Latest news with #ScottJones
West Australian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Fremantle to host this years only metropolitan WA Day festival at Bathers Beach and the Fishing Boat Harbour
Fremantle will be 'buzzing' on Monday as it becomes the official celebration hub in Perth to mark WA Day. The Port City's free WA Day community event will showcase dragon dancers, unicorn stilt walkers and Latin music among the multicultural melting pot of entertainment that will transform Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour and Bathers Beach into a long-weekend holiday hot spot. Fremantle's turn to play host comes after the State's major celebration in Burswood was pushed to November to avoid seasonal poor winter weather again spoiling the party. 'After two years of weather disruptions, a decision was made to shift the timing of our large-scale Burswood event,' Celebrate WA chairman Scott Jones told PerthNow. 'We expect Fremantle to be buzzing this year as it is the only metro WA Day celebration in 2025. Fremantle's iconic backdrop, combined with the expanded program, makes it the perfect setting for a city-wide celebration of who we are as Western Australians.' The festivities in Fremantle will run from 11am to 6pm on WA Day. Festival goers can expect to see Mews Park and Bathers Beach decorated with flags, lanterns, and lights representative of our favourite holiday destination - Bali. The Bathers Beach boardwalk will play host to a vintage fashion parade and the WA Shipwrecks Museum will be decked out for children, with unicorns and mermaids among the attractions. The traditional crowd-drawing derby between WAFL rivals East Fremantle and South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval will also be a highlight of the public holiday. 'It's a full-day experience designed to engage all ages and backgrounds,' Mr Jones said. 'There really is something for everyone. Expect an atmosphere that's colourful, inclusive, and full of surprises — from interactive workshops and cultural story-telling to music and carnival magic. 'It's a joyful celebration of everything that makes WA unique — our people, our stories, and our incredible diversity.' The large-scale Burswood event has been rescheduled to November 22-23 to avoid weather disruptions which have marred festivities in previous years. 'We're committed to delivering an outstanding celebration later this year,' Mr Jones said. 'When the sun is shining and we can tie in with the buzz of the summer of cricket at Optus Stadium. In the meantime, we invite everyone to enjoy our vibrant festival in Fremantle.' Regional WA Day events are being held in Albany, Geraldton, Carnarvon, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Port Hedland, Newman and Karratha. WA Day was formally established in April 2012 following bipartisan political support in the Western Australian Parliament to make the change from Foundation Day.
Wales Online
23-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Work set to begin on two major projects in Neath Port Talbot
Work set to begin on two major projects in Neath Port Talbot Both projects were approved unanimously by members at a council planning committee last year How Civic Square in Port Talbot could look once completed (Image: Neath Port Talbot Council ) Work on two major regeneration projects in the borough of Neath Port Talbot is set to begin in the coming weeks after approval by the council in 2024. They will see work carried out on a "transformational project" to refurbish Port Talbot's Civic Square and the adjacent Princess Royal Theatre along with the development of a visitor infrastructure scheme in Waterfall Country Pontneddfechan. Both projects were approved unanimously by members at a council planning committee on December 17, 2024, and came after a successful funding application to the UK Government's Levelling Up Fund. In Port Talbot the scheme, worth £15m, will begin on May 26 with work to update and regenerate the area at the heart of the town between the council's civic offices and the Aberafan shopping centre. This will include a range of works such as the extension and refurbishment of the 798-seat Princess Royal Theatre. It will also see the creation of a new frontage for the site alongside landscaping works which will replace existing surfaces with more modern and attractive materials. For the latest Neath Port Talbot news sign up to our newsletter here. As well as the new extended front entrance to the building plans say there will also be a number of internal changes made with a remodelled bar area and auditorium entrance lobby, a restored stage area, internal subdivisions, and new dressing room and toilet facilities. Article continues below Cllr Scott Jones, who is the cabinet member for street-scene in Neath Port Talbot, said the authority would keep people informed on any potential disruptions caused by the works and urged residents to keep a look out for social media posts and other council announcements. The area in Pontneddfechan where the development will take place (Image: Google Maps ) In Pontneddfechan, near Glynneath, a separate project to create new facilities and ease visitor pressures at the popular Waterfall Country will begin with enabling works in June. These plans will include the creation of a new 125-space car park, retail shop, welfare facilities, and tourist accommodation once completed. They were put forward by the local authority to help both residents and tourists in the area, which is known as one of the most popular tourist attractions in the borough with its stunning waterfalls, scenery, and countryside. A council spokesman said: "Waterfall Country is an area of more than a dozen waterfalls between Pontneddfechan and Ystradfellte in the south-western part of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. Article continues below "The area sees an influx of visitors each year which is having a negative impact on the local community in terms of illegal and unsuitable parking and lack of suitable facilities."
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Work to house veterans shows progress
HIGH POINT — Though it looks pretty rough and unfinished at the moment, the city's second tiny house development for veterans is just a few months from being ready for people to move in. Scott Jones, the executive director of Tiny House Community Development, said he hopes the four one-bedroom and two two-bedroom houses on Smith Street north of Green Drive will begin renting in August. 'We're working really hard to get everything dried in,' he said, using the construction term for having all of the exteriors finished so the houses are protected from the weather. As subcontractors then finish the interior work, a crew of 30 volunteers will come to landscape the half-acre development, which in addition to the six houses includes a house built in 1927 that is being renovated into a community center that agencies serving veterans will be able to use for meetings with their clients, he said. Tiny House Community Development also is still trying to raise $400,000 to build two three-bedroom houses on the site that would offer respite care for veterans discharged from hospitals who don't yet have a place to go, Jones said. None of the houses are intended for long-term housing, only to get veterans off the street and working toward a more long-term housing solution, Jones said. The construction of this tiny house community followed a 10-house development completed in 2021 on Hay Street, and a lot more are needed, Jones said — there are currently more than 60 veterans in Guilford County on various agencies' lists of those in need of housing. The Smith Street development took a while to get off the ground after the property for it was donated to Tiny House Community Development in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic was one factor, but a larger one was the condition of the property, Jones said. About 20 truckloads of debris and unsuitable soil was hauled out, more than 60 truckloads of fill dirt was hauled in, and thick pads of concrete were needed under the houses. 'We've gone over budget on this project,' he said. 'We'd get started and then realize we've got to raise more money.' But while Jones was standing amid bare soil with construction debris all around, he vividly described the community he envisions occupying the property within a few months, including children and people of all backgrounds. 'You're taking a half acre and turning it into something diverse,' he said. 'It's going to be cool when all the flags are flying here.'
