Major incident declared as flooding triggers rescues across West Wales and Swansea

450 calls in 12 hours

The service said its Joint Fire Control Centre handled more than 450 flooding‑related calls in just 12 hours between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Craig Flannery praised the “dedication and professionalism” of crews and control staff who worked through the night to respond to emergencies.

He said:

“Our crews have been truly exceptional in assisting and protecting our communities. We are extremely grateful to all partner agencies who have assisted in responding to incidents during a prolonged and challenging period.”

Whitland: retirement complex evacuated

One of the most serious incidents unfolded in Whitland, where floodwaters swept into a retirement housing complex in the early hours of Wednesday. Crews from Pembroke Dock, Tenby, Swansea Central, Carmarthen and Whitland stations evacuated 48 residents using rescue sleds and water rescue equipment. All were accounted for and temporarily sheltered at Whitland Town Hall.

Ferryside: homes evacuated with RNLI support

At Ferryside, crews from Ammanford, Tumble and Carmarthen worked with the RNLI after multiple homes were flooded. Residents were led to safety and taken to Ferryside RFC for shelter.

Kidwelly: 34 dogs rescued from sanctuary

At Glanrhyd Dog Sanctuary near Kidwelly, crews from Gorseinon and Cymmer stations rescued 34 dogs after floodwaters engulfed the kennels. The sanctuary’s owner described losing “everything” as bedding, food supplies and equipment were destroyed.

Lampeter: vehicle rescue in fast‑flowing water

In Lampeter, firefighters from Lampeter and Aberystwyth stations carried out a complex rescue after a vehicle became stranded in fast‑flowing water. Using ladders, they reached three people and two dogs trapped inside, bringing them to safety before handing the casualties to ambulance crews.

St Clears: 20 properties affected

In St Clears, crews from Morriston, Swansea Central, Haverfordwest, Narberth and Llandysul responded to flooding that hit around 20 homes and businesses. Approximately 42 people were assisted out of their properties and rescued using sleds.

Swansea: Cwmbwrla roundabout submerged again

In Swansea, heavy rain once again left Cwmbwrla roundabout completely submerged, with cars stranded and nearby businesses forced to evacuate. The Gatehouse pub had to be cleared after water surged up through drains, with the landlady describing it as the second such incident in just six weeks.

Swansea Council has since said a collapsed culvert is behind the repeated flooding at the busy junction, which has caused major disruption to traffic into the city centre.

Support and recovery underway

As the emergency response continued, local councillors Crisial Davies and Lewis Eldred Davies, who represent Ferryside and Kidwelly, confirmed they had been on the ground speaking with residents and liaising with Carmarthenshire County Council and Welsh Water. They said additional sandbags were being delivered to affected areas including Glanmorfa and Glan yr Ystrad, and highlighted the launch of an emergency flood fund offering £500 for households that have been internally flooded, an additional £1,000 for those without insurance, and grants of up to £5,000 for eligible businesses.

Carmarthenshire Council has also opened a rest centre at Carmarthen Leisure Centre to support people displaced by flooding in Whitland, St Clears and surrounding communities. The authority said its crews had been working throughout the night and remained on site in multiple locations across the county, urging residents not to drive through floodwater.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed it continues to work with the Dyfed‑Powys Local Resilience Forum and partner agencies to support ongoing incidents and coordinate what is expected to be a challenging and lengthy recovery effort.

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#Carmarthenshire #CarmarthenshireCouncil #CarmarthenshireCountyCouncil #Environment #Ferryside #flooding #Lampeter #MidAndWestWalesFireAndRescueService #StClears #Whitland

“Greed energy, not green energy”: Carmarthenshire communities fight back against wave of energy park and pylon plans

The people of north Carmarthenshire say they are staring down an unprecedented transformation of their countryside — one that could leave turbines on every hill, pylons in every valley, and centuries of heritage carved up by access roads and quarries.

At a packed meeting in Pumsaint earlier this month, more than a hundred residents crammed into the Coronation Hall to hear what campaigners describe as the “industrialisation” of rural Wales. The gathering, organised by the Carmarthenshire Residents Action Group (CRAiG Sir Gâr), was called to rally opposition to a series of vast energy projects now on the table.

The mood was one of anger and disbelief. Speaker after speaker warned that the county — long branded the “Garden of Wales” — was being turned into what one campaigner called a “Net Zero sacrifice zone.”

A county under siege

The proposals are staggering in scale. In Brechfa Forest, the Welsh Government‑owned company Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru is planning the Glyn Cothi wind farm, with 27 turbines towering above the treeline. To the north, Galileo’s Bryn Cadwgan Energy Park would see 25 turbines straddling the Carmarthenshire–Ceredigion border. Bute Energy’s Nant Ceiment project, just south of Lampeter, adds another 13 turbines to the mix.

Alongside them come two major pylon routes from Green GEN Cymru, designed to carry electricity across the Towy Valley and into the National Grid. Campaigners say the lines will slice through farmland, villages and historic landscapes, including the scheduled Roman fort at Pumsaint and the unique Dolaucothi Roman Gold Mines.

For residents, the cumulative effect is overwhelming. They fear Carmarthenshire is being earmarked as the dumping ground for Wales’ renewable ambitions, with little regard for the communities who will live in the shadow of the infrastructure.

“Ignored by Cardiff”

Havard Hughes, spokesperson for CRAiG Sir Gâr, told the meeting that people felt abandoned by their political representatives.

“Residents are shocked by the sheer scale of these developments,” he said. “Yet they are the utterly predictable result of Welsh Government designating a third of Carmarthenshire as an industrial wind zone in Future Wales 2040. Communities face a decade of disruption as roads are carved through countryside, bridges built for massive machines and quarries blasted out of hillsides. People are looking for support, but so far they feel ignored — both locally and in Cardiff Bay.”

Others went further. One Brechfa resident of more than fifty years said the projects were not about sustainability at all: “This isn’t green energy, it’s greed energy. Gwynfor Evans would be horrified at what this government is doing to its own country.”

Clash of visions

Developers insist the projects are essential if Wales is to meet its climate targets. Bryn Cadwgan’s backers say the scheme could power 115,000 homes and bring investment to one of the most rural parts of Wales. Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru argues its Glyn Cothi project will generate enough electricity for 144,000 households while creating jobs and improving access to Brechfa Forest for walkers and cyclists.

Green GEN Cymru, behind the pylon schemes, says it is investing nearly £1 billion in strengthening Wales’ energy infrastructure. “We will always seek to reduce the visual impact of our projects wherever possible,” a spokesperson said, though they added that fully undergrounding the lines was not economically viable.

Bute Energy, which is developing the Nant Ceiment site, claims its projects could deliver £3 billion of inward investment, create 2,000 jobs and generate a quarter of the energy needed to meet the Welsh Government’s 2035 renewable target.

But campaigners remain unconvinced. They argue that the benefits are being overstated, while the costs — to landscapes, tourism, farming and heritage — will be borne locally.

A fight for the county’s future

The language from CRAiG Sir Gâr has grown sharper in recent months. In July, the group warned that Carmarthenshire was being “concreted over” and that the removal of the county’s 18 Special Landscape Areas had left communities defenceless. “Before future generations ask ‘how grey was my valley,’” Hughes said, “there needs to be a moratorium on piecemeal renewables development.”

The group insists it is not opposed to renewable energy, but to what it sees as a chaotic, developer‑led rush that risks destroying the very qualities that make Carmarthenshire special.

For now, the immediate focus is on the Bryn Cadwgan consultation, which closes on 1 October. But campaigners are clear that this is just the start of a much bigger battle.

As one resident put it in Pumsaint: “We should be leaving the planet in a better state for future generations. Instead, we’re being asked to sacrifice our countryside so that foreign companies can profit. That’s not a future we’re willing to accept.”

#Brechfa #BrynCadwgan #BrynCadwganEnergyPark #ButeEnergy #Carmarthenshire #CRAiGSirGâr #DolaucothiRomanGoldMines #featured #GlynCothiWindFarm #GreenGENCymru #Lampeter #NantCeiment #NationalGrid #Pumsaint #pylons #windFarm

New evening buses added to Aberystwyth – Carmarthen route as TfW boosts rural connections

The changes, which come into effect from 20 July, include:

• T1 service: New evening departures from Carmarthen at 6pm and 8pm, and from Aberystwyth at 7:35pm and 10:35pm
• T1X express service: A new Sunday-only departure from Aberystwyth at 8:35pm

The updated timetable is designed to better align with Sunday rail services at Carmarthen, offering smoother connections for longer-distance journeys across west Wales. The T1 route serves a mix of rural communities and tourist destinations including Lampeter, Llanybydder, Pencader and Aberaeron, while the T1X offers a faster, limited-stop service between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen.

From 31 August, passengers will also be able to purchase a new Aberystwyth–Aberaeron Day Ticket, allowing unlimited travel on both the T1 and T5 routes.

Lee Robinson, Executive Director for Regional Transport and Integration at TfW, said the changes reflect community feedback and a commitment to improving access:

“Whether you’re travelling for work, study, or leisure, these changes make it easier to get where you need to go — especially in the evenings and on weekends.”

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Context: wider reforms ahead

The announcement comes as Wales prepares for major changes to its bus network, with the Welsh Government planning to introduce bus franchising from 2027, starting in South West Wales. Under the new model, decisions about routes, timetables, fares and service standards will be made by the public sector, with operators bidding to run services under contract.

The aim is to create a simpler, more reliable and better-integrated network, with coordinated timetables and ticketing across bus and rail. Read more about the proposed franchising reforms.

Rail link campaign

Efforts to reopen the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth railway line have been ongoing for over a decade, led by campaign group Traws Link Cymru, which argues that restoring the route would significantly improve connectivity across west Wales.

The line, closed in 1965 during the Beeching cuts, is seen by supporters as a strategic corridor that could stimulate economic growth, tourism, and regional cohesion.

A feasibility study commissioned by the Welsh Government in 2018 found that 97% of the original trackbed remains unobstructed, suggesting that reopening is technically viable.

However, with estimated costs now exceeding £800 million, and recent statements from officials suggesting the project may be decades away from realisation, campaigners continue to press for political commitment and funding to bring the line back into use

#Aberaeron #Aberystwyth #Bus #Lampeter #Llanybydder #Pencader #T1 #T1X #T5 #Transport #TransportForWales

Sad news. I spent my childhood near Lampeter and the University campus was sych a bit part of the community.

#lampeter_college #Lampeter
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78x4l9lk43o