Author: Rhys Gregory

Almost 14,000 people in the Swansea Bay area have now received a Covid vaccination. Frontline health and social care workers, many care home residents and some residents over the age of 80 who do not live in care homes have had their first dose. There are around 24,000 people over 80 across our area and all will be offered a vaccination by their GP surgery or in their care home over the coming weeks. We are on target to be able to vaccinate all care home residents with a first dose by the end of January and hope to be…

Cardiff Bus customers are being alerted to service changes taking place across its network from this weekend. The operator is set to alter services from Sunday January 17th with customers advised to only travel for essential reasons and check all timetables before they travel if their journey is necessary. The decision to reduce services has come as a result of discussions between the Welsh Government and bus operators, to reflect the current and ongoing lockdown. Timetable changes will affect all services apart from 65, 65A & H59 which will remain the same. Unfortunately, services 12, 53, 66, 93, 95A, 95B,…

Is your small business one of the millions that have been unable to trade as normal and seen turnover fall as a result of the coronavirus? With working capital issues being experienced across a broad range of industries, making sure there’s enough cash to pay bills, buy stock and operate effectively is proving to be extremely challenging.  The culture of late payments and the time lag between completing work and receiving payment can be challenging enough at the best of times, but when levels of new work are down and customers and clients are delaying payments to maintain their own…

The first projects to benefit from the Welsh Government’s £10m Local Broadband Fund have been announced today by the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport Lee Waters. The Local Broadband Fund supports local authorities and social enterprises to deliver broadband projects locally, helping communities without access. Local authorities and social enterprises can bid for funding to help bring fast and reliable broadband to communities with poor connection. The next stage of the fund is open for applications and is due to close on 28 January. Two projects in Monmouthshire and one in Michaelston y Fedw near Newport are set to…

Letters about the Welsh Government’s COVID-19 vaccination plans will shortly begin to arrive at the front door of every household in Wales. The Health Board letters will be sent to every household in Wales over the next couple of weeks and will be issued by Local Authorities, on behalf of the Welsh Government. It will provide information on the roll-out of the coronavirus vaccines currently available in Wales, how the vaccines are being made available and in what way people will be invited to an appointment. People are being urged to wait their turn and not to contact NHS or…

The number of people using Swansea’s cycle routes has more than tripled, new figures show. Electronic cycle-counters installed along many of the routes along Swansea Bay have recorded a tripling of cyclists using routes in 2020 compared to previous years with cyclists per jumping from 50 per hour to 140 at Blackpill and 10 per hour up to 30 at Morfa. There are more 120 kilometres of off-road cycle routes stretching across the city providing safe cycle and walking routes for cyclists and children walking to and from school. Swansea Council is continuing to invest millions in new cycle and…

The development of a new skate park at a seafront site in Llwynderw, West Cross, could take a big step forward next week. On January 21, the cabinet and site owner Swansea Council, is to discuss a recommendation that the location is leased to Mumbles Community Council which has planning permission for the skate park. Cabinet members will consider a report that details how a recent public consultation on the proposed used of the site had attracted overwhelmingly positive feedback. If members agree to leasing the site, the community council will – once lease terms have been agreed – be…

More than 60 homes throughout Neath Port Talbot have now had a free central heating system installed thanks to the Warm Homes Fund. The Fund helps homeowners who do not already have an oil or gas central heating system, to lower the costs of their energy bills through heating their homes more efficiently. Homeowners who qualify for the Fund can have a free first time gas central heating system (boiler, radiators, pipework) installed, plus a range of energy saving measures such as loft insulation, draught proofing and low energy light bulbs. Since launching, the Neath Port Talbot Council managed scheme…

The Cabinet of Bridgend County Borough Council will receive a report next week on the outcome of a bidding process which aims to deliver a high-quality new foodstore for Porthcawl. A total of five bids were received for the new store, which is set to be developed at a two-acre site located within the Salt Lake area and known locally as The Green. The report confirms that following a robust selection process in which each bid was carefully assessed against a planning development brief, Aldi Stores Ltd has been identified as the preferred bidder. When they meet on Tuesday 19…

A Discretionary Grant of £2,000 is now available to all businesses that have been forced to close or have been significantly impacted by the additional restrictions which started on December 4 and December 19. The grant is available to help businesses that have: Been forced to close as a result of the national restrictions put in place. Or estimate that the latest restrictions put in place will result in at least a 40% reduction in their turnover during the December 2020 to January 2021 period as compared to December 2019 to January 2020 (or September 2020 turnover if not trading…