Author: Rhys Gregory

More than 150 new homes, better links with the city centre and plenty of green spaces are among the plans set to transform a long-empty St Thomas riverside site into a vibrant community. Swansea Council’s Cabinet is being asked to approve a stage-one proposal for the seven-acre site, which is on the eastern bank of the River Tawe just north of the river bridges. As part of its 20-year strategic partnership with Swansea Council across seven city centre sites, regeneration specialist Urban Splash is also proposing new flexible space for leisure, retail or café use at the site, along with…

New artist impressions have been released to show how Swansea’s Castle Square will look once its makeover is complete. The images show a greener, more vibrant space at the heart of the city centre – packed with new trees, lawns, seating areas and spaces for people to meet, relax and enjoy events. Swansea Council is behind the square’s transformation, with contractor Knights Brown currently on site carrying out enabling works. The new Castle Square will feature: More than 40% of the space landscaped with greenery, trees and planting Two new pavilion-style buildings for cafés, restaurants or retail A green-roof terrace…

The countdown to this year’s sellout Admiral Swansea Bay 10k is on and it promises to be one of the best-ever. The main event gets under starters orders at 11am and thousands of spectators will see around 5,000 runners take part. Crowds are likely to start gathering from around 8.30am. Cllr Rob Stewart, Leader of the Council, said: “The Admiral Swansea Bay 10k has become a key part of Swansea’s event calendar and is one of the best of its kind in the UK. “Alongside the elite runners leading the front, many other people of all ages will take to…

Preparations are in full swing to look back on a full year of sporting achievements in Pembrokeshire. The prestigious Sport Pembrokeshire Awards 2025 will return to Folly Farm on Friday November 28th and nominations for the award categories open today (Monday September 8th). The categories recognise the sporting achievements of individuals and teams and the dedication of volunteers and coaches in community sport. Cllr Rhys Sinnett, Council Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said he hoped the record entries of previous years would be matched or even bettered in 2025. “It has been an incredible summer with Wales women footballers taking part…

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is issuing a stark warning to anyone who abuses the use of Blue Disabled Badges following the successful prosecution of FOUR offenders last month. FOUR people were caught wrongfully using Blue Badges across the County Borough, TWO of which were parked in the Council owned car park in Gas Road, Pontypridd – a vehicle displaying a valid Blue Badge can park free of charge in Council car parks, if parked in a designated disabled bay. ALL of those caught had displayed Blue Badges on their dashboards – but when the Council’s Civil Enforcement Officers inspected the badges…

Newport City Council is relaunching the placemaking fund offering financial assistance towards schemes to breathe new life into vacant or underused properties in the city centre. Past schemes successful in securing this funding have included 3-4 North Street where vacant space was refurbished into new offices and Kings Sports Bar located in the Station Quarter. Funding for the grants has been made possible thanks to the Welsh government’s transforming towns programme. Cabinet secretary for housing and local government, Jayne Bryant, said: “When we bring empty buildings back to life it creates jobs, attracts new businesses, and gives people better places…

Caerphilly has announced plans to create a new state-of-the-art operations depot in the heart of the county borough after purchasing a key site on Dyffryn Business Park in Ystrad Mynach. A new depot and processing facility will be developed at the site to help boost recycling rates and improve operational efficiency. This new facility will allow the council to sort dry kerbside recycling within the county borough, instead of sending it to Material Reclamation Facilities throughout the UK. The site will also replace the current depot in Tir-y-Berth. Plans for the new facility are a key part of the council’s…

People are being asked how they think Wales should manage changes to tax laws in the future. The public consultation comes after the Welsh Government reviewed how it currently makes changes to Welsh tax legislation, including Land Transaction Tax and Landfill Disposals Tax. These taxes, devolved to Wales, generate important revenue that helps fund Welsh public services. Currently, some changes to tax rules require primary legislation, while others can be made through regulations. The Welsh Government is exploring the most appropriate process for making changes to ensure tax laws can be updated efficiently when needed, particularly in response to tax…

Many cultural sites, castles and monuments across Wales will be free for children to visit next Sunday [Sunday 14 September] to mark Owain Glyndŵr Day. Considered by many to be the last native Prince of Wales, Owain Glyndŵr is commemorated annually on 16 September, marking the anniversary of the Welsh national hero being proclaimed Prince of Wales by his followers in 1400. The 16 September also symbolises the beginning of the ‘Glyndŵr rebellion’ – a 15-year uprising against Henry IV’s English rule. Although ultimately unsuccessful, it reclaimed a sense of identity and pride for the people of Wales. Cadw, the…

Teachers and pupils at a north Powys primary school are celebrating a major milestone following a positive report from Estyn. Leighton C.P. School has officially been removed from the list of schools requiring significant improvement by Estyn, the education and training inspectorate for Wales. The decision by Estyn, which has been welcomed by Powys County Council, marks the culmination of months of hard work, collaboration, and commitment to positive change. During their monitoring visit in July, Estyn found that the school had made sufficient progress in addressing previous concerns. Safeguarding procedures have been significantly strengthened, creating a secure and well-managed…