Author: Rhys Gregory

Residents across Wales will see their town centres transformed as an additional £12.6 million is invested in regeneration projects from Swansea to Newport. The new funding was announced yesterday (Thursday, 26th March 2026) by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant, during a visit to the Biophilic Living project at Mowbray Yard, Swansea. The extra funding will support projects such as the redevelopment of 1 Oxford Street and Phase 2 of the Potters Wheel project in Swansea, the redevelopment of the Grade II listed Merthyr Synagogue, and the development of Placemaking Plans for Adamsdown, Splott, Butetown and Cardiff Bay. Since its launch in 2020, the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns…

The digital connectivity of 1,000 properties across Wales has been transformed thanks to the Welsh Government’s relaunched Access Broadband Cymru (ABC) grant scheme. The ABC programme provides grant funding to support the installation of a fast, reliable broadband to homes and business properties in Wales that are unable to achieve a connection via any other means. Funding of up to £800 is available per property, with grants for both equipment costs and installation costs. The scheme was relaunched last year after a pause to review its operations. Since then, more grants are being processed more quickly. The cost of the…

First Minister Eluned Morgan and Health Secretary Jeremy Miles have this week toured the site of the new £120m Llantrisant Health Park, which will speed up access to tests and treatment for people across South East Wales. The first phase of the health park, located near the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, will establish a state-of-the-art community diagnostic hub, providing MRI and CT scanning, ultrasound, X-ray and endoscopy services. Developed to meet the growing and increasingly complex healthcare needs of the local population, it will include a dedicated training centre for the future NHS workforce. It is the first major capital investment…

FinTech Wales, the independent membership association for the fintech and financial services industry in Wales, has reached 200 members as it continues to welcome new organisations from across Wales, the UK and internationally into its rapidly expanding network. The milestone follows the publication of its 2024/25 Annual Report, which highlighted continued investment resilience, employment growth and world-first innovation across the Welsh fintech sector. Recent new members include Oxyile, Valart, Bipsync, Alerte, Amino, CalonAI, OpenMoove and InnovAItive Solutions – businesses spanning AI, data, payments, research technology and fintech innovation. Their arrival reflects the strength and diversity of the Welsh ecosystem, with…

Wales has long ceased to be just a land of picturesque hills and ancient castles. For young residents, it’s also a vibrant digital world, where meetings take place in chat rooms, voice chat rooms, and game worlds, and local stories live not only on the streets but also in news feeds. In the evening after school or work, many Welsh people don’t go to their usual pub, but rather to an app on their phone or a favorite online platform, where friends are already waiting. The online space has become a place where three important parts of life come together:…

Across Wales, families are working out how to keep elderly relatives at home. Not in a care facility. Home. Waiting lists for residential care have stretched. Costs have gone up and kept going. Most older people say the same thing when asked directly: familiar streets, the same front door, the neighbour who waves on Tuesday mornings. That is what they want. Making that possible usually means changing the house. Bathrooms show the cracks first. Older Welsh properties, compact layouts, fixtures nobody has touched since before mobile phones existed. Bathing gets difficult before it gets dangerous. Families start looking, a grab…

Cardiff is set to introduce a new Visitor Levy after plans were approved by Full Council, following a public consultation that showed strong backing for the move. The levy will see a small charge applied to overnight stays in the city from April 2027, made possible by new Welsh legislation that received Royal Assent in September 2025. Almost 2,000 people responded to the consultation, with 62% supporting the introduction of the levy, 33% opposed and 5% neutral. Awareness of the proposal was also high, with 91% of respondents saying they were either very or quite aware of the plans. Supporters…

Plans for a series of major concerts at Blackweir Fields in Cardiff this summer are moving forward, with organisers confirming five headline shows while a planning application is currently under consideration. The events, branded as Blackweir Live, are set to bring a number of high-profile acts to the Welsh capital, including The Cure on June 24, Teddy Swims on June 26, Lewis Capaldi on June 30 and July 1, and Pitbull on July 4. A premises licence for the site was approved in April 2025, allowing for up to six events to be held at Blackweir Fields each year. However,…

Cardiff Music City Festival will return for a third year of boundary‑pushing music this autumn. The 2026 festival will run from Friday October 2nd to Saturday October 17th filling venues, clubs and pop‑up locations across Cardiff with two weeks of bold programming which pushes the boundaries of music innovation, performance and technology. Featuring global stars, homegrown talent, immersive events, talks, installations, unique collaborations and unmissable one‑off events the festival will once again proudly encompass: Sŵn – Cardiff’s annual new‑music festival. Llais – Wales Millennium Centre’s international arts weekend. Welsh Music Prize – celebrating the very best music made in or…

Detectives investigating the murder of a man in Pencoed have issued a fresh appeal for information, urging a jogger who may have key details to come forward. South Wales Police say the man was seen running along Felindre Road shortly before 1am on February 28, around the time of the incident in which David Rogers was fatally injured. Officers believe he may have passed the scene just before it happened and could be able to assist with the investigation. They are also appealing for anyone who visited the Chatterton Arms between 7:30pm and 11:30pm on February 27, or Pencoed Rugby…