Author: Rhys Gregory

Swansea Building Society has reported a strong year for mortgage lending, completing £117.5 million in gross mortgage lending during 2025, up from £111.0 million in 2024, as improving market conditions begin to support greater affordability for mortgage customers. With interest rates easing towards the end of the year and expectations of further reductions in 2026, the Society believes confidence is gradually returning to the mortgage market. Against this backdrop, demand for mortgages remained resilient throughout 2025, underpinned by Swansea Building Society’s relationship-based, locally delivered approach to lending. Performance across the Society was led by the Swansea team, which incorporates both…

This week Our Rhyl/Ein Rhyl is opening applications for new Board members and inviting people from across the town to get involved in shaping its future. The Board is set to deliver a £20million, 10-year plan focused on long term change. It is looking for people with a wide range of skills, experience and lived knowledge, who care about Rhyl and want to make a difference. Alongside recruiting a small number of new Board members they are also encouraging people to register their interest in themed Action Groups, which will act as sub committees and focus on specific priorities within…

Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was stabbed during an altercation in Adamsdown, Cardiff. South Wales Police said officers are investigating an incident which took place outside Keban Slemany on Broadway on Saturday afternoon, January 10. The incident happened between 3.30pm and 4pm. As a result of the altercation, a 30 year old man sustained stab wounds. Police confirmed that his injuries are not believed to be life threatening. Officers are now asking anyone who was in the area at the time, or anyone who may have been driving past and captured the incident on dashcam footage, to…

second cannabis factory has been uncovered and shut down in Cardiff within a week, South Wales Police have confirmed. Officers attended a property on Ruby Street in Adamsdown on Friday afternoon after receiving information that it was being used to produce cannabis. A man was arrested at the scene, 237 cannabis plants were seized and destroyed, and the property was made safe. Klejdi Bodlli, 22, of no fixed abode, appeared at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court the following day on Saturday, January 10. He entered no plea to a charge of producing a controlled drug and has been remanded in custody ahead…

A man from Swansea has been handed a ten-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to multiple child sex offences. 25-year-old Jack Barrett, from Waunarlwydd, began chatting with the child victim online before encouraging them to carry out sexual acts. The victim is not from the South Wales Police area and so had no in-person interaction with Barrett. Barrett pleaded guilty to the following charges: Two counts of cause/incite a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity One count of causing a child aged 13 to 15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity One count of engaging…

Passengers travelling in the Swansea area are advised to plan their journeys in advance as essential engineering work takes place later this month. From Monday 26 January to Sunday 8 February, major structural and track upgrades by Network Rail on the Landore Viaduct will significantly affect train services between Port Talbot Parkway and Swansea. Services operated by Transport for Wales and Great Western Railway will be impacted, with buses replacing trains throughout the affected period. Journey times will be longer than usual, and customers are strongly advised to check before travelling. Key alterations Rail replacement buses will run between Port Talbot – Swansea – Llanelli from Monday 26 to Friday 30 January. Arrangements will vary…

The sole director of a Cardiff trampoline park has avoided an immediate prison term after breaching a suspended sentence, following a routine food hygiene inspection which uncovered a series of serious offences posing significant risks to the public. Philip Booth, 68, received a 12‑month prison sentence, suspended for 10 months, in June 2023 for multiple health and safety breaches at his business, Supertramp Ltd, trading as Supajump on Ocean Way, Cardiff. The latest food hygiene offences, committed at the same premises, put Booth in breach of that suspended sentence. However, the judge ruled that the offences were “not similar in…

Swansea Council has developed proposals to improve highway drainage infrastructure at Killay Square, between the junction of Gower Road and Goetre Fach Road. The Council says that the existing drainage network at the location is unable to cope with the volume of water that passes through the location during periods of heavy rainfall and often results in the junction becoming overwhelmed and impassable to pedestrians and traffic. Funding through the Welsh Government’s Resilient Roads Fund (£265k) was secured by the Council in early 2025 and has enabled highway engineers to develop a scheme that will improve the existing highway drainage…

A former police station in Swansea has been transformed into much needed temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness. The newly renovated property has now been transformed into 68 individual rooms across a number of floors and also includes shared kitchen areas, en-suite bathrooms and communal areas, as well as around the clock support for residents faced with homelessness, some of which have ongoing health issues or have recently been released from prison. Swansea Council has been working in partnership with social housing landlord – Codi (formerly known as Pobl), to convert the former Swansea Central Police Station – a grade…

The list of candidates standing for election to Pembrokeshire County Council in the Fishguard North East ward has been confirmed. Nominations have now closed and the official Statement of Persons Nominated has been published. Seven candidates will contest the seat at the upcoming election. Those standing for election are: Caleb Churchill, Liberal Democrats Paul Stephen Howe, Labour Peter John, Reform Brian Murphy, Conservative Billy Shaw, Plaid Cymru Teresa Tannahill, Independent Adrian Tyrrell, Independent The election will take place on Tuesday, 10 February. Residents who are not yet registered to vote must ensure their application reaches the Electoral Registration Officer by…