Author: Rhys Gregory

Plans for Cardiff Blues to run Pentwyn Leisure Centre as a community leisure facility, following an extensive refurbishment that will include a new swimming pool, gym area, 3G pitch and café, have been revealed. The proposals, which are part of a Cardiff Council review of the leisure services provided by GLL/Better Cardiff, are designed to improve the long-term sustainability of the leisure contract agreed with the council in 2016, and would also see the velodrome at Maindy Leisure Centre removed from the contract with the not-for-profit social enterprise, and a new velodrome built at the International Sports Village in Cardiff…

A student nurse and care worker has completed a half marathon with her two pet dogs running alongside her in aid of the hospice which cared for her mum in the final days of her life. Maddie Evans, 37, set herself the goal of conquering the 13-mile feat to raise money for St David’s Hospice in Llandudno which lovingly nursed her mother Lorraine through the end stages of a heartbreaking battle with cancer of the oesophagus. Accompanied every step of the way by her four-year-old Jack Russell called Bella and her two-year-old Bedlington terrier, Bobby, she raised £400 from the challenge and has now received a treasured thank-you certificate…

An eight-strong team of friends are to tackle one of Wales’s toughest mountain walking challenges – the awesome Welsh 3000s – in aid of St David’s Hospice in Llandudno. The band of brothers, all from the Conwy county area, have been getting in trim with a rigorous exercise programme while keeping to lockdown rules. Among them is Howard Vaughan, joint managing director of building company Brenig Construction, who has been starting many of his training exercises straight from the firm’s Mochdre headquarters. It’s a gruelling challenge but one Howard and his friends are embracing. He said: “There’s one day when…

Online gaming is growing in popularity in New Zealand, with more fans joining online casinos each day. There are online casinos coming up each month with a variety of games and lucrative bonuses. There are a lot of reputable online casinos based in New Zealand with a fast-growing fanbase. Online casinos are the next big thing in New Zealand’s entertainment scene. What is driving this change? Mobile Gaming Online mobile betting is the biggest driver of the growth of online casinos in New Zealand. The convenience of mobile betting has attracted casual gamblers, who play because the games are available.…

Thousands of new trees will be planted across Cardiff thanks to a cash boost from Coed Cadw, The Woodland Trust in Wales. Cardiff Council will benefit from the charity’s Emergency Tree Fund, set up to encourage local authorities to make trees a central part of their policies, and boost tree cover to tackle climate change. After receiving a grant of £228,862, Cardiff Council is looking to plant more than 800 hectares of tree cover over the next decade. Natalie Buttriss, Director of Coed Cadw said: “Back in October 2020, Cardiff Council unveiled its blueprint to become a carbon-neutral city by…

Morriston Post Office is benefitting from an eco-makeover at the new “green roof” installed on the site on Woodfield Street. Revealed this week (09 March) it is the very first “green roof” to be created by a private company under Swansea Council’s Sustainable Living Grant. Funded through the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns programme, Swansea Council has awarded the Sustainable Living Grant to redevelop the floors above the Post Office alongside the green roof creation. With work to include the “green roof” and the redevelopment of the formerly vacant first floor into residential flats, the project is being led by project…

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) and Ryan Giggs have mutually agreed that he will not be involved in the upcoming international camp. Robert Page will take charge for the next three matches against Belgium, Mexico and the Czech Republic and will be supported by Albert Stuivenberg as was the case during the last international window in November. The Cymru squad for these upcoming matches will be announced on Monday 15th March.

A go-ahead local cricket club is on a mission to get kids in Wrexham playing the game again with an ambitious coaching and playing programme – paid for with cash seized from criminals. Brymbo Cricket Club, one of North Wales’s most successful sides and the place where current Glamorgan captain David Lloyd learned the game, is hoping to unearth the next North Wales star. They are launching a major coaching programme, Brymbo Community Cricket, in May involving 12 local schools thanks to a £2,500 grant from a special fund distributed by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones. The…

Three ex-pupils have played key roles in a £5.2 million scheme to redevelop a former school into specialist housing – creating a major boost for the local economy in the process. The development by housing association Cartrefi Conwy is breathing new life into the site of Ysgol Maelgwn, in Llandudno Junction, which closed nearly four years ago when the pupils moved to a new super school, Ysgol Awel y Mynydd. It is the most complicated project Cartrefi Conwy has worked on to date because the old school, which opened in 1907, is architecturally important and many of the original features…

Apprenticeship providers across Wales have produced a five-year blueprint focussed  on delivering an inclusive Apprenticeship Programme which provides equal opportunities to currently under-represented groups of people. The Apprenticeships Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy’s goal is to create a learning environment where everyone has the chance to go as far as their talent and hard work will allow, regardless of background. By July 2026, the strategy aims to increase the number of Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) and disabled apprentices, female apprentices in construction and engineering and male apprentices in healthcare and the public sector. Progress towards these goals will…