Author: Rhys Gregory

Three health boards will receive more than £10m in Welsh Government funding this year and next, to install new solar energy measures and help them improve energy efficiency across their estates, resulting in carbon and financial savings. This investment builds on £2m provided last year, as part of a larger £17m programme. The funding – repayable on an Invest to Save basis – will support energy projects for Swansea University Health Board, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and the Hywel Dda University Health Board. The funding includes £2m in Covid recovery funds, earmarked for an ambitious 4MW solar farm…

A Llanfyrnach man has been handed a six-month suspended jail sentence for the mistreatment of dozens of equines. Alun Lloyd of Sunny Hill, Llanfyrnach, was found guilty of nine Animal Welfare Act offences split over two separate cases. He was sentenced on Tuesday (22 December) at Llanelli Magistrates Court, having previously failed to attend court. In addition to a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, Lloyd was disqualified from the keeping and owning of horses for ten years, and given £1,500 in fines and costs. He cannot appeal the decade-long ban for five years. Some 31 horses in the…

2021 will be a year for businesses to recover and rebuild, says Chambers Wales, as it looks to the year ahead, after a challenging 2020 for businesses across the country. Speaking about what’s on the horizon for Welsh businesses, Chambers Wales President Paul Slevin said: “2020 has certainly been a challenging year for individuals and businesses across Wales and indeed the rest of the world. “While we are still very much gripped by the Covid-19 pandemic, with record case numbers here in Wales especially, there is hope as the first vaccine makes its way to our healthcare workers and the…

A temporary contraflow on the A55 between junctions 2 – 4 eastbound will be in place from today [Monday, 28 December] as part of the Welsh Government’s contingency plans for the end of the EU Transition period. The plans are aimed at minimising any possible disruption to the port, town and wider community. From 1 January ferry operators will require freight customers bound for Ireland to link customs information to their booking and if they arrive without having done so they will not be able to enter the port. The reasonable worst case scenario published by the UK Government highlights…

Inspiring artwork by local primary school pupils will be showcased online by The Red Dragon Centre, Cardiff Bay’s leading entertainment destination, throughout the New Year. The ‘Hopes and Dreams for 2021’ project led by The Red Dragon Centre will display over two hundred pieces of art created by key stage two pupils at Mount Stuart Primary School. After a tough year for many, The Red Dragon Centre team wanted to share uplifting messages and a positive outlook for the New Year. Eight classes from the nearby school submitted artwork for the exhibition, which will be shared online from January, with…

Holding the Tesco Food Collections, which ran for three days in large stores, is just one of a number of ways in which Tesco supports the two food charities. The supermarket has provided more than £60m in support to help the charities feed communities during the pandemic. During the initial lockdown Tesco donated £15m of food, split between the two charities. The supermarket has announced a further £4m of food for FareShare in recent months and donates two million meals a month of surplus food via the charity. This year’s collection was held on November 19-21 amid the lockdown in…

There’s no doubt this year’s festive celebrations will be a little different for all of us so to lighten the atmosphere, staff on Neath Port Talbot Council’s winter gritting fleet asked for help in naming their sturdy lorries. Among the names other councils have dreamed up for their vehicles have been Spreaddie Mercury and David Plowie but after getting assistance from people around Neath Port Talbot on social media, it was decided some of the area’s not inconsiderable group of local celebrities should be honoured. Listed below are the final five gritter lorry names which were chosen by lorry drivers…

Welsh farmers and food producers have sighed a huge sigh of relief after it was revealed that the UK and EU are close to agreeing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) covering key Welsh products. Speaking after news of the breakthrough broke on Wednesday evening (December 23), FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “The consequences of a no deal for farming and other industries would be catastrophic, so it was always hoped that common sense would prevail. “However, there was always a risk that refusals to compromise on one or other side could lead to the worst case scenario.” Mr Roberts also…

Households in Wales are being reminded to regularly check up on vulnerable relatives, neighbours and friends this winter to ensure they are keeping warm and well. People living in rural parts of the UK are more likely to struggle to keep warm during the colder months because their homes tend to be older and less well insulated, making them harder to heat effectively. More than 2.3 million people living in rural areas are also over 65* and so at greater risk of developing health problems such as respiratory conditions, which are made worse by cold temperatures. With many of these…

A 123-year-old steam railway locomotive that saw 27 years’ service with Welsh Slate has found its forever home with a narrow-gauge heritage railway in Mid Wales. The 11-tonne Manning Wardle “Jubilee 1897”, so named to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, has been sold to the Vale of Rheidol Railway at Aberystwyth which had been its foster home for the past two years. Jubilee 1897 initially worked at Cilgwyn slate quarry at Nantlle, hauling waste from the quarry to remote tips near the village of Y Fron. It was sold to Welsh Slate in 1928 when it travelled to Dinas Junction…