everyone; anytime anywhere’, and our people give their time and skills so they can support people at the heart of their communities, providing first aid training, local and national first aid event support, helping people who have fallen in their home, and inspiring the next generation of lifesavers through programmes for children…

Plans for an upgrade of Cardiff’s Pentwyn Leisure Centre have been agreed by Cardiff Council. The scheme will see the centre benefit from: A new 20m x 8m pool, heated by a ground source heat pump. A new cafeteria. A new fitness gym on the ground floor. A new full-sized 3G pitch and mini pitch. A refurbished family-changing facility. A new hall and external space which could be leased to a third partner – potentially to create an area for padel tennis on site. Roof mounted solar panels. Public consultation will now be undertaken and potential changes would be considered…

The council’s Employability Bridgend team are organising a ‘Positive Pathways, Festival of Wellbeing’ event on Thursday 29 June at the Bowls Hall, Bridgend Halo Life Centre. The event is part of Employability Bridgend’s re-launch following a change to funders. Through Welsh Government’s Communities for Work+ funding and UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, the Employability Bridgend team is able to support wellbeing as part of the employability journey, a vital step before people access training or work. The free event, which is open to all, will take place from 11am until 3pm, with wellbeing talks, crafts, aromatherapy, yoga, beauty treatments, bounce…

SWANSEA’S pioneering free bus initiative has been a smash-hit with residents, new figures reveal. The city’s free bus offer will be making a welcome return for the summer holidays next month, but new official figures show how the initiative has encouraged hundreds of thousands of trips by bus locally. Council figures show that in its launch summer in 2021 almost 214,000 people took advantage of the offer between July and August. That figure rose to more than 222,000 in the same period the following summer. And now it’s been confirmed for the weekends of this year’s school summer holidays too,…

The award winning, energy positive Bay Technology Centre at the Baglan Energy Park has been officially opened by Secretary of State for Wales the Rt Hon David TC Davies MP. The Secretary of State was welcomed to the new building on Thursday, June 22nd, 2023 by the Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council, Cllr Steve Hunt. Cllr Hunt said: “Supporting this council’s Decarbonisation and Renewable Energy Strategy (DARE), the centre is a step change in approach to building design and surpasses the ‘net zero’ concept to provide what is in effect a building as a power station – the first…

The Council has provided a progress update on the major ongoing repair scheme to Berw Road Bridge (White Bridge) in Pontypridd. Please be assured that significant works activity is continuing to take place behind the scaffolding platform and underneath the bridge, which are not visible to the public. The current phase of work is focusing on the penultimate section of the bridge’s middle span. Concrete repairs have been completed for this phase of work – including the removal of 140m2 of hard concrete material along with 137 individual structural concrete repairs. Residents will shortly notice works activity as the contractor…

Wales international and football icon Aaron Ramsey opened the ‘Cruyff Court Aaron Ramsey’ at Trinity Fields School & Resource Centre on Friday. In a ceremony organised by the Johan Cruyff Foundation, Aaron Ramsey was joined by Leader of the Council, Cllr Sean Morgan and Syslia Cruyff, Johan Cruyff Foundation Board Member and daughter to Johan Cruyff. The facility has been built in partnership with Caerphilly County Borough Council and the Aaron Ramsey Foundation with the help of funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The day began with a press conference which took place on the new pitch. School…