Thursday 14th April 2011 Council set to approve Mumbles pier regeneration
Swansea council looks set to approve plans to regenerate the historic
Mumbles pier in south west Wales. The £3m project includes plans for a
new RNLI lifeboat station and would see the pier rebuilt on its
original pillars. The plans retain many of the original Victorian
features while the new lifeboat station would house a bigger Tamar
class lifeboat. The development is linked to a separate and
controversial application to build a £39m visitor and tourist
destination including a hotel, shops and apartments on the Mumbles
headland. South Wales

Wednesday 16th February 2011 £10.5m Pontypridd revamp underway
Rhondda Cynon Taf council is promising to revamp the streets of
Pontypridd with new granite paving, benches, lighting and litter bins.
The two-year project started with work at Mill Street, High Street and
Taff Street with each section expected to take six months to complete.
The council want to revitalise Pontypridd town centre which they have
described as “outdated” and have promised street furniture “of a
quality fitting for the 21st Century town centre”. A separate scheme,
to replace the tired Taff Vale centre with a new shopping complex will
begin in spring. South Wales

Wednesday 9th February 2011 Mumbles Pier safety concerns
The owners of Mumbles Pier have said the structure may have to be
closed to the public due to safety concerns. £35,000 has been spent on
work on the original cast-iron pilings but the owners are now awaiting
a structural report on the condition of the timber decking. The
Victorian pier, which is near Gower and Swansea, is part of a
controversial plan to develop the foreshore with a hotel and
apartments. A spokesman for Ameco, the company that owns the pier,
said: "We are currently awaiting a report by our structural engineers
which is part of our annual inspection process. Should the report
indicate that it is no longer advisable to effectively carry out
temporary repairs on the deteriorating upper structure and decking
then we will be obliged to close the entire pier in the interests of
public safety." South Wales

Friday 19th November 2010 Trains halted by landslide
Trains have been halted between Bargoed and Rhymney in Caerphilly
county because of a landslide. Services have been suspended after the
landslide near Tirphil on the Rhymney Valley line resulted a five
metre wide hole appearing near the railway. The line is expected to
re-open Monday 22 November 2010. Wales and West Utilities said the
incident was caused by storm water overwhelming a culvert. A spokesman
from Arriva Trains Wales said: "We are making every effort to minimise
the disruption to the service and working closely with Network Rail
and other agencies towards resuming a normal service as soon as
possible. We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused
by the disruption." South Wales

Tuesday 5th October 2010 Town bands’ instruments crushed by scrap dealer
A scrap metal dealer is alleged to have crushed £15,000 worth of
instruments stolen from the Pontardulais Town Band, near Swansea,
despite having been asked by the band leader to look out for them.
Marcus Egan paid just £61 for the instruments and CCTV seized from his
firm showed him instructing employees to crush them. The instruments,
including a tuba and a large gong, had been stolen from the band hall
after the exit door had been forcibly removed by thieves. Nigel Buist,
chairman of the Pontardulais Town Band, phoned Mr Egan immediately
after the raid was discovered pleading with him to keep an eye out for
the stolen property. Christmas gifts destined for children were also
stolen in the break in. South Wales

Wednesday 29th September 2010 'Haunted' Llantwit Major castle goes back on the market
A 'haunted' castle which was pulled from auction after Cadw, which is
responsible for listed buildings in Wales, demanded more talks is now
set to go back on the open market. The Vale of Glamorgan Council had
put the ruins of the 16th Century Llantwit Major Castle, also known as
Old Place, up for sale in 2006 but the process was called off. Now the
council is once again planning to send the monument to market.
Unoccupied since the 18th Century, local legend has it that the
building is inhabited by the ghost of a Dutch sailor. Last time it was
up for sale the Grade II listed building attracted interest from all
over the world. South Wales

Thursday 23rd September 2010 Tennis balls for homes in Newport
A Newport nature reserve has used tennis balls to provide homes for
the tiny harvest mouse. Volunteers created several high rise homes
among reed beds by using tennis balls mounted on sticks. Dozens of
tennis balls were donated by nature lovers after an appeal by the RSPB
and the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) earlier this summer. Kevin
Dupe, manager at Newport Wetlands national nature reserve said: "We
can't wait to discover if the experiment has been successful. We want
to say a huge thank you to all the people who sent in balls, we had no
idea we would get so many." South Wales

Wednesday 8th September 2010 Port Talbot M4 link could create 600 jobs
600 jobs could be created during the construction of the £107m link on
the M4 near Port Talbot. The three mile link road will connect Port
Talbot and it’s docks area to junction 38 of the M4. The work is
scheduled to take 33 months to complete. The new road should improve
journey times and reduce congestion. It is also hoped the link road
will encourage investment and boost shipping activity and waterfront
development. Ali Thomas, leader of Neath Port Talbot council, told the
press: "This strategic road will provide an attractive gateway to the
town and open up development opportunities along our waterfront area,
in particular the Harbourside and Port Talbot town centre regeneration
areas. It will benefit our local communities, visitors and businesses
alike, and attract new investment and employment opportunities, not
only during the construction period, but for generations to come." South Wales

Thursday 15th July 2010 £5m bridge opens
The Pont y Werin bridge has been officially opened. The £5 project
joins Cardiff Bay and Penarth and has been dubbed by some as the
‘people’s bridge’. The River Ely bridge was finished in April but
hasn’t been open it to the public until now. The new crossing
incorporates a 20m section that opens to allow river traffic to pass.
The bridge is also the final link that completes the six-and-a-half
mile circular Bay Edge Walkway and cycle route. The project was funded
by the Welsh Assembly Government, Sustrans, the Cardiff Harbour
Authority, along with Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan councils. South Wales

Thursday 24th June 2010 Slow worms moved from development site
850 slow worms have been successfully relocated from a housing
development plot near Cardiff Bay. The legless lizards, which are not
snakes despite their appearance, were moved to a former landfill site
at Grangemoor Park in 2006. The site was carefully monitored by
ecologists who concluded that the slow worms have survived and babies
have been found, indicating that they are now breeding. Matthew
Harris, an ecologist for Cardiff County Council, said: "The mix of
tall grass and small bushes is an ideal habitat. It's a real success." South Wales