GREEN STEEL DELAY: ‘No formal change’ to furnace timetable — as row breaks out over who knew what

A political row has broken out in the Senedd over who knew what — and when — about the delay to Port Talbot‘s £1.25bn electric arc furnace.

News that the furnace could be delayed by up to eight months because of a hold-up to its National Grid power connection emerged on 7 June — days after a major fire at the steelworks’ Cold Mill.

Welsh Conservative shadow minister for economy, energy and planning Janet Finch-Saunders MS raised the issue during an emergency statement in the Senedd on Wednesday following the fire — saying that while attention had focused on the blaze, concerns about delays to the furnace may have been known for weeks.

It was reported on 7 June that Tata Steel had discussed potential delays linked to National Grid connectivity issues with “investors” during a conference call around a month earlier.

Ms Finch-Saunders is seeking clarity on whether those “investors” included the UK Government — which is putting £500m towards the £1.25bn project.

“If UK Government Ministers were aware of the issue a month ago, were Welsh Government Ministers informed? If Welsh Government were not informed, why not? If Welsh Government were informed, why did the Economy Minister tell the Senedd today that he only became aware of the delay on Monday?” she said.

“We now need a clear timeline setting out exactly when concerns first emerged and who was told. Port Talbot workers and their families deserve answers.”

The Welsh Conservatives are also seeking clarification on whether any of the £80m transition fund established by the previous UK Conservative government — to support workers at risk of losing their jobs — remains available if the delays create further financial problems for affected workers.

But First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth defended his government’s handling of the situation — telling the Senedd that Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy Adam Price had spoken directly with Tata Steel UK’s chief executive the previous day.

“My government is determined to do all that we can to support investment at TATA,” he said. “My minister for enterprise, connectivity and energy did speak yesterday with Tata Steel UK’s Chief Executive Officer in order to discuss the way ahead in terms of the electricity connection.

“Many of the powers of course are in the hands of the UK Government, but we will do everything in our powers as a Welsh Government to facilitate progress towards the delivery of that investment. That is why my minister acted so quickly.”

The First Minister also took aim at opposition parties’ records on steel: “The contribution made last year by Reform was to say that they wanted to bring back a defunct blast furnace to secure the future of Port Talbot, while my party put plans on the table that could have retained, we believe, virgin steel making in Port Talbot.”

Meanwhile, Aberafan Maesteg MP Stephen Kinnock — whose constituency includes the steelworks — said he had met Tata for a briefing on the implications of the fire, and revealed the company is looking at reviving its mothballed cold mill at Llanwern to maintain supply to customers.

“They have acted at speed to limit disruption and are looking at options to maintain supply to their customers, including by reviving the previously mothballed cold mill in Llanwern,” he said in a statement issued on 10 June. “Tata are working with the unions to look at the deployment / re-deployment of personnel working across both the Pickle Line and Cold Mill at Port Talbot.”

On the furnace delay, Mr Kinnock said: “I also received an update on reports of potential delays to the EAF project. There is no formal change in the timetable at this stage and National Grid, UK Government and Tata Steel are continuing to work together to deliver the project in a timely fashion.”

He also thanked firefighters “for their efforts in bringing the blaze under control and the professionalism of Tata’s workforce”, saying the response meant there were “thankfully no injuries”.

The electric arc furnace is the centrepiece of Tata’s transition at Port Talbot following the closure of the works’ blast furnaces, and the connection delay has already prompted cross-party calls for answers from Tata and National Grid — with former Aberavon MS David Rees among those calling for National Grid to face penalties over the hold-up.

The Welsh Government’s response to the delay — and the Conservatives’ demand for a timeline — comes with the steelworks still recovering from the Cold Mill fire, which burned for two days earlier this month and caused part of the building to collapse.

Answers to the questions of who knew about the delay, and when, are now awaited from both governments.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

GREEN STEEL: Port Talbot’s £1.25bn furnace could be delayed by up to eight months over power hold-up
How the delay first emerged.

GREEN STEEL DELAY: Cross-party calls for answers over Port Talbot furnace setback as politicians press Tata and National Grid
The political reaction to the setback.

PORT TALBOT: Steelworks fire burns into a second day as part of the building collapses — with union warning over jobs
The fire at the works earlier this month.

NATWEST: Llanelli and Port Talbot branches to close in September

NatWest is to close its branches in Llanelli and Port Talbot in September, stripping two more banks from high streets that have already lost a string of household names.

The Port Talbot branch will shut on 8 September, with Llanelli following the next day on 9 September.

They are among nine closures announced by NatWest Group on Friday across Scotland, England and Wales — and the only two in Wales, both falling squarely within the Swansea Bay News patch.

Where customers will have to go

For Llanelli customers, the nearest remaining NatWest branch will be in Swansea city centre, on Oxford Street — a 12.57-mile trip, according to the bank’s own closure guide. The next closest is Carmarthen, at 17.77 miles.

Port Talbot customers face the same Swansea branch as their nearest option, 10.10 miles away, followed by Bridgend at 15.57 miles.

Customers are being directed to nearby Post Offices for everyday cash banking — in Llanelli, the branches on Ann Street, Church Street and at Llanelli Docks, and in Port Talbot, the branches on Station Road, Taibach and Morrison Road.

The bank says it will hold a face-to-face event in each branch before closure and run a temporary community pop-up nearby for up to 12 weeks afterwards, staffed by a local colleague but offering no cash services.

Why the bank says it is closing them

NatWest points to a sharp fall in counter use to justify the closures. Personal counter transactions at the Llanelli branch dropped by 66% between January 2020 and January 2026, with Port Talbot down 53% over the same period.

The bank says 220 personal customers and 108 business customers used the Llanelli branch at least 12 times in the year to January 2026. In Port Talbot, the figures were 245 personal and 84 business customers.

It also says 77% of personal customers at both branches were already using its app or online banking over the same year.

Solange Chamberlain, the bank’s chief executive of retail banking, framed the announcement as a turning point rather than a retreat.

“This is an important moment for our customers and the communities we serve,” she said.

She said the bank was investing to give customers “a seamless mix of ways to bank with us, including over the phone, digitally, or via our free to use ATM network,” while still supporting those who prefer to be served in person.

Chamberlain added that NatWest understood the impact the changes would have, saying the bank would “engage personally with all those affected by today’s closure announcement.”

The latest blow to Llanelli town centre

For Llanelli, the loss lands on a town centre that has been shedding banks for some time. Lloyds shut its Stepney Street branch last year, leaving the Halifax on Cowell Street as the only Lloyds Banking Group outpost in the town — and that brand is itself being wound down nationally.

Its shops have been thinning out too, with Llanelli among the south-west Wales towns where Shoe Zone is weighing further store closures. Hospitality has taken heavy blows, with the much-loved Sandpiper pub caught up in Whitbread’s national cull and two well-known restaurants closing on the same day earlier this year.

The town is also bracing for the loss of two of its most prominent structures, with the council moving to demolish both the indoor market and the Murray Street multi-storey car park over safety concerns.

Empty units have brought their own problems, with police last year uncovering a cannabis farm inside a disused town-centre shop.

The town centre’s troubles have also sharpened a long-running debate over the drug and alcohol support unit, which some councillors want moved out to Trostre — a proposal others argue would simply shift the problem rather than solve it.

Signs of a fightback

It is not all retreat. Llanelli was recently handed a £20m regeneration lifeline aimed at its most deprived communities, while artists have set out a vision for a new museum and creative quarter in the heart of the town.

A steel town under strain

In Port Talbot, the closure adds to a far heavier blow. The town is still absorbing the loss of thousands of steel jobs as Tata Steel presses ahead with its £1.25bn transformation of the works towards greener production.

The shift followed the closure of the town’s blast furnaces, ending more than a century of traditional steelmaking and reshaping the local economy that the high street depends on.

The town has also seen what becomes of a bank once the shutters come down, with a Victorian former bank standing empty since Barclays left in 2021 now lined up for conversion into 13 homes.

No more closures until 2029, says NatWest

The latest closures come despite NatWest using the same announcement to pledge no further branch closures across its NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank brands until at least 2029.

The group says it will invest £50 million in its remaining network over 2026 and 2027, modernising branches and expanding its mobile service, and will ask the cash network LINK to carry out an independent access-to-cash assessment for each closing branch.

Once the latest closures are complete, NatWest Group will be left with 336 branches across the UK — a far cry from the high streets it, and its rivals, once anchored.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

HALIFAX: After 173 years, one of Britain’s most famous bank names is being killed off
What the end of the Halifax brand means for branches in Swansea, Neath and Llanelli.

LLANELLI: Town faces twin loss as council moves to demolish market and multi-storey car park
Two of the town centre’s most prominent structures are lined up for demolition over safety concerns.

PORT TALBOT: Tata Steel sets out demands for next Welsh Government
Thousands of steelworkers live with the consequences of the company’s £1.25bn transformation.

LLANELLI: Town handed £20m lifeline as decade-long regeneration drive begins
A major regeneration push targets the town’s most deprived communities.

Can Sabotage be ruled out?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy826zjxdgvo

#PortTalbot #UK #Sabotage

PORT TALBOT: Steelworks fire burns into a second day as part of the building collapses — with union warning over jobs

The huge fire at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot works was still burning on Thursday, more than a day after it broke out — and crews are now battling a blaze that has buried itself beneath a collapsed building.

Part of the structure has caved in, making it far harder for firefighters to reach the flames, the Rapid Relief Team said after supporting crews at the scene.

A spokesman for the charity, which has been feeding responders throughout, said part of the building had “collapsed in” and that “a lot of machinery has fallen on top trapping the fire underneath.”

Live update from RRT Swansea who are still on scene supporting responders in Port Talbot at the Tata Steel incident.#rrtcares pic.twitter.com/OcRYDaV85W

The fire broke out at one of the site’s processing lines at around 8pm on Wednesday. All staff were accounted for and evacuated safely, as more than 100 firefighters were thrown at the blaze through the night — crews drawn from 16 stations across south and west Wales, with reinforcements from South Wales and Avon.

By Thursday afternoon the picture had hardened from “ongoing” to something more serious, with confirmation of significant damage and a fire that was proving stubborn to put out.

The union Unite said the blaze had caused “substantial damage to a vital production line” — and moved quickly to put jobs at the centre of the story.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham thanked the emergency services for bringing the situation under control so quickly, and said no one had been hurt and workers had been evacuated safely.

But she warned: “Measures must now be put in place to protect jobs both at Tata and down the supply chain during any period of disruption.”

She added that the union was asking Tata and the government to ensure that operations were “rebuilt as swiftly as possible.”

Unite Wales secretary Peter Hughes said the union was committed to working with the company to secure the long-term future of Port Talbot and the wider Tata operation in the UK.

The jobs warning lands in a town already on edge. Tata closed its two blast furnaces in 2024 with thousands of job losses, and is in the middle of a £1.25bn transformation of the site — switching to a greener electric arc furnace, with steel processing continuing in the meantime. A fire on one of those remaining lines is the last thing the workforce needed.

There was at least some reassurance for residents. Welsh Government monitoring showed air pollution in Port Talbot classed as low on Thursday, though officials note the effects of a fire can be localised — and South Wales Police’s advice for nearby residents to keep windows and doors shut still stands.

It was a punishing shift for the crews. The Rapid Relief Team said it served around 150 hot meals through the night and a further 70 on Thursday morning to keep responders going, with firefighters, ambulance HART medics and high-volume pump crews all rotating through its support tent.

Among the stations that sent crews through the night was Ammanford’s Station 57, which said its firefighters had worked alongside colleagues “from across the Service” and thanked partners on site for their cooperation.

The works is no stranger to those crews. In January, firefighters scaled a 32-metre tower at the steelworks in a dramatic multi-agency rescue drill — an exercise designed partly to test Tata’s emergency protocols in a live industrial setting. Months later, the same teams were back fighting the real thing.

It is the second major fire to grip Port Talbot in barely five weeks. At the end of April, a huge blaze involving around 200 tonnes of commercial waste sent black smoke billowing over the town from an industrial site on Dock Road.

Tata Steel has stressed the fire was not connected to the controlled demolition of an empty, redundant gas holder carried out at the site earlier on Wednesday evening, which it called safe and successful.

The cause has not been established, and the company has said it cannot yet assess the full damage.

This is a developing story and we will bring you more as we get it. Anyone affected by smoke is advised to keep windows and doors closed.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Over 100 firefighters from across Wales and the West of England tackle massive fire at Port Talbot steelworks
Our first report on the blaze, as crews from 16 stations battled through the night.

Fire crews scale 32-metre tower in dramatic rescue drill at Tata Steel Port Talbot
The January training exercise that saw crews rehearse a height rescue at the same site.

Tata Steel sets out demands for next Welsh Government amid £1.25bn transformation
The jobs and investment backdrop to the switch to electric arc furnace steelmaking.

Huge industrial fire sends black smoke billowing over Port Talbot as eight fire stations scramble to Dock Road
The 200-tonne waste blaze that gripped the town just five weeks earlier.

Over 100 firefighters from across Wales and the West of England tackle massive fire at Port Talbot steelworks

A huge fire tore through Tata Steel’s Port Talbot works on Wednesday night, throwing thick black smoke across the town and lighting the night sky a furious orange.

Flames ripped through one of the site’s processing lines from around 8pm, sending a vast plume over the M4 and sparking one of the biggest fire responses the area has seen this year.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service was called at 8.06pm — and the scale of the response tells its own story.

Appliances were sent from 16 of its stations: Port Talbot, Neath, Morriston, Glynneath, Cymmer, Swansea West, Swansea Central, Pontarddulais, Llanelli, Carmarthen, Ammanford, Gorseinon, Pontyates, Kidwelly, Haverfordwest and Milford Haven.

With each appliance crewed by four or five firefighters, several stations sending more than one engine, and command units on top, that points to well over 80 Mid and West Wales firefighters tackling the blaze at its peak — before reinforcements from two other services are even counted.

Some came from the far end of the patch. Milford Haven’s crew faced a journey of more than 70 miles to reach it.

And that was just one fire service. On top of its own crews, Mid and West Wales called in colleagues from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, and from Avon Fire and Rescue Service — based over the Prince of Wales Bridge in and around Bristol, also more than 70 miles away.

Tata Steel said the fire broke out at one of the site’s processing lines and that all staff were accounted for and evacuated safely.

Photographs released by the fire service showed flames glowing through the cladding of one of the vast sheds, with firefighters training hoses on the building as smoke rolled overhead.

Kellie Evans, who drove past as the blaze took hold, told the BBC the scene was “very apocalyptic,” saying the sky was so black she couldn’t see the flames — and that drivers were pulling over to look.

South Wales Police told residents to keep their windows and doors shut and urged people to stay away. Large plumes of smoke were visible across the area, the force said, and drivers were asked to find alternative routes.

It was a brutal night for the crews. The Rapid Relief Team, which feeds the emergency services at major incidents, said around 100 responders faced an “incredibly demanding and hazardous” shift.

The charity said eight fire appliances, two foam units, two high-reach turntable platforms and a high-volume pump were thrown at the fire, and that its volunteers turned out 125 hot meals through the night to keep crews going.

By Thursday morning the worst was over. Heavy overnight rain helped beat the flames back, leaving only small wisps of smoke drifting from the rolling mill end of the plant.

Traffic on the M4, slowed by the smoke overnight, was flowing freely again, and from the outside the works looked much as normal — though crews remained busy inside.

Tata Steel moved quickly to head off speculation about the cause, stressing the fire was not connected to the controlled demolition of an empty, redundant gas holder carried out at the site earlier that evening, which it called safe and successful.

That demolition is part of a sweeping clear-out of the old works. In January, Tata released footage from deep inside the plant showing the scale of the demolition and reconstruction now under way as it clears redundant structures to make way for its new electric arc furnace.

The cause of the fire has not been established, and the company said it could not yet assess the damage.

In a statement, Tata thanked its site teams and the emergency services for their “prompt and professional action,” and said further updates would follow.

It is the second major fire to grip Port Talbot in barely five weeks. At the end of April, a huge blaze involving around 200 tonnes of commercial waste sent black smoke billowing over the town from an industrial site on Dock Road, tying up eight fire stations for days.

The Port Talbot works is one of the largest steel sites in the world and the region’s biggest industrial employer. Tata closed its two blast furnaces in 2024 with thousands of job losses, and is in the middle of a £1.25bn transformation of the site — switching from coal-fired blast furnaces to a greener electric arc furnace that will melt scrap steel.

The transition has meant huge upheaval in and around the works, from the demolition now reshaping the site to a major expansion of the local electricity network needed to power the new furnace. Steel processing — turning imported slabs into finished products — has continued throughout in the absence of the furnaces.

This is a developing story and we will bring you more as we get it. Anyone affected by smoke is advised to keep windows and doors closed.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Huge industrial fire sends black smoke billowing over Port Talbot as eight fire stations scramble to Dock Road
The 200-tonne waste blaze that gripped the town just five weeks earlier.

Inside the giant Port Talbot steelworks overhaul as Tata clears the way for new Electric Arc Furnace
Footage from deep inside the plant reveals the scale of demolition and rebuilding under way.

Tata Steel sets out demands for next Welsh Government amid £1.25bn transformation
The jobs and investment backdrop to the switch to electric arc furnace steelmaking.

‘Green power’ boost for Port Talbot as council green-lights major substation expansion
The electricity network upgrade needed to power the new furnace.

RETAIL: Shoe Zone is closing stores across the UK — here’s what it means for shops in Llanelli, Neath, Swansea, Carmarthen and Port Talbot

The bad news

Shoe Zone is in trouble. The chain has just reported a £5.3 million loss — nearly double what it lost this time last year. It closed 14 stores in the past six months alone and is now shutting half its warehouse.

The company blames the war in Iran for pushing up shipping costs, and two government budgets for making shoppers too nervous to spend. Even its online sales — usually its bright spot — fell 6% in the latest figures. It had hoped to make a £1 million profit this year. It now thinks it’ll lose between £1 million and £2 million.

Why some stores are more at risk than others

Shoe Zone has been quietly carrying out a plan for years. The company is shutting its smaller, traditional high street shops and replacing them with bigger stores in retail parks that sell branded shoes like Skechers alongside its own cheap range.

By last September, it had already converted 201 of its stores to the bigger format. Only 68 of the old-style smaller shops remained — down from 112 the year before. The company wants to finish the job by the end of 2027.

The pattern is clear from what’s already happened across south-west Wales. In 2019, Shoe Zone opened a big new store at Cross Hands Retail Park — and six months later, the Ammanford town centre branch on Quay Street closed for good.

In 2023, it relocated from its smaller traditional Union Street store in Swansea city centre to the much larger former Next unit on Oxford Street. Six months later, the Morriston branch closed permanently.

Maesteg lost its Shoe Zone in 2020 and Haverfordwest followed in 2021 — both were traditional town centre shops and neither appears on the company’s store locator any more.

The stores in south-west Wales — starting with the safest

Safe: Cross Hands Retail Park
Opened in 2019 as Shoe Zone’s first out-of-town store in Wales, Cross Hands is the chain’s regional anchor for west Wales — open until 7pm on weekdays and stocking a wide range of branded footwear. This is precisely the model the company is investing in. It’s about as safe as it gets.

Safe: Swansea, Oxford Street
When Shoe Zone moved from its smaller Union Street store into the old Next unit on Oxford Street in 2023, it was a statement of intent. Large, modern and well-stocked, this is one of the company’s own concept stores — the kind of unit it wants more of, not fewer.

Reasonably safe: Port Talbot, Aberafan Centre
Inside the Aberafan Shopping Centre, this is a covered unit which is generally more stable than a standalone high street branch. Port Talbot faces its own economic headwinds following the steel industry’s decline, but the shopping centre location provides some protection.

Reasonably safe: Carmarthen, Merlin’s Walk
Opened in October 2024, the Carmarthen store is one of the newest Shoe Zone branches in Wales. It sits along Merlin’s Walk — an open pedestrianised street linking the town centre with Friars Park car park — rather than in a covered shopping centre. A store this new is unlikely to close soon, but its open high street setting means it faces the same footfall pressures as any other town centre shop.

Worth watching: Neath, Green Street
Neath’s store was refurbished and reopened in September 2023 as a modernised unit with a bigger range of brands. The recent investment suggests Shoe Zone sees a future here — but it’s still a traditional town centre store on an open high street, and those are exactly the ones the company has been closing elsewhere.

Most at risk: Llanelli, Stepney Street
Llanelli’s Shoe Zone is a long-established traditional high street shop — exactly the type the company has been systematically shutting. No closure has been announced. But with Cross Hands Retail Park already drawing shoppers from across west Wales, Llanelli faces the same question Ammanford did in 2019: does a traditional town centre branch still make sense when there’s a bigger, better-stocked store just up the road? Of all the south-west Wales stores, this one fits the at-risk profile most closely.

What happens next

Shoe Zone is fighting on multiple fronts — rising costs, falling sales, a shrinking store network and mounting losses. The company says it is still investing in its future, including launching a TikTok shop to drive online sales. But the high street has already claimed Wilko, Debenhams and countless others that once seemed like fixtures, and with losses mounting and the 2027 transformation deadline approaching, the clock is ticking for its remaining traditional stores.

South-west Wales has already seen this story play out before. TGJones — the chain that took over from WHSmith — is facing its own crisis, with seven local branches at risk and a High Court hearing on its future expected in late June.

More on the high street in south-west Wales

TGJones: Bailiff threat and tax debts cast fresh doubt over south-west Wales stores
Seven local TGJones branches are at risk as the chain battles mounting debts and a High Court hearing looms.

Seven south-west Wales TGJones stores at risk as chain announces 150 closures
The full list of at-risk branches across the region.

Four local restaurants face closure as Whitbread axes up to 3,800 jobs
Another national chain making cuts that hit south-west Wales directly.

Swansea flagship M&S store confirms closure date
The high street story that sparked months of debate about Swansea city centre.

PORT TALBOT: The Victorian bank that’s stood empty since Barclays left — now someone wants to turn it into 13 homes

Walk past the old Barclays on Station Road and you’ll see one of the best-looking buildings in Port Talbot — ornate stonework, an arched entrance, sash windows, the lot. It’s been locked and gathering dust for more than three years.

A developer called LIFE Property Group wants to change that. They’ve applied to Neath Port Talbot Council for permission to convert the building into 13 affordable one-bedroom flats.

Local MP Stephen Kinnock shared the plans on Facebook this week and urged residents to have their say before a decision is made.

The building dates back to the 1800s and is officially recognised by the council as a Building of Local Importance. The plan is to leave the famous stone front completely untouched — all 13 flats would go into a new three-storey block at the back, while the ground floor offices at the front would stay in commercial use.

We first covered the proposals when they were floated for pre-application consultation last September.

Barclays shut its Port Talbot branch in 2021 as part of a national wave of closures, and it wasn’t the only one — HSBC pulled out of the town around the same time. The empty buildings they left behind have become a familiar sight on Station Road.

But according to the planning documents submitted with the application, Station Road has quietly been changing for years. The former police station up the road has already become a block of modern flats, and a series of other properties along the street have been converted since 2010.

The developer’s planning consultants argue this shows the council is open to sensitive modernisation of the area — and that bringing the old bank back into use fits that pattern.

Just half a mile away, work has started on a 43-home development on the former Dyffryn School site, and older flats in the area have had major eco refurbishments. After years of closures and empty shopfronts, there are at least signs of life.

The site sits in a flood risk zone, so a separate flood risk report has been submitted alongside the planning application. According to the documents, the flats would be built slightly above ground level as a precaution.

The plans also include solar panels on the new roof, cycle storage and wildlife boxes for bats and birds.

No housing association has been named to manage the flats yet, though the developer says talks are under way with several potential partners. All 13 units would be classed as affordable housing — well above the 25% the council typically asks for from new developments, according to planning policy documents.

The development would include just two parking spaces at the rear — so residents would be relying heavily on public transport. Port Talbot Parkway station is a short walk away, with direct trains to Swansea, Cardiff and London.

If you want to have your say, search application number P2026/0067 on the Neath Port Talbot planning portal, or email [email protected].

More on Port Talbot

Former Port Talbot bank could be turned into 13 affordable flats under new plans
Our September 2025 report on the pre-application consultation for the same building.

Barclays confirms closure of bank branches in Gorseinon and Port Talbot
When the branch that started all this first announced it was shutting.

HSBC to shut Port Talbot and Tenby bank branches in latest round of closures
Another branch gone — the story of Port Talbot’s high street bank exodus.

Work to start on 43-home development at former Port Talbot school
Half a mile from Station Road, another former building gets a new life.

Eco makeover gives flats a new lease of life
How older Port Talbot homes are being brought up to date.

PORT TALBOT: Driver critically injured after four-vehicle collision on Margam Road

South Wales Police are appealing for information after a serious four-vehicle collision on Margam Road left a driver with critical injuries.

The collision occurred at around 12.22pm on Wednesday 6 May, between Groswen Park and the junction with Rhanallt Street in Port Talbot.

The driver of a red Vauxhall sustained serious injuries and remains in hospital in a condition described as critical but stable.

The driver of a Citroen Picasso was also involved and sustained less serious injuries which required hospital treatment. The two remaining vehicles involved are understood to have been stationary or parked at the time of the collision.

Eyewitnesses described a significant emergency response at the scene, including two fire engines, two ambulances and the Wales Air Ambulance.

Roads policing officers are appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision, or who saw the manner of driving of the vehicles involved beforehand, to come forward.

Motorists and residents in the area are also urged to check dashcam and doorbell footage for anything that may assist the investigation.

Anyone with information should contact South Wales Police quoting reference 2600140685, either online at south-wales.police.uk or by calling 101.

PORT TALBOT: Cocaine dealer joins brother in prison after Boxing Day crash left him ‘covered in cocaine’ at the wheel of his car

A Port Talbot drug dealer found “covered in cocaine” at the wheel of a crashed car on Boxing Day has been jailed for five years.

Ryan Tucker, 27, of Gwyn Terrace, Port Talbot, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis.

The five-year sentence means he now joins his older brother Nathan Tucker behind bars – both convicted of running their own cocaine dealing operations from the family home in Port Talbot, both supplied from Merseyside.

The court heard that on Boxing Day 2025, officers received reports of a crashed and damaged VW Golf in Port Talbot.

When they arrived, they found Ryan Tucker at the wheel – covered in cocaine.

A search of the car uncovered almost 40g of cocaine and almost 100g of cannabis.

Tucker was taken to hospital and subsequently placed in a medically induced coma for a period.

His phone was later seized, and officers found multiple Snapchat conversations between Tucker and others about the buying and selling of cocaine and cannabis.

The Boxing Day crash was not Tucker’s first encounter with police that year.

Months earlier, in August 2024, officers had searched the Tucker family home on Gwyn Terrace after spotting what they believed to be a drugs exchange on the street outside.

That search led to the arrest of Tucker’s brother Nathan, with officers finding a machete behind the sofa, tubs of benzocaine – a common cutting agent – and a one-kilo block of compressed cocaine that had been sent special delivery from Liverpool the day before.

Nathan Tucker was later sentenced to six years and eight months for being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

Ryan Tucker was arrested at the same address weeks later, with police seizing his phone and £3,125 in cash. He refused to give officers his PIN – but they got into the device anyway, finding messages about cocaine and amphetamine deals stretching back twelve months.

In some of the messages, Tucker referred to selling cocaine on behalf of “Scousers” and to owing the Merseysiders money.

He answered “no comment” to all questions asked and was released under investigation – only to be arrested again four months later after the Boxing Day crash.

Tucker has 23 previous convictions for 56 offences, including violence, driving matters and possession of cannabis.

Caitlin Brazel, for Tucker, told the court he now appreciated the enormity of what he had done. She said he had a “rather unstable upbringing” and that the loss of a brother in 2020 had sent his life on a “downward spiral” of nightmares, addiction and mental health issues.

Sentencing him, Judge Geraint Walters said Tucker had been distributing drugs for a Liverpool gang “in a not insignificant way” – and that after being arrested and released under investigation, he had simply returned to dealing.

The judge told him that as he approached his 30th year, he needed to decide whether he was going to continue being “a nuisance” or try to turn his life around.

Detective Inspector Richard George of South Wales Police said Tucker had a long list of prior offences. “He failed to learn his lesson from any of them and is now heading for a long spell in prison,” he said.

George said the case should serve as a warning. “Cocaine and the Class A drug trade cause untold harm to the lives of so many in our communities – both the users and their families, friends and neighbours. We will relentlessly pursue anyone involved in this trade and bring them to justice,” he said.

The Tucker brothers’ Liverpool connection reflects a wider pattern of cocaine being supplied into south-west Wales from Merseyside. Six men from south Wales were previously jailed for mass cocaine supply, while a Swansea man was convicted as part of a transatlantic yacht cocaine plot – both demonstrating the scale of the trade reaching south-west Wales.

Tucker will serve up to half his five-year sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.

Our coverage of cocaine and county lines in south-west Wales

‘Scouse Ryan’ drug gang sentenced to over 10 years for driving drugs between Liverpool and Swansea
The county lines case that revealed the scale of Merseyside cocaine networks operating in south-west Wales.

Six men from south Wales jailed for mass cocaine supply
A wider conspiracy that brought significant prison sentences for those involved in commercial cocaine distribution.

Swansea man linked to transatlantic yacht cocaine plot as crime group jailed
One of the most striking recent cases of cocaine being smuggled into south Wales – by sea.

Six jailed for bringing large quantities of cocaine and cannabis into Pembrokeshire
The west Wales chapter of the same wider story – county lines reaching into Pembrokeshire.

SWANSEA: Three arrested in dawn raids targeting organised crime network
South Wales Police’s most recent operation targeting organised crime in Swansea.

PORT TALBOT: Tata Steel sets out demands for next Welsh Government — as thousands of steelworkers live with the consequences of its £1.25bn transformation

Tata Steel has set out what it wants from whoever forms the next Welsh Government – publishing a list of demands on the eve of the Senedd election that could shape the future of one of Wales’s most important industries.

But the backdrop to those demands is stark.

The company’s £1.25 billion transformation of Port Talbot – backed by £500 million from the UK Government – has already led to thousands of job losses to date – a transformation that is still ongoing.

Both of Port Talbot’s blast furnaces were closed as part of the transition, with workers facing significant redundancies and, at one point, the threat of catastrophic Christmas pay cuts as Tata restructured its operations.

Production at both Port Talbot and the Trostre plant in Llanelli was also halted over the Christmas period amid weak demand – a move that added to anxiety among workers and communities already reeling from the scale of the changes.

EU steel tariffs have added further pressure, sparking fears for jobs at both Port Talbot and Llanelli.

The new Electric Arc Furnace at Port Talbot – the centrepiece of Tata’s investment – is due to come online in late 2027.

The company says it will cut the site’s carbon emissions by 90% and secure long-term steelmaking in Wales.

But questions remain about the long-term job picture – with EAF steelmaking requiring significantly fewer workers than the blast furnace operations it replaces.

Of the 10 to 11 million tonnes of scrap steel generated annually in the UK, approximately 80% is currently exported. Tata Steel says redirecting some of that domestic scrap toward the new EAF at Port Talbot will reduce reliance on imported coal and iron ore and strengthen economic resilience.

Against that backdrop, Tata Steel has published a five-point manifesto setting out what it needs from the next Welsh Government to make the transformation a success.

On skills, the company is calling for a full audit of the workforce needs across Wales’s steel and advanced manufacturing supply chain – warning that Wales already faces shortages in engineering roles that will intensify as major decarbonisation projects come online.

On research and innovation, Tata Steel already works with Swansea University, the University of Warwick and the University of Cambridge, and has committed £20 million to two new Centres of Innovation. But it says R&D funding levels in Wales are significantly below those available in comparable countries and is calling for better pilot facilities and less bureaucracy.

On energy costs, Tata Steel argues that high energy prices remain one of the biggest competitive disadvantages facing UK steel manufacturers compared to European rivals, and is calling on the Welsh Government to support a more favourable energy cost environment for energy-intensive industries.

On public procurement, Tata is asking the next Welsh Government to use its buying power to support domestic steel – pointing out that the UK steel sector now supplies only one third of the country’s overall demand.

The company also points to UK Government data estimating that 7.7 million tonnes of steel will be required for major public infrastructure projects over the next decade – an opportunity it says Welsh steel is well placed to serve, if the right conditions are in place.

The UK’s offshore wind pipeline alone could require up to 25 million tonnes of steel by 2050, representing a potential value of £21 billion to the UK steel market over the coming decades.

Rajesh Nair, CEO of Tata Steel UK, said the company was ready to invest if the policy conditions were right. “A stronger Britain depends on a strong British industrial base and Wales can be at the heart of that,” he said.

Tata’s transformation has been politically contentious throughout the Senedd election campaign, with parties divided on whether the UK Government’s £500 million support package was sufficient and what further backing Welsh steel communities deserve.

The company’s full manifesto – Creating a Secure Future for Welsh Steel – is available at tatasteeluk.com.

Polls open across Wales at 7am on Thursday and close at 10pm. The count and results are expected on Friday.

Our Tata Steel coverage

Steel plan sparks cautious hope — but big questions remain for Welsh jobs
Our report on the long-term employment picture as the EAF transition gets underway.

Government vows to ‘do whatever it takes’ — but critics warn over end of traditional steelmaking
The political reaction to the £1.25bn deal and what it means for Port Talbot.

Steelworkers face ‘catastrophic’ Christmas pay cuts as Tata plans extended shutdown
The human cost of the transition for workers and families.

EU’s 50% steel tariffs spark fears for Tata jobs in Port Talbot and Llanelli
How international trade pressures are adding to the pressure on Welsh steel.

Port Talbot steel gets new role in green energy future
Research into wind turbine towers made with local steel — the opportunity ahead.