Author: Rhys Gregory

The community-owned pub has made it to the finals of pub of the year category for Wales, in what are popularly known as the ‘Rural Oscars’. The awards are the Countryside Alliance’s annual celebration of British food & farming, enterprise, heritage and business. Now in their eighteenth year, they are set apart from other awards because they are driven by public nomination, offering customers the chance to elevate their favourite businesses to national acclaim. The historic pub rose to prominence a few years ago when a community-led initiative, backed by Hollywood superstar Matthew Rhys, managed to raise over £250,000 to…

Just before 7pm on Friday night, January 31, a man attended Talbot Green Police Station and started damaging police vehicles. Officers challenged the man and during a violent struggle three officers were injured. Two officers were taken to hospital and received treatment for their injuries. Both officers have since been discharged. 27-year-old Alexander Stephen Dighton from Llantrisant has been charged with seven offences. He will appear at Merthyr Magistrates Court tomorrow morning, Monday February 03 at 10am. Offences are: • Attempt murder • Assault of emergency worker • Assault • Arson • Criminal damage • Possession of offensive weapon •…

A 34-year-old Wrexham woman has been jailed for assault and harassment. Naomi Maybury, of Wheatsheaf Lane, Gwersyllt, admitted three charges including of stalking without fear and assaulting a witness and a police officer. She began harassing the victim in June last year after an altercation between the pair. She reported Maybury to the police the following month after she threatened to assault her and had shouted several unpleasant remarks at the victim’s child. But Maybury continued harassing the victim having followed and approached her at numerous locations. In August, Maybury passed the victim at a shop, where she once again…

A new wetland area is taking shape on heights of the Clwydian Range to help support local nature World Wetlands Day which took place on Sunday (February 2) continues supporting the regeneration of these important areas to help encourage more wildlife to return and prosper. An additional wetland creation is now under way at the Moel y Plas nature reserve site, near Llanarmon yn Iâl. The Clwydian Range & Dee Valley National Landscape team, in conjunction with Denbighshire County Council, are developing an area at the hillside for both the benefit of local nature and communities. Nearly 18,000 native broadleaved…

Popular city centre bar Porter’s is to open a brand new 60 seat pub theatre in the basement of its premises on Barrack Lane. The venue aims to be a home to fringe theatre makers in the Welsh capital, prioritising developing artists and their work, as well as providing a platform for touring creatives. Cardiff Council recently supported the popular venue’s move to a new building on Barrack Lane and now with further support from Cardiff Council, and support from Stage Sound Services, Porter’s is able to open a basement theatre, alongside its already thriving live music offer. Cardiff Council…

People are being offered the chance to spend time at some of Swansea’s most scenic locations on spring and summer afternoons – and get paid for it. Swansea Council is recruiting 13 seasonal Cleansing Operatives whose job it will be to help keep some of our most popular tourist spots spic and span in the spring and summer months. The six-month stint runs from April to September, the busiest time of year for visits to places like Langland, Swansea Bay Caswell Bay and Port Eynon. Applicants need to get their bids in by February 24. The recruitment drive is part…

Major emergency works for the culvert on Troed-yr-Rhiw Road, Mountain Ash, will begin on 3rd February and take place over 8 weeks. The work will be completed over two phases, taking approximately 4 weeks each. The culvert at Troed-yr-Rhiw Road was significantly damaged as a result of Storm Bert. While urgent repairs were undertaken at the time so the culvert could continue to operate after Strom Bert and the road reopen, further emergency works can now begin to not just repair the culvert, but to increase its capacity and improve its resilience during severe weather events. The first phase of the work will…

Newport City Council and its partners were out in the city centre and Pillgwenlly last week as part of continuing efforts to improve community safety. As part of the latest in a series of dedicated days of action, officers from a number of council teams, led by our community protection team, Gwent Police and other partners were out engaging residents and businesses about issues such as anti-social behaviour and community safety. Officers were also engaging with residents about the renewed public space protection orders (PSPOs) that are now in place for the city centre and for Pill. A PSPO is an…

A further £13.7m will be invested to improve neurodivergence services and reduce waiting times for autism and ADHD assessments across Wales. Demand for neurodivergence services has rapidly grown in recent years, with increased awareness of neurodivergent conditions leading to thousands of people seeking assessments and support. The new funding will extend the work of the National Neurodivergence Improvement Programme to transform services and support the National Neurodivergence Team until March 2027, building on the £12m invested over the past three years and £3m to reduce the longest waiting times for children’s assessments in November. Marking the start of Children’s Mental…

An extra £25m to renew Wales’ major roads and prevent around 30,000 road defects and potholes has been announced by the Welsh Government. The funding boost will see an extra 100km of the strategic road network resurfaced in the new financial year. Roads that are most in need of repairs will be renewed, with thousands of potholes fixed. Since 2021 the Welsh Government has spent more than £81m on resurfacing around 321km of roads on the trunk network across Wales. Combined with the forecasted spend for 2025-26 this means that by the end of this Senedd term £118m will have…