Julia Gillard

Australia’s new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, has appointed Julia Gillard as his deputy prime minister who will take the ministerial portfolios of both education and workplace relations in a combined role in a bid to make Australia more competitive by improving educational standards.

Ms Gillard emigrated from Barry at the age of five. She was born in a terraced home in Queen Street on September 29 1961 but now lives in a smart suburb of Victoria Australia.

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The debate is raging at the moment about the approach road to the cemetery and the proposal to build up to 60 houses along it. Is this sacrilidge?

No of course not.

First of all there is a shortage of good housing land available in Barry, there is also a shortfall in social housing stock. The site identified is available because the local authority has closed the former horticultural nurseries which occupied the site.

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I am impressed with the setup at the Barry Business Centre.

Having worked on a freelance basis from home for a number of years I have been looking to expand my business and move into office accommodation. Having read about the Barry Business Centre in the new magazine ‘Vale Life’ I decided to take a look and was very impressed.

It has an efficient reception area with plenty of office accommodation, break-out areas, meeting rooms, catering facilities, an on-site gym and plenty of parking.

I was skeptical at first, having looked at serviced offices in Cardiff which tend to be clinical, small, impersonal and expensive. As it was located in Barry I also assumed that the centre would be a lower standard of office space, how wrong I was.

The Mason brothers have created a great asset for the town and need to be recognised for their vision and entrepreneurship, well done.

I am pleased to see that the old ‘Towers Surgery’ are expanding their services and have moved to the Waterfront to what is now the “Waterfront Surgery”.

As a ‘customer’ of theirs (though I rarely need to visit the doctor) it is very useful being able to park right outside the doors and I am equally encouraged that the new building offers additional room for more services such as in-house ECG testing.

However, many people, particularly the old, immobile and infirm will have great difficulty in getting to the surgery because of its new location. Whilst it was ‘in town’ it was accessible and within walking distance.

It is very difficult to walk to the surgery now.

We need to see the pedestrian footbridge from the end of Thompson Street to the waterfront built as soon as possible. It should have been built when Morrisons first opened its doors. The underpass at Subway Road is much too dangerous a route, especially during the dark winter months for pedestrians to walk to the surgery.