Author: Rhys Gregory

Principality Building Society has announced a new partnership with Wales & West Housing to deliver a 0% deposit mortgage as part of Own Home Cymru, an innovative affordable home-ownership initiative, designed to help more people in Wales take their first step onto the property ladder. Recognising the urgent need for new solutions, Wales & West Housing, which manages 12,500 homes across 13 local authorities in Wales, has developed Own Home Cymru, to bridge the widening affordability gap between private renting and ownership. The initiative, which is the first of its kind in Wales, will initially be exclusively available to those…

Rhian Wilkinson’s Cymru will take on Korea Republic for the very first time in an international friendly match when her side travel to Spain for the final international window of the year. Korea Republic are ranked 10th in the world rankings and have appeared at four FIFA Women’s World Cups in 2003, 2015, 2019 and 2023. The match will take place on Friday 28 November, with a 19:00pm CET kick off time at the Malaga Football Foundation, Spain. Cymru face Switzerland four days later in Jerez, Spain. The fixtures against Korea Republic and Switzerland will aid Cymru’s preparations for the…

Dr Emma Ross, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at The Well HQ, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Cardiff Metropolitan University. A science communicator at heart, Emma has been a driving force in advancing female health in women’s sport for over 20 years, and founded The Well HQ in 2021 – an organisation on a mission to empower women in sport and help improve understanding around how female specific factors affect performance. Emma spent the first ten years of her career teaching physiology to sports science, physiotherapy and medical students at Brunel and Brighton universities and went on to…

Family have paid tribute to 45-year-old Michael Griffiths, who died after being involved in a collision with a car in Llantrisant. The incident happened on Heol-Y-Sarn, opposite the main entrance to the Royal Mint, at around 5.50pm on Wednesday 22 October. Michael was a pedestrian and was from the local area. In a statement, his family said: “Michael was a much-loved son, one-of-a-kind father, an irreplaceable big brother to three doting siblings, and a genuine, loyal friend to many. We are all deeply saddened to have lost Michael in such a tragic way, but we now want to focus on…

Drivers are being warned of an overnight closure on the M4 westbound between Junction 24 Coldra and Junction 25 Caerleon. The closure will be in place from 8pm on Sunday 23 November until 6am on Monday 24 November to allow planned works to take place safely. A diversion route will be in place for the duration of the closure and road users are advised to allow extra time for their journeys. The eastbound carriageway is not affected.

Residents across the city who put their general waste into black bags and put these on the pavement for collection have now received new seagull sacks – a simple but effective solution to stop birds and pests from tearing open rubbish bags and scattering litter across our streets. Households that use wheeled bins have not received the new seagull sacks – as there isn’t a need for these properties, as wheeled bins are a proven way to contain household waste. Following a successful trial of the seagull sacks in Adamsdown to over 1,000 properties earlier this year, the results were…

Both Gnoll Country Park and Margam Country Park are in Keep Britain Tidy’s list of the UK’s top ten green spaces. The parks, both managed by Neath Port Talbot Council, have become 2025 People’s Choice winners. The People’s Choice “top ten green spaces” list, organised by Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag Awards team, is voted for annually by thousands of votes from park users across the UK. This special recognition comes after both sites achieved the prestigious Green Flag Award earlier this year – a quality mark that recognises well-managed, high-quality green spaces. Cllr Cen Phillips, Neath Port Talbot Council’s…

Pembrokeshire County Council has announced the death of Councillor Jordan Ryan, describing the news as a deep loss to the county and the community he represented. Council Leader Cllr Jon Harvey said: “On behalf of Pembrokeshire County Council I would like to express our shock and extreme sorrow at the death of Cllr Ryan. “Cllr Ryan was a man of values and principles who was extremely proud to represent his constituents of the Fishguard North East ward. “His passionate and thoughtful contributions to Council meetings will be sorely missed by every Member, no matter their political colours. “I pass on…

The Council has provided a construction update on phase five of the Rhondda Fach Active Travel Route, to establish the route’s final section from Ferndale to Tylorstown. The works are around half-way through, and have included building three replacement footbridges and two pedestrian and cycle links. The 10km walking and cycling route from Maerdy through to Tylorstown has made excellent overall progress since 2023. This significant investment for Rhondda Fach communities is in partnership with Welsh Government, and is being delivered in five phases of work. Phases one, two, four and five will represent the primary route, with phase three…

Community groups across the Caerphilly county borough are being encouraged to come forward and submit a bid for a major new funding programme. The Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government has announced that Caerphilly Council is to be awarded a grant allocation from the Pride in Place Impact Fund. Leader of Council, Cllr Jamie Pritchard said “We want to encourage groups from right across the county borough to come forward with their bids to ensure the allocated funding from UK Government supports community-led improvements. It is important that this funding reaches the front line, so we look forward to…