Author: Rhys Gregory

A woman from South Wales is organising a variety of ‘hat-tastic’ events for Brain Tumour Research after being diagnosed with the deadly disease. Beth Harris, 31, from Ammanford in Carmarthenshire, was diagnosed with a glioma in October 2019 after suffering three seizures in a row. Beth, who is mother to four-year-old Elis, and a former employee at Ammanford and Carmarthen Leisure Centre, had no symptoms prior to her shock diagnosis. After taking part in a parkrun on the morning of 26 October 2019, Beth appeared ‘zoned out’ during the car journey home. She said: “When I got home, I went…

A Swansea city centre coffee shop that benefits people with a range of disabilities is excited about the potential of the nearby Copr Bay development. The Social Bean, located on St Mary’s Square, is run by Leonard Cheshire – a leading international charity that supports disabled people. Both Helen Hall, Social Bean Manager, and Lisa Gilchrist, Leonard Cheshire’s Community Engagement Manager for Wales, say the Copr Bay development will benefit the Social Bean social enterprise because of the extra footfall and spending it will generate in the area. The £135m Copr Bay phase one development which includes Swansea Arena is…

Pembrokeshire County Council is in the process of reviewing current entitlements to Council Tax single person discount. Those householders currently receiving a 25% discount on their Council Tax account will shortly receive a letter from an external agency. “Household circumstances do change from time to time, which is why we are requesting people who receive a single-person discount on their council tax to confirm their current household status when they receive the letter,” said Paul Ashley-Jones, Head of Procurement and Customer Services. “The letter will also have details of the groups of adults who are not counted for council tax…

A major extension to the Port Talbot based Work Station, an important asset in the drive to help those seeking employment and training, has been officially opened by Neath Port Talbot Council’s Leader Cllr Ted Latham and Chief Executive Karen Jones. Funded by Neath Port Talbot Council, the Work Station is a ‘one stop shop’ offering practical hands-on help to people who want to get into a job through training, work experience, career advice, volunteering and one-to-one employment support. On Friday,(Dec 10th, 2021) the council’s Leader and Chief Executive, with Deputy Leader Cllr Leanne Jones and Director of Environment and…

The project is a collaboration between Cardiff Council, Cardiff University and Cardiff City House of Sport to deliver a state-of-the-art sports complex to serve Cardiff University and the Llanrumney Community Sports Trust. The complex will become the new home for Cardiff City Football Club’s Academy and will boast a tier-2 3G football facility, a floodlit 3G IRB standard rugby pitch and a floodlit IRB/FIFA standard 3G dual marked football/rugby pitch. This will provide Cardiff University, their students and the local sports clubs with greater access to state-of-the-art training and playing facilities. The new Academy will occupy 16 acres of the…

Caerphilly Council has demonstrated cross party commitment to support a bill that would increase domestically generated clean energy, helping to boost local economies. The notice of motion, agreed by full council, sees Caerphilly join local authorities across the UK supporting the bill. The notice of motion was clear in acknowledging the efforts that Caerphilly Council has made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy in an effort to promote greener and cleaner lifestyles. If it is made law, it would create a new ‘Right to Local Supply’ of energy that would empower communities to sell locally generated electricity…

Over 400 trees have been planted at special events in Cardiff parks during National Tree Week. Three special tree planting events took place at Celtic Park, Whitchurch; Kitchener Gardens, Riverside andParc Y Pentre,Rhiwbina where 58 volunteers braved the winter weather and picked up their shovels to help plant the trees as part of Cardiff council’s Coed Caerdydd project. Coed Caerdydd is an ambitious 10-year programme of tree canopy expansion in Cardiff, linked to the city’s One Planet climate change strategy. The Council’s One Planet Strategy includes an aim to increasetree canopy from 18.9% to 25% by 2030. To do this,…

First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced Taliesin Bryant, a year six pupil at Llannon Primary in Llanelli, as the winner of his annual Christmas card competition. Hundreds of entries were received for this year’s competition, which was open to pupils from years five and six from schools across Wales. Following the COP26 summit in Glasgow last month, the theme for this year’s Christmas card was a green Christmas. The winning design was chosen by the First Minister and will be used as his official Christmas card for 2021. The First Minister sends his Christmas card to thousands of people around…

The Welsh Government is working with Monmouthshire Building Society to accelerate the establishment and roll-out of a community bank – Banc Cambria – across Wales, Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, has announced today. The Welsh Government’s Programme for Government includes a commitment to support the creation of a Community Bank for Wales, in order to seek to address the market failure in relation to the gap in provision, the effectiveness and the quality of banking services in Wales. The Economy Minister has today confirmed that Monmouthshire Building Society, working with the Welsh Government and Cambria Cydfuddiannol Ltd (CCL), has announced its…

In a wide ranging letter, Minister for Social Justice Jane Hutt, and Scottish Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison have written to the Home Office asking for urgent talks on the significant concerns with the Nationality and Borders Bill and asked for discussions to help prevent further loss of life in the English Channel. The Scottish and Welsh governments also raised significant concerns with the National Transfer Scheme for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and issues around asylum dispersal. The International Organisation for Migration report that 166 people have been recorded as dead or missing since 2014 after undertaking the dangerous journey…