Rainbows bring cheer amid chaos As BLM debate sparks statue row
APRIL
As the Uk-wide Covid19 lockdown continued, fundraising and helping front line NHS heroes was at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
Not content with clapping on his doorstep every Thursday night, one Ceredigion pensioner went above and beyond for Hywel Dda Health Board.
Rhythwyn Evans, from Tan-y-graig Farm, Silian, was inspired by war veteran Captain Tom Moore to come up with his own fundraising walk.
Captain Tom raised millions for NHS Charities Together by walking laps of his garden to mark his 100th birthday.
So Rhythwyn chose to walk 91 times around his bungalow to celebrate his 91st birthday.
The grandfather, who uses a walking stick, was aiming to raise £500 but had soon raised thousands – and the money kept pouring in, totalling £51,300.
After the announcement that many construction sites were not deemed ‘essential work,’ a number of building and development sites in Wales stopped working during the first lockdown.
And with an array of big projects scheduled for Carmarthenshire in the near future, we looked at several which were temporarily been put on hold to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Big developments we listed as being likely to be delayed by the pandemic included: Delta Lakes, Llanelli, 105 new homes at Pen y Porth, Burry Port, county cycle routes, new residential development at the former Buckleys Brewery site in Llanelli, Llandeilo Market Hall and up to 900 affordable homes across Carmarthenshire, 400 of those earmarked for Llanelli.
While many saw work restart in later months as
lockdown lifted, the pandemic will undoubtedly slow progress on some, if not all, major construction projects.
MAY
With pubs still closed due to the pandemic, there was fresh hope for beer lovers when a microbrewery in Ammanford launched plans to build a bespoke brewery and distillery next to its current site on skirts.
Zoo Brew put in a planning application for the new facility on a 0.9 hectare parcel of land next to where it brews and distributes from on the Capel Hendre Industrial Estate.
In Carmarthen a pet cat that was missing for two days was found trapped inside a car bonnet – after it had been unwittingly driven around the town.
Dexter the cat, who was eight months old, did not come back in when it was time for bed.
Despite calling his name, there was no sign of him, and so began two anxious days of searching for Dylan Reed and his partner Cara Owen, a task made even more complicated by the Covid-19 lockdown and social distancing guidelines.
Then, at around 4pm on the second day, a breakthrough came in the shape of a distinctive meow.
“I was out to look for him on Tuesday afternoon, and as I was standing in the road a couple of streets away from our house, I was calling his name and shaking this packet of biscuits which are his favourite,” explained Dylan.
“As I was doing heard a meow.
“Dexter has quite a distinctive meow, and when I called his name again I heard that sound again.
“I soon realised that it was coming from a specific part of the street.
“I looked underneath the town’s outthis,
I this one car and I could hear the meow, but I couldn’t see him at all.
“So we went to the front door of the house that the car was parked in front of and knocked on the door.
“When a man answered I said ‘I think our cat is in your car’ and he said ‘there can’t be a cat in it – I’ve driven it!’
In the same month Dyfed-powys Police revealed details of its proposed new policing hub and custody suite to be built in Llanelli.
The site is on land west of Heol Aur in Dafen and is to be an ambitious sustainable construction with solar power installation to minimise its carbon footprint; a rainwater harvesting facility for toilets and non-potable water, along with electric car charging facilities.
Last year, the force’s police and crime commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn approved a decision to pursue the purchase of the Carmarthenshire Councilowned site in Dafen, valued at £150,000, for the purpose of constructing the new policing hub.
Mr Llywelyn said: “This is a major investment which will see an ambitious, modern, sustainable, fit-for-purpose policing hub and custody suite that will meet the needs and expectations of modern policing.”
A planning application seeking permission to construct the project was lodged by the police at the start of December.
JUNE
Castell Howell Foods Ltd, the Carmarthenshirebased food wholesaler, warned of possible job cuts due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The firm, which has its headquarters in Cross Hands and a cash and carry in Carmarthen, confirmed this month that it had entered into a period of consultation with its 700 employees regarding potential job cuts due to the impact of the pandemic on the food and hospitality sector.
The company, which is one of Wales’s largest food firms, said at the time sales were down by 65%, and was unlikely trade will recover fully until well into 2021.
In a statement that month the firm said: “Major events have been cancelled, and it is likely that our core customers such as schools, pubs, restaurants, hotels, cafes and workplace catering will not open to full capacity for several months.”
At the height of the crisis more than 350 of its employees were on the furlough scheme.
At the start of October 52 workers left the company through a combination of voluntary, compulsory redundancies.
In the wake of the death of America George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, there were calls for Carmarthen’s Picton Monument to be torn down.
A petition was launched calling for the removal of a 132-year-old memorial to Sir Thomas Picton.
Several protests took place in the town, as well as gatherings in Llanelli regarding paign.
The 25m tall monument to the Welsh officer of the British Army who fought in the Napoleonic Wars has stood since 1888.
However, the summer saw calls for an end to the celebration of the life of someone who, while lauded by many throughout the last two centuries as a British war hero, has been described as a “racist murderer”.
Later in the summer it was announced the views of the Carmarthenshire public and in particular black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities were be taken on board as a cross-party group started work on tackling racism.
The new task and finish group will, as part of its remit, consider the future status of the Sir Thomas Picton monument in Carmarthen, along with any other monuments or street names associated with slavery.
December saw Carmarthenshire Council decide that, based on the consultation, information boards should be put in place at the monument, to educate and inform the public on local history alongside that of Sir Thomas Picton.
On the roads and despite lockdown still in place, almost 150 people the BLM camwere caught speeding whilst driving into Carmarthen – in just one day.
Thursday, June 4, saw 140 drivers all caught on the A40 towards Carmarthen.
Sergeant Ian Price, a Gosafe casualty reduction lead at Dyfed-powys Police, said it was “an example of drivers not adhering to the limits and showing a complete disregard to people’s safety.
“The problem is clearly prevalent, particularly when you see speeds over 90mph, which are grossly unacceptable and downright dangerous.”
In Llanelli, a children’s play centre announced its plans for a huge new development in town.
The Play King, which has been operating in Dafen since 2011, has revealed its plans to relocate to the old CEM Days car showroom on Sandy Road.
The plan is to occupy the 17,000sq ft area include both indoor and outdoor soft play facilities, a bowling alley, a sports court, indoor and outdoor go-karting, a sensory room and a splash park.
Our review of stories that made the headlines for the remaining six months of the year will continue on Wednesday, December 30.