Author: Rhys Gregory

Monmouthshire’s residents, staff and companies have pulled out all the stops and come together in true Monmouthshire style to support the council’s Christmas Wishes appeal for 2021. The campaign, which is organised by the Children’s Services Team, has raised over £5,000 and will go towards gifting around 300 vulnerable children and young people in the county with either a voucher or a gift this Christmas. For many, these gifts and vouchers will be the only gift they receive but it’s hoped the generosity of so many can help bring some festive cheer to families who need it the most. The kind…

Founded by Jim and Joan Johnson in 1982, Johnsons’ Delicatessen was once a haven of Italian meat, cheese and sweet-treats in Merthyr Tydfil — operating for more than a decade. Now, nearly 40 years later, the much-loved local venue has re-opened its doors in the town centre — with thanks to the original owners’ granddaughter, Jessica Howells, who ‘grew up’ on the original shop floor. Open as of Saturday 04 December, the deli’s grand return has been made possible by an investment from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and its Meanwhile scheme — which supports new enterprises to open in…

Planned consultations to close three small primary schools in north Powys will not take place, Powys County Council Cabinet has agreed. Powys County Council is looking to reconfigure and rationalise the primary school provision in the county as part of its Strategy for Transforming Education in Powys 2020-2030. Earlier this year, Cabinet agreed to start the statutory process to close Llanfechain Church in Wales School, Llangedwyn Church in Wales School and Ysgol Bro Cynllaith. Cabinet also agreed to start the development of a business justification case for a new extension to Llansantffraid Church in Wales School and to start to…

A report released by Welsh Government and Fly-tipping Action Wales revealed that Caerphilly are one of the top performing councils for issuing fixed penalty notices to tackle fly-tipping in Wales. A total of 25,047 waste enforcement actions were recorded by local authorities in Wales over the 12 months, between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021. These include prosecutions, fixed penalty notices, investigations and stop-and-search checks. To continue efforts across Wales in the long-term fight against waste crime, Fly-tipping Action Wales is calling on Welsh homeowners to ensure that they are disposing of their excess household rubbish responsibly, by following…

Caerphilly Council (CCBC) is warning residents to be vigilant after UK online shoppers buy 80 million ‘disappointing’ items based on rave reviews CCBC are urging residents to be mindful when Christmas Shopping online after National Trading Standards released statistics showing that UK Shoppers have bought almost 80 million items on the back glowing online reviews, only to be bitterly disappointed when they arrive. New data, released by National Trading Standards as the festive season gets underway, shows how our trust in online reviews is fuelling a surge in criminals using fake reviews to make a fast buck by selling poor…

Businesses in Wales impacted by the rapid spread of the Omicron virus will be eligible for emergency financial support under a new Welsh Government support package. The Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, has announced the details of the £120m funding which will be available for retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism business and their supply chains affected by the move to alert level two, as announced by the First Minister on Wednesday 22 December. Under the latest package, retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism business who pay Non Domestic Rates will be entitled to a payment of £2,000, £4,000 or £6,000 depending on their…

Health Minister Eluned Morgan has announced more than £34m of extra funding to support the Welsh Ambulance Service through the coming winter months. It includes £11m to extend military support for ambulances until the end of March – the number of personnel will increase from 100 to 250 early next year. £15m will fund the replacement of 111 emergency vehicles to improve fleet reliability and availability. The new fleet will include 39 replacement emergency ambulances, 12 new emergency ambulances and 23 rapid response vehicles. And more than £8m has been made available to support emergency ambulance services, and non-emergency patient…

History Grounded will be provided to all schools in Wales to give all pupils an insight into Wales’s history. The illustrated book, by Dr Elin Jones, a former teacher, will be provided to schools in both Welsh and English. The book provides a visual history of Wales over 5,000 years, covering Wales’s history from early settlement and society up to the present day, taking in important points throughout our past and across communities, with maps and illustrations. The book explains the way in which the landscape of Wales has been shaped by its history. The book will be provided to…

The reinstatement and maintenance works at Cardigan Leisure Centre, Lampeter Swimming Pool and Plascrug Leisure Centre are nearing completion and all three facilities will be in a position to re-open in the New Year. However, there has been a significant increase in the number coronavirus cases in Ceredigion, with some areas of the county being amongst the highest in Wales. As a result, all Council leisure facilities will close on 23 December 2021. The re-opening date for these facilities will be reviewed in the New Year and will be dependent on the number of coronavirus cases in the County at…

The biggest, most successful companies in the world always choose luxurious, hotels and resorts for their business meetings. New hotels and resorts open almost on a daily basis, so there will be no shortage of elite places for corporate meetings and events. Unfortunately, finding an elite conference room in a short time span is almost impossible. The demand for such places has never been so high, and elite meeting rooms get booked extremely fast. Therefore, it makes sense to look at different meeting hotels and their amenities a couple of months before a corporate event is scheduled. Further, we take…