Author: Rhys Gregory

A former shopkeeper has been sent to prison for 12 years after being convicted of child sex offences which happened more than a quarter of a century ago. Nazir Ahmed, 73, employed a teenaged girl as an assistant at his shop in Ely, Cardiff. Ahmed has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Showing incredible bravery, over 25 years later, the female contacted South Wales Police to report that she had been subject to repeated sexual abuse. Ahmed used his position of power as the store manager to prey on a young, vulnerable female for an extended period of time.…

The chief executive of regional tourism organisation MWT Cymru has congratulated Ceredigion County Council for having 14 of its beaches recognised in this year’s Wales Coast Awards. Five of Ceredigion’s most popular beaches will be flying Blue Flags once again in 2023, while a further nine in the county have also made a splash in the awards organised by Keep Wales Tidy.  The Blue Flag beaches are Borth, Aberystwyth South, Llangrannog, Tresaith and Aberporth. The four beaches achieving Seaside Award status are Aberystwyth North, New Quay Harbour, Traeth y Dolau, New Quay and Clarach. Completing the accolades are Green Coast…

People could be living at the former Gwalia housing office under plans by Coastal Housing. For well over a decade, 7-13 The Kingsway was known as Ty Gwalia and was home to one of Wales’ largest housing associations. Now there are plans to redevelop it into apartments for social rent by Coastal Housing, which has acquired the building. Located opposite the Potter’s Wheel pub and next door to the Coppergate student apartment block, 7-13 The Kingsway has stood empty since the housing office closed in 2019, when staff were relocated to Swansea Enterprise Park. The building has previously served as…

The Wrexham Enterprise Hub will close its doors after five years of supporting local businesses on 16th June. The Hub was operated by Town Square Spaces Ltd (TownSq) on behalf of Business Wales through the Welsh Government and the European Union Regional Development Fund. This funding and contract ended on 31 May.   While support for physical hubs does not form part of the Business Wales service going forward, advice and support can be accessed through the service for entrepreneurs and businesses based in Wrexham and across Wales. The Hub on Queens Square was officially opened by Ken Skates in May 2018, and…

The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society (RWAS) has switched to a 100% renewable energy tariff for its electricity supplies. The organisation, which stages the iconic Royal Welsh Show, has signed up with energy supplier EDF in support of the society’s commitment to sustainability. The Renewable for Business scheme uses electricity backed by UK REGOs (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) or European GoOs (Guarantees of Origins), from a blend of sources including hydro, wind, solar, biomass and landfill gas. EDF’s Renewable for Business has been designed to help businesses and commercial organisations with their greenhouse gas reporting. The Carbon Trust has confirmed…

The new Equity Series will run from 2023-2026 and will involve international events across: Hay Queretaro (Mexico); Hay Arequipa (Peru) and Hay Cartagena (Colombia). Between 25 May and 4 June 2023, the British Council has been supporting a programme of events at the world’s leading festival of ideas across literature, Hay Festival. This year, the British Council programme has been centred around the topic of equity, as well as featuring up-and-coming writers from the UK and across the world. The new Equity Series is aimed at supporting and promoting the contributions to cultural life of historically under-represented groups. It will…

Retired teacher Ednyfed Williams was only three when a famous male voice choir was formed in 1933 – 90 years later they’re both still here and still singing. Ednyfed joined Côr Meibion Trelawnyd in 1955 and on Saturday, July 1, he will take his place in the bass section at their 90th Anniversary Concert, alongside tenor and Gio Compario star Wynne Evans at Rhyl’s Pavilion Theatre. As well as celebrating the momentous milestone, the choir is aiming to support Tŷ Gobaith/Hope House with a raffle to raise money for the charity which has hospices in the Conwy Valley and Morda,…

A woodland wonderland created by a former social worker is transforming lives as well as the countryside on the borders of Denbighshire and Flintshire. Outside Lives is the brainchild of Lucy Powell whose team of almost 200 volunteers is repurposing the land around Aberduna Hall, near Maeshafn, into a four and a half acre eco-friendly field of dreams. The project is being helped by two grants totalling almost £60,000 from the £1.3 million Green Communities Fund run by rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd. The Green Communities project is supported by the Welsh Government’s Enabling Natural Resources and Wellbeing (ENRaW) programme…

Local authorities in Wales need to promote the fact that people don’t have to use online technologies to apply for the blue badge parking scheme, and that alternative processes are available.   While older people should request an alternative to an online application process if that is how they prefer to engage with their local authority. Age Cymru is making these calls following research carried out by the charity which found that all local authorities in Wales provide one or more alternatives to online application processes such as face-to-face, postal, telephone, and even home visits in some cases, but some authorities…

Casting has been announced for the Olivier-Award winning production Life of Pi, which visits Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre from 17 – 21 October on its first-ever tour of the UK and Ireland.   The stage adaption stars Divesh Subaskaran in his professional debut as the central role of Pi, alongside an extraordinary life-size puppeteered Bengal Tiger.  Divesh will be joined by Antony Antunes, who performs as Tiger Hind / Cook / Father Martin, Adwitha Arumugam as Pi Alternate, Bhawna Bhawsar as Lulu Chen/Mrs Biology Kumar, Ralph Birtwell as Mamaji/ Admiral Balbir Singh, Kriss Dosanjh as Father.   Sebastian Goffin and Akash Heer…