Author: Rhys Gregory

Pudsey Bear will be visiting St David’s Cardiff next week offering gamers a chance to compete on live television. The Children in Need challenge at the city shopping centre will invite sim racing drivers to set their best lap time on a virtual Silverstone circuit on EA Sports’ F1 23 game, cheered along by the iconic Pudsey Bear. The Children in Need Sim Rig Tour is visiting locations across the UK hunting for the nation’s fastest sim racers and will be at St David’s Cardiff on Monday, October 16, from 9am until 5pm. The fastest 50 drivers will go into…

rincipality Building Society has announced that it will continue its title sponsor of the Cardiff Half Marathon for another year. The sponsorship deal, which was first signed in 2023, will see the event remain as the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon until 2024. The Cardiff Half Marathon, organised by Run4Wales, is one of the largest and most prestigious road races in the UK and Europe and celebrated its 20th anniversary at the latest event. This year’s event attracted record participants with over 27,500 runners signing up, and thousands more lining the streets to cheer on the runners, including a team of…

Families can experience some fang-tastic fun this Halloween half term at The Silver Mountain Experience, a popular family attraction based just outside Aberystwyth. Visitors to the Victorian mine can enjoy a variety of guided tours and surface attractions, as well as enjoying additional Halloween activities, perfect for all the family. Daring adventurers can brave The Black Chasm tour, where Welsh myths and legends come to life in a thrilling actor-led experience. From the gruesome mining conditions to the terrifying legendary beasts that roamed the lands, The Black Chasm is perfect for those over the age of 10, and for those…

Plans have been approved for two flagship housing developments in Oakdale and Risca. Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Planning Committee approved reserved matters applications for both sites, during a meeting on 11th October. Both sites are being developed by the Council’s Caerphilly Homes team, as part of its ambitious development programme.  On 18th October, Caerphilly’s Cabinet will be asked to endorse proposals for the development of the Oakdale and Risca sites, including the signing of a Delivery Agreement with construction expert Willmott Dixon and the formulation of a social value plan. Oakdale will see a flagship mixed tenure development of 92…

A planning application for a windfarm development in north Powys will now be determined by Welsh Government Ministers, it has been announced. Powys County Council has received notification that Welsh Ministers have made the decision to call-in the planning application for the proposed windfarm on land at Esgair Cwmowen near Carno in order to determine the application themselves. The application for the proposed development, which was submitted to the council in 2010, comprises 11 wind turbines (installed capacity of up to 37.95 MW), anemometer mast, substation and control building, site entrance, new and improved access tracks and all associated building…

Cardiff Metropolitan University has become the first university to achieve CIPD People Development Partner (PDP) status. The CIPD recognises organisations that are dedicated to the development of their people professionals through the ongoing alignment of their capability and impact against the CIPD’s criteria, including promoting and investing in professionalism, providing entry points into the people profession, and collaborating with the CIPD to promote and support the people profession. Fewer than 20 organisations across the UK have been awarded People Development Partner status to date. Cardiff Met achieved PDP status by demonstrating its commitment to providing a world-class people function and…

Autumn is here and with October school holidays just around the corner, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding working families to give their childcare budget a treat this Halloween by opening a Tax-Free Childcare account. Parents can use Tax-Free Childcare to help with childcare costs for school holiday clubs, breakfast or after school clubs, childminders or nurseries. It provides working families with up to £2,000 a year per child off their childcare bills for children up to the age of 11, or £4,000 a year up to the age of 16 if their child has a disability. For every…

Radnor Hills celebrates its rich history and raises awareness for breast cancer with a new listing in Tesco stores across the country this week for its award-winning Heartsease Farm brand. The brand, which includes a sparking ginger beer, and a pink raspberry-flavoured lemonade is now on sale in Tesco. Established over 30 years ago, Radnor Hill’s story began with the discovery of a water source in the Watkins family farm. The family-owned drinks company’s Sparkling British Raspberry Lemonade has teamed up for a number of years with the Pink Ribbon Foundation to raise awareness about breast cancer. The Pink Ribbon…

Local resident Melanie Webber Maybank, Hospital Director, has taken over from Rob Thomas, who is now Health Systems Director for Wales and West.  Melanie joined Nuffield Health as Matron nine years ago, after a 25 year career in the NHS. Now leading the healthcare charity’s Cardiff and Vale Hospitals, she is keen to be involved in the community and let people know how healthcare can support people locally. Melanie began her nurse training at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr and then worked at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, University Hospital Llandough in Penarth and at University Hospital of Wales in various nursing,…

ERS, the specialist motor insurer, has unveiled plans to fill 50 job vacancies at its Swansea headquarters over the next few months, as part of a major investment in its biggest office, on the back of rapid growth for the business. The company already employs close to 500 people at its 33,000 sq ft site at Crucible Park, Swansea Vale, which it first moved to in 2015. That move was prompted by the London-based company taking a strategic decision to bolster its Swansea hub, originally set up in 1994, subsequently relocating many skilled roles to Swansea from London. Since then,…