Author: Rhys Gregory

In village halls, libraries, rural arts centres and urban community spaces across Wales, community and volunteer run cinema events are reuniting local people safely through big screen experiences.  The 120 plus community run cinema groups in Wales are often lifelines for audiences who have to travel over half an hour by car, or far greater distances by public transport, to reach their local multiplex or arts centre.   To support these crucial community services, Film Hub Wales (FHW) is working with venues to offer programme and marketing support. They have also awarded a series of small grants through the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) Film Exhibition Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, to Welsh community led cinemas and film societies as they reopen post COVID-19.   Funds…

One of North Wales’ leading criminal lawyers has been selected for a prestigious global legal network. Rhyl-based Dafydd Roberts, a director and head of the criminal law department at Gamlins Law, has been appointed to LexisNexis. LexisNexis is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business expertise. Dafydd has been selected for the Welsh Panel where he will play a part in ensuring the Welsh legal offering is of the highest possible standard, improving coverage of Welsh law through practical guidance and research. He will also provide expertise in his specialist area of criminal law. He joins fellow Gamlins…

Denbighshire County Council has given the green light for the development of a state-of-the art Engineering Centre of Excellence at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhyl Campus. Planning permission was granted yesterday (10 November), meaning that work will soon start on the new £11.2m centre which will become a hub for delivering world-class education and training for the engineering sector. The centre will enable learners to develop skills supporting the future needs of industry, including those critical to the renewable energy sector, additive manufacturing and the digital transformation of industry. A new Institute for Renewable Energy Technology will be part of the new…

Visitors heading for this year’s Christmas parade on November 21 will be able to get there by bus for free as #FreeRideSwansea returns for the festive season.   Starting on the Saturday 20 November, the hugely-popular public transport initiative pioneered in the city is back every weekend (Saturday & Sunday) in the countdown to Christmas and for the whole week of December 18 – 24 and December 27 – 31. Passenger numbers soared again over the half-term break following on from the school summer holidays which saw passenger numbers jump by more than 50%. Rob Stewart, Leader of the Council, said:…

Swansea’s armed forces veterans are being urged to take advantage of a Veterans’ Fund set up by the Council. The £25,000 fund was agreed by the Council as part of its budget for 2021/22 and armed forces veterans can apply to the fund for help. The fund is among a range of support available to veterans or serving members of the armed forces under the council’s Armed Forces Community Covenant. Rob Stewart, Leader of the Council, said: “On Remembrance Day we should never forget that support for the armed forces is a year-round duty for us all. “The veterans’ budget…

News that Milford Haven School has been removed from Estyn’s list of schools requiring significant improvement has been welcomed. The school was visited in October by a team from Estyn, which found that it had made sufficient progress with the recommendations from its core inspection that Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Education and Training in Wales was able to remove the school from the list. Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Guy Woodham, said it was an excellent step in the right direction. “I am pleased that Estyn have been able to recognise the wide…

Free Christmas parking has been approved for Neath, Port Talbot and Pontardawe town centres from Saturday, December 11th 2021 to Saturday, January 1st, 2022. Members of Neath Port Talbot Council’s Streetscene and Engineering Cabinet Board took the decision motorists will not have to pay for parking at Pay and Display car parks in the town centre locations during the dates to help local residents and to give a boost to local businesses. An officers’ report to the Cabinet Board, which met on November 5th, said: “It’s acknowledged our town centres and the traders who operate in them have been significantly…

The landmark former YMCA building is set to undergo a transformation into ‘an inspirational hub for economic and social activity in the heart of Merthyr Tydfil’. The Grade II Listed building, which has been derelict for more than a decade, is to receive investment of £8.6m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Enterprise Programme, Welsh Government’s Building for the Future and Transforming Towns programmes and the County Borough Council. The project aims to turn the YMCA into 10 separate letting units in ‘high quality commercial space in a uniquely historic setting’, bringing the building back into use for businesses…

Christmas shoppers in Merthyr Tydfil have the added incentive again this year of free weekend town centre parking, starting on Saturday (13 November). The County Borough Council and Big Heart of Merthyr Tydfil Business Improvement District (BID) are encouraging people to take advantage of free parking at all car parks in the centre on Fridays and Saturdays – Sunday is already free – until 3 January 2022. Cabinet Member for Finance and Governance Cllr Andrew Barry said: “Our shops and town centre businesses are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic lockdowns and need all our support for a…

An update on Cardiff Council’s progress in securing the future of the Norwegian Church has been revealed. Areport, which as presented to the local authority’s Cabinet on Thursday 18 November, will update on proposals to transfer the Norwegian Church, including the current lease, to a new charitable body led by the Welsh Norwegian Society. The proposed approach will see the new charitable body invest in the building and take control of the day-to-day running of the Church. Cabinet Member for Investment and Development, Cllr Russell Goodway, said: “The Norwegian Church is one of the most iconic buildings on Cardiff Bay’s…