Author: Rhys Gregory

Thanks to support from the 3 Counties Connected Community Rail Partnership, Wrexham General station has become a vibrant canvas, celebrating creativity and showcasing the artistic talents of the local community with the unveiling of the Wrexham General Station Art Project on 29 February, 2024. Under the guidance of local artist Sophia Leadil, participants from the Wallich and Housing Justice, alongside members of the broader Wrexham community, came together to explore the theme of “cynefin” – a sense of place. Through a series of pencil drawings and printing techniques, they have delved into the essence of what makes Wrexham special to…

A grant funding programme is to be created to support arts and creative industries in Powys after the county council secured £675,000 from the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF). Powys County Council’s Arts Service has successfully secured the funding, which is aiming to support arts and culture organisations across the county with the programme aiming to focus on transition and resilience. It is anticipated that the grant programme will encourage partnership and collaborative working between arts organisations. Funding will be awarded for a range of activities such as reviewing business and developing operating models. The service was also awarded a further…

A new initiative to provide essential goods to struggling households has been launched in Swansea. Cwtch Mawr, Wales’s first ‘multibank’, was officially opened this week by First Minister Mark Drakeford and Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister. Multibanks are based on the foodbank model, but provide a wider range of non-perishable goods, enabling businesses to redistribute surplus unsold items to people for free. Cwtch Mawr will be supported by donations from Amazon and other companies, including cleaning wipes, sanitary products, toilet paper, kitchen rolls and toys. New and reusable household goods, food, clothes, toiletries, furnishings, bedding, children and baby goods…

Anne Boden MBE, the founder of Starling Bank, shared invaluable insights on overcoming challenges encountered by female entrepreneurs during an engaging session at Swansea University’s Taliesin Arts Centre on Monday 4 March. The session, titled Founders of the Future, coincided with the release of the UK Government’s Women-Led High-Growth Enterprise Taskforce report and the publication of Ms Boden’s latest book, Female Founders’ Playbook: Insights from the Superwomen Who Have Made It. Since its inception in 2022, the taskforce has been chaired by Ms Boden and is spearheading efforts to address barriers hindering women’s leadership in high-growth ventures and proposing recommendations…

An initiative has been launched to support micro, small or medium-sized businesses in North Wales to realise the benefits of improving their digital and net zero capabilities. The Green Digital Academy run by Busnes@LlandrilloMenai is in its second year and is set to make an even greater impact with funding and support available for up to 175 companies. Having successfully bid for £1.4 million from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, the programme will provide mentoring and support for SMEs to develop a decarbonisation action plan which allows the business to access capital grants. Busnes@LlandrilloMenai is part of Grŵp Llandrillo…

Following a protest by thousands of farmers and staff from associated businesses on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay last week (28 February), the Senedd proceeded to debate and vote down two motions on policies relating to the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) and bovine TB. The Welsh Conservatives motion called on the Welsh Government to scrap the current sustainable farming scheme proposals and to re-engage with the farming sector to develop a new scheme that has the support of the farming community. The second motion on bovine TB, tabled by Plaid Cymru, called on the Welsh Government to…

Scientists have solved the mysterious absence of star-shaped dunes from Earth’s geological history for the first time, dating one back thousands of years. The study by Aberystwyth University, Birkbeck and UCL academics is the first to date how long it took a star dune to form and examine its internal structure. Star dunes are massive sand dunes which owe their name to arms that spread from a central peak. These sand pyramids, which look like stars when viewed from above, are widespread in modern deserts including sand seas in Africa, Arabia, China, and North America. The research reveals the oldest…

South-east Wales housing association Melin Homes is working with social enterprise Celtic Offsite to bring new affordable housing to Llanishen, Chepstow. The Church Road development will consist of eight properties, developed and managed by Melin Homes. Celtic Offsite, a social enterprise within the United Welsh Group, is providing timber frame structures for the new homes, which were manufactured from their factory in Caerphilly. Development contractor M & J Cosgrove Construction Ltd is completing the build of the homes on site. Neil Robins, Managing Director of Celtic Offsite said: “We are committed to bringing more affordable, energy-efficient housing to South Wales,…

Skybound Therapies, a world-renowned behaviour analysis and therapy provider, has opened its newly expanded therapy centre at its headquarters in Wiston near Haverfordwest. Skybound Therapies provides tailored support to help improve the quality of life for individuals with learning, behavioural or emotional difficulties. It was founded in 2012 by Risca Solomon, who first discovered behaviour analysis when looking for ways to support her foster brother Dan, who has autism. Her journey to help raise Dan, which she documented on YouTube, led her to discover Behavioural Analysis. She went on to train as a behaviour analyst, and eventually started Skybound Therapies to…

A social care champion said care homes in Wales felt they were caught up in a nightmare “experiment” when Covid struck in 2020. According to Mary Wimbury, the Covid inquiry had flagged up once again that Wales and the rest of the UK was under prepared to deal with a pandemic. She was speaking after the UK Covid-19 inquiry moved to Cardiff to scrutinise the Welsh government’s handling of the emergency. In the early stages , said Ms Wimbury, protecting the NHS had been treated as the  paramount priority while social care hadn’t been given enough consideration. One of the…