Author: Rhys Gregory

A Bangor-based funeral directors has received micro loan backing from the Development Bank of Wales, allowing it to provide a new service for families. Angladdau Enfys Funerals, based on Bangor High Street, was set up by friends Manon Williams and Louise White in 2020. As well as providing a space for customers to arrange funerals, they also offer an on-site chapel of rest and a multifunctional space for small services and gatherings. Since setting up, Angladdau Enfys Funerals have provided funeral services for families throughout the north west Wales and as far as London, and they provide the wide range…

Graduate from University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s (UWTSD) Swansea College of Art has had her academic work and determination recognised at the Senedd. Summer Davies, who graduated from BA Graphic Design in July, won the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award at the National Black History Wales Youth Awards 2023, which were held in the Senedd last week. The category won by Summer was for a student who had achieved outstanding results within their educational programme, or overcome significant obstacles to achieve the highest grades possible in examinations, assessments or tests. The event was hosted by Race Council Cymru and sponsored…

The new Richard Taylor Memorial Skatepark was officially opened on Saturday morning by the Vale of Glamorgan Council and supporters of the Richard Taylor Memorial Fund. Over £300,000 was raised to invest in the new concrete freeform skatepark with funding from the Vale of Glamorgan Council, Sport Wales, the Richard Taylor Memorial Fund, the Waterloo Foundation, South Wales Police Youth Trust, and the National Lottery Community Fund. Over the past five months Bendcrete Ltd have been working hard to build the new facility, using a spray-concrete method, which lends itself to the unique shapes and contours of skatepark ramps. Users…

September 29 marked the formal opening of the Ty Pen y Bont community project, an initiative offering plentiful opportunities for all those involved.  The launch included Senedd members Huw Irranca-Davies and Sarah Murphy, as well as Deputy Leader, Councillor Jane Gebbie, who officially opened the garden. The community garden is a joint project between Ty Pen y Bont Community Hub and Baobab Bach, an organisation that links with other local organisations and volunteers to create community pantries.  Their aim is to promote mental wellbeing, whilst supporting the environment and eradicating food poverty. Alison Westwood, Director at Baobab Bach, said: “The…

An Estyn inspection in November last year, praised Cwmfelin Primary School for many of its practices, most notably, offering authentic learning experiences to its pupils. The school has been particularly praised for its ‘Big Bocs Bwyd’ project – an initiative which provides affordable food to the local community.  The Estyn report highlights how the scheme is especially effective at allowing pupils to learn within an authentic context.  Inspectors were so impressed by how the teachers use the project to support learning within a ‘real life’ situation, that the school has been asked to prepare a case study on the ‘Big…

Eight community projects across Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Caerphilly have been successful in acquiring funding to help reduce inequality and bring communities together. The Community Cohesion Grants, funded by Welsh Government, are designed to support initiatives that promote understanding and respect between different groups of people and create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to unite. One of the projects to receive £2000 is Willowtown Community Primary School which plans to create an allotment to offer further education and training opportunities. The money will be spent on helping support the schools Willows Wonderful Big Bocs Bwyd initiative along with hosting cooking…

More homes came onto the market in Wales during September according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey. However, surveyors report that prices and sales continued to fall.   A net balance of 11% of Welsh surveyors reported a rise in new instructions to sell during the month. This is up from -45% in August, and -12% in July.   In terms of demand, new buyer enquiries continued to fall though, but at a more modest rate than has been seen previously. A net balance of -37% of respondents reported a decline, this is compared to -65%…

An opening date has been confirmed for the much anticipated £1.4m refurbishment of The Unicorn pub, situated on the outskirts of Cardiff in Old St Mellons. The refurbishment will see The Unicorn transformed into create a fantastic country style pub with a more contemporary look and feel to appeal local residents looking for a top-quality pub to eat and drink in. The new look pub is being reconfigured to improve the flow within the pub and will increase covers to 124.  The changes will include a large new garden room extension with bi-folding doors leading onto a terrace, versatile dining…

TICKETS are selling frightfully fast for a sensational Halloween spooktacular. The fangtastic, family friendly Gandeys Spooky Circus returns to Bolesworth Castle in Tattenhall, near Chester and Wrexham, over 12 days from Friday October 20. And legendary ringmaster Binky Beaumont will be joining the 16-strong internationally acclaimed ensemble for what promises to be their best show yet. The hair-raising one-hour event will be packed with spine-chilling entertainment, ghoulish tricks, and unbelievable feats of Rolla Bolla balance and aerial ballet bravery. Binky has enjoyed a colourful career, beginning life in a popular clown troupe before turning to luxury car sales in the…

Small businesses and co-working spaces in Cardiff are among the first to benefit from the city’s new full fibre broadband network, being delivered by Ogi – Wales’s largest alternative telecoms provider. Announced in March this year [2023], it’s taken Ogi less than six months to install the initial phase of Cardiff’s newest high-speed network, bringing much needed connectivity solutions to the east of the city centre. Available in the East Moors district to begin with, this new Gigabit-capable full fibre network will eventually rollout across Cardiff Bay, Dumballs Road and the city’s new Capital Quarter in Ogi’s first phase plans…