Author: Rhys Gregory

Pembrokeshire County Council has approved its budget for 2023-24. The decision was taken at a meeting of Full Council last week (Thursday, 2nd March). Council also approved a Council Tax rise of 7.5 per cent for 2023-24, equating to a rise of £1.80 per week for a Band D property. The proposal was put forward by the Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Alec Cormack. An amendment of 5.5 per cent, proposed by Cllr Jamie Adams, was rejected. The final Council Tax demand will include precepts from Town and Community Councils and Dyfed Powys Police. Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance Cllr…

Cabinet has considered and agreed a new three-year capital programme which includes a further £7.1m investment in Council priority areas – targeted across highway maintenance, unadopted roads, drainage, structures, parks, green spaces and play areas. At their meeting on Tuesday, February 28, Cabinet considered a report outlining the new three-year capital programme, which will invest £187.32m between 2023/24 and 2025/26. Members have agreed to recommend that Full Council agrees the new capital programme at its meeting in March 2023. The three-year programme includes a fully-funded core capital programme of £42.5m, major funding to support the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme…

Lewis Girls’ School has become the most recent school in Caerphilly County Borough to achieve The National Quality Award for Healthy Schools. The aim of the scheme is to promote and protect the physical, emotional and social health and well-being of children and young people. The scheme covers 7 topic areas: Food and fitness Mental and Emotional Health and Well-Being Environment Safety Hygiene Substance Misuse Personal Development and Relationships Within each of these areas, schools are required to demonstrate they have reached high standards of practice. The National Quality Award of the Welsh Network of Healthy Schools Scheme is awarded…

Second World War veteran, who will celebrate his 98th birthday on Saturday 4 March, has recently been presented with the Dutch Liberation medal for his service in the Netherlands. Dennis Stevens, who resides in Trafalgar Park Care Home in Nelson, travelled to Woody’s Lodge, Amelia Trust Farm in Barry to be presented with his medal where a presentation and speech that depicted his time during the war was given by Colonel Richard Piso, Military Attaché. The Dutch Liberation medal is presented as a token of gratitude from the people of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to those men and women…

A section of Avenue de Clichy will be closed for the day next Sunday (12 March) for the installation of a new footbridge over the River Taff. The footbridge linking Merthyr Leisure Village, Rhydycar to the town centre is being replaced as part of the Council’s Active Travel improvements programme, funded by Welsh Government. The former bridge had height restrictions and was too narrow for pedestrians and cyclists to pass one another. The new structure is being relocated slightly north towards a new crossing point and will be 3.5m wide, allowing both walkers and cyclists to cross at the same…

Falsely identifying sheep and providing false information on sheep movement reporting documentation has cost a Powys man over £2,300 after they were prosecuted by the county council. Daniel Price of Oakfield, Dolau was prosecuted by Powys County Council’s Animal Health Team for the offences. Price, who pleaded guilty to four offences under the Animal Health Act 1981 and asked for 17 other charges to be taken into consideration, appeared before Llandrindod Wells Magistrates Courts on 1 March 2023 and was fined £1,200 for the offences. He was ordered to pay £1,000 costs and a £120 victim surcharge. The court heard…

The George Cross presented to the NHS in Wales has gone on display to the nation at the St Fagans National Museum of History. The Cross, which is the UK’s highest civilian gallantry medal, has pride of place in the “Wales is . . .grateful for its NHS” display at St Fagans to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS. The Chief Executive of NHS Wales, Judith Paget, and Dr Ami Jones, Intensive Care Consultant at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, joined Sioned Hughes, Head of History and Archaeology, Amgueddfa Cymru to see the display. The museum will be the…

Virtual Private Network (VPN) solutions have become increasingly popular over the years due to the increased number of digital threats. However, we believe that it is important to understand the specific use cases of a VPN solution before adopting it. In order to maximize the ways you utilize the VPN, you need to understand how it works and for what it is used. In this article, we’ll give a detailed example of a site-to-site VPN, and some of its benefits for your business network. To explain, site-to-site VPN is one of the most common VPN types used by big enterprises…

Whenever you face a stressful situation or feel uncomfortable and scared, your body releases many hormones which temporarily boost all of its functions to keep you alert and “safe”. This reaction is normal and is called the ‘fight-flight-and-freeze’ response. While stress is a healthy body reaction that can be helpful, chronic stress or too many emotions over a period can make it harder for you to live a happy life. Stress can cause many health issues, like poor sleep and excessive eating, leading to mental health problems and even severe health conditions. Today’s world is highly stressful, but there are…

Achieving long-term weight loss success is a challenging feat. It takes more than just a few days or weeks of dedication to make any significant progress. It also requires adopting healthy habits that you can stick with for the long run to keep yourself on track and achieve your desired goals. But what habits should you focus on daily? What activities can you implement to help you lose weight faster and healthier? This article covers some of the tips and tricks you can use to reach your weight-loss goals in great detail successfully. 1. Utilizing weight loss pills Weight loss…