Author: Rhys Gregory

Musically talent young people from Pembrokeshire enjoyed a six county orchestra course at Aberystwyth University this month. The event culminated in a special concert at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, where young people aged 12 to 19 from Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Swansea, Powys, Neath Port Talbot delighted their audience. The course was funded by the National Music Service Wales ensemble recovery fund and was free of charge for orchestra and wind band pupils ensuring that all young people could take part regardless of finance. The orchestra performed under the baton of the world renowned conductor Grant Llewellyn who is originally from…

Construction of a brand new main building for Penygawsi Primary School has now been completed – and work across the site’s external areas will start shortly, ready for pupils to enjoy the fantastic facilities from September. The Llantrisant school is one of three in Rhondda Cynon Taf to benefit from the latest Council and Welsh Government investment via the revenue funding stream of the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme – the Mutual Investment Model. Llanilltud Faerdref Primary received its new building in April, while a similar investment for Pontyclun Primary is progressing for 2025. Work to build Penygawsi Primary School’s…

Saturday the 13th of July saw thousands of people flock to Blackwood Town Centre for Blackwood Beach Party. The whole High Street was packed with visitors and there were great crowds around the entertainment stage all day. As well as the giant urban beach featuring pirate shows, there were several food, drink, and craft stalls lining the streets, funfair rides, and animal displays, as well as Blackwood Town Council’s main stage showcasing music and dance groups, including a Taylor Swift tribute. Local businesses and traders were well supported throughout the day too. Hear what they thought of the Beach Party:…

After the success of our campaign via social media in January which invited residents to join us in trialling on-street charging solutions, using funding from Welsh Government, a number of potential electric vehicle charging solutions were identified for trial. The initial products being trialled are gully channel products which enable residents to have home charging points without the worry of trailing cables along the pavement or road.  These channels conceal the charging cable and enable the resident to charge their vehicle in a safe and easy to access way. The first ‘Kerbo’ Charge gully was installed by the Highways Team…

Funding will be provided over three years to advice services to help people with their social welfare problems, alongside new training for front-line workers to ensure more people get the help they need to deal with the cost of living. The Single Advice Fund is a free service which provides access to all the advice a person needs to resolve their social welfare problems. It also makes benefit entitlement checks available to everyone accessing the services. Last year, the service put over £47.5m back into people’s pockets. 81% said the service found them a way forward and 75% said their…

Pobl Group is delighted to announce the completion of a significant housing development in the historic Brunel Quarter of Chepstow. This project, a collaboration with Monmouthshire County Council, Welsh Government, and Barratt Homes, has resulted in the creation of 26 affordable homes. An additional 19 homes funded by the Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme (TACP) have also been created to help families transition out of temporary accommodation. Situated on the banks of the picturesque River Wye, the Brunel Quarter development offers a range of homes from one to four bedrooms. Part of the larger Barratt Homes project, it features 400 eco-friendly…

Security Solutions Wales has merged with leading fire and security counterpart Plexus FS in a landmark six-figure deal. Security Solutions Wales, a well-established business founded over 20 years ago by brothers Rob and Mike Paull, will continue to operate under its existing name and retain its offices on Cross Hands Business Park. “This is a great opportunity for our company,” said Rob Paull. “We are delighted to be able to offer our customers the extensive range of systems and support provided by Plexus FS, one of the largest independent fire and security businesses in Wales.” Plexus FS, headquartered in Swansea,…

Entries have opened for the Mid Wales Tourism Awards 2024-25, the first since the Covid pandemic, to recognise and celebrate the region’s thriving tourism industry. The awards aim to showcase the exceptional tourism businesses, organisations and individuals who drive the sector forward in Powys, Ceredigion and Southern Snowdonia. With 15 categories available to enter, businesses and individuals have until midnight on August 18 to submit their applications through the awards website. The categories include: Best Hotel, Best B&B, Best Guest Accommodation, Restaurant with Rooms or Inn, Best Self Catering, Best Camping or Touring Park, Best Holiday Park or Holiday Home…

A new historic locomotive exhibit has been placed on display in The Vale of Rheidol Railway’s Aberystwyth museum, just in time for the summer holidays. The locomotive, known as ‘the Brigadelok’, was built in Germany in 1916 for use in the First World War. Small steam locomotives such as this one worked on lightly laid narrow gauge railways, helping to carry munitions and supplies to the forces on the military front line. The locomotive has an unusual chimney, containing a spark arrestor which avoided sparks giving away the location to British forces when working at night, as well as preventing…

Newtown Textile Museum is serving up a range of free activities for children and adults during the summer school holidays. Situated in Commercial Street, Newtown, the museum has free drop-in workshops every Tuesday until August 27, from 2pm to 4pm, when visitors of all ages can try their hand at tapestry weaving. Activities for children include dressing up in period costume, colouring pictures and playing with a boxful of old-fashioned toys. Museum chair Janet Lewis also revealed there will be additional surprises in store for visitors. From this Thursday, July 25, the museum will welcome weaver in residence Rachel Thomas,…