Author: Rhys Gregory

North Wales Police have partnered with Arriva public transport to raise awareness of hate crime and how to report. Working in partnership with the, Arriva buses now display special permanent posters which warn perpetrators that hate crime, and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated, and that CCTV will be shared with the police. A hate crime includes verbal abuse, assault or criminal damage that is motivated by prejudice of a person because of their disability, race, religion or nationality. The education campaign sees police posters displayed on the bottom deck of every single Arriva bus in north Wales and the…

Denbighshire County Council is informing residents that upcoming planned maintenance work will be undertaken at Marine Lake in Rhyl. To perform the work, the lake will be drained on Monday 24th of February for a week whilst annual revetment inspections and general site maintenance take place. The works have been planned to take place outside of the summer season to ensure minimal disruption. Refilling will commence on the week commencing the 3rd of March, once the work has been completed. Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport said: “The work that is upcoming at Marine Lake towards the…

Two tenants have been announced for a major new office development in Swansea city centre. IWG and TUI will be taking up space at the 71/72 Kingsway scheme that’s now been handed over to Swansea Council. Flexible workspace provider IWG will take up about 20,000 square feet at the development, with travel and leisure company TUI taking up approximately 7,000 square feet. TUI contact centre employees currently based at Alexandra House will move to the new Kingsway development, helping to retain jobs in Swansea city centre. The majority of the remaining space at the scheme is also under offer and…

Neath Port Talbot Council’s Trading Standards team has successfully obtained a Closure Order against a “pop up” vape shop in Port Talbot. Following complaints about the sale of vapes to children, illicit tobacco and non-compliant vapes (i.e. those with oversized tanks), Market Vapes on Station Road was visited on several occasions over an 18 month period. During each of the visits, Trading Standards officers found and seized Illicit tobacco and non-compliant vapes.  Despite a change in ownership in August 2024, a further visit in January 2025 again found illicit tobacco and non-compliant vapes. On 6th February, 2025, officers obtained a…

A landlord has been fined almost £5000 for operating an illegal House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) in Tylorstown. Mr Laib Director of Laib property Investment limited, is the owner of the property at East Court Flats, 170-171 East Road, Tylorstown and has been found guilty for a second time for operating an HMO without a licence from Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Environmental Health Department. Mr Laib has been the ‘person in control’ of the premises, that housed EIGHT flats since 2021. In March 2022, the owner received official notification from the Council that a HMO Licence was required, following a…

An extra £3m is being invested in bereavement services across Wales to help ensure everyone can access the support they need, when they need it. The Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Sarah Murphy said the three-year funding would help Wales become a “compassionate nation” and improve bereavement care and support. The Bereavement Support Grant will support all those experiencing a loss, with specialist forms of support for people living and working in agriculture and those experiencing more complex forms of grief. Sarah Murphy said: ““We want to ensure Wales is a compassionate nation, where everyone has equitable access to…

Unpaid carers in Wales will continue to receive additional support to take well-earned breaks from their caring role, Minister for Children and Social Care, Dawn Bowden has said. The Minister has also confirmed funding is being made available to continue support for carers on low incomes to buy essential items. The Short Breaks Scheme and Carers Support Fund will receive £3.5m and £1.75m respectively for 2025/26 from the Welsh Government. These schemes are in addition to the duties that local authorities are under to provide appropriate support for carers. The Short Breaks Scheme is on track to deliver, or exceed,…

The Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing has outlined ambitious plans to establish Wales as a trailblazer in the safe and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI). Speaking at the Digging Deeper Conference at the International Conference Centre in Newport last week, Sarah Murphy highlighted the impact AI is already having in healthcare in Wales, as it was being used to transform public services and help drive economic growth. AI-assisted diagnosis is supporting faster identification of a range of conditions including stroke, prostate and breast cancer across the NHS in Wales. This is the first conference of its kind in…

easyHotel, the low-carbon affordable hotel chain, has completed the upgrade of its Cardiff City Centre hotel’s energy system to align with its strategy to be the leader in low-carbon great value hotels in Europe. The £845,000 upgrade is part of an ongoing £6.4 million investment started in 2023 to cut the Group’s overall CO2 emissions by 25%. Out of this, £5.1 million has been invested in the UK, with the rest set aside for the brand’s owned hotels in the EU. The energy infrastructure upgrade included replacing the gas boiler with electric air source heat pumps, upgrading mechanical units, and…

The One That Got Away stars Elen Rhys (The Mallorca Files, Craith/ Hidden) as DI Ffion Lloyd, who teams up with her former lover, DS Rick Sheldon (Richard Harrington, Y Gwyll/Hinterland), to investigate the murder of a nurse in a Welsh seaside town.  Written by Catherine Tregenna (Law & Order UK, Lewis, DCI Banks), and directed by Sion Ifan (Y Goleudy), this psychologically driven thriller delves into the complex relationship between Rick and Ffion as they confront not only a killer but also the unresolved issues of their past. The murder stirs up old wounds in the small community, casting…