News & Projects
Catch up with 4theRegion’s activities across all our impact areas, from local food, to procurement, and from community changemakers to business start-ups – in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea & Neath Port Talbot. Simply browse or search our news, events, projects, reports and podcasts!

Swansea’s waterways: New destinations planned
Ambitious plans to open up more Swansea waterways for boat travel took a big step forward today. A report into the possibility of creating new ways to travel from the mouth of the River ...

Work set to start on major Wind Street improvements
Construction work is set to begin next week on making Swansea’s Wind Street a more family-friendly environment. South Wales contractor Griffiths will undertake Swansea Council’s work to ...

Castle Square: Public set to shape its green and welcoming future
A bright new future for a major Swansea focal point is set to move a big step closer next week. Swansea Council’s cabinet is to discuss a smart new concept for the city centre ...

Ministry of Furniture creates eight new jobs despite challenges of COVID
Ministry of Furniture, the company which emerged from Wales’ Remploy Furniture in 2014, has made a significant investment in its workforce creating eight new positions at the firm despite the ...

New aerial photos show Swansea landscape evolving
Eye-catching new images reveal how Swansea's £135m Copr Bay Phase One project is changing the cityscape. The drone photos from main contractor Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd show how ...

Transport in South West Wales: a bold vision for the future
The climate crisis, social inequalities and health issues have created an urgent need to reduce journeys by car. Key stakeholders in transport in South West Wales recently came together ...

NRW flies high to capture 3D Wales
A project, managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) on behalf of the Welsh Government, is taking to the sky to create a high-resolution 3D map of the whole of Wales. Aerial survey company ...

SoNaRR2020 – the path to a sustainable future for Wales
On the 27 January 2021, the official launch day for SoNaRR2020, Chief Executive of Natural Resources Wales, Clare Pillman, shared her thoughts on SoNaRR2020, and the pathway to a sustainable ...

Wasting Food Feeds Climate Change – Food Waste Action Week to break the cycle
Wasting Food Feeds Climate Change, says WRAP, as momentum grows for UK’s first national week of action on wasting food
Food Waste Action Week names strategic partners, including Asda, Co-op, ...

Fantastic images of Cwmafan feature in a new report from the Bevan Foundation
Wales’ most influential and innovative think-tank, the Bevan Foundation, recently ran a competition for budding photographers in Cwmafan. Some of the photographs and images of the ...

More Swansea schools save money by reducing carbon footprint
Two large Swansea schools will see their energy bills reduced after having solar panels fitted in recent weeks. Swansea Council is working in collaboration with Egni Co-op and the Welsh ...

Local firm helps with storage after “amazing” community response
Port Talbot based civil engineering firm Andrew Scott Ltd has been praised for donating a steel storage container in which to house the many items such as clothes, food and blankets which have ...

A Major Communications Campaign for Wellbeing Economy Values
WELLBEING ECONOMY ALLIANCE CYMRU 4theRegion is a founding member of the new Welsh hub for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance - a global network of organisations advancing the idea of ...

Egni Co-op smashes £3m community shares target and extends it to £4m!
Egni Co-op made the announcement as it continues its mission to ‘solarise’ Wales. Egni Co-op is a community organisation which funds and manages PV installations in Wales. Our panels ...

Marine Energy Wales launches its 2020 highlights report to set the scene for the Annual Marine Energy Wales conference this week
Ahead of this year’s Annual Marine Energy Wales Conference 2021, Marine Energy Wales (MEW) has launched its “2020 highlights and reflections report”. The report, a month by month walk through, ...

Main contractor announced for major Wind Street improvements
South Wales contractor Griffiths is to undertake Swansea Council’s work to make the city centre Wind Street a more family-friendly environment. The well respected firm was selected by ...

Developers eager to bring top class public facilities to prime site
Developers want to bring top class new public facilities to an under-used seafront site. Property consultants working on behalf of Swansea Council have had a number of promising ...

Marine Energy Test Area secures Marine License
META, Wales’ national marine test centre, has obtained its Marine License for Phase 2 of the project from Natural Resources Wales (NRW). This marks a significant step forward for the project, ...

The Queens Hall in Narberth have announced a top-quality live music line up for Spring to be enjoyed exclusively from the comfort of your own home
With pubs, clubs and music venues across Wales remaining closed, The Queens Hall in Narberth are spreading a little bit of aural relief across the county for those missing the magic of live ...

New Wellness Centre set for city’s high street
A new state-of-the-art Wellness Centre is coming to Swansea’s High Street thanks to a partnership between Swansea Bay University Health Board and Coastal Housing Group. The project will be ...

Dean’s business helps community fight the Pandemic
Serving his local community throughout the lockdown has been a challenge, but a rewarding one, says Dean Waters. The former chef, who launched Fresh and Fine Foods in Glynneath last March, ...

Llanelli Shared Vision Meeting
This meeting was organised by South West Wales Connected, the new community rail partnership hosted by 4theRegion & Transport for Wales. Our role is then to support, facilitate and and help to ...

New active travel route on way for Neath
Neath Port Talbot Council has appointed a contractor to start work on the creation of a new Active Travel route between Neath and Tonna. The route will take users alongside the towpath from ...

Swansea schools welcome in a solar-powered New Year!
Two more Swansea schools have completed large solar panel installs with Egni Co-op. A 100kW system was fitted on Morriston Comprehensive just before Christmas, and another 100kW has been ...

Self-Employed In Wales Urged Not To Miss The Self-Assessment Tax Deadline – Use Lockdown Time Wisely
Leading Wales-based accountancy and financial planning specialists Bevan Buckland LLP, is reminding self-employed people that they may be able to reduce their first tax return payment to HMRC if ...

Council shortlist paves way for major regeneration schemes
A number of major possible partners have been shortlisted to help power Swansea city centre into a confident post-Covid future. They were attracted by Swansea Council in its worldwide ...

Have your say on re-modelling a key area of Swansea Market
Shoppers and traders are to help shape a bright new look that will revitalise a key area of Swansea Market. They are to have their say on two design concepts for the existing central ...

Bevan Buckland LLP Named As a Top 100 Firm By Industry Bible
Wales-based accountancy and financial planning specialists, Bevan Buckland LLP, has been named as one of the top 100 accountancy businesses in the UK by the industry’s bible. Put ...

50 new construction apprenticeships created in South West Wales
Cyfle Building Skills, a construction shared apprenticeship scheme operating in South West Wales, is delighted to announce that it has recruited 50 new apprentices onto the scheme, despite the ...

Funding boost for research collaboration studying provision of eye care in the community
A new project set up to study the best way to care for patients with long-standing eye conditions in the community has secured a major research grant. Dr Pippa Anderson and Dr Mari Jones, ...

Port submits planning application to prepare site for major £60m marine renewable energy development
A planning application has recently been submitted by the Port of Milford Haven seeking approval for works to begin at Pembroke Port which will create the infrastructure needed to support the ...

Solar-Powered Electric Vehicle Charge Point in Dunvant
Gower Power Solar Storage offers EV charging from Tesla battery on community-owned solar farm A 1MW solar farm at Killan Fach farm in Dunvant now has a fully operational battery, releasing ...

Plans for family-friendly Wind Street take big step forward
Swansea Council’s cabinet has approved an investment of almost £3m to improve the city centre’s Wind Street.
The cabinet met today to discuss the plan to make the venue more accessible to ...

Businesses in Wales May Not Be Brexit Ready After Impact Of COVID-19
With under a month to go until the UK leaves the EU, one of Wales’ leading independent accountancy and financial planning firms is warning that many small to medium-sized businesses in Wales may ...

Cherry tree gift brings new cheer to city parks
Visitors to two Swansea parks are enjoying the spectacular sight of 100 new cherry blossom trees. They are gifts to the city from a project linked with the 2019-20 Japan-UK Seasons of ...

Planning permission granted to bring new life to historic treasure
Planning permission has been granted for the restoration and conversion of Swansea's historic Palace Theatre building.
The plan will see the 132-year-old six-storey structure become home to ...

Affordable housing agreement signed as part of £1bn Swansea regeneration
Swansea Council has signed an agreement with Pobl Group, Wales' largest Registered Social Landlord, to manage 33 affordable apartments as part of Phase One of the Copr Bay regeneration ...

Multi-million pound digital boost to future-proof City Region
A £55 million investment that will help future-proof the Swansea Bay City Region’s digital infrastructure has taken a major step forward.
The Swansea Bay City Deal’s Joint Committee has ...

New outdoor gym to be put in place on Aberavon Seafront
Work starts next week on a new outdoor gym facility at Port Talbot’s Aberavon Seafront. The project will include a range of fitness equipment designed to give users an all-round workout ...

Coastal Communities Adapting Together
The Marine Area Statement team are delighted to work with colleagues in the South West to fund Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum’s engagement work package of the ‘Coastal Communities Adapting ...

ESP’s Day In The Spotlight With Small Biz 100
Earth Science Partnership were delighted to have been selected as one of the Small Business Saturday 100 for 2020. Since then we have taken part in some fantastic Small Biz networking and ...

Microsoft and UWTSD share vision for digital transformation in higher education
A Shared Goals Agreement between Microsoft and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) aims to ensure that the University’s students are equipped with the latest digital ...