Monday 21st June 2010 Tonypandy fire too difficult to fight
Firefighters were forced to retreat from a large grass fire on a
mountain in Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf. Despite attending three
times since Saturday night they have been unable to effectively fight
the fire. According to fire officials the crews cannot access the
blaze because it is on a steep cliff face.

A spokeswoman for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "It's too
dangerous for the crews. They cannot access the fire and are just
there watching it as they allow it to burn. They are waiting for it to
burn out but it will probably burn for quite some time." South Wales

Tuesday 15th June 2010 Eyesore flats to be demolished
329 council-owned flats in Penarth Heights, also known as the
Billybanks, in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan are to be demolished. The
flats are in a prime location overlooking Cardiff Bay but they are
considered an eyesore, they were once voted the ugliest building in
Wales. Since they were emptied in 2002 they have become a target for
vandals, thieves and squatters over the years.

The area will then be redeveloped with 377 houses and apartments.
Development of the troubled 1960s-built estate has been blighted by
problems and delays and the company behind the work are said to be
delighted to finally start levelling the site. South Wales

Wednesday 9th June 2010 Twitchers flock to rare bird
Birdwatchers gathering to catch sight of the rare marmora’s warbler at
a Monmouthshire mountain have been told to take care not to disturb
other breeding birds in the area. Ornithologists have suggested this
is the first ever Welsh sighting of the rare warbler, which is
normally spotted on Mediterranean islands. Brecon Beacons National
Park warden Steve Smith said: “"There are a number of vulnerable
Whinchat and Stonechat nests in the surrounding moorland which should
not be disturbed.” Former RSPB site manager Alan Davies saw the
warbler and told the press: "It was absolutely fantastic to see it.
This is extremely rare. It's only the fifth one ever to be seen in the
UK since ornithology records began in the 1800s and the first one ever
to be seen in Wales, without doubt. This is great news for
Monmouthshire." South Wales

Thursday 3rd June 2010 Welsh road sign gets lost in translation
Swansea council had an embarrassing public slip when they erected a
road sign with a bizarre message written in Welsh upon it. The sign
read: "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be
translated". The error occurred when the phrase came in an email reply
to a request for the Welsh translation of “No entry for heavy goods
vehicles. Residential site only” for use on the bilingual sign.

Welsh speakers have lambasted the council for not using native Welsh
speakers to translate road signs. Managing editor of Welsh-language
magazine Golwg, who published a picture of the sign, said: "We've been
running a series of these pictures over the past months. They're
circulating among Welsh speakers because, unfortunately, it's all too
common that things are not just badly translated, but are put together
by people who have no idea about the language. "It's good to see
people trying to translate, but they should really ask for expert
help. Everything these days seems to be written first in English and
then translated. Ideally, they should be written separately in both
languages." South Wales

Friday 28th May 2010 BT quoted £150,000 for pensioner’s rural broadband
Beverley McCartney, of Salem near Llandeilo in Camarthenshire, got a
bit of a shock when she asked BT to install a broadband link to her
rural home. She was shocked and outraged when BT asked her to foot the
cost of installation, a whopping £129,613.54 plus VAT. Mrs McCartney
phoned BT thinking it was a typing error only to be told that it was
no mistake and she had to pay up or go without.

Chris Orum of BT said: "There can be very rare cases where additional
charges need to be applied because of an exceptional amount of work
required to the network in order to provide service. These charges
reflect the additional line plant and equipment needed to provide
broadband to a particular location.” South Wales

Thursday 13th May 2010 Ice cream men sold cigarettes to kids
Two men pleaded guilty to charges of selling cigarettes to children in
Pontypool. An investigation was started after Torfaen trading
standards received information that ice cream vans were selling
cigarettes to kids. Ice cream van operator James Fisher and his
employee Mark Gabriel were fined £1,130 by Cwmbran magistrates.

Torfaen councillor Gwyneira Clark, executive member for housing and
public protection, said: "This case should serve as a warning to
businesses in Torfaen that we are constantly on the lookout for
illegal sales of cigarettes and we will take action against anyone we
catch in the act.”
Learn More | South Wales

Friday 30th April 2010 Virtual tourism for Newport
The University of Wales, Newport, has designed an interactive
experience of medieval Newport and its ship and castle in the 15th
Century is going online.

Visitors can take a virtual walk around the underwater remains of the
medieval ship uncovered on the banks of the River Usk in 2002. They
can also witness it in its medieval landscape. The museum is part of
the Second Life virtual world.

The project is part of the Digital Heritage Zone within Second Life
being operated by the university. Matt Chilcott, development director
at the university's Institute of Digital Learning, said: "This
innovative digital approach enables Newport to share its rich heritage
with a range of audiences all over the world in a new and exciting
way. For example, tourists planning to visit Newport can now have fun
exploring the area's history before they even arrive in Wales." South Wales

Wednesday 7th April 2010 Power station plans could mean 1,000 new jobs
Plans for a new power station to be built at Baglan, near Neath could
bring up to 1,000 new jobs to the area. The gas fired plant could
power over two million homes if built. Councillors will hear 13
letters of objection submitted by residents and see details of the
proposed plant at a planning committee on Thursday.

In his report the council's head of planning, Geoff White, has
recommended that the authority accept the plans stating: "The impact
on the labour market would therefore be positive and of moderate
significance. The conclusions of the report are that, subject to
conditions, there will be no material impacts relating to highways,
noise, air quality, the water environment or human health, and that
any ecological impacts can be mitigated through existing Agreements.
Visual impact can be partly mitigated through proposed landscaping." South Wales

Friday 26th March 2010 Swansea to trial Japanese knotweed killer insect
Japanese knotweed was introduced to Britain by the Victorians who
thought it made a wonderful decorative plant. Little did they know
just how much a a menace they were introducing because, unlike in
Japan, the plant has grown out of control. In order to try and stem
the weed an insect from Japan called Aphalara itadori is being
trialled in the Swansea are.

It is hoped the insect will stem the growth of the plants and reign
back its present uncontrollable spread. The voracious weed can even
grow up through concrete and tarmac and has become a major problem. It
is estimated to cost the development industry millions of pounds
annually as effected areas must be dealt prior to any construction.
Often the only way to do this is to remove all the soil from the site
and incinerate it. South Wales

Tuesday 23rd March 2010 Cardiff’s rooms at the top
A hotel development planned for Cardiff would be the tallest building
in wales after construction of the 32-storey Wyndham Cardiff completes
in 2013. The site at Cardiff Bay is being developed by Wyndham Hotel
Group and Bayscape Ltd and includes 35 serviced apartments on the top
floors and a further 100 residential units. Plans also include a spa,
bars, conference facilities and a restaurant and are expected to
create 200 permanent jobs. The hotel will be part of the development
of the 350-berth Cardiff Marina and will be built on the site of the
international sports village.

Drew McDonald, director of Bayscape Ltd, said: "The people of Cardiff
are rightly proud of their city. It's a dynamic, vibrant place with a
real buzz about it. We are thrilled to be bringing a Wyndham hotel to
the city and can't wait to bring this iconic building to life." South Wales