Author: Rhys Gregory

A newlywed couple from Monmouth chose an unconventional but environmentally-friendly way to get to their wedding, opting for Bridges Centre’s trishaw bike. Being supporters of the Bridges Centre, newlyweds Lisa and Lee James wanted to use and support local businesses as much as possible for their big day. After finding there was no wedding car hire in Monmouth, Lisa and Lee took to Bridges Centre to organise transport for their special day. The trishaw bikes are part of the Cycling Without Age scheme from independent Monmouth-based charity the Bridges Centre, whose aim has always been to enhance the wellbeing of…

he Council has now delivered upon its commitment to provide FREE public access Wi-Fi across all seven of its town centres – with the recent roll-out in Pontypridd completing the programme across Rhondda Cynon Taf. Shoppers, businesses and visitors to retail areas in Aberdare, Mountain Ash, Ferndale, Porth, Treorchy, Tonypandy – and most-recently Pontypridd – can now access this provision for free. This was a key priority commitment for the Council, having been first rolled-out as a pilot scheme in Aberdare in 2019. The provision of free Wi-Fi contributes toward assisting greater digital inclusion and is part of the wider…

The new £9.9m home for Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Tan-y-lan that will benefit thousands of pupils in the years to come has been officially opened. Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart opened the state-of-the-art school in Clase which replaces the old Victorian buildings at Tan-y-lan Terrace in Morriston. It has been jointly funded by the council and the Welsh Government under the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme and has been future-proofed so the number of pupils can grow to meet increased demand for Welsh medium education. The completed project, which saw pupils move in last month, is part of a £170m investment…

Two Year 11 pupils from Willows High School have been selected to represent the UK at the World Expo in Dubai next month. Marzooq Subhani and Crystal Tran secured their places by winning the Dubai Expo Factor last year, a national debating competition where they each discussed, presented and pitched their take on what makes Britain extraordinary against other students from across the UK. The World Expo is a global celebration of culture, collaboration and innovation where 190 countries come together to show how collectively we can build a better world for all. The UK National Day on takes place…

Encouraging more girls to follow careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) will help Wales lead the way in tackling some of the major global challenges facing society, Minister for the Economy, Vaughan Gething said today. To mark the annual International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the Minister said Wales needs more young girls to follow careers in STEM if the country is to realise its full economic potential, and to realise its ambition of becoming a truly globally responsible nation. Careers in science, technology, engineering and maths has never been more important to finding the solutions…

The Welsh Government has announced that free Welsh lessons will be made available to anyone between 16 – 25 year old and to all education practitioners. From September, 18-25 year olds will be able to enrol free-of-charge on courses with the National Centre for Learning Welsh. Most courses are currently held online in virtual classrooms, using Zoom or Teams, with in-person courses also available. Learners will be able to access courses tailored to their own level of Welsh, from taster and entry courses through to advanced and proficiency levels. 18 – 25 year olds will not be asked to pay when…

Tens of thousands of social care staff who will be eligible for the real living wage from April will receive an additional £1,000 net payment as the Welsh Government invests in the sector. Deputy Minister for social services Julie Morgan today announced a further investment of £96m to support staff, on top of the £43m to introduce the real living wage. The additional payment, which will be made to some 53,000 people, comes amid the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades. Deputy Minister Julie Morgan, who has previously worked in social care and has had weekly meetings with the sector throughout…

A new transport commission that will develop a pipeline of transport schemes for north Wales has been announced today by the Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters. The North Wales Transport Commission follows the model of the commission set-up after the cancellation of the M4 relief road in south east Wales and will also be led by Lord Terry Burns, former Permanent Secretary of the UK Treasury. The announcement follows recommendations from the Welsh Government’s Roads Review Panel and the recently published Union Connectivity Review by Network Rail Chair Sir Peter Hendy for a ‘multi-modal’ review of the A55…

The Welsh Government has confirmed a consultation on proposals for a local visitor levy will launch in autumn 2022. Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government, said a levy would enable destinations in Wales to be enjoyed for generations to come. Tourism provides a substantial economic contribution to Wales with tourism-related expenditure reaching more than £5bn annually in 2019. A tourism tax would raise revenue for local authorities enabling them to manage services and infrastructure which makes tourism a success. The Welsh Government’s Programme for Government, and the Cooperation Agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru, both contain…

Wales will gradually begin to relax some of its remaining coronavirus protections as cases continue to fall, First Minister Mark Drakeford today announced. From 18 February the legal requirement to show a Covid Pass to enter certain venues and events will be lifted and from 28 February face coverings will no longer need to be worn in all indoor public places. The changes will be confirmed on Friday, following the first three-week review of Wales’ alert level zero measures. The latest results from the ONS Coronavirus Infection Survey suggest levels of infection have recently fallen, but community transmission rates remain…