Author: Rhys Gregory

Cardiff is called The City of Arcades because of its network of beautiful Edwardian and Victorian arcades – and now a new food tour is lifting the lid on their vibrant food scene. From delicatessens and makers of traditional Welshcakes through to wine bars and Indian street food, the tour uncovers all the arcades’ most delicious secrets, with a chance to meet and chat with the people behind these ventures while enjoying lots of food, drink and anecdotes along the way. Cardiff’s new City of Arcades food tour runs on alternate Fridays and Saturdays. During the school holidays it will…

The average house price in Wales has dipped to £242,076 in the second quarter of 2023, down 1.2% since last quarter. This is the second consecutive quarterly fall in 2023 and demonstrates a decline of more than £3,000 since March. The figures have been released from Principality Building Society’s Wales House Price Index for Q2 2023 (April-June), which reports the rise and fall in house prices in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales. Compared to the same period the previous year, the annual price rise is now under 1%, the largest slowdown in annual house price growth for…

Talented youngsters from two North Wales counties banged the drum for music at a gala concert. North Music Cooperative, which runs two sister organisations in Denbighshire and Wrexham, staged the show at the prestigious William Aston Hall on the Wrexham Glyndwr University campus in Mold Road. The hall was packed with family, friends and music lovers who were treated to a programme of bands, ensembles and soloists playing music ranging from classical pieces by favourite composers to pop songs and a roof-raising performance by a Samba band. The group, from Victoria CP School, Wrexham was only established this term as…

Young people from a Llandudno special school have enjoyed a day of cricket, lovely cricket at the town’s famous Oval. The ground which has played host to touring teams from the West Indies and New Zealand as well as to Glamorgan welcomed 60 pupils from the town’s Ysgol Y Gogarth special school for their own Cricket Festival. They enjoyed over four hours of cricketing activities under the skilled eyes of volunteers from Llandudno Cricket Club’s men’s and women’s teams as well as from Cricket Wales with barbecue catering provided by club sponsors Harlech Foodservice. Harlech Development Chef Stephen Griffiths was…

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is awarding £5.5 million to organisations within the voluntary and community sector to support customers who may need extra help with their tax affairs. HMRC is inviting eligible organisations to bid for the funding, worth £1.8m a year from 2024 until 2027, through HMRC’s Voluntary and Community Sector Grant Funding programme. Bids can be submitted between 24 July and 21 August 2023 with successful organisations being announced in October ready for the new funding to start from 1 April 2024. This is the 12th round of funding HMRC is awarding as part of its commitment to…

Bellway Wales has started construction work on phase two of a housing development in Lisvane, near Cardiff. The housebuilder is delivering a total of 270 new homes at Longwood Grange, off Maerdy Lane in the village. The developer is building 64 new homes in the first phase with 36 of the 49 private homes for sale now completed and the keys handed over to their new owners. All 15 affordable homes available for local people through low-cost rent or to purchase at a discount to market value have also been built and are occupied. On phase two the housebuilder is…

RSPCA Cymru has welcomed the support of the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd who has pledged to encourage all local authorities in Wales to ban the giving of pets as prizes on their land. As part of its #NoFunAtTheFair campaign, the animal welfare charity is calling on the outdated practice to be banned – and has been campaigning for all councils in Wales to introduce their own local bans on their land. So far 12 have done so following tireless RSPCA campaigning and overwhelming public support. During questions in the Senedd from Heledd Fychan MS and…

The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society is delighted to announce that the 2022 winner of the Grand National, Sam Waley-Cohen will judge the Supreme Horse Championship at this year’s Royal Welsh Show. Now in its 102nd year, the Royal Welsh Show attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the heart of Mid-Wales to come together and celebrate the very best of Welsh and British agriculture. Equine competitions form a huge part of the event, with exhibitors traveling across the globe to compete in the Royal Welsh judging rings. The Supreme Championship is gifted to the best horse exhibit at the Show.…

MAKE it a firm date in your diary-Chepstow Spud Fest is coming to town. The free festival, organised by Chepstow Town Council and to be held principally in the town’s historic Drill Hall and on the riverbank and the castle dell, will be on Saturday, October 21, from 11am to 5pm. Exact programme details are being finalised but a range of potato-themed events are being considered by the council’s newly-created Chepstow Spud Fest (CSF) Working Group. The CSF is now inviting groups and organisations within the town and any others with an interest and any spud-based ideas, to get involved…

A new report has highlighted how Pobl Group is still delivering a significant programme of new affordable homes despite all the competing challenges facing housing associations. Influential trade publication Inside Housing’s annual Top 50 Biggest Builders development survey of how many homes housing associations in the UK are building highlights that the Group completed 362 homes across all tenures during the period, placing Pobl at 42nd on the list, the only Welsh association included in the top 50. Pobl has also been working with Welsh Government and local authorities to address the many obstacles affecting the building of new homes.…