Author: Rhys Gregory

Plans to complete Cardiff’s International Sports Village – delivering an outstanding sports and leisure destination that could attract two million visitors annually – will reach another milestone this week. Cardiff Council’s Cabinet is expected to approve a report which shows plans for a new waterfront, residential and retail district, alongside an International Sports Village (ISV) which will be powered by ‘green’ energy. The ISV will boast a new Central Performance Hub designed to support athletes across different sports, a new Velodrome, a closed loop circuit, outdoor leisure facilities, and a new ‘clip and climb’ facility – all brought to Cardiff…

A community project in West Cross that offers a free brunch and a chance to socialise every Wednesday is expanding its opening hours thanks to funding from Swansea Council and the Welsh Government. The Red Community Project, based in the Linden Centre, is now open to offer a safe, warm and welcoming space between 9.30am and noon for its Warm Wednesdays and also between noon and 3pm every Monday when it operates a food bank. It is one of more than 70 projects in all areas of Swansea to have been offered funding under the council’s Swansea Spaces initiative in…

Transport for Wales (TfW) is expanding the fflecsi service in Pembrokeshire, allowing more communities across the county to benefit from demand responsive transport. Working in partnership with Pembrokeshire County Council, the new fflecsi zone replaces the current 315 bus service and will connect villages and hamlets in the Dale Peninsula to Milford Haven and Haverfordwest – integrating with wider public transport routes. The expansion begins on Monday 30 January and will link up with the highly successful fflecsi service in north-west Pembrokeshire, which has seen an increase in passenger demand since it began operating in September 2020. Together, the two…

Caerphilly county borough council has unveiled its draft budget proposals for 2023/24, along with details of plans to plug a projected £48million gap in finances over the following two years. The council’s Cabinet will consider a draft budget report next week (Wed 18th January) ahead of a period of public consultation to gather feedback from the local community. “Caerphilly, like all local authorities across Wales, is facing significant financial challenges at the moment due to ongoing budget pressures caused by a number of unprecedented factors,” said Cllr Sean Morgan, Leader of Council. “We have endured over ten years of UK…

The Deputy Minister for Social Partnership, Hannah Blythyn, has today (Tuesday, January 17) announced a group of experts will work together to advise Welsh Government on actions to ban conversion practices in Wales for all LGBTQ+ people. It fulfils a commitment from the Minister to form a working group which brings together representatives from faith communities; the health and social care sector; and children and young people’s representatives, alongside LGBTQ+ people to advise on key elements of the work. Members include Jayne Ozanne, who underwent nearly 20 years of conversion practices, which resulted in her being hospitalised twice. Now she…

The UK Government must urgently provide a stable, long-term strategy to tackle the urgent economic challenges facing Wales and the UK, Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething will say today. The Minister made the call ahead of the first UK Interministerial Group for Business and Industry meeting of 2023 – which will bring together ministers and senior officials from the Welsh Government, UK Government, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive. Following the meeting, the Minister will update the Senedd later this afternoon. The Welsh Government is working constantly to prioritise the long-term action needed to create better jobs in stronger businesses, narrow…

COLEG CAMBRIA has launched free courses in leadership, management and the creative, digital and environmental sectors for 2023. The college’s Northop Business School unveiled new programmes in association with partners such as NEBOSH, Prince2 and the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM). Cambria will roll out the fully funded qualifications as part of the Personal Learning Account (PLA) Zero Net Skills scheme which is available until the summer for anyone aged 19 and over, living in Wales and in employment. Jane Keys, Assistant Principal for Employer Engagement, said the courses are designed to support Continuing Professional Development (CPD) across a…

Electric vehicle consumers are set to benefit from lower energy bills and cheaper motoring thanks to a landmark plan to unlock the potential of smart electric vehicle charging. The Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Action Plan, published today (17 January) by the Government and Ofgem, sets out steps being taken to seize on the significant potential of smart charging and make it the preferred method of long duration charging by 2025. Smart charging harnesses the potential of energy use data and the latest energy innovations to deliver significant benefits for consumers, including allowing motorists to charge electric vehicles when electricity is…

A new Penderyn whisky visitor attraction and a state-of-the-art city centre office development with space for 600 tech workers are among the Swansea projects set for completion in 2023. Led by Swansea Council, the projects at the Hafod Morfa Copperworks and former Oceana nightclub sites are among those forming part of a £1bn city-wide regeneration programme that’s continuing at pace. They follow-on from major progress in 2022, which included the opening of Swansea Arena, the new bridge over Oystermouth Road and the coastal park. A £3m improvement of Wind Street was also completed, including new paving, seating and greenery, with…

A residents car parking discount scheme is set to be launched in Swansea to help provide lower parking charges for residents in the city. The plans are part of Swansea council proposals to introduce new parking charges for car parks in the city which will ensure they can be maintained in the coming years and the new discount scheme will mean residents of Swansea will get cheaper parking than those living outside the city at all car parks operated by the Council. The plans will mean an increase on the existing £2 all-day parking offer which was introduced to help…