Author: Rhys Gregory

A big step is about to be taken in the creation of a new central Swansea location for the city’s main library and other key services. Contractors are set to begin preparatory work in the former BHS/What! building next week. In under two years it is due to be a local services hub. Current proposals are that it will offer easy access to council services, including the library that’s set to move from the Civic Centre. It’ll be joined by a range of other services – and the hub could offer access to the West Glamorgan Archive Service. The hub,…

A hugely popular South Wales restaurant attracting diners from across the UK is branching out into Merthyr Tydfil. The Mine at CF47 & Castelany’s Fine Dining will also help the local economy by creating 25 jobs, the majority of them local people taken on through the Council’s employability team working with Tydfil Training to interview and recruit people. The original restaurant in Cwmgwrach near Glynneath is fully booked for the next two months.  The décor is colliery-themed – of course – with large cable reels as tables, dishes served on shovels, toilets called ‘The Pits’, sheet metal wall decorations and…

RCT Theatres is delighted to announce that their traditional family panto Aladdin is now a FREE magical ‘cinema experience’ which will be shown on the big screen at both the Coliseum Theatre, Aberdare, and The Park & Dare Theatre, Treorchy, on Friday, December 17, to Thursday, December 23. Starring Wales’ favourite female impersonator Ceri Dupree as Widow Twankey, plus a full supporting cast, this pre-recorded pantomime brings you all the magic and sparkle of their traditional family panto shown on the big screen. Aladdin, the magical cinema experience, will also be available on RCT Theatres’ YouTube channel from December 24-31, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the wonder of panto. Councillor Rhys Lewis, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Cabinet Member for Stronger…

Ground investigations will begin from Monday at Ynysybwl Road in Glyncoch – requiring a change to local traffic arrangements over the next three weeks to inform future embankment stabilisation work at this location. In May, the Council appointed consultants to further investigate the ongoing issue affecting the highway. The issue on this section of the B4273 has been caused by several unauthorised and illegal excavations of land at the nearby embankment, which have removed the required support to the road above. To ensure safety, traffic lights have remained in place to close the southbound lane of Ynysybwl Road – along…

RCT’s Cabinet has agreed to extend the RCT Empty Homes Strategy before the Council adopts an updated version next year – with the positive work over the last two years helping to bring 501 empty properties back into use. At their meeting on Monday, October 18, Cabinet Members received an update on the current Strategy, which runs from 2018 to 2021 and implements the Council’s approach to tackle the problem of empty homes. Members have now agreed to extend it until March 2022, noting that an updated Strategy is currently being developed by Officers for implementation during April 2022. The…

Innovative smart energy technology provider Thermify is to establish a facility in South Wales, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has announced. The international company, headed by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Travis Theune, is due to move into Sony’s Pencoed site this month. Thermify Cloud has designed a revolutionary low-carbon heating system that will provide households with affordable heating and hot water by using the waste heat from a bank of computers that are incorporated into the heating system. Thermify Cloud is a distributed data centre in homes that carries out computation tasks for commercial companies (for example financial service companies, retailers and…

The Welsh Government is asking for views on plans to change how livestock are identified, registered and their movements reported. The consultation, which runs until 2 January, relates to processes for sheep, goats, cattle and pigs together with the proposed implementation of Bovine Electronic Identification (Bovine EID). The changes the Welsh Government aims to implement would see mandatory whole movement reporting, and journey information for all livestock which will help the farming industry to improve farm management and support disease control. It also proposes voluntary pre-movement reporting which would be recorded electronically before the animal leaves the holding. This could…

NHS Wales chief executive Andrew Goodall has warned the dual challenge of the Covid pandemic and other respiratory viruses will make this winter ‘one of the hardest we have ever faced’, as the NHS Wales Health and Social Care Winter Plan is published. Recognising the challenges across the health and social care system, there will be an extra £42m funding for social care, some of which will be used to help ease the pressure on hospital beds. This comes on top of £248m already announced for the NHS Covid recovery fund. The social care investment will be used to improve…

The rivalry between WWE and AEW was in full bloom last Friday night and it’s likely that many were awaiting the rating report after SmackDown clashed with Rampage for the first time. While SmackDown beat Rampage in total viewership, the 18-49 demographic was pretty close and the AEW show came out on top in some key ranges. The blue brand garnered a final viewership of 866,000 to Rampage’s 578,000, according to Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston, who reports that SD pulled in 314,000 in the aforementioned demographic while Rampage hauled 313,000. SmackDown was the No.3 ranked show on cable, with Rampage right…

Wales and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has announced a new city centre location for his yet-to-open bar, restaurant and mini-golf concept Par 59.; the venue will open in Spring 2022 at the 23,000 sq ft site of the former Liquid / Life nightclub in St Mary Street. The concept is the result of a partnership between Bale’s company Elevens Group LTD and The DEPOT, one of Wales’ most successful, independent entertainment brands. As a result, Par 59 is now recruiting for General Managers, Assistant Managers, Marketing & Sales, and General Bar Staff – interested parties are encouraged to email [email protected] for details. When Par 59 was originally announced, the plan…