Author: Rhys Gregory

Since the start of the pandemic, parks have played an important role for communities the length and breadth of the UK.  Research conducted by Keep Britain Tidy earlier in the year showed that more than nine in ten people (93%) think that parks and green spaces are important to their local community  Now, those communities have spoken with the vote for the 2021 People’s Choice Awards, run as part of the Green Flag Award scheme, the international quality standard for parks and green spaces, which is celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year.  During October, the public were invited to vote for their favourite park and more than 32,000 did…

Following a recent decrease in Covid-19 cases in Secondary schools across Denbighshire it has been agreed to revert back to the Low level of interventions status. An increase in cases at the start of the school year saw Secondary schools change their status which enabled schools to implement additional measures to help control the spread of the virus. Recent weeks have seen a reduction in case numbers for secondary age pupils and based on this, the overall alert level for Secondary schools has been changed to Low. Cllr Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Denbighshire County Council’s Lead Member for Education, Children’s Services and…

A rural Welsh community has come together to save one of Dylan Thomas’ favourite pubs from closure. People living in the small village of Ystrad Aeron, near Felinfach, Ceredigion, are trying to raise £330,000 to buy and reopen their local, the Vale of Aeron, as a community enterprise. The pub, also known in Welsh as Tafarn Dyffryn Aeron, was a favourite haunt of legendary Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin when they lived in nearby Talsarn in the early 1940s. It is said the couple would walk across the fields from their home at Plas y Gelli to…

Cardiff Central railway station remained the most used station across Wales during a year that saw Britain’s passenger usage drop 78% compared to the previous year. This was the lowest level of journeys seen since at least before 1872 and is a result of the pandemic. The numbers are revealed in the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) estimates of station usage statistics 2020-21, which include the annual total of passenger entries and exits at each of the 2,500+ stations in Great Britain. Cardiff Central remained the busiest station with just under 2 million entries and exits, down from 12.7 million in 2019 – an 84%…

Not-for-profit trust Freedom Leisure that operates leisure centres in partnership with Swansea Council is inviting city employers to offer their staff free trial sessions to get active, stay healthy and feel great. Freedom Leisure area manager Nic Beggs said: “During the past 18 months we’ve all changed the way we work and prioritise our week. “Companies are now adapting their workforce to work flexibly – and this will give staff an improved work-life balance and the ability to access different types of exercise. “Our centres have been given a facelift in the last few years and, although they might look…

An orphaned seal that was rehabilitated by the RSPCA after being rescued from an island in the Irish Sea in 2016, has been seen again in North Wales – this time with her nine-day-old pup. The seal, nicknamed Admiral’s Ale, came into the care of the RSPCA’s Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich in late December 2016 after being found as an injured orphan pup on Walney Island. After receiving initial treatment and care, she was transferred across to finish her rehabilitation in deeper pools at the animal welfare charity’s East Winch Wildlife Centre in Norfolk, from where she was…

Merthyr County Borough Council is applying to Welsh Government for a financial package towards the £3.2m redevelopment costs of the Leisure Centre pools and nearby skate park. The design will incorporate the retention of both the main and learner pools, provision of a new leisure pool and work on the changing rooms. The Council is also putting together a project team to look at building a new skate park, co-designed by users of the current facility and moved closer to the leisure centre. “The redevelopment will cost around £3.2m and we’re making a financial application to Welsh Government which will…

Dance for Parkinson’s classes are fun and informal classes run by National Dance Company Wales (NDCWales) and English National Ballet (ENB) proven to develop confidence and strength, whilst temporarily relieving some participants of symptoms in everyday life. During the pandemic, NDCWales and ENB adapted the classes so it could be delivered online, and working with Digital Communities Wales provided support to give participants the confidence and the skills to engage with online sessions. Now, NDCWales and ENB are reintroducing in person classes, offering participants the chance to take part at various hubs around Wales including Blackwood Miners Institute on a…

Site investigations will take place at the Llanharan Railway footbridge next week, requiring a temporary change to pedestrian arrangements – as the Council continues to work towards delivering a replacement structure. The footbridge remains subject to an ongoing emergency closure after a recent inspection found its condition to be deteriorating. The footbridge closure has resulted in a lane being brought out of use on the road bridge immediately adjacent to it (carrying the A473 Bridgend Road) – enabling a temporary footway to be established within the closed lane of the carriageway. The next steps toward replacing the bridge include site…

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has this week (Wednesday, November 24) approved the recommendation that the Freedom of the County Borough be granted to all its of its key workers and to a Welsh rugby legend. The Freedom of the County Borough is the highest accolade that the local authority can bestow and is usually granted for outstanding service to, or achievement associated with, the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf. At a full Council meeting held earlier today, approval was given to two recommendations of a working group, initially chaired by previous Mayor of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Councillor Susan Morgans,…