Author: Rhys Gregory

A roundtable was held at the Senedd earlier this month that saw representatives from organisations with first-hand experience of supporting people impacted by homelessness come together to call for change across the sector. The event was organised by Cardiff based housing and support provider, Taff Housing, and saw representatives from The Wallich, The Bevan Foundation, Llamau, Community Housing Cymru, The Salvation Army and Cymorth Cymru join forces in a collaborative effort to raise awareness of the support needed for those experiencing homelessness. Chaired by Cardiff Central MS Jenny Rathbone, the roundtable highlighted the action required by Welsh Government to address…

On Wednesday, November 22, last year, officers from our Territorial Crime Team were on Mynydd Newydd Road, Swansea, when they saw what appeared to be a vehicle being stolen in front of them. The vehicle failed to stop as directed and was being driven dangerously through roads within Swansea. A pursuit took place, where a short time later the vehicle went off road and was abandoned. With the use of a drone and police helicopter, a man was sighted sitting on the riverbank. He was detained, identified and arrested. On April 29, following his guilty pleas, Craig Cullen, 39, from…

North Wales Police are seeing an increase in the number of motorbikes being reported stolen in Wrexham. Within the last month, 11 incidents of bike thefts have been reported to us from across the county. Some are being hotwired, with others taken form gardens or garages. Earlier this week (Wednesday, May 8th) police received a report a white Piaggio Xevo had been stolen from an address in Rhos, that had been targeted by thieves for the second time within a week. The first bike, a blue Lexmoto Assault was taken on Thursday, May 2nd, before it was recovered by officers…

Councillor Elliot Penn was voted Mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan at the Council’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 08 May. At the same meeting, the Vale also welcomed Councillor Naomi Marshalsea as Deputy Mayor. During his year in office, the Mayor will preside over the principal meetings of the Council, and undertake various ceremonial roles on behalf of the County. As Mayor and Deputy, Councillor Penn and Councillor Marshalsea will also continue to raise funds for the Mayor’s foundation. The Foundation offers financial support to community groups, the voluntary sector, and not for profit organisations towards the cost of…

Cardiff Council’s Planning Committee have given the go-head for a brand-new home for Willows High School to be constructed on land off Lewis Road in Splott. The scheme represents more than £50m investment and will see the existing school relocated and rebuilt, providing capacity for 900 learners aged 11 to 16 years in addition to a 30 place Special Resource Base for pupils with Additional Learning Needs and offering access to excellent quality education environments to support and enhance teaching and learning. Delivered under Cardiff Council and Welsh Government’sBand B, Sustainable Communities for Learning programme, the new school will…

Eleven parks and green spaces in Cardiff could be permanently protected from future development if Cardiff Council plans get the go ahead. Subject to the results of a six-week public consultation,the Council is proposing to enter into a legal agreement known as ‘deed of dedication’ with Fields In Trust – an independent UK-wide charity dedicated to the protection of parks and green spaces. Fields in Trust legally  protect individual parks from development  and ensure they remain publicly accessible green spaces.Ten council-owned sites are already permanently protected under these arrangements. Grange Gardens – one of the parks in Cardiff already protected by Fields In Trust.…

Plans to improve mobile phone connectivity in Swansea city centre have taken a major step forward. A new agreement between Swansea Council and a company called Freshwave will see small cell technology installed on street lighting to help boost network capacity during busy times. Virgin Media O2 has committed to deploying up to 10 small cells initially in the city centre, with further investments anticipated. The small cells also support the potential implementation of other technology to monitor things like smart bins and air pollution. The agreement aligns with the Swansea Bay City Deal Digital Infrastructure Programme’s goal to generate…

The draft plan sets out actions that the council and communities can take to help improve the air quality in the most polluted areas of the city. These areas are referred to in the plan as air quality management areas (AQMAs). Newport currently has 11 AQMAs, five of which are about to be revoked having been fully compliant for several years. These five are all centred around motorway junctions. The draft plan, which is set to run through to 2028, focuses on our six remaining AQMAs, which are: Caerleon Caerleon Road and Chepstow Road Caerphilly Road Cefn Road George Street…

The first national scheme of its kind in the UK, which will protect Welsh local authorities and all fire and rescue services in Wales from cyber-attacks, has launched today (Friday, May 10). Led by the Welsh Government, in collaboration with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, CymruSOC (Security Operations Centre) will help ensure key organisations can continue offering critical services without disruption due to cyber-attacks. The SOC service, which will be managed by Cardiff-based firm, Socura, will safeguard the data of the majority of the Welsh population, as well as 60,000 employees across the public sector. First Minister, Vaughan Gething said:…

Six new sites were named this week by Climate Change and Rural Affairs Secretary Huw Irranca-Davies on a visit to meet woodland volunteers at a site in Coed y Bont near Tregaron. The National Forest for Wales status scheme will create a network of woodlands running the length and breadth of Wales with interconnected ecosystems. The six new sites confirmed by the Cabinet Secretary are: Castle Copse in Abergavenny Cwm George and Casehill Woods in Dinas Powys Chirk Castle, Wrexham Warren Wood in Powys Coed Rhyal in Carmarthen Bay Penllergare Valley Woods near Swansea Mr Irranca-Davies said: “It was great…