Author: Rhys Gregory

Runners looking to take on a marathon challenge next year can sign up to the ABP Newport Marathon Festival now. The date has been set for the second instalment of the new-look event, which saw the addition of a new half marathon distance to the marathon and 10K races. Next year’s event will take place on Sunday 13 April 2025 and those keen to secure their spot can take advantage of special launch offer pricing. This will allow them to save 25% versus general entry in the Marathon, and £10 off general entry for the Half Marathon. However, they will…

The future of a thriving community hub on the outskirts of Newport, that is home to more than 10 local businesses, charities and community groups, has been secured thanks to investment from a local firm of architects and a £300,000 regeneration grant from the Welsh Government. The former Trebor sweet factory on Rogerstone’s Wern Industrial Estate, which recently lay empty for more than five years, has been brought back into use as a community hub by a local church group, which began using it to run Sunday services back in 2015. Faith Church rented the building from previous owner, Avana…

A 35-year-old man from Bridgend has been convicted of grooming a 12-year-old girl following a guilty plea at Cardiff Crown Court. On Thursday May 2, Matthew Cheshire, from the Sarn area, was sent to prison for four years and three months and was issued with a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Detective Constable Laura Davies from South Wales Police’s Online Investigation Team (POLIT) said: “Matthew Cheshire demonstrated predatory and manipulative behaviour when grooming who he believed to be 12-year-old child. “POLIT and the Digital Forensic Unit carried out the investigation and further sexual communication with another child was revealed and…

The Vale of Glamorgan Council has awarded local volunteers of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Honorary Freeman and Freewoman status. Cllr Lis Burnett visited the RNLI lifeboat station at Penarth to present the crews with a plaques to mark this achievement. The ceremonial titles recognise the service RNLI volunteers have provided to residents and visitors to the Vale in the lifesaving charity’s 200th anniversary year. Cllr Burnett said: “The RNLI is a charity that relies on the commitment and generosity of volunteers to help keep people safe along our country’s coastline. “As the Vale is a coastal county, we…

Plans to increase the capacity of a proposed new school building in Newtown so pupils from another school can also be included could be given the go-ahead if a recommendation to Cabinet is approved, the county council has said. Powys County Council is proposing to increase the capacity of the proposed new school building at Ysgol Calon y Dderwen so that pupils from Treowen C.P. School can also be included.  It is the intention that, from September 2025, pupils continue to attend the existing Treowen building until the new building at Ysgol Calon y Dderwen is ready. When the new…

Protecting endangered species and reintroducing an historic flour mix for breadmaking are among the latest schemes in rural Swansea to get a funding boost. A number of further schemes have now been awarded funding from Swansea Council worth a combined £108,000 as part of an overall rural anchor project being funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The latest schemes to benefit include: – An otter and water vole restoration project at Penllergare Valley Woods. Led by the Penllergare Trust, the project will include the creation of further ditch and pond habitats for water voles, the…

VISITORS to a luxury holiday retreat in the grounds of a world heritage site can stay in exclusive accommodation remodelled by stars of a popular TV show. The grand finale of BBC’s Interior Design Masters series – watched by up to 2.8m viewers – saw contestants Roisin Quinn and Matt Smith-Wood revamp two high-quality cabins at Darwin Escapes’ picturesque Blenheim Palace Lodge Retreat in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. The park has been a huge hit with families across the UK since opening last summer, and now looks set to attract even more customers, including fans of the hit programme fronted by comedian…

Bridgend Council is seeking local private landlords to participate in Welsh Government’s Leasing Scheme Wales as part of its strategy to address the current rise in homeless households across the county borough. In the midst of a homelessness crisis in Wales, the use of temporary accommodation services has increased exponentially in Bridgend County Borough.  There were 71 households in temporary accommodation at the end of 2018/19 and 253 households at the end of 2022/23, equating to a 256 percent rise within this time frame. This situation has been compounded by a wider increase in demand for social housing.  Since 2019-2020,…

A blue plaque was recently unveiled in Pontygwaith dedicated to the only Cooper in the Rhondda Valleys. Keith Gregory was 21 years of age when he became an apprentice Cooper at the Fernvale Brewery Co. in Pontygwaith.  A Cooper is a skilled craftsman who specialises in crafting wooden containers such as casks and barrels.  It’s a trade that dates back over 4000 years and to this day, is a skill that cannot be replicated by machines. Mr Gregory served a five-year apprenticeship to become a fully fledged Cooper and upon completion, participated in an age old ritual that involved preparing…

A programme of work has helped restore an area of Denbighshire peatland. The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, have been able to secure funding through Natural Resources Wales’ National Peatland Action Program (NPAP) to deliver peatland restoration projects across the area the body covers. Distribution of peat within the area is occasional and fragmented and much of it is now in unfavourable condition and releasing carbon into the atmosphere due to a history of moorlands being drained for agriculture, self-seeded conifer tress drying up our moors and severe erosion caused through illegal off road use. Work has now…