Author: Rhys Gregory

A police boss has revealed a high tech revolution will help to keep bobbies out on the beat. North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones has described the project to equip every frontline police officer with a sophisticated mobile communications app that cuts form-filling and even checks fingerprints as a “game-changer”. The app will be loaded on mobile phones and laptops as part of the four-year digital communications strategy which also aims to keep communities across the region and their local policing teams in close contact. It will mean that officers will be able to spend more time out…

Barratt Homes has opened the doors of its show homes at Brunel Quarter — a new housing development designed to boost the attraction of Chepstow living and celebrate the town’s rich industrial heritage. Overlooking the River Wye, this brand new development was once a hub of shipbuilding, known as ‘National Shipyard No. 1’ — a site which manufactured everything from merchant vessels during the First World War to landing craft and Mulberry Harbour sections during the Second World War. Later, the shipyard was transformed into an engineering hub for bridges and other structures — most famous for providing steelwork for…

National Dance Company Wales (NDCWales) and English National Ballet will be providing more opportunities for people with Parkinson’s to take part in its high-quality dance programme online and eventually at two new venues in North Wales. NDCWales’ Dance for Parkinson’s class for people living with Parkinson’s, their family, friends and carers has been running since 2015 as an affiliated hub of English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s programme. The first class was launched at the Dance House (Wales Millennium Centre) Cardiff 2015, and the second from Blackwood Miners Institute in Caerphilly County Borough in 2018. During the 2020 pandemic lockdown,…

Young people in Swansea have been involved in the recruitment of the city’s new Director of Education. Helen Morgan-Rees was this week appointed to the role following a rigorous interview process which involved councillors, headteachers, senior officers and a youth panel. It is the first time that shortlisted candidates for the post went before a youth panel where young people were able to question them and discuss their priorities. The youth panel was made up of pupils aged between 11 and 17 from eight different schools in Swansea. Mrs Morgan-Rees had been acting as Interim Director for the past four…

Two large Swansea schools will see their energy bills reduced after having solar panels fitted in recent weeks. Swansea Council is working in collaboration with Egni Co-op and the Welsh Government Energy Service to help the authority in its aims to become a net zero carbon by 2030 – and to make the net zero by 2050. Together they installed a total of 200kW of rooftop solar on Morriston Comprehensive School and Cefn Hengoed Community School. More than 500kW of rooftop solar has now been installed by Egni on Swansea schools – including Pentrehafod, Gowerton, Pontarddulais comprehensives, and Portmead and Glyncollen…

The Welsh Government target to deliver 20,000 affordable homes by 2021 will be met – and exceeded – Housing Minister Julie James has announced. With 12 months’ of official figures still to come, the latest statistics show just under 3,000 new affordable homes were delivered in the 2019-20 financial year bringing the total number of homes delivered to 19,000. The figures released today highlight the Welsh Government has delivered the highest annual level of social homes since records began in 2008. The next set of official statistics, which will confirm the 20,000 affordable homes target has been met, will be…

Taxi and private hire vehicle drivers in Wales will be able to claim a free pack of high quality PPE and vehicle cleaning materials, funded by the Welsh Government. The move is intended to increase confidence in travelling safely for drivers and passengers. The pack contains medical grade re-usable face coverings and hand sanitiser, as well as all-purpose sanitiser, cloths, wipes and gloves so vehicles can be effectively cleaned between passengers. Medical grade face coverings have been chosen to provide enhanced protection over standard face coverings. The Welsh Government is strongly recommending for drivers to wear face coverings when transporting…

Councils in Wales will receive an additional £5.5m to help them fund the increasing demand on the Welsh Government’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme, Finance Minister Rebecca Evans announced today. The Council Tax Reduction Scheme has been providing support to hundreds of thousands of households with their council tax bills since it was introduced almost eight years ago. But with many more people facing reduced income or unemployment as a result of Covid-19, the CTRS has received a significant increase in applications. In the last year the Welsh Government has provided local authorities with almost £11m in additional funding to help…

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board has confirmed the latest arrangements for mobile coronavirus testing facilities in Bridgend County Borough. A new drive-through mobile testing facility will open on Friday 5 February at the Halo Swimming Pool on Marshfield Avenue in Pyle (CF33 6RP). It will be open daily from 9am until 4pm and booking is essential. The drive-through facility currently available at the site of the former Revlon/Cosi factory off Oakwood Drive in Maesteg will close at the end of tomorrow (Thursday, 4 February). A walk-through testing facility remains in place at the Bowls Hall car park off Bridgend…

The site has been chosen for Merthyr Tydfil’s new single all through 3-16 Voluntary Aided (VA) Catholic school. The County Borough Council’s Cabinet has approved the land south of the ‘Greenie’, west of Galon Uchaf Road as the preferred site, but will hold further consultations with residents, school communities and the Archdiocese of Cardiff as the design progresses. Further investigations will now be carried out, including traffic monitoring, drainage and ground investigations, ecology surveys and licensed drone surveys of the site and surrounding areas. To ensure suitable traffic management, drop-off/parking and sports facilities, the current upper Bishop Hedley High School…