Author: Rhys Gregory

roposals to spend £38.5m on improvements to the teaching and learning environments at Portfield School in Haverfordwest and Pembrokeshire Learning Centre will be considered by a full meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council on Thursday (14 October). A report to members by the Director of Education and the Director of Resources will recommend investment of £20.3m at Portfield School, which provides education for pupils with statements of special educational needs aged between 3-19 years. It will also recommend investment of £18.2m at the Neyland site of the Pembrokeshire Learning Centre, which provides education for pupils aged between 11 and 16 with…

A series of drop-in sessions have been arranged so the public can talk to transport officials about the blueprint for Swansea’s future walking and cycling map. Consultation with residents in Swansea has already began and Swansea Council is asking everyone for their views on existing and new walking & cycling routes planned across the city. Residents have been able to give their views online and can look at the existing ‘Active Travel Network Map’ which was produced in 2018. The consultation will continue until November 15. Five drop-in sessions have now been organised in various locations across the city from…

Neath Port Talbot councillors have approved plans for an electric vehicle charging infrastructure for council fleet vehicles, pool and staff cars paving the way for zero-emission transport in the county borough. Members of Neath Port Talbot Council’s Streetscene and Engineering Cabinet Board have backed plans to develop an EV ‘Charging Park’ at the council’s premises in The Quays, at the Baglan Energy Park, to support the council’s transition from carbon based fuels to zero emission vehicles. The Charging Park, which will be in the existing staff car park at The Quays, will come with Photovoltaic (PV) solar canopies which will…

A further phase in Bridgend County Borough Council’s £2.7m highway improvement programme is set to get underway in Bridgend town centre this weekend with the resurfacing of Nolton Street. During the works, which are due to take place between 8am and 5pm over two consecutive Sundays – 10 and 17 October – Nolton Street will be closed from its junction with Court Road to the junction with Brackla Street. Alternative routes will be in place along Brackla Street, Tremains Road, Derwen Road and Boulevard De Villenave D’Ornon. The one-way section of Nolton Street between Cowbridge Road and Brackla Street will…

Fifty new HGV drivers have gained their licences thanks to support from the Employability Bridgend team at Bridgend County Borough Council. In recent months, national news headlines have been dominated by the impact of a UK-wide shortage of HGV drivers and the problems this is causing for public transport services, school buses and deliveries of goods and fuel to stores and filling stations. The council is helping to tackle the shortage by supporting 50 new drivers to complete their HGV training and find new jobs within the industry. Set up to support both employed and unemployed residents across the county…

Caerphilly County Borough Council carried a motion to implement a voucher system to encourage families to switch from disposable nappies to reusable nappies. The motion was proposed by Cllr Andrew Farina-Childs at a full council meeting earlier last week on Tuesday, October 5. Single use nappies are made using plastics, elastics, adhesive, paper pulp and chemicals; therefore nappies do not readily degrade and can leach toxins into the ground. Other local authorities in Wales have already adopted cashback incentive schemes to make the switch to reusable nappies, through a simple application process. Cllr Nigel George, Cabinet Member for Waste, Public…

Work will shortly begin to clear waste which has been illegally fly-tipped on the former LG access road in Coedkernew. Following a tender process carried out in September, the council has awarded a contract to Newport-based GD Environmental to carry out the work which is expected to begin this month. The move comes after two Cardiff men caught illegally dumping waste on the site were successfully prosecuted and fined at Newport Magistrates’ Court. The council has also issued a further five fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping offences and seized two vehicles involved in offences. Tyres and hazardous materials will be…

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet has supported initial plans to utilise new £85m funding from Welsh Government’s 21stCentury Schools and Colleges Programme – so projects in Llanharry, Cymer, Glyn-coch, Penrhys, Llantwit Fardre and Talbot Green, along with a new special school, will now be developed further. At their meeting on Monday, October 4, Cabinet Members considered a list of proposed investment projects, using additional funding available due to the revised 21st Century Schools Strategic Outline Programme. Having been recently approved in principle by Welsh Government, the Council’s allocation has risen significantly from £167m to £252m, making an extra £85m available. The…

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet has agreed for the Council to ensure all of its contracted adult independent social care workers, as well as all direct payment recipients, will be paid at least the Real Living Wage by December this year. At their meeting on Monday, October 4, Cabinet Members agreed with the recommendations of a report, to help independent sector social care providers in Rhondda Cynon Taf access Welsh Government funding that is available to provide the Real Living Wage. This will apply to care workers in older people residential and nursing care, supported living, extra care and home…

A 10-year strategy to boost the number of children and young people learning through the medium of Welsh in Cardiff schools has been revealed by Cardiff Council. The strategy, designed to help Welsh Government realise its target of having one million Welsh speakers in Wales by 2050, will now go to public consultation before being submitted to Welsh Government for approval in January 2022. A key target set by Welsh Government is for Cardiff to ensure that 25-29% of Year 1 learners are educated through the medium of Welsh by 2032. Currently 18% of Year 1 leaners are taught…