Author: Rhys Gregory

Residents and road users are advised that significant drainage improvements will take place on the A4058 at Tonypandy, on the section of road south of the Asda store – requiring overnight traffic lights over the coming weeks. The Council has secured funding from Welsh Government’s Resilient Roads grant for a scheme to replace 230-metres of the existing kerbline with a new combined kerb drainage system. A new manhole will also be constructed in the verge, along with a new filter drain connecting into the drainage system. These measures will improve the road’s drainage in periods of heavy rainfall. Horan Construction…

RCT Council has confirmed that the Ynysangharad Park (M&S) Bridge in Pontypridd will reopen later this week, as the significant scheme to repair the structure following Storm Dennis is nearing completion. The bridge, which provides one of three main accesses to Ynysangharad War Memorial Park, was closed with immediate effect in February 2020 to ensure safety. The Council was committed to rectifying the damage, and last summer announced plans to carry out the works on-site utilising an area in the park. Preparatory work subsequently got underway in October and the bridge was lifted from its position over the River Taff…

A new five year plan set to revolutionise hospital pharmacy services in Wales has been agreed by the Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething. The plan will transform how some of the most innovative and life-saving medicines including cancer therapies, intravenous antibiotics and parenteral nutrition, are prepared. The Transforming Access to Medicines programme is a five year plan, which the Minister has asked NHS Wales Shares Services Partnership (NWSSP) to develop business case for with an indicative funding requirement of £67m. The sterile preparation of medicines also known as aseptic services is a speciality area within hospital pharmacy…

Plans by Toyota to reduce energy consumption and cut carbon emissions at its Deeside plant are being supported by the Welsh Government, with an award of £375,000 from its Economic Futures Fund. The £1.6m investment in more efficient high-temperature aluminium casting furnaces, used in the production of hybrid engines at the site, will reduce metal losses in the manufacturing process and deliver significant energy savings and reduced carbon emissions. The project will further lower the environmental impact of the site and will help Toyota meet its ambition of being net zero in carbon emissions by 2050 Minister for Economy and…

One of Wales’ leading environmental charities has launched its biggest ever initiative to eradicate litter and waste. Caru Cymru, led by Keep Wales Tidy in partnership with all Local Authorities in Wales, aims to inspire everyone to take action and care for the environment. The charity is calling on people to take responsibility for the litter and waste they produce in a drive to create a cleaner, safer Wales. While Keep Wales Tidy is renowned for working with an army of volunteers to pick up litter, the charity’s new movement will not just focus on cleaning up, but stopping litter…

A digital project funded solely through charitable donations is providing a lifeline to hospital patients during the Covid-19 pandemic. Virtual contact has been a saviour for many of us throughout the pandemic, and nowhere has this been felt more than in healthcare settings across Wales where visiting has been restricted. Funded through the Awyr Las Covid-19 Response Fund and Macmillan, over 250 devices have been deployed by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) since last March. These are now enabling older and vulnerable people to keep in touch with their loved ones whilst in hospital. Brian Laing, who’s leading the…

Despite the challenges caused by a global pandemic and Storm Dennis, which affected 1,500 homes and businesses across the region, Rhondda Cynon TafCouncil’s Apprenticeship Programme has thrived. With a programme stretching back nine years, the council was able to act swiftly. Its 80 apprentices were set up to work from home with laptops, desks, chairs and other equipment while virtual learning and extensions to courses and deadlines were implemented by training providers. In response to last February’s Storm Dennis, which damaged highways, bridges and town centres across the region, the council has even recruited an additional four civil engineering apprentices.…

Three exciting new developments on Rhyl waterfront have been unveiled by Denbighshire Leisure Ltd. The brand new outdoor eatery The Terrace at 1891, the Rhyl Pavilion ‘Costa’ cafe and a new gourmet Fish and Chips takeaway on the promenade are set to open this Summer in Rhyl. Following on from the success of the hugely popular Beach Hut outdoor restaurant, launched by Denbighshire Leisure Ltd in Prestatyn last summer after the first lockdown, 2021 will see the opening of The Terrace at 1891, a premium outdoor dining experience, with panoramic views of the North Wales Coast. 1891 is the company’s…

A top trailer maker has come to the rescue of TV presenter Matt Baker as part of a new series documenting his ambitious journey to save his family’s sheep farm. Matt Baker: Our Farm in the Dales, soon to be aired on More4, follows the Countryfile and former The One Show presenter as he returns to his parents’ organic sheep farm in the Durham hills to make vital changes that will help secure it for future generations. The popular presenter, who uses a trusty Ifor Williams Trailers livestock trailer throughout filming, was spurred into action after his mother, Janice, 65,…

A bike trailer created by the Cerebra Innovation Centre at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) in Swansea has given a young boy a new taste of freedom. Henry Waines, aged 3, has a rare congenital heart disease and tracheobronchomalacia, a condition of the windpipe that means he currently needs to be ventilated 24 hours a day via a tracheostomy. The ventilator is bulky and has to travel everywhere with him. Like any young boy, Henry wants to play and be active, but it was becoming hard for his mum Shevonne to keep up with him while carrying the ventilator…