Author: Rhys Gregory

A blind teenage singer spoke movingly about her love of music when she attended an adventure-filled free summer school. Isabelle Harrison, 15, from Llandegla, was among the hundreds of youngsters who took part in the School’s Out! courses organised by the North Wales Music Cooperative It proved such a massive hit that the cooperative’s website crashed within 24 hours of the places being advertised. The group is an award-winning, not-for-profit organisation providing quality music tuition with two sister cooperatives in Denbighshire and Wrexham. Isabelle, known as Izzy by her friends, was determined to get the most from her week which combined…

Cardiff’s iconic Morgan Quarter has launched a new opportunity for start-up businesses to have a retail unit under its historic arches, for free. The Morgan Quarter is inviting people from across South Wales and surrounding areas who have recently set up a business and want to try out having a bricks and mortar store to ‘pitch for a pop-up’ within the arcade. The winning pitch will be given the keys to a retail unit for a whole month, free of charge. From the October 15, the winning business owner will join the likes of Spillers Records, Sobeys and Illustrate in…

This August, Coleg Gwent is proud to be supporting Public Health Wales with a targeted health care initiative in Ebbw Vale to deliver accessible AAA screening to the local community at Blaenau Gwent Learning Zone.   Offered to 65-year-old men living in Wales, the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Programme has been impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic. Screening was paused between March and August 2020 due to the pandemic, and since August 2020, staff from Public Health Wales have been working hard to restart the screening programme.  However, there is a backlog of men waiting to be offered appointments…

Seven pieces of hanging art have been unveiled in Cardiff’s historic arcades in this year’s ‘City of Arcades’ campaign – The Art and Soul of Cardiff – run by FOR Cardiff. A 21-foot-long angel suspended from the ceiling, sculptures balancing on tightropes and huge murals of Cardiff castle’s famous animal wall are just a few of the pieces on display. In collaboration with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, FOR Cardiff has commissioned seven alumni to create pieces of suspended art – to celebrate Cardiff’s distinct and vibrant culture. Education, history, green spaces, music, arts and theatre, food…

Consumers will be able to save money on their food shopping while saving the planet thanks to a ‘world first’ mobile app which launches in South Wales this week. Gander, which has developed the world’s first real-time mobile app to help food stores clear significantly more of its reduced to clear, often yellow labelled, food produce, will roll out in 23 CK Foodstores in South Wales. Food waste is a huge issue with households in Wales throwing away an estimated 400,000 tonnes of food waste per year. Heulwen Brown of CK Foodstores says: “We are delighted to have partnered with Gander…

Regional law firm Peter Lynn and Partners have celebrated their 5th season as the ‘Official Legal Partner’ of Swansea City AFC. The firm’s support of the Swans stretches back over 20 years, however, after advising the club on their purchase of the Liberty Stadium in 2017, the two organisations began working more closely. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the Swans,” said senior partner Peter Lynn, “and are looking forward to working with the Swans for many more years to come.” As part of the agreement, the Swansea based legal practice will remain title sponsors of the third-floor…

Neath Port Talbot Council has launched a £300,000 fund to support community organisations to deliver early intervention and prevention services. The Seed Fund is a one off grant payment to help establish a new service or activity that prevents or delays a person from needing arranged support from the Council’s Social Services Department. The fund can also be used to expand existing services or activities. It could be a service or activity that helps with issues such as a person’s physical or mental disability, substance misuse, child development, or social isolation. The grant is intended to go towards covering the…

Work is due to start next week on a £1.3m programme aimed at helping schools and other public sector buildings in the county borough become energy efficient and more economical to run. Up to 15 schools are included within the Re:fit scheme in addition to three buildings run by Bridgend County Borough Council – Bridgend Bus Station, the Bryn Y Cae care home in Brackla and the Trem Y Mor council offices in Bettws. The energy saving measures are set to include solar PV systems, LED lighting and boiler management systems to improve heating system efficiency. In line with the…

Work has begun on the construction of 31 ‘high quality’ new homes for rent as part of a £4.4million development in a rural part of Merthyr Tydfil. The Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association (MTHA) project at Bryniau Road, Pant is being partly funded by Welsh Government Social Housing Grant awarded through the County Borough Council. Local contractor Holbrook Homes will build 15 one-bedroom flats, 12 two-bedroom houses, two three-bedroom houses and two two-bedroom bungalows on an area of waste ground on the road to Pant. As part of the contract, Holbrook Homes is providing new job and skills training opportunities both…

Residents can now find out more and have their say on proposals to build a brand new 60-bed Extra Care facility for Porth – with all feedback received in the consultation helping to inform Linc Cymru’s future planning application. In December 2020, Cabinet Members agreed for a new Extra Care housing scheme to be built on the Dan y Mynydd Care Home site in Porth. The development is in line with the Council’s strategy to modernise residential care options for older people. No residents currently live in the care home, and public notices for the demolition of the building have…