Author: Rhys Gregory

Radical and wide-ranging plans to transform Cardiff Bay into one of the UK’s leading visitor and tourism destinations will be reviewed this week. On Thursday, Cardiff Council’s Cabinet is to examine a detailed report that outlines the progress of existing projects and unveils exciting new possibilities which could help transform the Bay area, including: The latest news on the Cardiff Indoor Arena, which will now have a capacity of 17,000 up from earlier projections of 15,000. Proposals to ‘green’ Lloyd George Avenue creating an urban park, replacing the underused current dual carriageway road system with a standard single carriageway, removing…

One of Swansea city centre’s most well-known buildings could get a fresh new look – with three tall green walls. The Dragon Hotel and Swansea Council hope to get planning permission to create the living walls on three sides of the prominent Kingsway Circle building. They will reach up to six storeys. Designers working on the project have submitted a pre-application submission to Swansea planners. They say the walls will feature plants such as boxwood, wallflower, honeysuckle and wisteria. A maintenance plan would be put in place. Swansea Council has worked with the Dragon to secure Welsh Government funding for…

A vacant shop in Caerphilly town centre will be demolished over the coming weeks to allow exciting regeneration plans to progress in future. Work starts this week on the demolition of the former Specsavers building, located at 25 Cardiff Road, in support of Caerphilly Council’s ambitious development proposals for the town. It is hoped that plans can then be progressed for a new boutique hotel development on the prime site overlooking the castle in future. Demolition contractors are already on site preparing the internal work required in preparation for the full demolition of the building in order to support the…

Primary school pupils and volunteer groups in Caerphilly county borough are planting 5,000 trees from 7-11 of March to celebrate Tree Planting Week and in a bid to tackle climate change. The tree planting is being arranged by the Green Spaces group and is the start of Caerphilly’s decarbonisation journey to support local habitats, biodiversity and contributes to the Welsh Governments tree planting ambitions. Pupils from Ystrad Mynach College and Ystrad Mynach Primary School will join Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Countryside Rangers at Ynys Hywel Farm, in Wattsville. In 2019 the Council became only the second in Gwent to declare…

Community groups in the Caerphilly county borough benefitted from £16,660 in grants between October 2021 and January 2022. Caerphilly County Borough Council administered these grants though its Voluntary Sector Grants budget and the Welsh Church Acts Fund scheme.  The council’s Grants to the Voluntary Sector Panel were updated on this spend during a recent remote meeting. Grants allocated through the council’s General Criteria Awards included support for a range of community groups including Cefn Hengoed OAP Association, Darran Valley History Group, Bargoed and District Art Society, Western Valley Camera Club, Players’ Theatre, and Trinant Brownies and Rainbows.  Several individuals also…

Opening on Friday 4th March, The Cabin is a safe space for 11-25 year olds to socialise, meet new friends and talk about any issues, with help from Monmouthshire County Council’s Youth Service. Prior to its replacement, The Cabin had been very small with limited capacity, and was not fit for purpose. With significant help and support from Abergavenny Town Council and Monmouthshire County Council, funding for the removal and replacement of the existing Cabin with a more fit-for-purpose structure was provided to use as a youth centre, with brand new equipment and activities being provided by Monmouthshire Housing. The…

Monmouthshire’s streets should become even safer as 20mph zones are being introduced by Monmouthshire County Council this month. The first of these projects will see Abergavenny, Llanfoist, Magor, Undy, Caldicot, Portskewett and Caerwent all lowered from 30mph this month as part of two Welsh Government funded pilot projects. Plans for the introduction of pilot 20mph zones across Monmouthshire were raised at Monmouthshire County Council’s full council meeting last December. This follows the announcement in 2019 by the First Minister that 20mph should be the default speed limit for all residential roads in Wales. Subject to Cabinet Member approval on 9th March,…

lans to invest £83.5m building over 500 new council homes in the county have been unveiled by Powys County Council as part of its ‘New Homes for Powys’ programme. The ambitious plans to build 509 new homes has been outlined in the council’s new Housing Business Plan, which will be considered by Cabinet on Tuesday, March 8. The plan also promises a further £33.2m investment over the next five years in the council’s existing homes to make sure they continue to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard, which requires houses owned by housing associations and local authorities to be…

A new Welsh Government plan to help more people in Wales to find and stay in work has been unveiled today by Economy Minister Vaughan Gething. The new Plan for Employability and Skills sets out the actions Ministers will take to deliver the Young Persons Guarantee, support people furthest away from the Labour market to find work – and focus on improving labour market outcomes for disabled people, Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic people, women, and those with low skills. It also sets out measures to help people stay in work, through raising skills levels and preventing people from not…

The £330m cost of living support package in Wales will see the most support going to households with the least, according to new analysis. The Welsh Government has published analysis estimating the distributional effects of its immediate response to the cost of living crisis – through the Winter Fuel Support Scheme, Discretionary Assistance Funds, and the Cost of Living payment. The schemes in Wales mean that many households with the lowest incomes in Wales will be able to receive payments of £350, with some entitled to further financial support from the Discretionary Assistance Fund. The analysis shows that the response…