Author: Rhys Gregory

The new St Albans Bridge in Blaenrhondda reopened to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians on Friday afternoon, following good progress made on its replacement scheme throughout the autumn months. The bridge reopened on Friday, December 11, after a road safety audit was completed on Thursday. The final stages of the scheme have seen the installation of street lighting, drainage and paving to the bridge deck – before the final resurfacing and white lining to the road was completed this week. St Albans Bridge was built over the River Rhondda and railway line in the 1930s. In 2016, the Council’s Cabinet agreed…

The Welsh Government has announced plans to roll out serial testing in schools and colleges from January. Under this process, pupils and staff identified as close contacts would be asked to either self-isolate as normal or to take a lateral flow test at the start of the school day for the duration of the self-isolation period. Those who test negative would continue attending school as normal, those who test positive would be required to self-isolate and book a confirmatory test. Schools and colleges will be offered support, equipment and training.  All staff working in special schools will be offered weekly…

The Welsh Government’s unique Economic Resilience Fund (ERF) has helped safeguard more than 470 jobs at two Swansea-based businesses against the economic effects of the coronavirus. Manufacturer Toyoda Gosei UK Ltd and car retailer C.E.M. Day Ltd are both important employers in the area and were severely impacted as a result of the pandemic. C.E.M. Day received £357,000 from the Welsh Government’s ERF, to maintain limited operations and help protect the livelihoods of more than 350 staff members. Toyoda Gosei UK Ltd, which specialises in automotive parts and LEDs, received £116,000 from the ERF. This has helped the business continue…

APPRENTICES used the force of cutting-edge machinery to create Star Wars-inspired rocket stoves. The unique garden heaters were fabricated from raw sheet metal at Coleg Cambria Deeside by a 75-strong cohort from the Airbus wing-making factory in Broughton. Lecturer Tony Commins and colleagues oversaw the learners’ progress as they used a variety of techniques and processes to build a range of stoves on the sci-fi theme, including Imperial TIE (Twin Ion Engine) Fighters featured in the Star Wars movies. “It was great for them to learn new skills, from plasma cutting and shaping to welding and designing,” said Tony. “After…

A MUM-of-two who survived a cardiac arrest thanks to her paramedic husband’s quick-thinking intervention has inspired a community’s quest for extra defibrillators. Nurse Cerys Wilkins, 48, collapsed without warning at her Pentrebach home in October. Husband Phil, an off-duty paramedic, gave chest compressions and rescue breaths to his wife of 20 years before his Welsh Ambulance Service colleagues arrived and delivered a shock to Cerys with a defibrillator which re-started her heart. With support from the local council, Welsh Ambulance Service, family and friends, and fundraising organised by niece Kayleigh Williams, new defibrillators will soon be available in Cerys’ community.…

Light, Ladd & Emberton are offering people the opportunity to give the gift of a live dance performance to colleagues, friends and family this Christmas  – both delivered direct to their doorstep, and as part of an online party on Saturday 19 December. Wales-based dance company Light, Ladd & Emberton – who have previously created immersive shows like CAITLIN and Owain Glyndŵr Silent Disco in spaces such castles, village halls, theatre and beaches – have created a new project this December with freelance artists from across Wales to give free extraordinary experiences to people and communities after a challenging year.…

Following months of national and local coronavirus lockdowns, the lack of footfall at Wales’s historical sites has allowed nature to thrive — and today (07 December) Cadw has revealed specialist plans to continue maximising onsite plant and animal life after its staffed monuments re-open. Designed to support ecological growth, Cadw’s planned environmental works will take place at Caerphilly Castle, Rhuddlan Castle and Blaenavon Ironworks next year. From the planting of wildflower meadows and pollinator havens to the installation of bat and bird boxes in surrounding trees, the planned works will mark an ecological awakening at some of Wales’s most iconic…

The annual Cardiff Report from global property consultancy Knight Frank shows that, even though the city’s property market was badly hit by the pandemic in 2020, Cardiff still achieved noticeable successes, and is anticipated to bounce back well next year when the recovery phase of the pandemic begins. The report describes how the office lettings sector was badly affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, while parts of the property investment sector remained strong, the demand for industrial and logistics space continued to grow, and the city’s residential market saw intense activity across all price bands with house prices 7.3 per cent…

Loopster is hosting a Christmas pop-up shop for the first time in Cardiff. Loopster is an online platform that makes buying and selling quality, second-hand women’s and children’s clothing easy and convenient. The pop-up shop based in the Morgan Arcade will showcase a curated collection of Loopster second-hand and previous season women’s and children’s clothing With 300 tonnes of our clothes ending up in landfill or incinerated every year, Loopster’s aim is to extend the life of fashion and make shopping for second-hand or past season clothes easy and accessible to all. According to ThredUp, if everyone wore a pre-loved…

New Swansea University research has revealed microalgae could play a crucial role in not only successfully reusing food and farm waste on an industrial scale but also creating thousands of jobs. Microalgae are microscopic photosynthetic cells found naturally in the oceans and lakes. But in a new article, the University-based ALG-AD research group  explains how unwanted nutrients from food waste can be used to grow algae. The algae convert the nutrients into protein which can in turn be fed to farm animals as a replacement to less sustainable soya protein. A key aim of the ALG-AD project, led by the…