Author: Rhys Gregory

RCT Council will shortly begin a local small scale flood alleviation scheme at Mostyn Street in Abercwmboi, using Council and Welsh Government funding to upgrade the existing infrastructure and reduce the risk of flooding during periods of heavy rainfall. The £95,000 scheme will deliver a series of improvements – including upgrading the existing culvert inlet grille, installing a debris catcher, upgrading the existing brickwork wall, installing a new debris screen and increasing the inlet size. It will also include vegetation clearance from the existing open channel. These works will be delivered over a six-week period from Monday, January 17, and…

Minister for Climate Change Julie James is urging anyone who has fallen behind in paying rent because of the pandemic to contact their local authority to find out if they can receive financial help to avoid eviction. The call is in a bid to keep people in their homes and close to their social networks to avoid the devastating impact that homelessness can wreak on physical, mental and social wellbeing. First announced in July last year, new changes to the £10m Tenancy Hardship Grant announced today mean that anyone facing arrears due to covid-related reasons from the start of the…

The Welsh Government has today announced £65 million of new funding to support further education, higher education and adult community learning in Wales. The package includes £46m to help post-16 education and community learning providers reduce their carbon footprint and improve their digital connectivity. The Welsh Government has committed to reach net zero by 2050. The Minister for Education and Welsh Language has also announced that all new school and college buildings will be required to meet net zero carbon targets. Education providers will use the funding on innovative plans to improve their carbon footprints, as well as improvements to…

Finance Ministers in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have jointly called on the Treasury to guarantee that money allocated to support Covid responses will be provided in full, following a meeting with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury this week. They are also calling for action to tackle the cost of living crisis and help households with rising bills. Last month, as a result of spending in England, the Treasury announced it would provide additional funding to tackle Covid, with the Scottish Government allocated £440m, the Welsh Government £270m, and the Northern Ireland Executive £150m. Devolved Governments are concerned they…

Research by Barrows and Forrester has found that despite a house price boom driven by heightened buyer demand and a lack of available stock, there is an estimated £200bn worth of property sat vacant across Britain’s housing market – up 2.1% on the previous year alone. Barrows and Forrester analysed government data on the number of vacant dwellings across each area of the property market as well as the average value of these dwellings, to reveal just how much this dormant bricks and mortar is worth in current market conditions.  With 665,628 vacant dwellings, England is home to by far…

The Chief Vet for Wales, Christianne Glossop, has stressed the importance of people continuing to take action to protect their birds against avian flu. Three outbreaks of the disease have been found in Wales – in Chirk, Crickhowell and Gaerwen, Anglesey – but there are more than 70 in the UK as a whole, the highest number on record, and over 470 detections in wild birds. Housing of birds, across the UK, has been required since November to prevent avian flu from spreading to kept birds through contact with wild birds. Keepers of birds must also follow strict biosecurity measures…

The Welsh Government has raised its “significant concerns” with UK Government plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights. Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice, and Mick Antoniw, Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution, have published a joint statement setting out the Welsh Government’s conviction that people’s rights should not be weakened. The Human Rights Act sets out minimum standards of how people should be treated by public bodies. The UK Government has published a consultation seeking views on replacing the Act. Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice, said: “The Human Rights Act sets out…

Today (13 January 2022) public libraries are joining Wales’ Winter of Wellbeing initiative by launching a campaign to promote the proven difference reading can make to young people’s lives and the power of public libraries to support them. To celebrate the launch, children and young people are being invited to nominate and share a book that’s made a positive difference to how they feel. A national longlist will be announced at the end of this month, as a host of events and activities launch online and in libraries. Nominations are open to all books, in English or Welsh, including fiction,…

Wedding decorators are individuals that ensure everything on your wedding day looks pretty and just how you wanted it. They begin their work to create your perfect day many months before the event by working closely with you to come up with visuals and a plan of how to implement everything that has been agreed upon.  When working with a wedding decorator, it is important that they are able to produce a design for your special day that is everything that you ever wanted. No matter if you go to a wedding decorator with a specific design in mind or…

A CARDIFF veterinary practice has undergone a transformation to offer even higher levels of care to poorly pets. Improvements to St-David Veterinary Centre in Pentwyn Drive, Pentwyn, include a modernised reception, additional consultation room, X-ray room and a dental suite. A cat-only waiting area has also been created, equipped with a shelf where cat carriers can be placed up high, to keep feline patients separate from dogs and make a trip to the vets less stressful for them. The £142,000 refurbishment project took 12 weeks to complete and has been funded by VetPartners, the larger veterinary group St-David Veterinary Centre…