Author: Rhys Gregory

After just falling short of reaching the 2023 World Cup semi-finals, there are positives Warren Gatland’s Wales can take into the 2024 Six Nations. Wales were given little hope of reaching the business end of the World Cup on French soil last year but, after raising a few eyebrows in the major competition, there can be some cautious optimism heading into the Six Nations. Welsh Topped Challenging Pool In a World Cup group that included former champions Australia and a dangerous Fiji side, there were questions on whether Wales would even reach the knockout stages across the Channel. Wales are 45/1 in…

An award-winning butcher, who has competed against the world’s best in his craft, is using the skills learnt during apprenticeships to open a new shop in Farndon, near Chester. Ben Roberts, 32, opens Astley & Stratton Ltd today (Wednesday), replacing the Griffiths Butchers shop which had been based on High Street for 200 years. The previous shop’s retiring manager Jeremy Turner worked there for 46 years. Ben, who lives in Rhostyllen, near Wrexham, is looking forward to bringing customers an exciting blend of traditional and modern, innovative butchery, including oven ready meals. He credits a series of apprenticeships completed with…

THE leading employment and training event in North Wales is back and bigger than ever before. Businesses, skills organisations, educators, charities, and individuals wanting to exhibit at this year’s Conwy Job Expo are urged to do so fast. The free exhibition will again be held at Eirias Events Centre in Colwyn Bay and following the success of last Spring – when up to 500 school and college students were in attendance – it has been opened-up to people of all ages. In partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and supported by Creating Enterprise, Conwy Business Support, and…

Aberystwyth University is part of a new expert consortium established to help the Welsh Government and other UK administrations tackle greenhouse gas emissions from land use and agriculture. The “Land Use for Net Zero” (LUNZ) Hub, co-led led by The James Hutton Institute and the University of Leicester and involving academics from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University, has received £6.25 million of funding from UK Research and Innovation. The new consortium will provide governments of UK nations with timely evidence around land use, from renewable energy to soil carbon and green finance, to…

A new 52,582 sq ft manufacturing unit built by Welsh Government at the Rhyd y Blew site in Ebbw Vale at the heart of the Tech Valleys has now been completed and is available to let. The high-quality detached RYB1 unit comprises manufacturing or production space with two-storey open-plan office accommodation and a dedicated secure service yard and loading area.  It has been built to BREEAM Excellent standards and designed to minimise embodied carbon within its structure. The construction of the new unit is the latest step in a programme to develop the remaining 30 acres available on the Rhyd…

Scientists are aiming to unlock the potential of clover and other legumes to reduce the use of fertiliser and emissions from livestock agriculture, thanks to a £3.3 million UK Government grant. To achieve the government net zero targets by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farming need to fall by 78% by 2035. At the same time, the world’s population is forecast to reach 10 billion people by 2050, with demand for food predicted to rise by 70%. UK sheep and cattle production relies predominately on grass-based pastures which use chemical nitrogen fertiliser to grow the grass used as feed…

A specialist engineering company that keeps the world’s airlines flying will reach new heights thanks to investment from its new American owners, according to one of the firm’s founders. Former production director Steve Noakes, 67, from Trefriw, in the Conwy Valley, was speaking at a presentation ceremony to mark his retirement from Continental Diamond Tool in Kinmel Bay which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Among his leaving gifts was a nickel plated version of the graphite mould for a diamond dresser of the type used to grind the turbine blades of Rolls Royce aero engines, with the signatures…

Two heroine fundraisers are in training to battle the freezing terrain of the Arctic Circle in aid of a children’s cancer charity that’s close to their hearts. Brave adventurers Caroline Platt, from Rossett, and Nerys Price-Jones, from Ruthin, begin their epic glacial challenge on January 31 when they will take off for the sub-zero climate of Finland. The pair signed up for a stamina-sapping expedition walking across 65km of one of the iciest landscapes on earth. The long-time friends work together at family owned firm Platts Agriculture in Llay, near Wrexham, where Caroline is owner/Managing Director and Nerys is the…

A large Welsh IT firm is looking forward to an exciting future in its new home, thanks to a £289k loan from the Development Bank of Wales. Steer IT Solutions provides IT services to businesses across Wales, including networking, cyber security and mobile phone connectivity. The business launched in 2014 as a small, family company run by husband-and-wife team Emily and Stuart Steer, with the team initially working out of a small managed office in Windsor Place, Cardiff. Thanks to the loan from the Development Bank, they have now bought their own venue on the Southpoint Industrial Estate off Clos…

Small business support and coworking experts Town Square Spaces Ltd (TownSq) has capped a whirlwind year with a series of new business support contracts, new spaces, a multi-million-pound partnership, an acquisition and an international deal. In the past twelve months the business has continued to grow its turnover, increased its headcount to 34 and grown its membership to over 1,000. It’s also grown its number of Operated Spaces to nine, with a new space opening in Hereford and two new spaces set to open in Kingston and Royal Tunbridge Wells. The company, which was named the ninth fastest-growing firm in…