Author: Rhys Gregory

Two Merthyr Tydfil pubs have been closed down for two weeks for breaching coronavirus restrictions by allowing customers to ‘congregate at the bar’ and ‘generally behave as if there were no restrictions in place’. Cwm Taf Joint Enforcement Team officers who attended the Wyndham Arms in Glebeland Street and Park View Inn on Brecon Road ‘could not believe the lack of control, the low staffing levels and the complete lack of awareness of both staff and customers at the premises’. The Joint Enforcement Team comprises officers from the County Borough Council, South Wales Police and Covid Enforcement Officers. The pubs…

Cardiff-based video marketing agency, Aura Ads, launched in April 2020 and has increased their revenue by 375%, as well as taken on some new key clients. Some of these clients include Huel, Pact Coffee, Abbot Lyon and Freddie’s Flowers. Due to the numerous clients, growth plans and future expansion, Aura Ads will also be on the lookout for new members of the team at the start of the new year. There are currently four employees on the Aura Ads team. As the business has operated globally, including clients in Boston, Amsterdam, Germany, Canada and Australia, they will be expanding more…

Wales has taken the landmark decision to lift restrictions on LGBT+ people donating blood. As part of a four-nations agreement, Health Minister Vaughan Gething, has today announced the ending of restrictions, set by SABTO (The UK Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs) which has seen many LGBT+ people unable to donate blood. The change will come into effect in summer 2021. The Welsh Blood Service (WBS) will prepare for the lifting of restrictions and make changes to some of the questions blood donors are asked in order to move away from blanket restrictions and to a…

Swansea Council’s cabinet is set to approve an investment of almost £3m to improve the city centre’s Wind Street. The cabinet is due to meet on December 17 to discuss the plan to make the venue more accessible to pedestrians and more attractive to businesses wishing to trade outdoors. The aim is for Wind Street to be a family-friendly all-day café quarter with traffic restricted to business loading only from 7-11am. Emergency vehicles will have access at all times but the street will be largely free of vehicles during the daytime and evening trading periods. Work, to be carried out…

The latest data shows the rates of COVID-19 have further increased across Wales and Merthyr Tydfil.  In response to this increase and to support our community to help reduce the spread, we are extending mass community testing in Merthyr Tydfil. Over the past 20 days everyone over the age of 11yrs without symptoms, living, working or studying in Merthyr Tydfil, has been offered a lateral flow test. Alyn Owen, Deputy Chief Executive and Lead Officer for Mass Testing for the Local Authority, said: “In the last 20 days approximately 30,000 tests have been carried out on asymptomatic people.  Sadly, we…

Newport City Council has seized two vehicles used in the commission of fly-tipping offences in Coedkernew. Officers from the council’s trade enforcement team and Gwent Police visited the Ellen Ridge residential site this morning to issue the seizure notices as part of Operation Ascent. The seized vehicles had both been identified as having been used to illegally fly-tip waste at the former LG access road site following investigations by the council. Two separate fixed penalty notices have also recently been issued for fly-tipping offences at the same site. https://twitter.com/NewportCouncil/status/1337415495067308034 A council spokesperson said “Our enforcement team have been working hard…

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…