Last year alone, saw over 350 reported accounts of physical or verbal abuse against staff on trains in Wales and whilst this is a small number in terms of the overall passenger journeys, TfW are keen to further reduce this number as any incident should not be tolerated.

Antisocial figures in Wales show an improving trend in comparison with the rest of the UK and TfW has previously committed to providing CCTV at every station across the Wales and Borders network and already introduced additional security staff.

This trial is another step forward in reducing this type of behaviour and is being delivered in partnership with the British Transport Police.

The trial will include four different type of cameras, and after a review period, one company will be selected to supplying 300 across the network.

Ken Skates, Welsh Government Transport and North Wales Minister, said:

“Everyone has the right to work or travel on our network without the fear of abuse or threats. The rail staff there to help us are no different to our family and friends. They are working hard to get us from A to B, often in difficult circumstances.

“We must stamp out anti-social behaviour and do everything we can to support staff to do their jobs and let passengers make their journeys in a safe and pleasant environment.”

Daniel Hopkin, a frequent rail passenger on the Neath to Cardiff line added:

“It’s great that Transport for Wales are fitting their staff with cameras. I regularly travel between Neath and Cardiff on the train and I think that any improvements in safety will benefit customers.

“The railway station can be really hectic and the fact that staff will have body cameras should act as a deterrent to some of the occasional bad behaviour. Transport for Wales seem to be considering different ways to improve things for the customer and I find that encouraging as a passenger.”

Marc Clancy, Transport for Wales Conductor said:

“We have to deal with a range of people daily and most of our customers are grateful and polite. We work extremely hard to give our customers the best possible experience when using our services, however at times staff and passengers do experience occasional antisocial behaviour and abuse.

“The introduction of these cameras should act as a deterrent to antisocial behaviour, support assault prosecutions and boost public confidence in safety.

“They will provide our front-line staff with more confidence when dealing with difficult situations and abusive customers.”

BTP Superintendent Andrew Morgan, said:

“The safety of passengers and our rail industry colleagues is our absolute priority and we do everything we can to protect them.

“We fully support the introduction of body worn cameras for Transport for Wales’ frontline staff – we know from experience that body worn video is a fantastic piece of kit that helps us in securing convictions against those who target staff with unnecessary violence or abuse.

“We hope the introduction will deter anti-social behaviour and provide reassurance to rail staff as well as passengers.
Fortunately, these types of incidents are few and far between, however if anyone has any concerns while travelling, they can text us on 61016.”

“Dyfed-Powys Police is appealing for witnesses to a single vehicle road traffic collision which occurred on an unclassified road eastbound between Afon Dulais and Pantygwyn, Capel Dewi around 3pm on Saturday 8th February 2020.

Sadly the 50-year-old female driver passed away at the scene.

The vehicle involved was a 64 plate Grey Nissan NV200 Acenta.

If anyone has any information on this incident please contact Carmarthenshire serious collision investigation unit on the 101 number quoting reference 185 for the 08th February

THE first look at new plans for a key development site in Llanelli town centre have been revealed.

Carmarthenshire County Council is planning a massive investment in the town centre to transform, regenerate and connect its key retail and leisure areas.

The latest to be unveiled is the plan for Market Street North, where a number of new commercial units are set to be built with high quality apartment living space above.

They would replace the building most recently occupied by Altalia, which unfortunately cannot be redeveloped owing to its poor structural condition.

However, new designs for the development give a nod to the current building’s character, including the replication of its splayed corner.

A traditional brick and block façade is also planned to complement the character of the Exchange Building which stands opposite.

A pre-planning consultation is now underway by Asbri Planning, on behalf of the county council, where members of the public can view the plans and provide feedback before a formal planning application is submitted.

The Market Street North scheme is just one of a series of planned developments across the whole town centre, where millions of pounds are being invested to improve the appearance of the main shopping district and attract more commercial interest and footfall.

The council has already spent £4.5million buying empty shop units from private ownership, renovating and bringing them back in to use at affordable rental levels – all of them currently occupied by independent businesses with tenants in the first and second floor apartments.

A Local Development Order has been put in place to simplify the planning process for potential investors, and property development grants are being offered to owners of town centre buildings to improve the appearance of shop fronts.

More investment is in the pipeline and yet to be announced, but the council has confirmed this will involve further investment in key buildings and development sites across the whole town centre.

Cllr Emlyn Dole, Leader of the council, said: “Very shortly we will be sharing our vision for the whole town centre, where we are investing heavily to improve the town’s appeal and bring more businesses and people in.

“We have already spent significantly to buy several buildings from private owners and have brought them back in to use at rental levels that are achievable for the local market. This has been its own success, but we have even more planned.

“Market Street North is an important element of these plans, and we’ve seized the opportunity of significant grant funding from the Welsh Government to develop this site.

“We know this is a much-loved building that holds a lot of memories for many people in Llanelli, and whilst we cannot use the current building because of its poor structural state we are keen to retain the look and feel of this corner.

“We hope our plans to re-build on this site, providing improved retail and food units with apartments above, will attract new businesses and people to the town.

“We are still disappointed that Altalia is no longer part of our plans for this site because of the owners’ own commitments, but we want to create purpose-built premises that will become home to businesses of equal appeal and quality to bring vibrancy back to this end of town.

“This feeds in to our overall plans for the town which we hope to share in the very near future.”

The pre-planning consultation for Market Street North is now live at www.asbriplanning.co.uk and is also available to view at Llanelli Library until March 4, 2020.