Author: Rhys Gregory

Work on regenerating the Harbourside Strategic Employment Site in Port Talbot’s former docklands is progressing well and on Friday (August 13th, 2021) senior members of Neath Port Talbot Council and others visited the site to see the ongoing work for themselves. The regeneration work includes remediation of former brownfield land, construction of an access road, the upgrading of existing highways, flood mitigation measures and an extension to the car park adjacent to Port Talbot’s Parkway Railway Station. The Improvements will be the catalyst for Neath Port Talbot Council’s redevelopment of the town’s former docks area into a thriving waterfront business and…

A number of children’s play areas across Bridgend County Borough have been earmarked for refurbishment work as part of a £700,000 uplift. As part of the first phase due to take place early next year, more than 30 play areas are set to benefit from a range of refurbishment works including installation of new equipment or re-laid safer surfaces. Appraisals were undertaken last month to establish which Bridgend County Borough Council owned play areas would benefit the most from refurbishment. The sites approved for the first phase of the scheme include: Caedu Park, Ogmore Vale Evanstown Welfare Park Park Terrace,…

Merthyr Council is consulting residents on what they would like to see on the site of the old bus station which closed in June when the new bus interchange at Swan Street opened. Initial ideas include a street market, permanent food and drink stalls, children’s play areas and multi-use community space. The site could have a mixture of hard and soft landscaping, designed to look good and be useable all year round.  This could include open, grassed areas, encouraging small scale gatherings – for exercising, studying or picnicking.  There could also be quieter, planted spaces for people to relax in…

HQ Theatres (HQ) – part of premium international live entertainment business, Trafalgar Entertainment – has officially become the new operator of Cardiff’s New Theatre following the successful conclusion of a competitive bidding process run by Cardiff Council.  HQ will sign over the lease for the building on Monday 16 August and is targeting a full reopening on Sunday 19 September. The 115-year-old, 1,144 capacity Edwardian theatre becomes the 12th venue to be run by HQ Theatres, the UK’s largest specialist regional theatre operator. Lease arrangements under which HQ will operate the capital city theatre will run for 25 years and…

A £30m scheme on the A55 to improve safety, further protect against flooding and provide a new active travel route is progressing well, Minister for North Wales Lesley Griffiths said after a visit to the site. The Aber to Tai’r Meibion scheme will improve safety and resilience along a 2.2km stretch of the carriageway by removing direct accesses off the carriageway as well as removing eight gaps in the central reservation which currently allow slow moving agricultural vehicles to cross the A55.  It will also further protect the carriageway from flooding, building on work already done to deal with the…

Gambling is an activity that you should do at leisure. A gambler should be able to decide when to gamble and when to apply the brakes and stand out. However, self-control is not always achievable as many are addicted to gambling, just like alcohol and related substances. Healthline regards gambling addiction as an abnormality that should be given urgent attention. Sometimes, the addiction can start with compulsive gambling.  Even when you don’t have the resources, you just claim free spins with no deposit bonus to ensure you participate in gambling. There are significant 10 signs that indicate you are addicted…

Dogs Trust Cardiff have been caring for their first litter of rescue puppies – who are all now ready to go off to their new homes.  The ten German Shepherd cross puppies arrived as part of an unplanned litter, when their owner, who realised they could not take care of them, acted responsibly and brought them into the care of Dogs Trust’s newest rehoming centre on Nettlefold Road.  The pups, five boys and five girls, are proud Cardiffians and have all been given Welsh names – Huw, Steffan, Rhodri, Alwyn, Iefan, Gwen, Bronwyn, Nia, Lowri and Myfanwy. Upon arrival, they were immediately placed in the rehoming centre’s specialist Puppy Suite, where they had dedicated…

Tickets have gone on sale for a magical new lights trail set to light up the hearts of a nation this Christmas as Wales gets set to launch its premier festive illumination experience in Cardiff city centre. Christmas at Bute Park will take visitors on a breath-taking tour of festive delight around one of the capital city’s most beloved landmarks and through the biggest Christmas lights trail Wales has ever seen. From late November the park will be taken over by laser shows, an enchanting fairy tree avenue, a mesmerising lily pond, flickering fire sculptures, spectacular mirror ball displays, huge…

A brand-new, sustainability-focused independent restaurant will open in Cardiff city centre at the beginning of next month, following a two-year process of fundraising, planning and renovation. Kindle – formerly simply nicknamed ‘the warden’s house’ – is the latest venture from Phill and Deb Lewis, the entrepreneurial couple behind Dusty’s, an award-winning micro-chain of Neapolitan pizzerias in South Wales, and Nook, a cosy yet simply styled neighbourhood bistro, also in Cardiff. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign which raised an initial £43,000 back in 2019, and with more than £350,000 of further investment from the founders (and a global pandemic in between) the first phase transformation…

FinTech Wales hosted its first in-person pitching event of the year on Thursday (August 12th) featuring the eight companies in the inaugural FinTech Wales Foundry accelerator programme. The event, held at Tramshed Tech, invited Fintech Wales Foundry start-ups – who were selected from over 150 applicants from 28 countries, and represent a combined market size of over £2.5 billion – were invited to pitch to a select crowd of angel investors and venture capitalists, consisting of delegates from Angels Invest Wales, Dev Banc, British Business Bank and Global Welsh. This pitch session marked the halfway point of the Foundry accelerator…