News

Industrial action: No trains between London, Bristol and South Wales on Sunday

Published

6 months ago

November 29, 2023

THE Great Western Railway is warning travellers that there will be no trains between London Paddington and Bristol, South Wales and Exeter/Plymouth this coming Sunday 3 December because of industrial action by drivers’ union Aslef.

As a result, fewer drivers are available to work and this particularly affects longer-distance services on Sunday. Some parts of the GWR network will have no service at all, including no long-distance trains out of London Paddington.

Customers are advised to travel before the weekend or after Sunday. Where GWR can run services, a very limited service will run, they will run less frequently, and are likely to be extremely busy.

Trains will also start later and finish earlier, and customers are advised to check the time of last trains. Bus replacement services are not able to be operated.

Customers travelling from the West towards Bath for the Bath Christmas Market or the crunch Premiership Rugby match between Bath and Exeter Chiefs are warned that services will be extremely busy, and there will be significant queues to board trains home. You are advised to use alternative transport to these events and we would suggest you visit Bath on another day as both Saturday and Sunday will be extremely disrupted by this industrial action.

To help customers, tickets for strike days are valid for travel on alternative days on GWR services, as per below:

Tickets for Saturday 2 December to Friday 8 December can be used the day before or up to and including Tuesday 12 December.
Other train operators are also affected by this action, so onward travel will also be affected. A limited service on Sunday will run only on the following routes between:

London Paddington towards Didcot
Oxford and Worcestershire
London branch lines
Reading and Basingstoke
Reading and Newbury/Bedwyn
Westbury and Swindon
Cheltenham/Gloucester and Swindon
Cardiff and Portsmouth
Cardiff and Exeter St Davids via Weston-Super-Mare
Bristol and Gloucester/Cheltenham/Worcester
Bristol and Westbury/Weymouth
Plymouth and Penzance
Plymouth and Exeter
Devon and Cornwall branch lines.

Customers are advised to travel before the weekend or after Sunday. If you intend to travel where trains are running, please check before you travel as they will be busy and are likely to be disrupted.

Due to planned engineering work the Night Riviera Sleeper service is cancelled, and Guildford to Gatwick services are cancelled (buses replace trains between Reading and Guildford).

Customers are advised that South Western Railway services between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids will be subject to major disruption and diversions. This is due to industrial action and major engineering work between Salisbury and Yeovil Junction. Services are likely to be extremely busy.

The Aslef union announced strike action that will affect GWR and CrossCountry rail services on Thursday 7 December.

In addition, the union announced action short of a strike from Friday 1 to Saturday 9 December which is likely to cause some short-notice alterations and cancellations, especially at weekends or late at night.

A rolling programme of strike action by the union affecting other rail operators is also due to take place between these dates.

On 7 December, a reduced and revised timetable will operate across several train operators, including GWR. Many parts of the GWR network will have no service at all and trains that are running will only be operating for a limited period during the day.

On the days after strikes, services could also be affected by a limited number of short-notice cancellations and alterations.

Customers who purchased tickets but do not travel can claim a full refund or amend their ticket. Those who travel and are delayed may be entitled to  Delay Repay compensation if they are delayed by 15 minutes or more.

Season-ticket holders can apply for compensation through the Delay Repay scheme. Our Refund policy remains in place. If you hold a return ticket, you can claim a refund of your unused full fare, even if only one leg of your journey is affected.

News

Council works to reduce empty properties in Carmarthenshire

Published

6 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Tom Sinclair

CARMARTHENSHIRE County Council is reducing the number of empty properties within the county through the introduction of the Empty Properties Framework.

Combining enforcement, the implementation of council tax premiums on empty properties and providing support to help owners bring empty properties back into use, the Empty Properties Framework aims to:

• Reduce the number of long-term empty homes across the county

• Increase the supply of affordable housing to meet demand

• Tackle issues relating to property nuisance, blight and the impact on communities

The following case study is an example of how Carmarthenshire County Council is supporting communities and owners to bring empty properties back into use.

An empty property was reported to the Council with loose rendering falling onto a neighbouring driveway and refuse/waste material in the garden. Investigations revealed that the property had been recorded as empty for seven years and was privately owned by a limited company.

The property was visited by the Council’s Empty Homes Officers and scored as high risk (Category A), requiring enforcement. The owners responded positively to the notice served and assisted with the Council’s formal inspection of the property, during which various category 1 (the most serious) hazards were identified.

As a result, statutory notices were served on the property. These notices provided varying timeframes for work to be carried out. In the event of non-compliance, the Council may choose to undertake works, recovering all costs from the owner.

The owner complied with the work which posed an imminent risk and then sold the property at public auction. The Improvement Notices remained with the property when sold. Upon purchase, the new owners immediately began work to improve the property and this is progressing well.

Cllr Linda Evans, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Homes said: “The introduction of the Empty Homes Framework aims to be bold in bringing about the improvement and occupation of empty homes, increasing the supply and use of housing to all.

Carmarthenshire County Council is committed to reducing the number of empty properties in the county, with various methods of support in place to assist owners of these properties to bring them back into use including financial assistance, subject to eligibility.”

From 1st April 2024, council tax premiums were also introduced on properties empty for more than 12 months to encourage owners to reflect on whether they could make better use of their property.

For more information on the support available to owners of empty properties visit the Council’s website – Carmarthenshire.gov.wales/housing

News

Free disability sports event heads to Pembroke Leisure Centre

Published

6 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKE Leisure Centre will play host to a free disability sports and physical event later this month with lots of sports and activities to try.

The insport series, in partnership with Disability Sport Wales, Sport Pembrokeshire and Pembrokeshire Leisure is an inclusive sport and physical activity event.

It offers opportunities for disabled young people (ages 5 years+) and adults across Pembrokeshire and friends and family are welcome.

On offer to try are: boxing, boccia, swimming (on a separate first come first serve booking basis), football, wheelchair rugby, target shooting, adaptive bikes, cricket, golf, multisport, and more.

The event takes place Pembroke Leisure Centre, on Wednesday May 29^th between 10am-2pm.

Booking for the event and swim places is required.

For more information please contact: Jess West from Sport Pembrokeshire byemail [email protected] or by calling 07795305871.

News

Police attended Mount Estate following reports of man’s death

Published

6 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Tom Sinclair

EMERGENCY SERVICES were called to the Mount Estate in Milford Haven on Friday (May 10) following reports that a man had sadly died.

Police remained at the property whilst investigations were carried out.

A spokesperson for Dyfed-Powys Police told The Herald on Thursday: “We received a report of a sudden death of a man, at a property in The Mount, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire shortly before 9am Friday.

“Officers attended, and sadly confirmed the man had died at the property.