Author: Rhys Gregory

New and refurbished schools, the major redevelopment of Neath’s town centre, the building of a self powering technology centre to attract new jobs and investment and the nearly completed Plaza Cinema project in Port Talbot. These are just some of the exciting projects contained in a progress report on the delivery of Neath Port Talbot Council’s £82.4m 2021/22 capital programme given to members of the council’s Cabinet in November. Capital projects are generally major schemes which are either new build, acquisition of land or property, lease of property, the refurbishment of an existing building or the purchase of new pieces…

Pupils at Neath Port Talbot Council’s Welsh-medium 3-11 primary school Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg (YGG) Cwmllynfell are enjoying extra space and modernised facilities after the successful completion of a £640,000 renewal project. The work, carried out on behalf of the council by contractors Jones Brothers (Henllan) Ltd, has provided an extra classroom and childcare setting, with the aim of increasing the capacity of the school, improving Foundation Phase provision and providing space to develop pre-school Welsh-medium provision. The project also aimed to prevent drift to other schools in neighbouring authorities, strengthening the development of Welsh language in the area and impacting…

HGV driving is one of the jobs experiencing shortages that will be helped by a £10 million boost from the Welsh government for further training. Other UK government interventions, such as introducing temporary visas for foreign lorry drivers, together with company initiatives to fast-track HGV testing for drivers in Wales, are also helping to tackle the UK-wide shortage of drivers.  While taking action to increase the number of drivers is essential, it is also vital to ensure safety is not compromised. With the use of online training, digital monitoring and in-cab technology, road safety and the security of drivers can be preserved even…

Welsh volunteers were one of the first in the world to receive the Medicago Covid-19 vaccine (CoVLP) which has been found to be 75.3% effective against COVID-19 of any severity caused by the globally dominant Delta variant. The global Medicago vaccine study set to be the world’s first plant-derived ran across 11 sites in the UK, including Public Health Wales. From the 24,146 participants from across the world involved in the study, the highest number of 18-35-year old volunteers were from Swansea and the local areas. Efficacy was demonstrated against all variants seen in the study, including 75.3% efficacy against…

Transport for Wales (TfW) is urging customers to check before they travel over the coming days, as Storm Barra is due to impact on the rail network from Tuesday 7 December (0600). A revised timetable, to take account of necessary speed restrictions across Wales, is replacing the usual timetable until the end of service on Wednesday 8 December 2021.  Depending on how Storm Barra plays out, this is also subject to last minute changes. At this time, TfW has stopped short of warning customers against all but essential travel on their services.  The impact of Storm Barra is predicted to…

While residents of a specialist dementia Gwynedd care home may find getting to the local pub difficult, staff, businesses, and members of the community have gone the extra mile to help bring the pub to them. Meddyg Care’s Porthmadog home has installed new facilities for its occupants, recreating a traditional lounge bar and adding new garden facilities to allow for family gatherings to take place on the site’s grounds. The redevelopments come as the group, which has a second home in Criccieth, welcomes back families and loved ones to the home after an easing in visiting limitations. The home’s pub,…

A new litter picking hub has opened in Zero Waste Torfaen in Cwmbran which allows the general public, community groups and businesses to borrow litter picking equipment to clean up their local area. Zero Waste Torfaen offers locals all the equipment needed to carry out a safe clean-up and keep their community looking beautiful. This includes litter pickers, hi-vis vests, rubbish bags and hoops. The litter picking hubs have been set up by Keep Wales Tidy as part of their Caru Cymru initiative. Caru Cymru (a Welsh phrase meaning ‘Love Wales’) is an inclusive movement led by Keep Wales Tidy…

Hugely popular Cwmgwrach eatery, The Mine has officially opened its doors in Merthyr Tydfil — reminding the former industrial town of its heritage, more than 100 years after the closure of Cyfarthfa Ironworks. The Mine at CF47 and Castelany’s officially opened in Pontmorlais on Friday last week (03 December) — filled to the brim with authentic industrial décor, including metal bar gantries, wall art murals and a poignant memory wall. The transformative project has been made possible by an investment from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and its Meanwhile scheme — which supports new enterprises to open premises in vacant…

Storm Barra will lead to windy conditions over western UK early on Tuesday morning will soon spread eastwards across the warning area bringing severe gales to coastal areas, for a time before starting to ease during Tuesday evening. South to southeast winds will gust to 70-80 mph at times across exposed coastal areas and widely 50-60 mph inland. The winds, large coastal waves and high tides may lead to some coastal impacts. In addition to wind, showers and longer spells of rain will make for unpleasant and difficult travel conditions. What to expect There is a small chance that injuries…

A family from Caerphilly are donning their cycling helmets as they prepare to take on a festive bike ride to raise money for Brain Tumour Research, after their loved one died from the deadly disease. Father-of-three and keen cyclist Gwilym Llewellyn, 51, from Hengoed in Caerphilly, died on 16 May, just nine weeks after he was diagnosed with a grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma. His widow, Cerian, 49, and three daughters, Shannon, 25, Jess, 19 and Liv, 14, will take on the 14-mile route from the village of Penpedairheol to Bedlinog and back on 15 December as part of Brain Tumour…