Major plans to halve train journey times and build new stations unveiled
Leaders of the partnership gathered in Cardiff on Tuesday to launch the deal, which could cost up to £11bn and be partly funded by central government. If delivered, organisers believe it will add an extra £17bn to the UK economy and could see an extra 248,000 people connected to stations in rural areas including south Wales, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset.
"It [south Wales and the west of England] has not had the critical investment in public transport infrastructure that other areas of the country have seen, particularly in rail," Ms Williams-Gardener said."This Rail Deal is deliverable and proportionate to the extraordinary offer that our economy presents to the UK."Dan Okey from Great Western Railway said they have "worked with partners for several years" on the plans and welcome the "collective ambition for investment". "We know that rail connectivity plays a vital role in supporting our communities and the plans for sustainable economic growth," he said.Improving the rail network could help to shift freight from roads to rail, reducing carbon emissions, the deal's report states.Leaders also hope to "address the gaps in electrification that lead to a high proportion of diesel services being run" across the area.The Western Gateway is made up of local authorities, businesses and universities from across the south west of England and south Wales.A full Report on the deal proposals was published on Tuesday.
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Wales Online
11 hours ago
- Wales Online
Today's rugby news as imminent announcement to spark Welsh rugby's biggest fight yet
Today's rugby news as imminent announcement to spark Welsh rugby's biggest fight yet These are the rugby stories making headlines on Tuesday, August 19. The Welsh Rugby Union is to announce its plan imminently (Image: Getty) These are your rugby headlines on Tuesday, August 19. Fight for survival to begin Welsh rugby will enter its most turbulent stage yet in the next 48 hours as the WRU presents its preferred plan to rip up the game as we know it and cut from four to three or two teams. Ahead of that announcement, which will spark a six-week consultation period with the current professional clubs and the game's main stakeholders, each side has now spoken out to lay down their credentials to survive the cut and fight for a rugby future. On Monday night the Dragons followed the Ospreys and Scarlets in declaring they have no intention of going quietly. Cardiff, of course, are currently owned and run by the WRU after the union's takeover when the club fell into administration earlier this year. The WRU, however, do not see a future model where rugby is not played in the capital city. It's understood senior figures within the WRU want a switch to two teams going forward, one in the east and one in the west. That would require mergers of some sort in the first instance, but there is little sign of any of the teams budging from their staunch positions of protecting their own identities. The Scarlets' new investors have already stated they have no desire to merge with the Ospreys, insisting they should be the team in the west, while the Ospreys are ploughing ahead with plans to redevelop St Helen's and insisting their future will be fruitful financially and on the pitch. In an example of the tension that is set to build over the coming weeks, a Scarlets supporters club and local politicians objected to the Ospreys' St Helen's plans, sparking anger in Swansea. Article continues below The fight for survival is already playing out publicly and the rhetoric is likely to reach new levels, with an independent panel to be formed to decide who goes if no consensus can be reached. There is also the prospect of legal action down the line from whoever fails to make it, with the new season beginning amid tension and inevitable acrimony. Wales star's sympathy for opponents Wales co-captain Kate Williams says she has sympathy with her Scottish counterparts as they endure unsettling contract uncertainty. On the eve of the Rugby World Cup, more than half of the Scotland squad fear being left without a contract come the end of the tournament, reported the BBC earlier this summer. Welsh players know only too well the situation and the upheaval it can bring having gone through something similar last season when the squad were handed ultimatums to sign - or their own place in the World Cup would come under threat. An apology was later issued by the WRU. "I wouldn't wish what we went through on any other team," said back-row forward Williams. "It's really poor timing for them, that they're going through this now. I guess our timing was possibly a bit better." Wales and Scotland are due to lock horns during the competition but Williams added that sympathy will stop when they step onto the pitch in Salford. "We are here to play rugby and we're here to win that Test match," said the Gloucester-Hartpury flanker. "We know how important it is, so it's just going to be who's better on the day." Tuipulotu on a mission By Phil Blanche, PA Wales prop Sisilia Tuipulotu is on a mission to beat her father Sione's achievement of playing at two different World Cups. Tuipulotu senior represented Tonga at the 1999 and 2007 men's World Cups, but spent five years of his career in Wales in the early 2000s at Caerphilly and the Newport-Gwent Dragons. Rugby is in the family blood as Sisilia's brother Kepu played for England at this summer's World Under-20 Championship and her cousin Carwyn plays for French Top-14 side Pau. Other cousins include Wales and British Lions number eight great Taulupe Faletau and England's Vunipola brothers. 'It's really cool to have people doing this before me,' said Tuipulotu, 22, who has recovered from hamstring surgery to make Wales' World Cup opener against Scotland in Salford on Saturday. 'To have that support there from my family really means a lot. I'm grateful to have them. 'My dad set the bar on World Cups, but I want to try and beat what he's done. So we'll see how that goes. 'He doesn't really speak much about his experiences unless we go and ask him. He isn't much of a talker. You've got to try and poke him.' Newport-born Tuipulotu was still a teenager at the previous World Cup three years ago and admits to having had 'a lot of nerves' in New Zealand. She has become a key player in the Wales pack since, but her place at the 2025 edition in England was put at risk by going under the knife at the start of February. 'I'm back in one piece and my hamstring is now the strongest it has ever been,' said Tuipulotu, who returned for the World Cup warm-up summer series in Australia, which Wales drew 1-1. 'I'm a big believer that everything that happens for a reason, but coming back after the operation was tough both physically and mentally. 'I've been telling the physios to get me back out there even though I couldn't run in straight lines. 'I missed my graduation ceremony (after studying psychology at the University of Gloucestershire) but I was able to watch it on Teams in Australia, and I'm very excited to be back out there with the ball in my hands.' After their opener against Scotland, Wales remain at the Salford Community Stadium to take on Pool B favourites Canada on August 30 before playing Fiji in Exeter on September 6. Bristol reveal Rees-Zammit competition Bristol Rugby head of recruitment Gethin Watts says there were teams from Japan, France and other clubs in England vying for Louis Rees-Zammit's signature. The Wales winger put pen to paper on a deal last week to join the Ashton Gate side after bringing an end to his 18-month stint in American football. The former Gloucester man tried valiantly to make his name in the NFL but the 24-year-old decided it was time to return to the sport in which he made his name. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. And Watts, Ospreys, Cardiff and the Welsh Rugby Union, believes the Bears have a "responsibility" to make sure he re-adapts to rugby as smoothly as possible. "He's a very talented player and there were a lot of clubs from Japan, France and England chasing him so we're chuffed he signed," he said. "The way we play the game, and the way he wants to play the game - it's a perfect match. "Physically he's in a good place, but there's a responsibility on us to integrate him back into rugby carefully. Article continues below "We're not going to rush him straight away. We need to assess him. Training is completely different to how we do things over here."
ITV News
a day ago
- ITV News
Guernsey's housing president wants low-rent accommodation to replace 'unfair' subsidies
Guernsey's new housing president wants special low-cost housing developments built for all public sector workers to combat "unfair" housing subsidies. Currently, workers in healthcare and education coming from abroad are given financial support to help with high rental costs. In some cases, that financial support can go up to 4 years. However, Guernsey residents are not entitled to the same such financial support. Deputy Steve Williams, Guernsey's President for Housing, describes that system as "unfair" for islanders. He now wants to replace the housing subsidy with low-rent accommodation for all public sector workers - whether they are from home or abroad. With Guernsey facing a skills gap in the public sector, Deputy Williams hopes this new housing could entice more islanders to fill that shortage. He plans to use land owned by the States to build that low-rent accommodation. It follows concerns that only 26 properties have been built on land bought by the States of Guernsey or the Housing Association since 2020. Deputy Williams explains: "The current system is unfair at the moment, but I don't think that's a controversial thing to say. "If we were able to create key worker housing on States-controlled land, which would also be for local islanders, that could be a solution." Deputy Steve Williams says low-rent key worker housing developments are being rolled out across the island. However, when asked by ITV News what will be defined as 'low-rent', Deputy Williams wasn't able to give any specific figures. There is also the question of how much it will cost to build such accommodation. Last week, ITV News revealed how the States spent £20 million on buying up land, with only two developments on the 13 bought sites having been completed. With the Policy and Resources Committee (P&R) currently looking into the rent review process, it is yet to be seen what the States will decide as the solution to the public sector shortage.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Subsidies fuelling high Guernsey private rents, minister says
Subsidised rent for people moving to Guernsey to work for the States is "distorting" the private letting market, leading to higher rents, the new housing minister Steve Williams said the subsidies - designed to entice key workers such as police officers, teachers and nurses to the island - "do not appear fair" to anyone "looking at it rationally".He told the BBC the current system was "unequal" as existing island residents in the same roles received no financial solution was "not simple", Williams said, but one possibility was creating States-owned "key worker housing" at "reasonable" rents, so subsidies did not go into the "pockets of private landlords". Williams said he also wanted to look at ways to stop "unreasonable increases" in rent from a minority of should be able to increase rent to cover things such as rising "bill and maintenance costs", he said, but only in line with "something close to... normal inflation".Williams said: "We don't want to be draconian... but there are areas where you just feel that some people are being taken advantage of."We can't have people being charged unreasonable amounts of money when they're all struggling and it has a knock-on impact on the whole population, the working population." Williams said emergency housing was "a priority"."We know there's a [hidden homelessness] problem, we know we need to do something about it," he hoped new emergency housing pods could be ready within 12 months, but that it was important to "under-promise and over-deliver".Williams said he also wanted to explore alternative emergency housing options to "increase the supply" in the short term, such as temporary shelters for rough said: "There must be buildings out there [we could use temporarily] to try and alleviate the problem... ideally at a minimal cost."I am about delivery. I'm not here to do this job as pushing paper around and building up some reports that sit on the shelves." Williams said the housing market had become "seized up".He highlighted a 2017 report by KPMG which found there were "enough bedrooms in the island if we could divvy them all up"."There are people who have got spare bedrooms in their property whilst other people are scrabbling around trying to find one," he last States had introduced a £10,000 tax break for people renting out spare rooms to lodgers, he there had been a "slow take-up" on the rent-a-room relief scheme because it "probably [needed] more publicity".He said there was also "the difficulty of people downsizing from larger properties into smaller ones and freeing them up". Knock-on consequences Williams said the States needed to be cautious of "unforeseen" effects of any new he said there were a "whole raft of other benefits" to reducing the "log jam" in the housing said: "People will be inevitably stuck in properties and relationships where they've gone sour, or they're sticking by because there's nowhere else to go and it just heightens all the problems."Having "decent-quality, secure accommodation" would reduce health costs to the island and improve education, Williams said."It's much, much wider than just having a roof over your head".
