Author: Rhys Gregory

Plans are underway that could deliver the first new schools to be built in the Cornelly area in more than 40 years. Approval has been given for mass consultation to be organised over proposals for replacing the ageing Corneli and Afon Y Felin primary schools with an all-new, state of the art modern English-medium school featuring a two-form entry system, a 60-place nursery and a 15-place resource centre for pupils with additional learning needs. Under the proposals, the new school could be established at Plas Morlais by entering into an agreement with the current site owner, Valleys To Coast Housing,…

Caerphilly County Borough Council have voted to approve the next stage of the Local Development Plan (LDP) The LDP is a blueprint which identifies where new developments such as housing, employment, community facilities and roads will take place in future. In October 2019 the council agreed to prepare a new Local Development Plan to replace the existing one (the Adopted LDP). The first stage of the process, the ‘Review Report’ addressed several key issues including why a new plan is being prepared, and identified any changes in legislation and evidence that is required to support the new LDP. The next…

Cardiff Council in partnership with Cardiff University, is providing children and young people with a unique and innovative opportunity to help shape the future of Cardiff by using a virtual game platform. ‘Craft Your City’ is a Child Friendly Cardiff initiative which aims to engage young people in a range of strategic developments by using Minecraft Education. Developed by Cardiff’s Education Service and Cardiff University School of Computer Science and Informatics, the digital approach sets a series of real-world challenges and provides a way for young people to share their ideas of how they would like Cardiff to look in…

PROSPECTS of a full national economic recovery post-pandemic could be fuelled by the relaxation of financial regulations on defined contribution (DC) pension schemes. Governor of the Bank of England (BoE), Andrew Bailey, recently stated that the relaxation could allow investments in higher, long-term productive investments, such as infrastructure projects, to accelerate the rate of recovery. Paul Francis, Principal Investment Consultant at Quantum Advisory, believes the move could be the catalyst needed to help boost the economy, but that it should not distract trustees from putting members’ interests first. Paul said: “Although this notion would only be relevant to the…

LEADING Welsh transport provider Adventure Travel has announced a shortlist of 28 charities as voting begins for its inaugural ‘Charity of the Year’. Adventure Travel, formerly NAT Group, is asking passengers and the public to participate in the online vote which will close on January 31. The shortlist features a range of causes including community organisations, health and children’s charities. To help voters make a decision, each charity and a synopsis of their work will be featured on the company’s social media during the voting period. The public transport operator has donated thousands of pounds to different charities and good…

THE Cardiff Business Club held its latest virtual event featuring guest speaker Neil Johnson OBE talking about post-Brexit trade deals, the impact of COVID-19 and national security. Chairman of security and defence contractors QinetiQ and former Army Colonel, Mr Johnson, used military analogies to declare that the UK must adapt in order to succeed and thrive in a post-Brexit and post-COVID world. Mr Johnson said: “Following the global transformation that has occurred in the past five years, we must be willing to recalibrate our thinking and change established mindsets when it comes to policies, in particular defence, security…

Taco Bell, the world-famous Mexican-inspired restaurant brand will open its second restaurant in Wales on Monday, 1st February in Swansea. The launch will mark the brand’s 54th UK restaurant opening. Local Swansea residents are invited to say ‘hola’ to Taco Bell with a free taco offer when customers download the Taco Bell UK app. Renowned for its craveable, customisable and quick-service Mexican-inspired classics; Taco Bell has been serving tasty tacos, bursting burritos, yummy nachos and its famous quesadillas to hungry UK fans since November 2010. The Swansea restaurant will be the second restaurant in Wales, joining the Cardiff restaurant which opened…

A woman from North Wales has reached the final in a national competition to find young adults who have helped in their communities during the 2020 pandemic. Hattie Guy, 27, lives in Trelawnyd and grew up in Penyffordd. She was nominated for the Urban Jungle’s Heroes 2020 competition by her sister-in-law, Rose Guy. Rose said: “My sister-in-law, Hattie, has had a true community spirit over 2020. “She lives in a small village and is a nurse and, even after she finishes some truly difficult work shifts caring for patients, she throws herself into her community. “She helped out as a community warden, taking care of those…

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Hijinx are launching a new series of training videos online to help train health and social care staff to effectively communicate with, appropriately care for, and support people with learning disabilities and/or autism. Extracts of the film will be shared at a virtual screening and webinar on 27 January 2021. The full-length films will then be available online for anyone to access. With funding from the Cardiff & Vale Health Charity and Arts & Business Cymru, the Health Board was able to commission Hijinx to develop a series of short films filmed on…

Aldi has recognised the amazing contribution of its store colleagues by giving them a New Year’s pay rise and increasing its minimum hourly rates from 1 February 2021. All of Aldi’s 1,000 Welsh Store Assistant colleagues will benefit from the pay rise, with Aldi paying a minimum hourly rate of £9.55, up from £9.40. The new rates of pay are also boosted by the fact Aldi is still one of the only UK supermarkets to pay for breaks taken during  shifts, which means Aldi colleagues remain the best-paid in the sector. When paid breaks are included, Aldi’s minimum hourly pay…