As the huge project gets underway, drivers have been advised to use alternative routes in the city

Works are beginning to transform Cardiff’s Callaghan Square as part of the first phase of the Cardiff Crossrail. The scheme is a new tram-train route set to be built between Cardiff Central Railway Station and Cardiff Bay.

The scheme, which work is set to start on Monday, June 15, marks the beginning of an ambitious vision for the project, which, when complete, will deliver a “modern tram system” connecting Plasdwr in the north-west of the city with the proposed new Parkway Railway Station in the east.

It is backed by £100 million in joint funding from the Welsh Government and the UK Government’s levelling up fund, and is a joint project between Cardiff Council and Transport for Wales, with GRAHAM appointed as the principal contractor. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

The first phase of the project will help manage the increase in footfall, transport visitors to and from Cardiff’s 16,500-seat indoor arena, currently under construction, and carry workers, residents and visitors between the bay and the city centre.

What the first phase of the scheme will deliver:

• A new tram-train connection between Cardiff Central Station and Cardiff Bay, via the new Loudoun Square Railway Station, which is currently under construction.
• New tram platforms at Cardiff Central Railway Station and an additional platform at Cardiff Bay Railway Station.
• A new twin-track tramway through Callaghan Square.
• A simpler road layout, making the area safer and easier to use.
• New pedestrian spaces, landscaping and sustainable drainage.
• Fully segregated cycle routes and improved pedestrian crossings.

Travel disruption

Cardiff Council says there will be impacts on the highway network while work takes place.

Although there will be no road closures during the first phase of the enabling works, there will be a reduction in traffic lanes on Callaghan Square while the site is cleared and the contractor begins diverting utilities beneath the carriageway.

Variable message signs on major routes into the city are already providing advance notice to motorists, with additional on-street signage being installed on roads approaching Callaghan Square later this week.

Motorists are advised to consider alternative routes while these works are underway:

• From the north, motorists are advised to use North Road, Boulevard de Nantes and Fitzalan Place.
• From the east, motorists are advised to use Newport Road and Glossop Road.
• From the south and west, motorists are advised to use the A4232 (Link Road) and Central Link.

What’s been said…

Cabinet member for climate change, strategic planning and transport, councillor Dan De’Ath, said: “This is a long-term investment in Cardiff’s public transport infrastructure and will play a key role in supporting major developments across the city, including the redevelopment of Cardiff Central Railway Station, the regeneration of Callaghan Square, the new indoor arena and the Atlantic Wharf redevelopment in Cardiff Bay.

“The vision for Cardiff Crossrail is clearly set out in the city’s 10-year transport vision. This is about building a greener, more sustainable and affordable transport system for the city.

“We would like to thank the public for their patience while we deliver these vital works.

“As the first phase of the Cardiff Crossrail will run through Callaghan Square, the work involved is very complex, as significant work must take place to divert key utilities beneath the carriageway that serve businesses and residents in the city centre and beyond.”

Deputy minister for transport, Mark Hooper said: “I am delighted that work is due to start this month on Cardiff Crossrail.

“I am committed to the delivery of high quality, affordable public transport and thanks to the Welsh Government’s £50m investment, Cardiff Crossrail will improve connectivity in our capital city.”

Chief infrastructure officer from Transport for Wales, Dan Tipper, said: “The start of works on this first phase is an important milestone in delivering improved public transport for Cardiff.

“Working in partnership with Cardiff Council, we’re focused on creating modern, reliable and more sustainable ways for people to travel across the city.

“Crossrail is a key part of our vision for a South Wales Metro that will support Cardiff’s continued growth, improve connectivity and provide greater choice for residents, businesses and visitors.

“We’d like to thank the public for their patience as we begin this essential work.”

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And contracts director at GRAHAM, Andrew Henry, said: “Work starting on site is a crucial moment for the Cardiff Crossrail project, which will fundamentally change how people move around the city.

“Callaghan Square is a busy, working environment, with significant utility diversions required beneath the carriageway before trackwork can begin. Our team has planned this carefully to keep disruption to a minimum, and we would ask road users to follow the signage in place and allow a little extra time for their journeys.

“Cardiff has an exciting few years ahead and we are proud to be delivering infrastructure of this scale in the city. Our team looks forward to handing over a tram-train connection that will serve residents and visitors for generations.”

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This crash reportedly happened on Tonge Moor Road at around 5,30pm on the afternoon of Saturday June 13, with emergency services called to the scene.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing at least two cars appeared to have been damaged in the incident, with police officers, firefighters and paramedics all called to Tonge Moor Road.

An eyewitness said: “It seemed like a crash, two cars were badly damaged and they seemed to be cutting someone out of one of the cars.”

Police were on the scene (Image: Public)

She added: “It happened near Happy House on Tonge Moor Road.”

Images from the scene show a large emergency services presence, with uniformed officers on the streets and vehicles parked around the area.

At least two cars are believed to have been involved (Image: Public)

Tonge Moor Road is one of the major routes through the north east of the town, with the incident believed to have happened between the junctions with Saddle Street and Lichfield Street.

Greater Manchester Police have been approached for comment.

Anyone with any further information or concerns about the incident on Tonge Moor Road or about road safety in their areas can call police on 101.

Members of the public have been advised to always call 999 in the event of an emergency as soon as it is safe to do so.

Coxhoe, a former mining village about five miles south of Durham City, sits just off the A177 near Junction 61 of the A1(M).

It also has a literary claim to fame.

Coxhoe Hall, now demolished, was the birthplace of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who was born there in 1806 and went on to become one of the most celebrated poets of the Victorian era

For all that, plenty of people still stumble over the name.

How do you pronounce it?

Visitors arriving from outside County Durham tend to pronounce it as it looks on the sign: Cox-hoe. Locals wince.

To anyone who has grown up here, it has always been Coxer, rhyming with “boxer”, and that is how you will hear it on Front Street, in the workingmen’s clubs and on the touchline on a Sunday morning.

What’s in a name?

The explanation lies in the village’s history and the way Durham speech has evolved. Coxhoe Village Hall’s history of the area notes that the “hoe” element comes from Old English, meaning a heel or promontory of land, a raised piece of ground.

Over centuries of use in local dialect, that longer ending has been worn down in everyday speech until the “hoe” is little more than an “er” sound at the back of the throat.

Old spellings of the place name back this up. Records show versions such as Cokeshoui in 1235, Coksouw in 1344, Coksow in 1553 and Coxsey as late as 1794.

Each reflects how people were actually saying the name at the time, and none of them suggest anyone was ever carefully pronouncing the “hoe” on the end.

The first part of the name is thought to come from a personal name, probably the person who originally held the land, which makes Coxhoe essentially “Cox’s promontory”.

The developer says she has had to turn away at least 37 families because of a planning condition

A housing development stands virtually deserted despite construction being finished and the properties being marketed for two years. The homes are situated in the small village of Brynteg – near the popular seaside town of Benllech in Anglesey.

They are marketed as “turnkey” properties that come furnished and move-in ready. However, at Parc Delfryn, located adjacent to Storws Wen golf club, just two of the 16 developed homes have found buyers.

The developer attributes this to a planning condition imposed when approval was granted in 2007. This requirement specified that the three-bedroom houses could only be utilised as holiday properties. Make sure you never miss Wales’ biggest updates by getting our daily newsletter.

This restriction had not hindered sales during an earlier 20-property development that was finished in 2022. That initial phase by the same developer was snapped up remarkably quickly, reports North Wales Live.

However, the landscape has shifted in recent years with mounting concerns about insufficient local housing.

This has resulted in limitations being placed on holiday homes, with second properties subject to a council tax premium (presently 100% on Anglesey) unless they qualify as holiday lets that are rented out for a minimum of 182 days annually.

This has dampened demand for second homes on the island. While the measures have been applauded by many, it has proved detrimental for the developer of Parc Delfryn.

With merely two of the 16 homes sold – the developer wishes to pursue a different approach. They are calling on Anglesey council to remove the planning restriction and permit the properties to be marketed as residential dwellings.

A planning agent says the applicant and owner Collette Cartwright has indicated she would be willing to accept conditions limiting sales to individuals with ties to the island.

The properties are currently on the market at £250,000 following several price reductions.

Agent Simon James, from PLanD, said: “A phase one scheme, also built out by the applicant, comprised 20 holiday homes under a separate planning permission, and was commenced in February 2020.

“This was completed by Easter 2022, the dwellings were marketed and were sold very quickly, however, this took place prior to the tax changes brought into place by the Welsh Government to deter the growth in holiday and second homes in favour of primary residential uses, and which, in line with their objectives, have dramatically affected the local property market.”

He added: “To date, the applicant, notwithstanding the extensive efforts expended in seeking to sell the dwellings over two years, has only sold two properties.

“This in particular has occurred at a time when there is both clear government policy pressure to discourage the creation of holiday homes, in preference to full residential dwellings, and demonstrably, a good level of demand for family homes, itself increased by declining delivery of family homes and a likely rise in demand as both interest rates fall and recently announced significant economic investment in the area.

“There are therefore 14, fully completed, modern family homes ready to be occupied, but which, because of the particular occupancy restriction imposed, are unattractive in the market for the consented, restricted use, even though the price has been reduced quite substantially over time.

“At the same time, in the view of the marketing agents, the dwellings would have been very attractive in the general housing market as family dwellings.

“The applicant has turned away at least 37 families who enquired about the potential purchase of the properties as full time family homes, i.e, these were not general searches, but specific enquiries made of the properties.”

Estate agents Dafydd Hardy and Beresford Adams were asked to compile a report on the marketing history of the site.

It concluded: “We have, we believe, demonstrated that a comprehensive, wide-ranging and sustained marketing campaign has been carried out with a very engaged client/owner who has responded to the marketing advice we have given.

“This has yielded very little positive results, and this indicates that the market for second/holiday homes, at the very least in Brynteg, is simply not there at this time.

“The question therefore is, is it right to leave valuable housing stock lying idle when it can be put to a positive and sustainable use, and meet the acknowledged need of local families seeking attractive and long-term family housing.”

The application is currently under review by planning officials at Anglesey Council.

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Bridgerton actor James Bradwell has opened up about taking on the iconic role of Sgt Gavin Troy in the Midsomer Murders stage play alongside Daniel Casey

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Bridgerton star James Bradwell has shared his experience of portraying Sgt Gavin Troy in the stage production of Midsomer Murders.

The actor, known for his portrayal of Lord Basilio in Bridgerton, is appearing alongside Daniel Casey, who originally played Sgt Troy in the ITV series with John Nettles but has since taken on the lead detective role of DCI Tom Barnaby in the theatrical version.

Last year, the duo assumed the principal roles in a stage adaptation of Caroline Graham’s The Killings at Badger’s Drift, which served as the pilot for the ITV programme.

In a recent interview, the actor discussed his experience working with Daniel and whether he experienced any “pressure” in taking on the character of Sgt Troy.

Speaking to Jadar, James shared, “I felt that pressure when I was cast, and I was able to reach out to Dan. Dan has been so generous, and so lovely with his time for me, and being really intent on having our own dynamic that feels like our own detective buddy feeling, in the same way that he had such a longstanding rapport with John Nettles.

“But he was very clear from day one. He said he’s in the same boat since he’s stepping into John Nettles’ shoes, and those are big shoes to fill. And so that pressure was eased because we were both sort of went through that experience together.”

As the present tour draws to a close, it has been announced that Daniel will reprise his role as DCI Tom Barnaby in 2027, though it remains unclear whether James will accompany him in the extended tour.

This second tour will present the same narrative but with a fresh ensemble of performers, reports the Express.

The synopsis reveals: “Emily Simpson is found dead in the picturesque village of Badger’s Drift, her friend Lucy Bellringer refuses to accept it was an accident.

“DCI Tom Barnaby and Sergeant Gavin, Troy are called in to investigate, uncovering a world of hidden passions, long-buried secrets and deadly rivalries.”

The Killings at Badger’s Drift served as the original pilot episode for Midsomer Murders in 1997 and was the opening instalment of the book series by Caroline Graham.

The tour is scheduled to commence in Birmingham on 23 April and conclude in Newcastle on 31 July 2027.

“Since returning to the world of Midsomer last October, it has been such a delight to see the incredible reaction of people around the UK and Ireland to our theatre version of The Killings at Badger’s Drift and, most importantly for me, getting my dear friend John Nettles’ seal of approval after he saw it in Truro,” Daniel shared in a recent interview with the Radio Times.

“So it is wonderful that, after such a successful first tour, we will be touring to even more venues in 2027. Thank you to all those people who have shown such love for the play, and I can’t wait to bring it to a whole new audience in some wonderful new venues in 2027.”

Netherlands squad: Mark Flekken, Robin Roefs, Bart Verbruggen, Nathan Ake, Sven Botman, Denzel Dumfries, Jorrel Hato, Lutsharel Geertruida, Micky van de Ven, Virgil van Dijk, Jan Paul van Hecke, Mats Wieffer, Frenkie de Jong, Marten de Roon, Ryan Gravenberch, Justin Kluivert, Teun Koopmeiners, Tijjani Reijnders, Guus Til, Quinten Timber, Brian Brobbey, Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo, Noa Lang, Donyell Malen, Crysencio Summerville, Wout Weghorst

Graze on the Green, located in Rosedale Abbey near Pickering, currently holds a 4.8-star rating on TripAdvisor.

The café and tearoom sit in the heart of the village, surrounded by the scenery of Rosedale and the North York Moors National Park.

Despite Rosedale Abbey being a small and peaceful village, Graze on the Green has become a popular stop for walkers, cyclists and visitors exploring one of the area’s most scenic valleys.

The café describes itself as serving locally sourced homemade food, with breakfasts, lunches, brunches, drinks and a cake counter that changes daily.

Graze on the Green, located in Rosedale Abbey near Pickering (Image: TRIPADVISOR)

Visitors regularly highlight the cakes as one of the main reasons to visit.

One reviewer described it as a “fantastic tea room”, praising the “gorgeous homemade cakes”, “lovely coffee” and “proper pot of tea with extra hot water”.

Another visitor said they returned the next day after breakfast and took home a Bakewell tart, calling it “the best I have ever had”.

The café’s breakfasts are also frequently mentioned in reviews.

One customer said the full English and vegetarian breakfast was so good they came back again the following day, while another described the breakfast as “awesome”.

Others praise the café’s sandwiches, lunches and generous portions.

A visitor who booked an outdoor table said they were greeted with a “lovely warm welcome” before enjoying cheese and chutney sandwiches served with salad and chips, adding: “I’d recommend this place 100 per cent.”

Another reviewer said the café offered “top class food, cakes and service”, adding that the cake selection remained a highlight with scones, egg custard tart, Bakewell-style bakes, cheesecakes and blondies among the options mentioned.

Graze on the Green has also built up a strong following among walkers exploring the Rosedale area.

One visitor who stopped while hiking described it as a “cosy café” with great coffee, cakes and friendly staff, adding that they would definitely return.

Another praised the atmosphere, saying the building felt peaceful, with plenty of room between tables and a wide choice of food.

Graze on the Green is also noted for offering gluten-free options and accepting card payments, making it a convenient stop for visitors spending the day in the village.

Rosedale Abbey itself is a popular base for walks, with trails leading through a landscape shaped by medieval history, ironstone mining and sweeping moorland views.

Many visitors combine a stop at the café with walks around the village green, the remains of Rosedale’s former priory or routes towards the old railway and mining remains above the valley.

With hundreds of positive reviews and repeated praise for its cakes, breakfasts and friendly atmosphere, Graze on the Green has become one of Rosedale Abbey’s best-loved places to eat.

The case involving the former DUP Leader has now entered its third week at Newry Crown Court

The trial of Jeffrey Donaldson has now entered its third week where the court heard from the former DUP leader.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson faces 18 historical sexual offences, including one count of rape, alongside allegations of indecent assault and gross indecency. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges which involve two alleged victims and span a 23-year period between 1985 and 2008.

His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson was declared medically unfit to stand a standard criminal trial and will instead undergo a “trial of the facts”.

She is facing a trial of the facts on mental health grounds.

Day 10, June 8

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The court heard evidence regarding the police interview that took place following Donaldson’s arrest in March, 2024. He was interviewed for four and a half hours, with three hours of this being played to the jury.

The court has previously heard about an allegation that Donaldson had “perched” over the top of Complainant A when she was a child, using a light to look at her “private parts”.

In his police interview, Donaldson raised the incident, telling detectives he believed he had “startled” the girl.

He said: “It obviously frightened her. She thought that I was shining a light at her.”

“You know, I didn’t have a light. You know, I wasn’t doing anything untoward.”

He added: “She clearly still has a concern about that.” He said “at no stage” had Complainant A ever claimed “I touched her or did anything inappropriate on that occasion”.

Donaldson also said he had “good times and difficult times” in his marriage to Eleanor Donaldson, blaming his work as a politician for this as it was “all-consuming”.

when the circumstances of an allegation of rape were put to the ex-MP by a detective, he responded: “I’m sorry, but I can’t get my head around this notion.”

Donaldson accepted he had apologised to one of the alleged victims at a meeting, but stated that this was because she had felt “uncomfortable”.

He also said he did “not accept the picture that is being painted” during the interviews. When asked if he had put his hands down the pants of Complainant B, he responded “No”.

The detective said: “Has anything remotely like that ever happened before with her?” Donaldson said: “No.”

When the rape allegation was put to him, he responded: “That did not happen. The answer to that is absolutely no.”

He added: “I’m sorry but I can’t get my head around this notion.

READ MORE HERE: Donaldson told police he ‘can’t get head round’ allegations of sexual abuse

Day 11, June 9

The court heard the police interview that Eleanor Donaldson gave following her arrest in March 2024. She told police she was met with a “blank wall” when she repeatedly asked him about an incident where he had been alone in a room with an alleged victim of sexual abuse.

Eleanor Donaldson, 60, from Dublinhill Road, Dromore, Co Down, denies several charges of aiding and abetting her husband’s alleged offending.

She is facing a trial of the facts and is not participating in the proceedings. Donaldson sat in the dock at the back of the court while the recordings were played.

In her first interview with police, Eleanor Donaldson was asked if she was guilty of the offences for which she had been arrested. She replied no.

She then told police about an incident where she had gone to find her husband and he was in a room with Complainant B, who was a teenager at the time.

Eleanor Donaldson said: “I just sort of remember just looking at him and saying what are you doing.”

She said when she asked her husband about it, he said it “was nothing” and that he was “just talking”.

She added: “In the years that came after that I never had any cause for concern ever, I never felt that apart from thinking that that was strange and what was that about and I asked Jeffrey about it and he just dismissed it.

“I never had any other feeling that anything was wrong.”

She said: “I asked Jeffrey many times but he had never given me a reason for why he was there or what he was doing.

“I asked him many times and it never came to anything and he never gave me any answers.”

When asked by the detective, if she had a “clear view” of what had happened, she said: “I could just see that there were both standing there, but that was it.”

The detective asked her if she believed “something more” had been going on.

She said: “Yes, because I was uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable.”

She added: “Every time I did ask I was met with a blank wall, it was not coming out.

READ MORE HERE: Eleanor Donaldson hit ‘blank wall’ asking husband about alleged victim

Day 12, Jun 10,

No court sessions took place in the presence of the jury.

Day 13, June 11

Jeffrey Donaldson was called as a witness in the trial at Newry Crown Court shortly after 10.30am on Thursday.

Wearing a blue suit and red tie, he was sworn in after entering the witness box and confirmed his identity. He told the jury about his career in politics before being asked about the allegations.

Mr Vaughan asked him if he accepted any of the allegations made by Complainant B, the older of the two alleged victims.

Donaldson said: “No.”

The barrister asked the same question about allegations made by Complainant A, and Donaldson again said “no”.

The court has previously heard evidence about a letter Donaldson wrote to Complainant A in June 2020, where he had told of his “regret” over the “hurt, pain and distress I have caused”.

Mr Vaughan asked him if the letter referred to incidents of abuse. Donaldson said “Absolutely not.”

He added: “This is not the reason why this letter was written.”

The barrister turned to the allegations made by Complainant B, who claims she was raped by Donaldson. Donaldson told the court: “It just didn’t happen, I am absolutely crystal clear about that.”

“It is not something I would ever have done, it is just simply not true.”

Asked about another incident where A had claimed he had nodded after she had confronted him about alleged abuse, he said it “did not happen”.

Donaldson told the court of the moment he and his wife had been arrested by police over the allegations in 2024.

He said they had been at home sleeping when police called at six in the morning.

He said: “It was totally unexpected, we just had no idea.”

He added: “It was just a complete shock, we had no idea this was coming.”

Asked by the barrister if he had thought about the allegations subsequently, he said: “Every waking moment.”

Donaldson added: “My head was in a spin, I was thinking ‘what is this about?’

“You do your best to answer questions.”

Donaldson also told the trial that his work as an MP had been “all-encompassing” and his wife had been “devastated” when he had had an affair in 2008.

He said he confessed the affair to Eleanor Donaldson and had “regretted it”.

He said there was another occasion during the Covid-19 pandemic when a bugging device had been placed in his car after his wife had discovered he was exchanging “flirtatious” texts with a woman.

Day 14, June 12

Donaldson claimed in the Friday session that a letter he wrote to his alleged victim did not refer to allegations of sexual abuse but instead he was apologising for other behaviour.

Prosecution barrister Rosemary Walsh KC cross-examined the ex Lagan Valley MP at his historical sexual offences trial at Newry Crown Court.

In the afternoon session Ms Walsh turned to a letter Donaldson wrote to Complainant A in June 2020 in which he expressed “regret” for the “hurt, pain and distress” he had caused.

Donaldson has said the letter did not refer to allegations of sexual abuse but instead he was apologising for other behaviour.

Ms Walsh referred to the phrase “lift a sinner out of the deep pit of sin” within the letter.

She asked: “Are you a deceitful person Mr Donaldson.”

He said: “Not by nature.”

He added: “At its heart Christianity starts from the starting point we are all sinful in nature.

“That is what I was referring to.”

She said: “But we are not all in a deep pit of sin.”

He said: “I am simply explaining to you the basis on which I wrote these words.”

She read another part of the letter which stated: “I know how deep the wounds are caused by my sinful and selfish actions.”

She suggested part of the letter is “about sexually abusing a child”.

He said: “That is not the case.”

Ms Walsh said: “That is what the deep wounds are.”

He said: “That is not the case.”

Donaldson added: “I was not writing to seek forgiveness for sexual abuse.”

READ MORE HERE: Donaldson trial told letter of ‘regret’ not referring to sex abuse claims

The trial continues today.

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