Author: Rhys Gregory

Wales’ national observance of Remembrance Sunday, which is jointly hosted by Cardiff Council, the Welsh Government and in partnership with The Royal British Legion, will take place in Cardiff on Sunday, 13thNovember 2022. Detachments from the Royal Navy, the Army, the Royal Air Force, Merchant Navy, Fishing Fleets and Cadet Forces will march past City Hall and along King Edward VII Avenue to the Welsh National War Memorial in Alexandra Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff where they will arrive by 10:40am and form up around the memorial. Those detachments will be joined by columns of ex-Servicemen and women, organised by the…

Schemes to help people find work, support businesses and encourage use of community green spaces are among the Swansea projects to have benefited from a major funding pot. From November 2021 to December this year, close to £2.5m worth of funding from the UK Government’s Community Renewal Fund has been invested in a number of schemes across the city. Swansea Council invited applications from local organisations as part of the fund, which were then shortlisted and submitted to the UK Government for approval as part of an overall bid. Schemes to benefit in Swansea include the Pathways to Work initiative…

Zoe Hutton from Pembrokeshire has won a Fostering Excellence Award, the UK’s most prestigious fostering accolade, recognising her exceptional achievements. Zoe won the Outstanding Achievement Award at The Fostering Network’s annual awards ceremony this afternoon, which was sponsored by The Mortgage Brain, this year’s headline sponsor. Coming into foster care was a challenging time for Zoe, but with perseverance, hard work and encouragement, she has already achieved so much. Zoe is a shining example of how anything is possible when you put your mind to it. With the help and support of her foster carers Mike and Pippa Thomas, and…

Twenty-six community projects in Pembrokeshire are to receive grants totalling £630,735 from the Enhancing Pembrokeshire scheme. The Pembrokeshire County Council grant scheme uses funds raised via Second Homes council tax to support new projects that help add value to communities and address the negative impact of second homes. The grant panel put forward 26 projects for endorsement by Cabinet yesterday (Monday) following consideration of 40 applications in October. Cllr Neil Prior, Cabinet Member for Corporate Improvement and Communities, said: “Enhancing Pembrokeshire has been a really successful scheme which has seen £3.2m invested in 185 projects across Pembrokeshire. “I think we…

The challenges being faced by residents, businesses and individuals will be at the forefront of the council’s considerations as it plans its 2023/24 budget. Work is currently underway to plan how the most important services will be delivered with Newport City Council facing a budget gap of £33 million. Councillor Jane Mudd, Leader of the council, said: “There is absolutely no doubt that the coming year is going to be challenging. “Our main aim in setting next year’s budget will be to ensure that the core of our most fundamental services are maintained for residents, but it is unlikely that…

New nature inspired artworks are appearing in green spaces across Gwent, encouraging more people to value the nature we can find in our communities. The pieces have been developed as part of the Nature Isn’t Neat project, which aims to raise awareness of the decline in pollinators and encourage local action, including embedding a regional meadow management approach across the Gwent area. Over the summer, communities have been busy designing and building mosaic artworks with artist Stephanie Roberts, that reflect the beauty of nature in their local green spaces. The artworks are situated across Gwent, in Gilfach, Bargoed, Bryn Bach…

Three prominent churches on Merthyr Tydfil High Street will be able to support even more disadvantaged and vulnerable residents as a result of over £280,000 refurbishment funding from a local grants scheme. High Street Baptist Church, St David’s Church and Hope Church have been awarded the money by the Ffos-y-fran Large Grant Scheme, which was set up by the County Borough Council in collaboration with Merthyr (South Wales) Limited and donates £1 for every ton of coal sold from the Ffos-y-fran land reclamation scheme. The Friends of High Street Baptist Church received £145,500 to replace the church hall roof and…

Construction work is underway on new £12m sustainable employment premises at the Cross Hands East Strategic Employment Site in Carmarthenshire, which will provide innovative and modern commercial space for businesses to grow in the local area, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has announced. The Welsh Government, in partnership with Carmarthenshire County Council, is building 32,500 square feet of low carbon offices, light industrial units and hybrid spaces for letting across three buildings. With support from the Active Building Centre, the project will help transform the way commercial buildings are powered and heated. Using innovative technology and Active Building design principles, the…

The Minister for Education and Welsh Language has announced over £7m will be invested in 11 Welsh medium education and childcare projects across Wales. This funding will increase opportunities for Welsh medium education, which is key to the Welsh Government’s goal of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050. The projects announced today will help bring opportunities to more pupils, from early years through to secondary schools to develop their Welsh language skills. Ysgol Llanfawr in Anglesey will receive funding for a new childcare unit, with 50 Welsh Medium childcare places to nurture a new generation of Welsh speakers. Some…

New stats published today show that recycling rates in Wales have increased considerably over the last two decades with the country once again exceeding the statutory targets. Wales has long been a stand-out performer in the UK when it comes to recycling rates and the new stats published today show that the national recycling rate has exceeded the statutory target of 64%, with a rate of 65.2%. The Welsh Government’s £1billion investment since devolution in municipal recycling has helped see rates catapult from just 4.8% in 1998-1999, to more than 65% today. In 2024-25, the statutory target will be raised…