#porttalbot — Public Fediverse posts

https://www.europesays.com/uk/1164069/ Serious collision closes road in Port Talbot #Britain #GreatBritain #PortTalbot #TrafficAndTravel #UK #UnitedKingdom #Wales

https://www.europesays.com/people/183921/ UK’s Burnham vows to end ‘subscription traps’ amid cost-of-living crisis #AndyBurnham #british #BritishPrimeMinister #CostOfLivingCrisis #DowningStreet #England #Labour #Mirror #PortTalbot #UnitedKingdom #UsIranWar #Wales #westminster

https://www.europesays.com/people/183887/ UK PM Burnham takes aim at ‘rip-off’ discounts with crackdown on fake bargains, hard-to-cancel subscriptions #AndyBurnham #BritishSubscriptions #CostOfLivingCrisis #PortTalbot #UKFinancialRegulations #UKLabourLeader

UK PM Burnham vows to end ‘subscription traps’ amid cost-of-living crisis

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to crack down on hard-to-cancel subscriptions and fake discounts as part…
#EuropeSays #Britain #Europe #EU #UK #AndyBurnham #british #BritishPrimeMinister #costoflivingcrisis #DowningStreet #England #Labour #Mirror #PortTalbot #UnitedKingdom #US-IranWar #wales #Westminster
https://www.europesays.com/britain/100449/

https://www.europesays.com/britain/100449/ UK PM Burnham vows to end ‘subscription traps’ amid cost-of-living crisis #AndyBurnham #british #BritishPrimeMinister #CostOfLivingCrisis #DowningStreet #England #Labour #Mirror #PortTalbot #UK #UnitedKingdom #USIranWar #wales #Westminster

Tata Steel UK Seeks Power Supply for Port Talbot Furnace

Highlights Construction remains on schedule for completion in 2028.Talks underway with National Grid to secure partial supply earlier…
#EuropeSays #Britain #Europe #EU #NationalGrid #blastfurnaceproject #CO2emissionsreduction #nationalgridtalks #PortTalbot #tvnarendran #tatagreensteel #tatasteelelectricfurnace #tatasteeluk
https://www.europesays.com/britain/98725/

https://www.europesays.com/britain/98725/ Tata Steel UK Seeks Power Supply for Port Talbot Furnace #BlastFurnaceProject #CO2EmissionsReduction #NationalGrid #NationalGridTalks #PortTalbot #TVNarendran #TataGreenSteel #TataSteelElectricFurnace #TataSteelUk

Tata Steel UK Seeks Power Supply for Port Talbot Furnace

Highlights Construction remains on schedule for completion in 2028.Talks underway with National Grid to secure partial supply earlier…
#EuropeSays #Britain #Europe #EU #NationalGrid #blastfurnaceproject #CO2emissionsreduction #nationalgridtalks #PortTalbot #tvnarendran #tatagreensteel #tatasteelelectricfurnace #tatasteeluk
https://www.europesays.com/britain/98552/

https://www.europesays.com/britain/98552/ Tata Steel UK Seeks Power Supply for Port Talbot Furnace #BlastFurnaceProject #CO2EmissionsReduction #NationalGrid #NationalGridTalks #PortTalbot #TVNarendran #TataGreenSteel #TataSteelElectricFurnace #TataSteelUk

PORT TALBOT: Princess Royal Theatre’s new name revealed by Twin Town star Di Botcher

The Princess Royal name is being retired — Port Talbot’s revamped theatre will reopen this autumn under a brand new name, revealed in a video fronted by Twin Town actor Di Botcher.

Botcher is joined by familiar faces from the town’s arts and culture scene, in a film the council says was a genuine community effort.

Among them is Wales international rugby player and local business owner Richard Hibbard, who has voiced the Giant in pantomimes at the venue, and local influencer Joel Oates.

Also featuring are Stuart Broad of Calon Films, which staged the world premiere of Iniquity Camwedd at the theatre, business owners Nigel Hunt of San Portablo and Cassius Walker Hunt of Portablo Coffi, Welsh language community figure Margaret Buckingham Jones, former drama teacher Helen John of Portablo Arts, Afan Dance and graffiti artist Jenks.

The venue is under construction on the site of the Princess Royal Theatre, which closed for a major transformation in August 2025.

Neath Port Talbot Council says the investment now stands at £18m, creating an improved venue for performances and community use along with new meeting and conference facilities.

So what will Port Talbot’s theatre be called? Yr Aelwyd — the Welsh for The Hearth, pronounced “ur eye-loyd”.

Traditionally, yr aelwyd is the heart of the Welsh home — the place to gather, share stories and make lasting memories.

https://youtu.be/orSQEpN-j-w

As part of the same investment, Port Talbot’s Civic Square is being fully re-landscaped, transforming the approach to the theatre.

The project is funded by the UK Government alongside the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns programme.

New photos published last week showed the auditorium’s sweeping timber ceiling in place and the glass frontage glazed, with completion due this autumn.

The council says Yr Aelwyd will be a showcase for local talent and stories, reflecting the town’s industrial past and its creative future.

The council’s cabinet member for nature, tourism and wellbeing, Cllr Cen Phillips, said the name captured what the venue would represent. “The name Yr Aelwyd beautifully captures what this new venue will represent for Port Talbot – a welcoming place where people can come together to share experiences, enjoy creativity and make lasting memories,” he said.

He said the building would be more than a theatre: “It will be a focal point for our community and visitors, bringing people into the heart of the town and supporting Port Talbot’s continued regeneration.”

On the wider works, he added: “We are creating a vibrant cultural space and an improved Civic Square, with more green spaces, increased planting and a more attractive environment for everyone to enjoy.”

“This is an exciting milestone for Port Talbot, and I look forward to seeing Yr Aelwyd become a place where stories are shared, local talent is showcased and our community is brought together for generations to come,” he said.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

PORT TALBOT: First look inside the Princess Royal Theatre revamp
New photos show the auditorium’s timber ceiling in place ahead of the autumn opening.

£16.9m restoration begins at Port Talbot’s Princess Royal Theatre
Major refurbishment works began on the landmark venue in August 2025.

THEATRE INTERVIEW: Gorseinon writer Jonathan Houlston on Physical Education
The writer behind one of the year’s most acclaimed Swansea productions on finding his voice.

PORT TALBOT: Children evacuated as fire breaks out at Awel y Môr Primary School

Children at a holiday playgroup were safely evacuated after a fire broke out at Awel y Môr Primary School in Port Talbot on Wednesday morning.

Flames and thick black smoke could be seen pouring from an upper section of the school building, where scaffolding is currently in place, shortly after 10am.

Crews from Port Talbot, Neath, Swansea Central, Morriston and Swansea West fire stations were called to the school at 10.10am, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said.

The fire took hold within the school’s sandwich panels — the insulated panels used in the building’s walls.

A spokesperson for the fire service said crews used four breathing apparatus sets, two hose reel jets, a turntable ladder and a water bowser to extinguish the fire, and left the scene at 12.43pm.

A spokesperson for Neath Port Talbot Council said: “Following a fire at Awel y Môr Primary School, we can confirm that everyone is safe and unharmed.

“A Flying Start play group was in a different section of the school when the fire started and the building was promptly evacuated.

“Work is now underway to identify the cause of the fire and to repair the damage, with a view to ensuring the building can be brought back into use as soon as possible.”

With schools closed for the summer, no pupils were in lessons — but the Lots of Tots holiday playgroup was running in a separate part of the building, which the group says was left undamaged.

Playgroup staff evacuated the children before crews arrived, with no one hurt.

In a post thanking its team, the group said: “A massive thank you to the staff for their calm and professional evacuation of the children and ensuring everyone’s safety.”

The playgroup will stay closed for the rest of this week, with staff returning on Monday to deep clean its rooms and carry out risk assessments — and the hope of reopening on Tuesday morning.

Sandfields East councillor Sean Pursey said photos circulating showed the fire taking hold near the school’s main hall, adding: “Thankfully all staff and children are safe.”

Aberafan Maesteg MP Stephen Kinnock, the Welsh Secretary, urged people living nearby to keep clear of the area and close their doors and windows while crews worked, thanking the fire service and staff “for keeping everyone safe”.

Benjamin Hodge McKenna, Reform UK MS for Afan Ogwr Rhondda, said he was “deeply concerned” to hear of the fire, noting that all children and staff were safely evacuated with no injuries.

“I will do what I can to ensure support is in place for the school as they assess the damage,” he said.

The cause of the fire has yet to be established.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

TOWNHILL: Man dies in Elphin Gardens flat fire — as police try to trace his next of kin
Fire crews and police were called to the Swansea flat earlier this month.

GREEN STEEL: Tata ‘confident’ supply will hold and furnace project unaffected after Port Talbot fire
The aftermath of the blaze at the town’s steelworks earlier this year.

Amazon volunteers help give Port Talbot school’s outdoor space new lease of life
Volunteers transformed Awel y Môr’s outdoor learning space in 2024.

Toddlers evacuated from holiday club after fire swept through Port Talbot school

Fire crews were called to the scene of the fire at a Welsh primary school early on Wednesday…
#EuropeSays #Britain #Europe #EU #UK #Fires #NeathPortTalbot #PortTalbot #UnitedKingdom #Walesschools
https://www.europesays.com/britain/88535/

https://www.europesays.com/britain/88535/ Toddlers evacuated from holiday club after fire swept through Port Talbot school #Fires #NeathPortTalbot #PortTalbot #UK #UnitedKingdom #WalesSchools

I’ve got a motorway in my garden – it’s my shelter in hot weather https://www.allforgardening.com/1889115/ive-got-a-motorway-in-my-garden-its-my-shelter-in-hot-weather/ #AimeeLipley #garden #M4Motorway #motorways #NarelleCowan #PortTalbot

I’ve got a motorway in my garden – it’s my shelter in hot weather https://www.allforgardening.com/1889115/ive-got-a-motorway-in-my-garden-its-my-shelter-in-hot-weather/ #AimeeLipley #garden #M4Motorway #motorways #NarelleCowan #PortTalbot

PORT TALBOT: First look inside the £16.9m Princess Royal Theatre revamp — as the auditorium’s timber ceiling goes in ahead of autumn opening

New photos have given a first look inside the £16.9m transformation of Port Talbot’s Princess Royal Theatre — with the auditorium’s angled timber ceiling now in place and the building’s new glass frontage glazed.

Neath Port Talbot Council released the images as a progress update on the project, which is due for completion in the autumn.

They show the oak-panelled ceiling sweeping over the auditorium’s balcony level, with lighting, ventilation and smoke detection being fitted into the new woodwork.

Below, the auditorium floor remains a working construction site — scaffolding towers, pallets of materials and protective boarding covering the space where the seats will return.

Another image shows the full-height glazed frontage in place, looking out over the Civic Square works — where a small amphitheatre inspired by ancient Greek venues is replacing the old fountain.

Inside, first-floor rooms have been plastered, with cabling and copper pipework being installed.

The council said the building and public square were now clearly taking shape, describing the glass frontage as “a defining feature of the development”.

Work began on the 41-year-old theatre last summer, with Morgan Sindall Construction delivering the scheme on behalf of the council, funded by the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

The building is being stripped back to bare brick and remodelled for accessibility — with accessible seating on the top tier and front rows, an extended atrium foyer, expanded toilets and a new lift for wheelchair users.

The bar is being relocated to face the atrium rather than the auditorium.

Backstage, the theatre is being extended by up to three metres so performers can move between the wings without using stairs — and a lift will carry scenery directly from the car park to the stage.

The refurbishment is designed to keep the theatre’s character: timber on the balcony and main walls is being retained, sections of the original white oak stage will be reused as an internal feature, and green roofs are going on each side of the new extension.

Outside, rain gardens and new greenery will manage stormwater across the remodelled square.

Morgan Sindall has committed to a local supply chain within 40 miles of the site, with apprenticeships and student placements during the build.

The scheme — first approved by planners in December 2024 — is part of the wider regeneration of Port Talbot town centre, with the council promising further updates as the theatre “continues to evolve”.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

£16.9m restoration begins at Port Talbot’s Princess Royal Theatre
The full plans for the theatre — from the backstage extension to the scenery lift.

Work to begin on Port Talbot’s Civic Square and Princess Royal Theatre
How the project got under way in May last year.

Green light for major upgrades to Port Talbot’s Princess Royal Theatre and Civic Square
The planning decision that set the transformation in motion.

PORT TALBOT: Sir Anthony Hopkins, 88, signs record deal for album inspired by his Margam childhood

Sir Anthony Hopkins has signed a record deal at the age of 88 — with a new album of classical pieces composed across six decades, inspired by his childhood in Margam.

The Port Talbot-born actor described signing with Decca Classics as “the honour of a lifetime”. The album, Life Is A Dream, is released on 21 August.

The first single, Bracken Road, came out on Friday. Taken from his 1947: Suite for Solo Piano and Orchestra, it is a musical portrait of the streets, meadows, farmland and mountains that surrounded his family home in the 1940s.

Sir Anthony first found the melody in 1963, as a young actor at the Liverpool Playhouse improvising at an upright piano backstage on quiet mornings before rehearsals.

The double Oscar winner began playing the piano at four, performing Beethoven and Chopin within a few years, and was composing music for local plays as a teenager in the 1950s. “Music was my first desire, my first wish,” he said. “I’ve been composing music all my life.”

“Some of these pieces have lived with me for decades and I still find myself returning to them,” he added. “My whole life is a dream.”

The album was recorded at Alexandra Palace in London in April, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Grammy Award-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel, with soloists including pianist Sergio Tiempo and cellist Gregorio Nieto, alongside The Bach Choir and the Choristers of Winchester Cathedral.

Dudamel said Sir Anthony was one of those rare artists whose creative voice crossed mediums, approaching music “with the heart of a storyteller and the instincts of a poet”.

Wales runs through the record. On another track, My Fatherland, Sir Anthony said he set out to “honour my humble beginnings” — adding: “I am the son of my father, the baker.”

Other compositions draw on his memories of Port Talbot, childhood visits with his grandfather, the cinema that first caught his imagination, and the people closest to him.

It is not his first recording — his 2012 album Composer was performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and his waltz And the Waltz Goes On was premiered by André Rieu the same year, with a teary-eyed Sir Anthony watching from the audience.

Sir Anthony is not even the area’s only knighted composer making history this year. Sir Karl Jenkins, who grew up in Penclawdd, became the first living composer to top the Classic FM Hall of Fame in April, with The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace voted Britain’s favourite piece of classical music — the two Welsh knights making a strong case that south-west Wales punches above its weight in the concert hall as well as on screen.

Sir Anthony’s music has found audiences in unlikely places since his 2012 album: his lockdown piano videos — often featuring his cat — became a viral fixture in 2020, and footage of him serenading hotel staff from a lobby grand piano did the rounds in 2023.

He won his first Academy Award in 1992 for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, and his second for the 2020 film The Father. He is currently back on Welsh soil filming Dylan Thomas adaptation A Visit to Grandpa’s alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The timing could hardly be neater for his hometown. Hours before the single’s release, Port Talbot and the Afan Valley were shortlisted for the first ever UK Town of Culture, with up to £3m on offer to stage a six-month cultural programme in 2028.

That bid leans heavily on the creative legacy of the town they call Little Hollywood — Richard Burton born in Pontrhydyfen, Rob Brydon raised in Baglan, Michael Sheen its modern standard-bearer, and Sir Anthony brought up in Margam, where a mural of the actor has been taking shape this summer.

The Wales Office said the town was renowned for producing some of the country’s greatest actors, all of them inspired by the area’s industrial heritage. With Life Is A Dream, its most famous son has turned that inspiration into an album. The Town of Culture winner is announced early next year.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Catherine Zeta-Jones joins Anthony Hopkins in new Dylan Thomas film — shot in Wales
Two Welsh screen legends together on home turf for A Visit to Grandpa’s.

PORT TALBOT: Town shortlisted for UK Town of Culture — with £3m and a Welsh rival standing in the way
Little Hollywood makes the 15-town shortlist for the first ever title.

PENCLAWDD: Swansea-born Sir Karl Jenkins makes history as The Armed Man tops world’s biggest classical music chart
The first living composer ever to top the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

https://www.europesays.com/uk/1081251/ Takeaway workers plied girls with drink and drugs before one child was raped #Britain #Cardiff #Courts #Crime #GreatBritain #NewportCrownCourt #PortTalbot #UK #UnitedKingdom #Wales

NEW WDA: Swansea and Port Talbot ports boss to shape Wales’ development agency — as Tories warn there’s ‘no plan’

The man who chairs the company that owns Swansea and Port Talbot docks has been handed the job of shaping Wales’ new economic development agency.

Jonathan Lewis, chair of ports giant Associated British Ports, was named this week to lead the expert panel that will design the agency’s remit and operating model.

The agency is the Welsh Government’s answer to what it calls the most ambitious economic goal in Wales in two decades: halving the country’s productivity gap with the UK within 10 years.

It will focus on attracting inward investment, helping Welsh businesses scale up, and putting innovation at the centre of economic development.

Mr Lewis’s day job gives him a direct stake in the region’s economy — ABP owns five Welsh ports including Swansea and Port Talbot, both central to the Welsh Government’s offshore wind ambitions.

His career spans energy, engineering and technology, with previous chief executive roles at outsourcing firm Capita and engineering group AmecFosterWheeler, and years working alongside national development agencies in the United States and beyond.

Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy Adam Price said meeting the productivity challenge needed “a fundamental change in how we approach economic development in Wales”.

“The new agency will be agile, dynamic and built for the Wales of today,” he said, adding that innovation would be at its core.

Mr Lewis said improving Wales’ productivity was “core to realising our future prosperity as a nation”.

What the agency does for this corner of Wales was an immediate theme in the Senedd, where Plaid Cymru’s Elyn Stephens said Port Talbot “has all the ingredients to succeed” — citing the freeport, public investment and the steel transition — and pressed the First Minister on how the agency would ensure “the wealth generated in places like Port Talbot stays in Wales”.

Rhun ap Iorwerth said the agency’s job would be to bring “coherence” to economic development — including in Port Talbot, “which has faced real challenges but has so much potential too”.

The announcement also lands amid pressure for a bigger government presence in Swansea, where Plaid’s Gwyn Williams told the Senedd last week the city’s economy is “slipping further and further behind that of Cardiff” — urging the Senedd Commission to consider opening an office in the city, and voicing hopes that the Welsh Government’s Penllergaer office moves to the city centre.

The First Minister has himself said the old Welsh Development Agency — wound into the Welsh Government in 2006 — was “one of the best” of its kind, telling the Senedd “it was a problem to get rid of it” — a view with local resonance, given a revived WDA has been floated as key to Swansea’s city-centre offices deal and the decades-long frustration over the stalled Felindre site.

But the plans drew immediate fire from the Welsh Conservatives, whose shadow environment minister Andrew RT Davies said he “generally can’t get a sense that much work has been done on this particular project”.

Mr Davies pressed the minister to say when the agency would exist — 12 months, two years, or the end of the Senedd term. Mr Price replied: “I can’t give you a specific date, to be frank” — though he committed to a statutory body, legislation “fairly soon”, and an operational agency during this Senedd term.

Mr Davies said the Conservatives supported the principle of moving economic development out of government, but told the chamber “there’s too much blank space” — adding in a statement that the lack of a date was “a symptom of a manifesto that included lots of pledges, but no plan”.

He also questioned how the agency would work alongside Wales’ existing growth and city deals — which include the Swansea Bay City Deal — without duplicating spending.

The full membership of the advisory panel will be confirmed later this summer — against a backdrop of a widening jobs and wages gap between Wales and the rest of the UK, though Wales landed 75 foreign investment projects and 1,600 jobs last year even as UK-wide investment hit a decade low.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

SWANSEA: Council leader rules out suing new Welsh Government over city-centre offices deal — as a revived WDA could hold the key
How the new agency became tied up with Swansea’s biggest regeneration question.

FELINDRE: ‘A real let-down’ — two council leaders, years apart, share the same frustration over stalled flagship site
The WDA-era site that still hasn’t delivered, decades on.

INVESTMENT: UK foreign investment hits decade low — but Wales lands 75 projects and 1,600 jobs
How Wales is faring in the battle for inward investment.

https://www.europesays.com/uk/1074839/ Parked car engulfed in flames as thick smoke rises over street #Britain #Fires #GreatBritain #PortTalbot #UK #UnitedKingdom #Wales

GREEN STEEL: Llanelli firm lands key contract on Port Talbot’s £1.25bn transformation — with work starting on site today

A Llanelli construction firm has landed a key contract on the £1.25bn transformation of Port Talbot steelworks — with work beginning on site today.

Morganstone, founded in Llanelli and now based in Swansea, will deliver the civil and structural package for the works’ new pickle line, winning the contract through a competitive tender.

It is the company’s first contract with Tata Steel — and its first step onto the biggest industrial site in Wales.

A pickle line cleans hot-rolled steel by submerging it in hydrochloric acid to strip away the scale that forms on its surface, preparing it for the mills that roll and coat the finished product. Tata has previously described the kit as the unsung hero of steelmaking.

The contract marks the shift from demolition and enabling works into the main construction phase on the line, which Tata broke ground on last autumn.

Andrew McGregor, programme manager for Project Invictus — Tata’s name for the transformation — said the appointment was a turning point for the project.

“This marks the start of the construction phase for the new Pickle Line project in Tata Steel UK. It’s a really positive feeling to know we are moving away from demolition and enabling works into construction,” he said.

He said the Morganstone contract covered the installation of the line’s process section, which is “on the critical path” because of the amount of structural steelwork to be installed on the new foundations — ultimately supporting the pickling and rinse tanks themselves.

“The team now continues to work on the remaining civil and structural packages, as there is no time to lose in placing the remaining contracts, with new Pickle Line equipment scheduled to start arriving imminently,” he added.

Mark Davies, who leads the civil and structural works on the project’s mills programme, said in a video published by Tata that securing “a regional contractor with a local workforce” had been important, with the foundation work for one zone of the new line sitting on the critical path.

He said Morganstone’s past projects, quality and programme — and the work ethic of its project management team through the tender — had stood out.

When ground was broken on the new line last September, it was slated to be in place during 2026 — with the main construction phase now only beginning.

The contract also comes weeks after fire damaged the works’ existing pickle line — which Morganstone’s managing director Andrew Pettigrew confirmed remains out of action — with Tata routing work to its Llanwern site while it recovers. The replacement line was planned long before the blaze.

Morganstone was founded in 2008 by Ian Morgan and has grown from its Dafen headquarters into one of Wales’ busier contractors — best known for housing and public buildings, from waterfront apartments at SA1 to the planned 186-home regeneration at Penplas.

Mr Morgan, the firm’s chairman, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed by Tata Steel UK to deliver this important project. The award reflects the capability, experience and commitment of our team and is a significant contract for Morganstone to be involved with.”

“We understand the importance of this project and look forward to working collaboratively with Tata Steel UK to deliver it safely, efficiently and to the highest standards,” he added.

Mr Pettigrew said the contract was one the firm had long chased.

“Working with Tata is something which we’ve been trying to get into for a number of years,” he said, adding that the firm had spent the last three months working through the design and tender process.

Work starts on site today, he said — breaking out the existing slabs first, with piling and the steel frames to follow.

And the job will be built by local hands. “We don’t leave Wales,” said Mr Pettigrew, explaining that almost all the firm’s work sits along the M4 corridor around Swansea — with the frame contractor and groundworker for the pickle line both Swansea-based, and the steel frame partner in Cardiff.

The new pickle line is one strand of Project Invictus at Port Talbot, whose centrepiece is a 3.2 million-tonne-a-year electric arc furnace that will melt scrap steel with electricity rather than coal — backed by £500m of UK Government funding. The furnace itself has been built and is on its way to south Wales.

The transformation followed the closure of the town’s blast furnaces in 2024 with the loss of around 2,000 jobs, and the furnace’s start-up — due in late 2027 or early 2028 — could slip by up to eight months after National Grid connection delays.

Work across the site has accelerated over the past year, from major groundwork and piling across the furnace area to new scrap-handling infrastructure and grid connection works — with around 1,200 people expected on site at peak.

The Llanelli firm will work alongside Tata and the wider Project Invictus team throughout the delivery of the line.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Tata Steel begins new project at Port Talbot in £1.25bn green plan
Ground was broken on the new pickle line last autumn, led by Sir Robert McAlpine with regional firms alongside.

GREEN STEEL: Port Talbot’s giant new furnace is built and on its way
The electric arc furnace at the heart of the transformation has been fabricated and is being shipped to south Wales.

GREEN STEEL: Tata ‘confident’ supply will hold after Port Talbot fire
The blaze at the works’ existing pickle line saw work routed to Llanwern while the site recovers.

NEATH PORT TALBOT: Safer routes to schools, stations and parks — the walking and cycling plans for your area

Getting the kids to school on foot. Cycling to the station instead of driving. Reaching the local park without walking along a busy road.

These are the kinds of everyday journeys behind a set of new walking, wheeling and cycling routes proposed across Neath Port Talbot, which the council says would make active travel easier and safer.

The council has drawn up a long list of routes it wants to add or improve, each one intended, it says, to fix a spot where getting around without a car is currently hard, unsafe or impossible.

There is a catch worth stating up front: these are “future routes” — lines on a map marking where the council wants to act, not funded, designed schemes with a start date. But routes have to be on the map to qualify for Welsh Government money, which is why the council wants views now.

Here’s a flavour of what’s proposed, area by area.

Neath, Skewen and the surrounding villages

In Skewen, the railway currently cuts the village off from Neath Abbey. The council is proposing a route along the lane between Pale Road and the railway bridge, with a link along Cardonnel Road, which it says would reconnect the two — plus a separate path through Skewen Park to create a traffic-free way across the village.

At Cadoxton, a new path along Bryn Catwg would, according to the plans, give families a step-free route to Cadoxton Community Park.

Aberdulais and Cilfrew are split by the railway and the River Dulais. The council says a proposed route over the bridge, joining New Road to Cefn-yr-Allt, would connect the two communities.

For commuters, the council has placed some of its highest-priority schemes around Neath train station, with another new link aimed at getting people safely to Briton Ferry station.

Port Talbot, Aberavon and Taibach

In Taibach, the council says a route along Lady Charlotte Lane would make it easier to reach the community centre, the education centre and Mount Surgery.

A second Taibach route, along the path between Wood Street and Elba Avenue, is intended to improve the traffic-free options through Margam’s residential streets.

In east Port Talbot, the plans propose a route along Pen-y-Cae Road to improve access around the Tan-y-Groes Street roundabout.

Much of Port Talbot’s town centre, seafront and Sandfields network already ranks among the highest-priority routes in the borough, alongside a proposed walking and cycling link to Neath Port Talbot Hospital.

Cwmavon, Glynneath and the Neath valleys

At Cwmavon, the council is proposing an off-road path along the western bank of the River Afan, which it says would give people on the Gwaun Afan estate a direct, traffic-free route in and out, tying into National Cycle Network Route 887.

In Glynneath, the plans include a route from the B4242 to the library, intended to put key community buildings within safe reach on foot or by bike.

At Resolven, the council is proposing a quieter alternative to the B4434 along Heol Herbert.

In Seven Sisters, officers say a route along Heol Heddwch and Tan-y-Rhiw would give children a safer way to reach Blaendulais Primary School and connect homes to the village’s sports and play facilities.

Also at Resolven, the council is proposing to extend an existing route along the B4434 to Melincourt, to serve possible new housing sites.

In Croeserw, the plans propose a walking route linking Viaduct Road to the village via Eastern Avenue, South Avenue and Bryn Siriol.

Pontardawe and the Swansea Valley

Along the Swansea Canal near Pontardawe, the council is proposing a towpath route it says would create a continuous, car-free path through the Swansea Valley.

Elsewhere in Pontardawe, the plans note that the A474 currently allows no pedestrian access, and propose a new link up to Glan-Rhyd Road to address it.

Higher up, a future route from Tairgwaith to Cwmllynfell, via the reservoir, is intended to open access to a new visitor destination in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen.

How the routes are chosen — and how to have your say

Each route has been scored and ranked by Transport for Wales, which weighed how many people would use it and how well it connects schools, workplaces and local centres. That ranking helps decide which come forward first.

But the council is clear that ranking doesn’t guarantee delivery: every scheme still depends on funding, design and further consultation.

Cllr Wyndham Griffiths, the council’s cabinet member for strategic planning, transport and connectivity, said the aim was to help people make everyday journeys — to school, work or the shops — in a healthy, safe and sustainable way.

He said the consultation gave people and businesses a chance to say where changes were most needed, which would then shape the council’s funding bids.

The council says it especially wants to hear where walking, wheeling or cycling currently feels unsafe or difficult, and where links between communities are missing.

The 12-week consultation runs until 21 September. People can complete an online survey on DataMapWales, or view paper copies at Neath and Port Talbot libraries. Drop-in events will run over the summer, with dates listed at npt.gov.uk/activetravel.

This consultation follows earlier council proposals for active travel schemes across the borough, including a major revamp for Sandfields and Aberavon, a masterplan for Neath town centre and a proposed Neath to Cimla route.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Major revamp planned for Sandfields and Aberavon as council unveils huge active travel upgrade
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PORT TALBOT: Drug dealer who blamed his YMCA neighbours for the messages on his own phone is jailed

A Port Talbot drug dealer who blamed fellow residents of his YMCA hostel for the incriminating messages found on his own phone has been jailed for three years.

Leighton Burgess admitted a £600-a-month crack cocaine habit but denied dealing, a court heard — even as messages from his number turned up on the phones of known users.

The 38-year-old, of Talbot Road, came to the attention of officers in Port Talbot in April after police examined the phones of known drug users, according to South Wales Police.

Numbers linked to drug-supply messages were traced back to Burgess, who was arrested as he walked along the town’s Station Road on 25 April.

Swansea Crown Court heard he was carrying a Nokia phone using one of the numbers officers had already flagged.

When the device was examined, it held messages relating to the supply of cocaine, Valium and pregabalin, a prescription-only painkiller.

A search of his room at the Port Talbot YMCA turned up four more phones and two SIM cards.

In interview, Burgess said he spent around £600 a month on crack cocaine from a monthly benefits income of £1,100, but insisted others at the hostel had access to his phone and had sent the messages.

He had earlier admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine, Valium and pregabalin, on the basis that he sold to a small circle of friends to fund his own addiction, with the group sometimes pooling money to buy at a better price.

The court heard Burgess had 16 previous convictions for 45 offences, including cannabis trafficking in 2010 and 2013 and possessing heroin with intent to supply in 2016.

Defending, Ian Ibrahim said his client had ADHD, left school at 14, and had described the YMCA as the best place he had ever lived. He said Burgess had “by any standards” a poor circle of friends.

Mr Ibrahim said the defendant had been devastated by the death of his mother, to whom he was particularly close, and that since being remanded in custody he had stayed drug-free and completed a number of courses.

Recorder Barry Clarke said a pre-sentence report described how living at the YMCA had brought some stability, but noted a “persistent pattern of drug misuse and associated offending” in Burgess’s life.

The recorder said rehabilitation in the community was not a realistic prospect, and warned Burgess that a third conviction for dealing Class A drugs would carry a starting point of seven years.

With a quarter discount for his guilty pleas, Burgess was jailed for three years. He will serve 40% of the sentence in custody before being released on licence.

Detective Inspector Richard George, of South Wales Police, said the case showed the drug trade did not pay.

“You can only begin to imagine the negative impact that the drugs which Leighton Burgess has sold have had on those who have consumed them, not to mention their friends, family and wider communities,” he said.

This case follows a string of recent drug-dealing sentences across the area, including a Port Talbot cocaine dealer jailed for five years after a Boxing Day crash, and a Neath man jailed for three years after cocaine and scales were found at his home.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

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GREEN STEEL DELAY: ‘No formal change’ to furnace timetable — as row breaks out over who knew what

A political row has broken out in the Senedd over who knew what — and when — about the delay to Port Talbot‘s £1.25bn electric arc furnace.

News that the furnace could be delayed by up to eight months because of a hold-up to its National Grid power connection emerged on 7 June — days after a major fire at the steelworks’ Cold Mill.

Welsh Conservative shadow minister for economy, energy and planning Janet Finch-Saunders MS raised the issue during an emergency statement in the Senedd on Wednesday following the fire — saying that while attention had focused on the blaze, concerns about delays to the furnace may have been known for weeks.

It was reported on 7 June that Tata Steel had discussed potential delays linked to National Grid connectivity issues with “investors” during a conference call around a month earlier.

Ms Finch-Saunders is seeking clarity on whether those “investors” included the UK Government — which is putting £500m towards the £1.25bn project.

“If UK Government Ministers were aware of the issue a month ago, were Welsh Government Ministers informed? If Welsh Government were not informed, why not? If Welsh Government were informed, why did the Economy Minister tell the Senedd today that he only became aware of the delay on Monday?” she said.

“We now need a clear timeline setting out exactly when concerns first emerged and who was told. Port Talbot workers and their families deserve answers.”

The Welsh Conservatives are also seeking clarification on whether any of the £80m transition fund established by the previous UK Conservative government — to support workers at risk of losing their jobs — remains available if the delays create further financial problems for affected workers.

But First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth defended his government’s handling of the situation — telling the Senedd that Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy Adam Price had spoken directly with Tata Steel UK’s chief executive the previous day.

“My government is determined to do all that we can to support investment at TATA,” he said. “My minister for enterprise, connectivity and energy did speak yesterday with Tata Steel UK’s Chief Executive Officer in order to discuss the way ahead in terms of the electricity connection.

“Many of the powers of course are in the hands of the UK Government, but we will do everything in our powers as a Welsh Government to facilitate progress towards the delivery of that investment. That is why my minister acted so quickly.”

The First Minister also took aim at opposition parties’ records on steel: “The contribution made last year by Reform was to say that they wanted to bring back a defunct blast furnace to secure the future of Port Talbot, while my party put plans on the table that could have retained, we believe, virgin steel making in Port Talbot.”

Meanwhile, Aberafan Maesteg MP Stephen Kinnock — whose constituency includes the steelworks — said he had met Tata for a briefing on the implications of the fire, and revealed the company is looking at reviving its mothballed cold mill at Llanwern to maintain supply to customers.

“They have acted at speed to limit disruption and are looking at options to maintain supply to their customers, including by reviving the previously mothballed cold mill in Llanwern,” he said in a statement issued on 10 June. “Tata are working with the unions to look at the deployment / re-deployment of personnel working across both the Pickle Line and Cold Mill at Port Talbot.”

On the furnace delay, Mr Kinnock said: “I also received an update on reports of potential delays to the EAF project. There is no formal change in the timetable at this stage and National Grid, UK Government and Tata Steel are continuing to work together to deliver the project in a timely fashion.”

He also thanked firefighters “for their efforts in bringing the blaze under control and the professionalism of Tata’s workforce”, saying the response meant there were “thankfully no injuries”.

The electric arc furnace is the centrepiece of Tata’s transition at Port Talbot following the closure of the works’ blast furnaces, and the connection delay has already prompted cross-party calls for answers from Tata and National Grid — with former Aberavon MS David Rees among those calling for National Grid to face penalties over the hold-up.

The Welsh Government’s response to the delay — and the Conservatives’ demand for a timeline — comes with the steelworks still recovering from the Cold Mill fire, which burned for two days earlier this month and caused part of the building to collapse.

Answers to the questions of who knew about the delay, and when, are now awaited from both governments.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

GREEN STEEL: Port Talbot’s £1.25bn furnace could be delayed by up to eight months over power hold-up
How the delay first emerged.

GREEN STEEL DELAY: Cross-party calls for answers over Port Talbot furnace setback as politicians press Tata and National Grid
The political reaction to the setback.

PORT TALBOT: Steelworks fire burns into a second day as part of the building collapses — with union warning over jobs
The fire at the works earlier this month.

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https://www.europesays.com/britain/?p=57568 NATWEST: Llanelli and Port Talbot branches to close in September #BankClosure #Llanelli #Money #NatWest #PortTalbot

NATWEST: Llanelli and Port Talbot branches to close in September

NatWest is to close its branches in Llanelli and Port Talbot in September, stripping two more banks from high streets that have already lost a string of household names.

The Port Talbot branch will shut on 8 September, with Llanelli following the next day on 9 September.

They are among nine closures announced by NatWest Group on Friday across Scotland, England and Wales — and the only two in Wales, both falling squarely within the Swansea Bay News patch.

Where customers will have to go

For Llanelli customers, the nearest remaining NatWest branch will be in Swansea city centre, on Oxford Street — a 12.57-mile trip, according to the bank’s own closure guide. The next closest is Carmarthen, at 17.77 miles.

Port Talbot customers face the same Swansea branch as their nearest option, 10.10 miles away, followed by Bridgend at 15.57 miles.

Customers are being directed to nearby Post Offices for everyday cash banking — in Llanelli, the branches on Ann Street, Church Street and at Llanelli Docks, and in Port Talbot, the branches on Station Road, Taibach and Morrison Road.

The bank says it will hold a face-to-face event in each branch before closure and run a temporary community pop-up nearby for up to 12 weeks afterwards, staffed by a local colleague but offering no cash services.

Why the bank says it is closing them

NatWest points to a sharp fall in counter use to justify the closures. Personal counter transactions at the Llanelli branch dropped by 66% between January 2020 and January 2026, with Port Talbot down 53% over the same period.

The bank says 220 personal customers and 108 business customers used the Llanelli branch at least 12 times in the year to January 2026. In Port Talbot, the figures were 245 personal and 84 business customers.

It also says 77% of personal customers at both branches were already using its app or online banking over the same year.

Solange Chamberlain, the bank’s chief executive of retail banking, framed the announcement as a turning point rather than a retreat.

“This is an important moment for our customers and the communities we serve,” she said.

She said the bank was investing to give customers “a seamless mix of ways to bank with us, including over the phone, digitally, or via our free to use ATM network,” while still supporting those who prefer to be served in person.

Chamberlain added that NatWest understood the impact the changes would have, saying the bank would “engage personally with all those affected by today’s closure announcement.”

The latest blow to Llanelli town centre

For Llanelli, the loss lands on a town centre that has been shedding banks for some time. Lloyds shut its Stepney Street branch last year, leaving the Halifax on Cowell Street as the only Lloyds Banking Group outpost in the town — and that brand is itself being wound down nationally.

Its shops have been thinning out too, with Llanelli among the south-west Wales towns where Shoe Zone is weighing further store closures. Hospitality has taken heavy blows, with the much-loved Sandpiper pub caught up in Whitbread’s national cull and two well-known restaurants closing on the same day earlier this year.

The town is also bracing for the loss of two of its most prominent structures, with the council moving to demolish both the indoor market and the Murray Street multi-storey car park over safety concerns.

Empty units have brought their own problems, with police last year uncovering a cannabis farm inside a disused town-centre shop.

The town centre’s troubles have also sharpened a long-running debate over the drug and alcohol support unit, which some councillors want moved out to Trostre — a proposal others argue would simply shift the problem rather than solve it.

Signs of a fightback

It is not all retreat. Llanelli was recently handed a £20m regeneration lifeline aimed at its most deprived communities, while artists have set out a vision for a new museum and creative quarter in the heart of the town.

A steel town under strain

In Port Talbot, the closure adds to a far heavier blow. The town is still absorbing the loss of thousands of steel jobs as Tata Steel presses ahead with its £1.25bn transformation of the works towards greener production.

The shift followed the closure of the town’s blast furnaces, ending more than a century of traditional steelmaking and reshaping the local economy that the high street depends on.

The town has also seen what becomes of a bank once the shutters come down, with a Victorian former bank standing empty since Barclays left in 2021 now lined up for conversion into 13 homes.

No more closures until 2029, says NatWest

The latest closures come despite NatWest using the same announcement to pledge no further branch closures across its NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank brands until at least 2029.

The group says it will invest £50 million in its remaining network over 2026 and 2027, modernising branches and expanding its mobile service, and will ask the cash network LINK to carry out an independent access-to-cash assessment for each closing branch.

Once the latest closures are complete, NatWest Group will be left with 336 branches across the UK — a far cry from the high streets it, and its rivals, once anchored.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

HALIFAX: After 173 years, one of Britain’s most famous bank names is being killed off
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LLANELLI: Town faces twin loss as council moves to demolish market and multi-storey car park
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PORT TALBOT: Tata Steel sets out demands for next Welsh Government
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LLANELLI: Town handed £20m lifeline as decade-long regeneration drive begins
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https://www.europesays.com/uk/1008294/ Huge fire at Welsh recycling plant sees 150 tonnes of rubbish go up in flames #Environment #Fires #Neath #NeathPortTalbot #PortTalbot #Science #UK #UnitedKingdom

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PORT TALBOT: Steelworks fire burns into a second day as part of the building collapses — with union warning over jobs

The huge fire at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot works was still burning on Thursday, more than a day after it broke out — and crews are now battling a blaze that has buried itself beneath a collapsed building.

Part of the structure has caved in, making it far harder for firefighters to reach the flames, the Rapid Relief Team said after supporting crews at the scene.

A spokesman for the charity, which has been feeding responders throughout, said part of the building had “collapsed in” and that “a lot of machinery has fallen on top trapping the fire underneath.”

Live update from RRT Swansea who are still on scene supporting responders in Port Talbot at the Tata Steel incident.#rrtcares pic.twitter.com/OcRYDaV85W

— Rapid Relief Team UK (@RRT_UK) June 4, 2026

The fire broke out at one of the site’s processing lines at around 8pm on Wednesday. All staff were accounted for and evacuated safely, as more than 100 firefighters were thrown at the blaze through the night — crews drawn from 16 stations across south and west Wales, with reinforcements from South Wales and Avon.

By Thursday afternoon the picture had hardened from “ongoing” to something more serious, with confirmation of significant damage and a fire that was proving stubborn to put out.

The union Unite said the blaze had caused “substantial damage to a vital production line” — and moved quickly to put jobs at the centre of the story.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham thanked the emergency services for bringing the situation under control so quickly, and said no one had been hurt and workers had been evacuated safely.

But she warned: “Measures must now be put in place to protect jobs both at Tata and down the supply chain during any period of disruption.”

She added that the union was asking Tata and the government to ensure that operations were “rebuilt as swiftly as possible.”

Unite Wales secretary Peter Hughes said the union was committed to working with the company to secure the long-term future of Port Talbot and the wider Tata operation in the UK.

The jobs warning lands in a town already on edge. Tata closed its two blast furnaces in 2024 with thousands of job losses, and is in the middle of a £1.25bn transformation of the site — switching to a greener electric arc furnace, with steel processing continuing in the meantime. A fire on one of those remaining lines is the last thing the workforce needed.

There was at least some reassurance for residents. Welsh Government monitoring showed air pollution in Port Talbot classed as low on Thursday, though officials note the effects of a fire can be localised — and South Wales Police’s advice for nearby residents to keep windows and doors shut still stands.

It was a punishing shift for the crews. The Rapid Relief Team said it served around 150 hot meals through the night and a further 70 on Thursday morning to keep responders going, with firefighters, ambulance HART medics and high-volume pump crews all rotating through its support tent.

Among the stations that sent crews through the night was Ammanford’s Station 57, which said its firefighters had worked alongside colleagues “from across the Service” and thanked partners on site for their cooperation.

The works is no stranger to those crews. In January, firefighters scaled a 32-metre tower at the steelworks in a dramatic multi-agency rescue drill — an exercise designed partly to test Tata’s emergency protocols in a live industrial setting. Months later, the same teams were back fighting the real thing.

It is the second major fire to grip Port Talbot in barely five weeks. At the end of April, a huge blaze involving around 200 tonnes of commercial waste sent black smoke billowing over the town from an industrial site on Dock Road.

Tata Steel has stressed the fire was not connected to the controlled demolition of an empty, redundant gas holder carried out at the site earlier on Wednesday evening, which it called safe and successful.

The cause has not been established, and the company has said it cannot yet assess the full damage.

This is a developing story and we will bring you more as we get it. Anyone affected by smoke is advised to keep windows and doors closed.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Over 100 firefighters from across Wales and the West of England tackle massive fire at Port Talbot steelworks
Our first report on the blaze, as crews from 16 stations battled through the night.

Fire crews scale 32-metre tower in dramatic rescue drill at Tata Steel Port Talbot
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Tata Steel sets out demands for next Welsh Government amid £1.25bn transformation
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Over 100 firefighters from across Wales and the West of England tackle massive fire at Port Talbot steelworks

A huge fire tore through Tata Steel’s Port Talbot works on Wednesday night, throwing thick black smoke across the town and lighting the night sky a furious orange.

Flames ripped through one of the site’s processing lines from around 8pm, sending a vast plume over the M4 and sparking one of the biggest fire responses the area has seen this year.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service was called at 8.06pm — and the scale of the response tells its own story.

Appliances were sent from 16 of its stations: Port Talbot, Neath, Morriston, Glynneath, Cymmer, Swansea West, Swansea Central, Pontarddulais, Llanelli, Carmarthen, Ammanford, Gorseinon, Pontyates, Kidwelly, Haverfordwest and Milford Haven.

With each appliance crewed by four or five firefighters, several stations sending more than one engine, and command units on top, that points to well over 80 Mid and West Wales firefighters tackling the blaze at its peak — before reinforcements from two other services are even counted.

Some came from the far end of the patch. Milford Haven’s crew faced a journey of more than 70 miles to reach it.

And that was just one fire service. On top of its own crews, Mid and West Wales called in colleagues from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, and from Avon Fire and Rescue Service — based over the Prince of Wales Bridge in and around Bristol, also more than 70 miles away.

Tata Steel said the fire broke out at one of the site’s processing lines and that all staff were accounted for and evacuated safely.

Photographs released by the fire service showed flames glowing through the cladding of one of the vast sheds, with firefighters training hoses on the building as smoke rolled overhead.

Kellie Evans, who drove past as the blaze took hold, told the BBC the scene was “very apocalyptic,” saying the sky was so black she couldn’t see the flames — and that drivers were pulling over to look.

South Wales Police told residents to keep their windows and doors shut and urged people to stay away. Large plumes of smoke were visible across the area, the force said, and drivers were asked to find alternative routes.

It was a brutal night for the crews. The Rapid Relief Team, which feeds the emergency services at major incidents, said around 100 responders faced an “incredibly demanding and hazardous” shift.

The charity said eight fire appliances, two foam units, two high-reach turntable platforms and a high-volume pump were thrown at the fire, and that its volunteers turned out 125 hot meals through the night to keep crews going.

By Thursday morning the worst was over. Heavy overnight rain helped beat the flames back, leaving only small wisps of smoke drifting from the rolling mill end of the plant.

Traffic on the M4, slowed by the smoke overnight, was flowing freely again, and from the outside the works looked much as normal — though crews remained busy inside.

Tata Steel moved quickly to head off speculation about the cause, stressing the fire was not connected to the controlled demolition of an empty, redundant gas holder carried out at the site earlier that evening, which it called safe and successful.

That demolition is part of a sweeping clear-out of the old works. In January, Tata released footage from deep inside the plant showing the scale of the demolition and reconstruction now under way as it clears redundant structures to make way for its new electric arc furnace.

The cause of the fire has not been established, and the company said it could not yet assess the damage.

In a statement, Tata thanked its site teams and the emergency services for their “prompt and professional action,” and said further updates would follow.

It is the second major fire to grip Port Talbot in barely five weeks. At the end of April, a huge blaze involving around 200 tonnes of commercial waste sent black smoke billowing over the town from an industrial site on Dock Road, tying up eight fire stations for days.

The Port Talbot works is one of the largest steel sites in the world and the region’s biggest industrial employer. Tata closed its two blast furnaces in 2024 with thousands of job losses, and is in the middle of a £1.25bn transformation of the site — switching from coal-fired blast furnaces to a greener electric arc furnace that will melt scrap steel.

The transition has meant huge upheaval in and around the works, from the demolition now reshaping the site to a major expansion of the local electricity network needed to power the new furnace. Steel processing — turning imported slabs into finished products — has continued throughout in the absence of the furnaces.

This is a developing story and we will bring you more as we get it. Anyone affected by smoke is advised to keep windows and doors closed.

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The 200-tonne waste blaze that gripped the town just five weeks earlier.

Inside the giant Port Talbot steelworks overhaul as Tata clears the way for new Electric Arc Furnace
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RETAIL: Shoe Zone is closing stores across the UK — here’s what it means for shops in Llanelli, Neath, Swansea, Carmarthen and Port Talbot

The bad news

Shoe Zone is in trouble. The chain has just reported a £5.3 million loss — nearly double what it lost this time last year. It closed 14 stores in the past six months alone and is now shutting half its warehouse.

The company blames the war in Iran for pushing up shipping costs, and two government budgets for making shoppers too nervous to spend. Even its online sales — usually its bright spot — fell 6% in the latest figures. It had hoped to make a £1 million profit this year. It now thinks it’ll lose between £1 million and £2 million.

Why some stores are more at risk than others

Shoe Zone has been quietly carrying out a plan for years. The company is shutting its smaller, traditional high street shops and replacing them with bigger stores in retail parks that sell branded shoes like Skechers alongside its own cheap range.

By last September, it had already converted 201 of its stores to the bigger format. Only 68 of the old-style smaller shops remained — down from 112 the year before. The company wants to finish the job by the end of 2027.

The pattern is clear from what’s already happened across south-west Wales. In 2019, Shoe Zone opened a big new store at Cross Hands Retail Park — and six months later, the Ammanford town centre branch on Quay Street closed for good.

In 2023, it relocated from its smaller traditional Union Street store in Swansea city centre to the much larger former Next unit on Oxford Street. Six months later, the Morriston branch closed permanently.

Maesteg lost its Shoe Zone in 2020 and Haverfordwest followed in 2021 — both were traditional town centre shops and neither appears on the company’s store locator any more.

The stores in south-west Wales — starting with the safest

Safe: Cross Hands Retail Park
Opened in 2019 as Shoe Zone’s first out-of-town store in Wales, Cross Hands is the chain’s regional anchor for west Wales — open until 7pm on weekdays and stocking a wide range of branded footwear. This is precisely the model the company is investing in. It’s about as safe as it gets.

Safe: Swansea, Oxford Street
When Shoe Zone moved from its smaller Union Street store into the old Next unit on Oxford Street in 2023, it was a statement of intent. Large, modern and well-stocked, this is one of the company’s own concept stores — the kind of unit it wants more of, not fewer.

Reasonably safe: Port Talbot, Aberafan Centre
Inside the Aberafan Shopping Centre, this is a covered unit which is generally more stable than a standalone high street branch. Port Talbot faces its own economic headwinds following the steel industry’s decline, but the shopping centre location provides some protection.

Reasonably safe: Carmarthen, Merlin’s Walk
Opened in October 2024, the Carmarthen store is one of the newest Shoe Zone branches in Wales. It sits along Merlin’s Walk — an open pedestrianised street linking the town centre with Friars Park car park — rather than in a covered shopping centre. A store this new is unlikely to close soon, but its open high street setting means it faces the same footfall pressures as any other town centre shop.

Worth watching: Neath, Green Street
Neath’s store was refurbished and reopened in September 2023 as a modernised unit with a bigger range of brands. The recent investment suggests Shoe Zone sees a future here — but it’s still a traditional town centre store on an open high street, and those are exactly the ones the company has been closing elsewhere.

Most at risk: Llanelli, Stepney Street
Llanelli’s Shoe Zone is a long-established traditional high street shop — exactly the type the company has been systematically shutting. No closure has been announced. But with Cross Hands Retail Park already drawing shoppers from across west Wales, Llanelli faces the same question Ammanford did in 2019: does a traditional town centre branch still make sense when there’s a bigger, better-stocked store just up the road? Of all the south-west Wales stores, this one fits the at-risk profile most closely.

What happens next

Shoe Zone is fighting on multiple fronts — rising costs, falling sales, a shrinking store network and mounting losses. The company says it is still investing in its future, including launching a TikTok shop to drive online sales. But the high street has already claimed Wilko, Debenhams and countless others that once seemed like fixtures, and with losses mounting and the 2027 transformation deadline approaching, the clock is ticking for its remaining traditional stores.

South-west Wales has already seen this story play out before. TGJones — the chain that took over from WHSmith — is facing its own crisis, with seven local branches at risk and a High Court hearing on its future expected in late June.

More on the high street in south-west Wales

TGJones: Bailiff threat and tax debts cast fresh doubt over south-west Wales stores
Seven local TGJones branches are at risk as the chain battles mounting debts and a High Court hearing looms.

Seven south-west Wales TGJones stores at risk as chain announces 150 closures
The full list of at-risk branches across the region.

Four local restaurants face closure as Whitbread axes up to 3,800 jobs
Another national chain making cuts that hit south-west Wales directly.

Swansea flagship M&S store confirms closure date
The high street story that sparked months of debate about Swansea city centre.

PORT TALBOT: The Victorian bank that’s stood empty since Barclays left — now someone wants to turn it into 13 homes

Walk past the old Barclays on Station Road and you’ll see one of the best-looking buildings in Port Talbot — ornate stonework, an arched entrance, sash windows, the lot. It’s been locked and gathering dust for more than three years.

A developer called LIFE Property Group wants to change that. They’ve applied to Neath Port Talbot Council for permission to convert the building into 13 affordable one-bedroom flats.

Local MP Stephen Kinnock shared the plans on Facebook this week and urged residents to have their say before a decision is made.

The building dates back to the 1800s and is officially recognised by the council as a Building of Local Importance. The plan is to leave the famous stone front completely untouched — all 13 flats would go into a new three-storey block at the back, while the ground floor offices at the front would stay in commercial use.

We first covered the proposals when they were floated for pre-application consultation last September.

Barclays shut its Port Talbot branch in 2021 as part of a national wave of closures, and it wasn’t the only one — HSBC pulled out of the town around the same time. The empty buildings they left behind have become a familiar sight on Station Road.

But according to the planning documents submitted with the application, Station Road has quietly been changing for years. The former police station up the road has already become a block of modern flats, and a series of other properties along the street have been converted since 2010.

The developer’s planning consultants argue this shows the council is open to sensitive modernisation of the area — and that bringing the old bank back into use fits that pattern.

Just half a mile away, work has started on a 43-home development on the former Dyffryn School site, and older flats in the area have had major eco refurbishments. After years of closures and empty shopfronts, there are at least signs of life.

The site sits in a flood risk zone, so a separate flood risk report has been submitted alongside the planning application. According to the documents, the flats would be built slightly above ground level as a precaution.

The plans also include solar panels on the new roof, cycle storage and wildlife boxes for bats and birds.

No housing association has been named to manage the flats yet, though the developer says talks are under way with several potential partners. All 13 units would be classed as affordable housing — well above the 25% the council typically asks for from new developments, according to planning policy documents.

The development would include just two parking spaces at the rear — so residents would be relying heavily on public transport. Port Talbot Parkway station is a short walk away, with direct trains to Swansea, Cardiff and London.

If you want to have your say, search application number P2026/0067 on the Neath Port Talbot planning portal, or email [email protected].

More on Port Talbot

Former Port Talbot bank could be turned into 13 affordable flats under new plans
Our September 2025 report on the pre-application consultation for the same building.

Barclays confirms closure of bank branches in Gorseinon and Port Talbot
When the branch that started all this first announced it was shutting.

HSBC to shut Port Talbot and Tenby bank branches in latest round of closures
Another branch gone — the story of Port Talbot’s high street bank exodus.

Work to start on 43-home development at former Port Talbot school
Half a mile from Station Road, another former building gets a new life.

Eco makeover gives flats a new lease of life
How older Port Talbot homes are being brought up to date.

PORT TALBOT: Driver critically injured after four-vehicle collision on Margam Road

South Wales Police are appealing for information after a serious four-vehicle collision on Margam Road left a driver with critical injuries.

The collision occurred at around 12.22pm on Wednesday 6 May, between Groswen Park and the junction with Rhanallt Street in Port Talbot.

The driver of a red Vauxhall sustained serious injuries and remains in hospital in a condition described as critical but stable.

The driver of a Citroen Picasso was also involved and sustained less serious injuries which required hospital treatment. The two remaining vehicles involved are understood to have been stationary or parked at the time of the collision.

Eyewitnesses described a significant emergency response at the scene, including two fire engines, two ambulances and the Wales Air Ambulance.

Roads policing officers are appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision, or who saw the manner of driving of the vehicles involved beforehand, to come forward.

Motorists and residents in the area are also urged to check dashcam and doorbell footage for anything that may assist the investigation.

Anyone with information should contact South Wales Police quoting reference 2600140685, either online at south-wales.police.uk or by calling 101.

PORT TALBOT: Cocaine dealer joins brother in prison after Boxing Day crash left him ‘covered in cocaine’ at the wheel of his car

A Port Talbot drug dealer found “covered in cocaine” at the wheel of a crashed car on Boxing Day has been jailed for five years.

Ryan Tucker, 27, of Gwyn Terrace, Port Talbot, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis.

The five-year sentence means he now joins his older brother Nathan Tucker behind bars – both convicted of running their own cocaine dealing operations from the family home in Port Talbot, both supplied from Merseyside.

The court heard that on Boxing Day 2025, officers received reports of a crashed and damaged VW Golf in Port Talbot.

When they arrived, they found Ryan Tucker at the wheel – covered in cocaine.

A search of the car uncovered almost 40g of cocaine and almost 100g of cannabis.

Tucker was taken to hospital and subsequently placed in a medically induced coma for a period.

His phone was later seized, and officers found multiple Snapchat conversations between Tucker and others about the buying and selling of cocaine and cannabis.

The Boxing Day crash was not Tucker’s first encounter with police that year.

Months earlier, in August 2024, officers had searched the Tucker family home on Gwyn Terrace after spotting what they believed to be a drugs exchange on the street outside.

That search led to the arrest of Tucker’s brother Nathan, with officers finding a machete behind the sofa, tubs of benzocaine – a common cutting agent – and a one-kilo block of compressed cocaine that had been sent special delivery from Liverpool the day before.

Nathan Tucker was later sentenced to six years and eight months for being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

Ryan Tucker was arrested at the same address weeks later, with police seizing his phone and £3,125 in cash. He refused to give officers his PIN – but they got into the device anyway, finding messages about cocaine and amphetamine deals stretching back twelve months.

In some of the messages, Tucker referred to selling cocaine on behalf of “Scousers” and to owing the Merseysiders money.

He answered “no comment” to all questions asked and was released under investigation – only to be arrested again four months later after the Boxing Day crash.

Tucker has 23 previous convictions for 56 offences, including violence, driving matters and possession of cannabis.

Caitlin Brazel, for Tucker, told the court he now appreciated the enormity of what he had done. She said he had a “rather unstable upbringing” and that the loss of a brother in 2020 had sent his life on a “downward spiral” of nightmares, addiction and mental health issues.

Sentencing him, Judge Geraint Walters said Tucker had been distributing drugs for a Liverpool gang “in a not insignificant way” – and that after being arrested and released under investigation, he had simply returned to dealing.

The judge told him that as he approached his 30th year, he needed to decide whether he was going to continue being “a nuisance” or try to turn his life around.

Detective Inspector Richard George of South Wales Police said Tucker had a long list of prior offences. “He failed to learn his lesson from any of them and is now heading for a long spell in prison,” he said.

George said the case should serve as a warning. “Cocaine and the Class A drug trade cause untold harm to the lives of so many in our communities – both the users and their families, friends and neighbours. We will relentlessly pursue anyone involved in this trade and bring them to justice,” he said.

The Tucker brothers’ Liverpool connection reflects a wider pattern of cocaine being supplied into south-west Wales from Merseyside. Six men from south Wales were previously jailed for mass cocaine supply, while a Swansea man was convicted as part of a transatlantic yacht cocaine plot – both demonstrating the scale of the trade reaching south-west Wales.

Tucker will serve up to half his five-year sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.

Our coverage of cocaine and county lines in south-west Wales

‘Scouse Ryan’ drug gang sentenced to over 10 years for driving drugs between Liverpool and Swansea
The county lines case that revealed the scale of Merseyside cocaine networks operating in south-west Wales.

Six men from south Wales jailed for mass cocaine supply
A wider conspiracy that brought significant prison sentences for those involved in commercial cocaine distribution.

Swansea man linked to transatlantic yacht cocaine plot as crime group jailed
One of the most striking recent cases of cocaine being smuggled into south Wales – by sea.

Six jailed for bringing large quantities of cocaine and cannabis into Pembrokeshire
The west Wales chapter of the same wider story – county lines reaching into Pembrokeshire.

SWANSEA: Three arrested in dawn raids targeting organised crime network
South Wales Police’s most recent operation targeting organised crime in Swansea.

PORT TALBOT: Tata Steel sets out demands for next Welsh Government — as thousands of steelworkers live with the consequences of its £1.25bn transformation

Tata Steel has set out what it wants from whoever forms the next Welsh Government – publishing a list of demands on the eve of the Senedd election that could shape the future of one of Wales’s most important industries.

But the backdrop to those demands is stark.

The company’s £1.25 billion transformation of Port Talbot – backed by £500 million from the UK Government – has already led to thousands of job losses to date – a transformation that is still ongoing.

Both of Port Talbot’s blast furnaces were closed as part of the transition, with workers facing significant redundancies and, at one point, the threat of catastrophic Christmas pay cuts as Tata restructured its operations.

Production at both Port Talbot and the Trostre plant in Llanelli was also halted over the Christmas period amid weak demand – a move that added to anxiety among workers and communities already reeling from the scale of the changes.

EU steel tariffs have added further pressure, sparking fears for jobs at both Port Talbot and Llanelli.

The new Electric Arc Furnace at Port Talbot – the centrepiece of Tata’s investment – is due to come online in late 2027.

The company says it will cut the site’s carbon emissions by 90% and secure long-term steelmaking in Wales.

But questions remain about the long-term job picture – with EAF steelmaking requiring significantly fewer workers than the blast furnace operations it replaces.

Of the 10 to 11 million tonnes of scrap steel generated annually in the UK, approximately 80% is currently exported. Tata Steel says redirecting some of that domestic scrap toward the new EAF at Port Talbot will reduce reliance on imported coal and iron ore and strengthen economic resilience.

Against that backdrop, Tata Steel has published a five-point manifesto setting out what it needs from the next Welsh Government to make the transformation a success.

On skills, the company is calling for a full audit of the workforce needs across Wales’s steel and advanced manufacturing supply chain – warning that Wales already faces shortages in engineering roles that will intensify as major decarbonisation projects come online.

On research and innovation, Tata Steel already works with Swansea University, the University of Warwick and the University of Cambridge, and has committed £20 million to two new Centres of Innovation. But it says R&D funding levels in Wales are significantly below those available in comparable countries and is calling for better pilot facilities and less bureaucracy.

On energy costs, Tata Steel argues that high energy prices remain one of the biggest competitive disadvantages facing UK steel manufacturers compared to European rivals, and is calling on the Welsh Government to support a more favourable energy cost environment for energy-intensive industries.

On public procurement, Tata is asking the next Welsh Government to use its buying power to support domestic steel – pointing out that the UK steel sector now supplies only one third of the country’s overall demand.

The company also points to UK Government data estimating that 7.7 million tonnes of steel will be required for major public infrastructure projects over the next decade – an opportunity it says Welsh steel is well placed to serve, if the right conditions are in place.

The UK’s offshore wind pipeline alone could require up to 25 million tonnes of steel by 2050, representing a potential value of £21 billion to the UK steel market over the coming decades.

Rajesh Nair, CEO of Tata Steel UK, said the company was ready to invest if the policy conditions were right. “A stronger Britain depends on a strong British industrial base and Wales can be at the heart of that,” he said.

Tata’s transformation has been politically contentious throughout the Senedd election campaign, with parties divided on whether the UK Government’s £500 million support package was sufficient and what further backing Welsh steel communities deserve.

The company’s full manifesto – Creating a Secure Future for Welsh Steel – is available at tatasteeluk.com.

Polls open across Wales at 7am on Thursday and close at 10pm. The count and results are expected on Friday.

Our Tata Steel coverage

Steel plan sparks cautious hope — but big questions remain for Welsh jobs
Our report on the long-term employment picture as the EAF transition gets underway.

Government vows to ‘do whatever it takes’ — but critics warn over end of traditional steelmaking
The political reaction to the £1.25bn deal and what it means for Port Talbot.

Steelworkers face ‘catastrophic’ Christmas pay cuts as Tata plans extended shutdown
The human cost of the transition for workers and families.

EU’s 50% steel tariffs spark fears for Tata jobs in Port Talbot and Llanelli
How international trade pressures are adding to the pressure on Welsh steel.

Port Talbot steel gets new role in green energy future
Research into wind turbine towers made with local steel — the opportunity ahead.

PORT TALBOT: In pictures — the aftermath of the Water Street fire as crews continue to damp down

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has released dramatic new images showing the scale of the operation at the Water Street industrial fire in Port Talbot – with crews continuing to damp down the site after what became one of the largest fire incidents in the region in recent years.

The fire broke out at the commercial waste site on Wednesday 30 April and required eight fire stations from both Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service at its height. Drone footage and ground-level images released by the service show the full extent of the destruction, with the site completely razed across a vast footprint alongside the River Afan.

Crews worked through the night and into the following days to damp down the smouldering waste, with council JCB crews assisting on site. Natural Resources Wales confirmed no pollution entered the River Afan from firefighting run-off – a significant reassurance for the local environment.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed the incident has now entered a controlled phase, with crews set to remain on scene for the foreseeable future to continue damping down and managing any remaining hotspots. Materials will be moved on-site by the fire service and the site operator to facilitate this process.

The service has warned that occasional increases in smoke or very small flare-ups may occur as crews carefully extinguish remaining material, and that current weather conditions may cause smoke to linger longer than usual before dispersing. “These changes do not indicate a deterioration of the incident but reflect steady progress in the final stages of bringing the incident to a conclusion,” a spokesperson said.

Natural Resources Wales has confirmed that air quality monitoring deployed overnight and continuing today has found particulate concentrations at “moderate” levels — below the threshold where the general population would be expected to experience health effects if exposed for 24 hours.

NRW waste regulation officers have returned to the site today, working closely with Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service as the incident moves into the recovery phase. Materials will continue to be moved on-site to extinguish remaining hotspots, and NRW has warned that occasional increases in smoke or small flare-ups may occur as work progresses.

Partner agencies have advised that while adverse long-term health effects cannot be completely ruled out, the risk is considered very low. The advice remains for residents and businesses to keep windows and doors closed while smoke is present, reopening them once it has cleared. Anyone feeling unwell should seek appropriate medical advice.

Our full Port Talbot fire coverage

PORT TALBOT: Huge industrial fire sends black smoke billowing over town as eight fire stations scramble to Dock Road
Our original report as the fire broke out on Wednesday 30 April.

PORT TALBOT: Fire crews still battling Dock Road blaze as dramatic new images emerge from inside the site
Our second report with aerial images from inside the site as crews fought on through the night.

PORT TALBOT: Schools keeping pupils indoors as fire crews remain on scene at Water Street blaze
Thursday’s update as road closures were put in place and schools kept pupils inside.

PORT TALBOT: Fire enters controlled phase as road closures lifted and air quality monitoring deployed
The latest update as the fire came under control and road closures were lifted.

PORT TALBOT: Fire enters controlled phase as road closures lifted and air quality monitoring deployed

The major fire at Water Street in Port Talbot is entering a controlled phase and de-escalating, with both road closures now lifted and air quality monitoring deployed across affected areas throughout the day.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service crews will remain on scene for the foreseeable future to continue damping down and managing hotspots, supported by Neath Port Talbot Council JCB crews.

Both the A4242 Afan Way dual carriageway and the Afan Way/Water Street westbound carriageway have been reopened. The adjacent footpath and cycleway remains closed at this time.

Air quality monitoring has been deployed throughout the day in areas affected by the smoke plume to assess any impacts and help protect public health. The advice remains for local residents and businesses to keep windows and doors closed while smoke is present, opening them again when the smoke passes. People who feel unwell should seek appropriate medical advice.

Natural Resources Wales officers have been on site throughout the day providing specialist advice to the fire and rescue services and the site operator. Monitoring of the nearby River Afan has confirmed there has been no pollution entering the river from firefighting water run-off – a significant reassurance for the local environment.

Fire and rescue services will now support the transition into the recovery phase, working closely with Natural Resources Wales to ensure the site remains safe and to minimise any ongoing environmental or community impact.

The fire broke out at the Water Street commercial site yesterday morning, where around 200 tonnes of commercial waste had been stored. At its height it required eight fire stations from both Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

Earlier today, schools in the area kept pupils and staff indoors as a precaution while smoke drifted across the town, and rest centre facilities were placed on standby by the council.

Residents in the Water Street area are asked to continue following guidance from emergency services while crews complete the damping down operation. The footpath and cycleway adjacent to the site remains closed until further notice.

Anyone with concerns about the smoke or their health should contact NHS 111 for advice, or call 999 in an emergency.

Our Port Talbot fire coverage

PORT TALBOT: Huge industrial fire sends black smoke billowing over town as eight fire stations scramble to Dock Road
Our original report as the fire broke out yesterday morning.

PORT TALBOT: Fire crews still battling Dock Road blaze as dramatic new images emerge from inside the site
Aerial images from inside the site as crews fought the blaze through the night.

PORT TALBOT: Schools keeping pupils indoors as fire crews remain on scene at Water Street blaze
This afternoon’s update as road closures were put in place and schools kept pupils inside.

PORT TALBOT: Schools keeping pupils indoors as fire crews remain on scene at Water Street blaze – road closures in place

Emergency services remain on scene at a major fire at a business premises on Water Street in Port Talbot, with local schools keeping pupils and staff indoors as a precaution while smoke continues to drift across the town.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Public Health Wales are advising local residents and businesses to keep windows and doors closed while smoke is present, opening them again once conditions improve. Anyone who feels unwell is advised to seek appropriate medical advice.

Schools in the area have been told to remain open but to keep pupils and staff inside as a precautionary measure while smoke remains present. Parents are advised to follow guidance from their children’s schools directly.

Road closures remain in place around the site. The A4242 Afan Way dual carriageway is closed between the McDonald’s roundabout and Talbot Block roundabout. Afan Way and Water Street are also closed for westbound traffic at the McDonald’s entrance, although access is being maintained as necessary into Green Park Street.

Neath Port Talbot Council said its JCB operatives had been on site assisting fire crews in responding to the incident. Rest centre facilities have been placed on standby, and the council said transport arrangements would be put in place for any residents requiring them should a rest centre need to be opened.

The fire broke out at the Water Street commercial site, where around 200 tonnes of commercial waste had been stored. At its height the incident required the attendance of eight fire stations from both Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, with crews working to contain the blaze and prevent it spreading to neighbouring properties.

Dramatic aerial images published earlier today showed the scale of the fire from inside the site, with smoke still rising from the collapsed industrial building beside the canal that runs through the area.

Drone footage released by the council shows the extent of the destruction at the Water Street site, with the surrounding residential streets and the wider Port Talbot skyline visible beyond the smoke plume.

Residents in the immediate vicinity of Water Street and the wider Afan Way area are asked to continue monitoring the situation and to follow the latest guidance from emergency services and the council.

Neath Port Talbot Council said it would keep residents informed as the situation develops, and is coordinating with fire and police services on traffic management and welfare arrangements for anyone affected by the incident.

Anyone with concerns about the smoke or their health should contact NHS 111 for advice, or call 999 in an emergency.

Our Port Talbot fire coverage

PORT TALBOT: Huge industrial fire sends black smoke billowing over town as eight fire stations scramble to Dock Road
Our original report on the Water Street fire as it broke out.

PORT TALBOT: Fire crews still battling Dock Road blaze as dramatic new images emerge from inside the site
Our second report with aerial images from inside the fire site.

PORT TALBOT: Fire crews still battling Dock Road blaze this morning as dramatic new images emerge from inside the site

Fire crews from eight stations have spent the night battling a major commercial waste blaze at Dock Road in Port Talbot, with Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirming this morning that crews remain on scene and the fire is still ongoing.

The blaze, which broke out at 3.36pm on Wednesday at an industrial site on Dock Road, has now been burning for more than 15 hours. A fresh statement issued this morning confirmed that firefighters made steady progress overnight but are continuing to actively fight the fire and monitor hotspots across the site.

Crews from Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service from Port Talbot, Neath, Morriston, Ammanford, Tumble, Carmarthen, Pontarddulais and Glynneath continue to work alongside South Wales Fire and Rescue Service colleagues as part of a coordinated multi-agency response.

A spokesperson said: “Firefighters have been making steady progress overnight and remain in attendance this morning, with crews actively firefighting and monitoring hotspots. Work is continuing with partner agencies as part of a coordinated multi-agency response.”

New images taken inside the Dock Road site show the full scale of the operation — with high-pressure jets trained on a mountain of smouldering commercial waste, fire hoses snaking across flooded and blackened ground, and firefighters in breathing apparatus working among the burned-out debris as dawn broke over Port Talbot.

The fire involves approximately 200 tonnes of commercial waste. The scale of the blaze was visible for miles, with thick black smoke billowing across the town throughout Wednesday afternoon and evening before crews began to bring it under control overnight.

Road closures remain in place on and around Dock Road to allow emergency services continued access to the site. Residents across the area are being asked to continue keeping windows and doors closed if smoke is present.

The spokesperson added that people should continue to avoid the area while the incident is ongoing, and to call 999 only if life or property is in immediate danger — to help control room operators manage emergency resources effectively.

Cllr Sean Pursey, who represents the Sandfields East ward, this morning said the river footpath near the site also remains closed, with road closures in place near ATS. He urged residents to continue taking precautions outdoors until further guidance on air quality is issued.

The operation is one of the largest seen in the Port Talbot area in recent years, with eight fire stations drawn into the response and a second fire service called in to assist. The A4241 Dock Road remains closed in both directions from the Industrial Park turn-off to North Bank Road.

No injuries have been reported in connection with the incident. The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed and investigations are expected to take place once the blaze has been fully extinguished.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has said further updates will be issued when available. Swansea Bay News will continue to follow the story as it develops.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

PORT TALBOT: Huge industrial fire sends black smoke billowing over town as eight fire stations scramble to Dock Road
Our original report from Wednesday afternoon as the blaze broke out and emergency services scrambled to the scene.

GOWERTON: Road remains closed and building assessed for collapse risk after Easter Monday fire
The aftermath of a serious fire that left a Gowerton street shut for days.

GOWERTON: Dramatic fire tears through LMS Club on Sterry Road
Firefighters tackle a major blaze at the Gowerton social club.

PORT TALBOT: Huge industrial fire sends black smoke billowing over town as eight fire stations scramble to Dock Road

A massive fire involving around 200 tonnes of commercial waste at an industrial site on Dock Road sent thick black smoke billowing across Port Talbot on Wednesday afternoon, with eight fire stations scrambling crews to the scene.

Crews from eight fire stations were called to the Port Talbot industrial site at 3.36pm on Wednesday after a blaze took hold involving around 200 tonnes of commercial waste. The fire was so significant that South Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called in to support their Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service colleagues, with the operation running deep into the night.

Thick black smoke billowed high above the town’s rooftops and could be seen from miles around, with crowds gathering near the scene to watch the dramatic response unfold. Drone footage shared on social media captured the full scale of the incident, with multiple fire engines and aerial ladder platforms deployed across the industrial site on the bank of the River Afan.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service issued its first statement at 4.34pm, confirming crews were responding and urging residents to avoid the area. A more detailed update followed at 5.16pm confirming the scale of the blaze.

A spokesperson said: “Our crews from Port Talbot, Neath, Morriston, Ammanford, Tumble, Carmarthen, Pontarddulais and Glynneath Fire Stations have responded to an incident at Dock Road in Port Talbot. This incident is currently ongoing. With support by crews from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, crews are dealing with a fire involving approximately 200 tonnes of commercial waste.”

The spokesperson added that the area should be avoided to allow emergency services access, and that residents should keep windows and doors closed if there was thick smoke nearby. People were also asked not to call 999 unless lives or property were in immediate danger, so that control room operators could manage the high volume of emergency calls.

South Wales Police also moved quickly to close a number of roads in the area. Their statement, issued at 4.17pm, confirmed closures at the roundabout on Afan Way and Harbour Way, the roundabout on Harbour Way towards Tata Steel, and Water Street between Blanco’s Hotel and McDonald’s.

The A4241 — Dock Road itself — remained closed in both directions late into the evening, from the Industrial Park turn-off all the way to North Bank Road, as crews continued to battle the blaze.

Images from the scene showed fire engines and ladder platforms surrounded by dense smoke as firefighters trained jets onto the burning waste. Aerial photos showed a large industrial yard with materials stacked across the site, with the smoke plume stretching well beyond the immediate area and across the town towards the hills.

This morning, Cllr Sean Pursey, who represents the Sandfields East ward, said emergency services were still in attendance and residents should continue to take precautions.

He posted on Facebook: “Morning all, we’re currently awaiting an update from agency partners on the fire situation. The river footpath remains closed and there are some road closures in the area near ATS while the fire service is in attendance.”

Cllr Pursey added that he would advise people to continue keeping windows and doors closed and to take precautions outdoors until further guidance on air quality was issued.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has been approached for comment on whether the fire has been extinguished and whether any investigation into the cause is underway.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

GOWERTON: Dramatic fire tears through LMS Club on Sterry Road
Firefighters tackle a major blaze at the Gowerton social club.

GOWERTON: Road remains closed and building assessed for collapse risk after Easter Monday fire
The aftermath of a serious fire that left a Gowerton street shut for days.

PORT TALBOT: Woman jailed following deliberate hit and run

In the early hours of October 23, 2025, 59-year-old Louise Blackwell, from Port Talbot, was witnessed dropping off the victim on Margam Road before driving off, then turning around and driving into the victim at speed while the victim was crossing the road. Blackwell showed no signs of slowing down as she then fled the scene in her vehicle.

A South Wales Police investigation discovered that Blackwell was driving whilst intoxicated at the time of the incident. Blackwell was found and arrested days later.

Blackwell pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent in December.

Blackwell pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and Section 18 wounding with intent, but was found guilty of the latter offence on April 16.

She has today been sentenced to ten years in prison.

https://youtu.be/0yKA24PZWjE?si=NS2CE-OZDuqZAsKz

Detective Constable Tom Herbert said:

“Louise Blackwell is an incredibly dangerous woman who is fully deserving of being sent to prison.

“The victim was seriously injured and faces a prolonged period of recovery as result of the speed at which Louise Blackwell used her car to hit him.

“In a bid to cover her tracks, Blackwell then told her daughter that she had struck an animal and asked her to assist with cleaning any evidence off the vehicle, before she was eventually forced to come clean.

“A combination of alcohol and rage caused Louise Blackwell to carry out her horrendous actions on that day in October. She will now finally pay for her crimes.”

[Lead image: South Wales Police]

PORT TALBOT: Pupil wins regional prize for spreading vital gas safety messages

Izzy, a pupil at Blaenbaglan Primary School, won the Key Stage 2 regional prize for her poster entry of the ‘Get Creative, Be Safe’ competition scooping two prizes – £150 for herself and £300 for the school to support learning and creative activities.

The Get Creative, Be Safe competition is run nationally by the UK’s Gas Distribution Networks (GDNs). Each year, school‑age children are invited to design a poster, poem, video, model or song that helps warn others of the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning, often called the “silent killer” because it can’t be seen, smelled, or tasted.

Izzy was thrilled when she received the news that she won and said:

“I’m really happy and really enjoyed designing and colouring the poster.

“Carbon monoxide and the dangers of gas should be understood by everyone, and I hope my poster helps people stay safe.”

Mr David Burrows, Headteacher of Blaenbaglan Primary School, said:

“Carbon monoxide is a silent and extremely dangerous gas, and it’s vital that every family understands the risks. Simple steps like checking alarms and servicing appliances can save lives, and we are proud of Izzy for helping to spread this important safety message.”

Paisley Carpenter, Community and Partnerships Officer at Wales & West Utilities, added:

“The standard of entries in this year’s competition was exceptionally high, but Izzy’s design stood out as a very deserving winner. It was not only informative, but also bright, engaging and visually striking.

“On behalf of all the GDNs, I’d like to extend a huge well done to Izzy and hope that many more people are able to benefit from her important gas safety message.

“By taking part in the competition, we aim to encourage more young people to help share vital gas safety messages with their friends, families, and wider communities.”

Carbon monoxide is known as the ‘silent killer’ and symptoms of CO poisoning can be mistaken for food poisoning and the flu, due to their similarities, which can include headaches, tiredness, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, shortness of breath and, in extreme cases, loss of consciousness.

The most significant source of exposure to carbon monoxide for the general public is from cooking or other fuel burning appliances, such as home boilers and log burners. The risks of carbon monoxide poisoning increase if these appliances are poorly installed, faulty or used inappropriately without adequate ventilation and maintenance.

People can stay safe by taking simple actions including:

• Get an audible carbon monoxide alarm in every room with a gas appliance and test it regularly.
• Have all your gas appliances regularly serviced and safety checked every year by a Gas Safe register engineer. If you rent your home, ask for a copy of the landlord’s current Gas Safety Record.
• Know the signs of carbon monoxide: Look out for your gas appliances burning a floppy yellow or orange, not crisp and blue; pilot lights on boilers frequently blowing out; extra condensation inside your window; soot or yellow stains around appliances.
• Know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning: similar to the flu or food poisoning without a high temperature.
• If your alarm sounds, or you suspect carbon monoxide, take action: move outside into fresh air, leaving doors and windows open as you go. Then call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. In a medical emergency, don’t delay, call 999 immediately.

Port Talbot man who preyed on vulnerable girls jailed for rape

45-year-old Michael Allen, from Port Talbot, was convicted in March of four counts of rape against two separate complainants. Both victims were under the age of 18 at the time of Allen’s offending.

A judge at Swansea Crown Court praised the courage of his victims in coming forward and giving evidence at trial, describing them as “impressive young ladies.”

The court heard that both the defendants victims were vulnerable young girls who were experiencing difficulties at home when he raped them.

Allen, of Tanygores Street, Port Talbot, had previously been convicted of two counts of rape of a girl under 13 and two counts of rape of a girl under 16 when he returned to the dock for sentencing.

Judge Catherine Richards said given everything she had heard, Allen was sexually attracted to young girls and poses a serious risk to such girls were he to gain access to them again.

Allen was given a sentence of 24 years in prison and will be registered on the Sex Offenders list for the rest of his life. He has also been made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order to control his access to girls under the age of 16

Detective Constable Penny Romanello said:

“This thorough investigation has shown that Michael Allen is an incredibly dangerous man capable of horrendous sexual crimes against children.

“His two victims have been through a dreadful ordeal at his hands; one which we cannot even begin to understand the damage that he has caused them both physically and mentally.

“We commend them both for their bravery in speaking up about Michael Allen’s crimes.”

If you have been sexually abused, and you are not yet ready to report to police, please don’t suffer in silence. A wealth of information and details of support services can be found here: https://www.south-wales.police.uk/…/rape-sexual…/

[Lead image: South Wales Police]

Roman Villa Uncovered in Wales Signals Major Historical Find

Largest Roman villa ever found in Wales discovered in Margam Country Park. Find out what this means for history and local tourism.

#RomanWales, #MargamPark, #PortTalbot, #Archaeology, #HistoryFind

https://newsletter.tf/largest-roman-villa-in-wales-found-margam/