Author: Rhys Gregory

Progress continues to be made on the city centre site of Swansea’s emerging new community services hub Y Storfa. Once open it’ll be home to facilities such as a new central library including a new children’s library. Other council-run services there will include those such as the contact centre, Housing Options, lifelong learning and the West Glamorgan Archive Service. Non-council tenants are set to include Careers Wales, Citizens Advice and Swansea University’s South Wales Miners’ Library. Council leader Rob Stewart said: “Y Storfa will be a fantastic location for people to access essential services. “This area of the city centre is being…

A tarmac layer from Penarth has been given a suspended jail sentence following an investigation by Neath Port Talbot Council Trading Standards Officers into poor workmanship and rogue trader activities. Swansea Crown Court heard on July 21st, 2025 that in July 2022, Neath Port Talbot residents received flyers advertising free quotations and ‘no upfront payments’ from tarmac drive specialists Jonathan Lewis Trading. The court was told one customer agreed to pay £3,000 to have a driveway laid with tarmac. The work was completed quickly and the trader was paid in cash. Soon after, the customer noticed the quality of the…

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet has approved the next steps to deliver a new replacement school on the existing Plasyfelin Primary School site. At a meeting earlier this week, Cabinet agreed to progress the scheme and allocate additional Council funding from existing capital budgets to keep the project on track. The Welsh Government has also agreed to contribute £14.753m through its Sustainable Communities for Learning (Band B) programme. The new school will be the local authority’s first net zero school. The overall budget for the scheme has been reprofiled to reflect market inflation, further site investigations and the confirmed requirements…

FRP Corporate Finance continues to strengthen its presence in the Welsh market, with five new hires and a series of staff promotions. The expansion comes as FRP Corporate Finance celebrates its first anniversary of having an on-the-ground presence in Wales, following the acquisition of Cardiff-based Lexington Corporate Finance in July 2024. Geraint McGrath joins FRP Corporate Finance as a director, having worked in corporate finance for almost 15 years. A stalwart of the Cardiff dealmaking community, advising corporates, private equity, entrepreneurs and management teams on strategy and transactions, Geraint previously worked as a senior investment manager at Foresight Private Equity…

Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust in Wales, has received a grant from the Welsh Government’s Landfill Disposals Tax Communities Scheme, administered by Wales Council for Voluntary Action, to help rare plants thrive on the Montgomery Canal near Welshpool. The £50,000 grant will support the charity’s work to control invasive species, carry out bank protection and dredging, plant and improve hedgerows, and install ‘leaky dams’: a type of natural flood management to help manage water flow and reduce erosion. Designated a site of special scientific interest, the canal is also internationally recognised as a special area of conservation, particularly…

A daughter will dedicate a daffodil tribute to her dad this summer as she supports City Hospice’s Forever Flowers campaign. Forever Flowers is an annual campaign, now in its fifth year, which invites supporters to remember cherished family members, friends, colleagues and other loved ones with a unique and lasting tribute. The limited edition daffodils will feature in a striking display within the grounds of Cardiff Castle from Saturday 2 to Sunday 10 August, with a special Celebration of Life event taking place on Thursday 7 August. The charity’s Forever Flower this year is the daffodil, Wales’ national flower, which…

Swansea University has presented an honorary degree to former Wales Women’s rugby captain Siwan Lillicrap, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Welsh rugby. The 37-year-old was awarded an honorary Master of Science (MSc) on Friday 25 July during the university’s summer graduation ceremony at Swansea Building Society Arena. Siwan’s journey to international rugby began at Waunarlwydd Rugby Club, where she grew up watching her father coach and her brother play. With no junior girls’ team available at the time, she had to wait until she was 17 to join the ladies’ side for training — and just two weeks…

A man who sexually abused two boys whilst working in a school and as an air cadet leader has been jailed. Jonathon Charles Evans, 32, of Malltraeth, Bodorgan, appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court today, Friday 23rd July, after being found guilty of two counts of the adult abuse of a position of trust to commit sexual activity, four counts of inciting a child into sexual activity and three counts of sexual assault. Evans targeted two boys between 2017-2020 whilst he worked as a technician at an Anglesey school and held a role as a volunteer Air Cadet leader. He added…

 Two food wholesalers have been sentenced for selling non-halal chicken, as halal to food businesses across South Wales. Yesterday at Merthyr Crown Court, Helim Miah was sent to prison for 4 years and 8 months for fraudulent trading and breaching insolvency law, while Noaf Rahman was given a two-year sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. The sentencing followed an investigation by Cardiff and the Vale Shared Regulatory Services into Universal Foods (Wholesale) Ltd, based at Bessemer Close, Cardiff. The pair sold halal-labelled chicken to Indian takeaways and restaurants across South Wales.…

Much needed business units will be built in Carmarthenshire to Net Zero standards, in a joint project between Carmarthenshire County Council and Welsh Government. Five energy efficient industrial units will be delivered at Beechwood Industrial Estate, in Llandeilo, for businesses based locally and regionally, supporting economic development in the area. More than £3 million is being invested by Welsh Government in the 7,150 sq ft site. It includes infrastructure, landscaping, and other associated works. It follows earlier engagement with the community which identified the need for more employment space. The development – which is designed to achieve ‘Net Zero carbon…