Author: Rhys Gregory

FOR Cardiff is inviting families to celebrate St. David’s Day in the heart of the city with The Welsh Tales Trail and FOR Families play area. Taking place on Sunday 1st March between 11:30am – 3:30pm, the Welsh Tales Trail is a free, fun-filled adventure, which brings Wales’s most beloved folk tales to life in both English and Welsh. The Welsh Tales Trail is part of FOR Cardiff’s Little Things campaign which celebrates Welsh culture through small, joyful moments across the city centre spotlighting five themes: gastronomy, music, literature, Welsh language and family. On St. David’s Day families are invited…

Principality Building Society, Wales’ largest the UK’s 6th largest building society this week has announced its full year results for 2025. Against a backdrop of elevated rates and economic uncertainty, the mutual delivered real value for both savers and borrowers as it invests in transformation for the future while delivering on its strategy and purpose to help more people grow their savings and buy a home. Performance highlights: Statutory profit before tax has grown to £60m (2024: £49.2m) Efficient management of running costs has brought our Statutory Management Expense Ratio down (0.84% in 2025, 0.94% in 2024) Mortgage book has…

Dozens of cancer patients in Wales have been given the chance to extend their life expectancy after Swansea Bay doctors looked again at when a cancer drug can be administered. They discovered that finding a particular protein in a patient’s blood signalled there could be a benefit from introducing the drug at a different time. The medication, Panitumumab, is not suitable for all patients, but has proved successful in almost doubling life expectancy of those who have taken it. It is used with patients who have metastatic and incurable left-sided colon cancer. Now, by making it available at a different…

Cardiff’s hallowed live music venue, Tramshed, reveals Everything Everything will return in a major headline show on Friday 10th July 2026, bringing one of the UK’s most distinctive and forward-thinking bands back to the Welsh capital for a highly anticipated summer performance. Since emerging from Manchester in the late 2000s, Everything Everything have established themselves as one of Britain’s most vital alternative acts, earning widespread acclaim for their ambitious songwriting, restless creativity and powerful live shows. Their rise has been marked by a string of critically acclaimed releases leading to five Ivor Novello and two Mercury Prize nominations, six UK…

Bridgend County Borough Council has agreed a net revenue budget of £408m for 2026-27 and this includes a commitment to protecting budgets for schools as well as investing into visible public realm improvements such as highways maintenance and street cleaning. Developed following careful analysis of feedback from extensive public consultation and scrutiny by councillors, this will enable the council to continue to provide local residents with more than 800 services. Of this figure, at least £164m will be invested into services provided by Education, Early Years and Young People. More than £124m will be allocated for Social Services and Wellbeing,…

Newport City Council’s new abandoned trolley policy has come into effect this week, giving the authority stronger powers to deal with shopping trolleys left on pavements, in green spaces and other public areas. The policy, formally adopted late last year, aims to tackle what has become a growing source of frustration for local communities. It forms part of the council’s wider commitment to reducing waste, supporting cleaner streets and improving neighbourhoods across the city. How the policy works The council has formally adopted Schedule 4 of Section 99 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods…

Abertillery will take centre stage this March as businesses, residents and the council come together for a special one week town boost aimed at improving the town centre. Running from Tuesday 10 March to Saturday 14 March, the programme is being led by Creative Communities International with support from Welsh Government and the Design Commission for Wales. The week will begin with a series of hands on events at The Met in Abertillery before moving to a one day practical workshop to transform part of Somerset Street. The initiative forms part of the Blaenau Gwent Deal, a new way of…

Monmouthshire County Council has finished 2nd in Wales for its recycling rate. Figures for 2024-5 recently released put Monmouthshire at 72.3% for the proportion of waste collected that is reused, recycled or composted. This is just behind the overall leaders, Pembrokeshire, at 73.5%. Research puts Wales in second place internationally for recycling, just behind Austria. In recent years, Wales has been a trailblazer in the world of recycling. In the 1990s, recycling rates stood at around 5%. In more recent years, this has risen to more than 68%. The data released recently by the Welsh Government are the first statistics to be published since new rules for workplaces were introduced, which…

A balanced budget for 2026‑27 has been approved this week, setting out how Powys County Council will continue to protect frontline services, support vulnerable residents, and invest in key priorities despite sustained financial pressures. At the heart of the budget are commitments to keep Council Tax rise to a minimum, increase investment in education, and provide additional funding to tackle homelessness. The budget includes a 4.9% Council Tax increase, lower than many expected in the current financial climate. This rise will help the council manage significant cost pressures while limiting the impact on residents as far as possible. Schools across…

The Welsh Government has announced a record-breaking £85m investment in flood and coastal erosion risk management for this year – the highest annual allocation ever delivered in Wales. Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, confirmed the funding during a visit to a scheme at Rover Way in Cardiff, where major construction work is underway to strengthen coastal defences. This latest allocation builds on more than £377m committed to flood risk management during this Senedd term – the highest level of investment in flooding ever delivered in Wales. For 2026/27, more than £85m will be made available to Risk Management Authorities across Wales, including almost £43m in capital funding for new schemes to protect communities…