Author: Rhys Gregory

Ambitious Welsh Premier League football club Pontypridd United have announced a co-ownership investment from dealmaking business GS Verde Group. The investment, which sees GS Verde’s Chief Commercial Officer, David Dulieu, join as Board Director and Ambassador, supports the club’s determination to become a sporting and community force and realise its ambition to achieve qualification to a UEFA European Football competition. Paul Ragan, Chairman of Pontypridd United, said “It’s a true testament of the progress the club has made over the past few seasons; where we are now able to attract the kind of quality we have to the board in…

Swansea Building Society has once again reaffirmed its dedication to supporting local communities in its centenary year with a generous donation of £30,000 to the Swansea-based charity Faith in Families. The donation will contribute to the much-needed repair and renovation of the charity’s vital Community Cwtch, St Teilo’s Church in Portmead. Established in 1999, Faith in Families is a charity with centres in Swansea and Brecon offering a range of services from childcare to lunch clubs. Its three Swansea centres are based in deprived areas of the city and provide support and inspiration to families within the community. The charity’s…

A charity providing home care for vulnerable adults says it’s been forced to hand its contracts back to Wrexham County Borough Council or risk going bust. According to Nick Evans, chief executive of Cymryd Rhan (Taking Part), the “unsustainable fees” paid by the council were so low that they faced an annual loss of more than £100,000 if they had carried on. It would, he said,  have meant Cymryd Rhan being faced with a choice of either effectively subsidising the council for the services they had commissioned or having to run services with insufficient numbers of staff to provide the…

Children should have the chance to learn about the world of work from the age of three onwards, according to Welsh Education Minister Jeremy Miles. The call came at a meeting of Wrexham Business Professionals (WBP) where he said  there was an urgent need to strengthen links between local businesses, schools and colleges. The group is made up of successful businesses and skilled professionals working together to promote regional prosperity and shine a light on the enterprise and expertise that exists in the region.  Mr Miles told the audience it was time to rethink the conveyor belt strategy where all…

A deeply moving poem written by a National Eisteddfod winning bard is the inspiration behind a concert at a top music festival. The poem, Y Gorwel (The Horizon), links in with the theme for the North Wales International Music Festival at St Asaph Cathedral from Friday, September 15 to Saturday, September 30. It was written by John Evans, the grandfather of Aled Lewis Evans, from Wrexham, who is also an acclaimed, award-winning poet. The poem describes an old man gazing out across Cardigan Bay from his home in the Barmouth area of Gwynedd and looking back to his childhood and…

A housing association has given a sneak preview of a planned eco village of nearly 130 low carbon homes. Cartrefi Conwy has for the first time revealed artist’s impressions of the proposed development on the 12-acre plot alongside Towyn Road in Pensarn, near Abergele. The former Inter Leisure site already has planning permission for housing after it was secured by the previous owners. Cartrefi will be embarking on a round of public consultation over the summer and anticipates applying for permission to amend the existing permission in the autumn. If it’s given the go-ahead by Conwy County Borough Council planners,…

Bisley, the Newport-based office furniture designer and manufacturer, is building on recent key client signings with the announcement of two new deals spanning the telecommunications and banking sectors. News of partnerships with BT Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) follow on from the recent news that Bisley is designing bespoke spaces within the Googleplex headquarters in California. Bisley’s work with the BT Group is part of a multi-million pound 4-year framework to deliver on BT’s Better Workplace programme, a major new property infrastructure project to provide new and refurbished offices and workspaces at key hubs across…

St John Ambulance Cymru are working with the Welsh Ambulance Commissioner to provide quicker transportation for mental health patients in Welsh communities. St John Ambulance Cymru’s Taith Dda scheme has been commissioned as a pilot by the Ambulance Commissioner since April 2023. The scheme aims to provide a transport service for those in Mental Health Crisis with the aim of reducing waiting times for conveyance and improving both staff and patient experiences. The Scheme has meant that a reduced number of non-critical patients are having to be transported by the police, the Welsh Ambulance NHS Services Trust and by local…

Police are appealing for witnesses to a disturbance, involving two groups of men, in Greyfriars Road, at around 10.45pm on Saturday, August 12. A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of affray and has been bailed pending further enquiries. Detective Constable Hannah Campbell-Todd, from South Wales Police, said: “Three men were taken to hospital but thankfully their injuries are now described as neither life-changing nor life-threatening. “We would like to thank the members of public and off-duty paramedics who stopped to help those who were injured. “We work hard with partners to keep the Cardiff night-time economy safe and welcoming…

Expressions of interest are being invited for funding aimed at bringing listed historic structures in Swansea back into use. Grants of between £5,000 and £450,000 are being made available for either feasibility studies or projects under the transforming county anchor project being run by Swansea Council and funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Community groups and organisations are eligible for 100% of the costs, with private sector applicants eligible for up to 70%. To be eligible to apply to the fund, the end use of the building must include commercial floorspace. Proposals which are purely…