Author: Rhys Gregory

A national campaign to stop criminals offering children illegal tobacco has been launched after a new survey revealed over a third of children that smoke in Wales had been approached by sellers. The Wales-wide survey of over 1,000 11 to 16-year-olds showed that 32% of current smokers had been offered cheap illegal tobacco and 25% had gone on to buy it. According to latest research from ASH Wales, illegal tobacco makes up 10% of the entire tobacco market, funds criminality in the community and makes it easy for children start smoking. The NEMS survey, which is the largest of its…

Nando’s will donate £108,000 to 36 charities across Scotland and Wales to support relieving food poverty in the communities in which its restaurants operate. Each charity, as members of the Nando’s ‘No Chuckin’ Our Chicken’ initiative, will receive a total of £3,000. The initiative was established in 2013 to help local charities feed communities in need while reducing food waste – with each Nando’s restaurant selecting their own charity partner. The donations, announced today, have been funded by the mandatory 10p and 5p charges for single-use paper carrier bags in Scotland and Wales respectively. Nando’s has collected these charges in…

Bridgend based new start-up Hawkstone Commercials records a staggering £2.5 million in turnover in its first 10 months of trading. Founded in January 2022 from a kitchen table by co-directors Oliver Lewis and Paul Rickets, Hawkstone Commercials is an award winning van and commercial leasing vehicle broker. Hawkstone launched with an initial turnover target of £150,000 for year one. It quickly became apparent that all expectations were hugely underestimated, with each month surging further past target. Hawkstone also modestly hoped to open its first office and employ one extra member of staff. By December this also proved to be way…

A major new project that will improve parts of Hafod-Morfa Copperworks, The Strand and Swansea Museum will be worth an estimated £9.4m a year to the city’s economy. Led by Swansea Council, the Lower Swansea Valley improvement project is also expected to create 69 new jobs while helping support more than 100 existing jobs. Aimed at celebrating Swansea’s industrial heritage, the project is being made possible thanks to the council successfully bidding for £20m of levelling-up funding from the UK Government. The project includes: Restoration of the former laboratory building at the copperworks to create restaurant and food and beverage…

A decision on whether a proposed land exchange at Maindy Park is in the best interests of the Maindy Park Trust is to be taken on March 2ndby Cardiff Council Cabinet, acting in its role as Trustee of the charity. If the exchange is approved, an application will be made to the Charity Commission for its consent to land at Cae Delyn Park replacing part of the land at Maindy Park, currently held in trust by the charity. An independent Maindy Park Trust Advisory Committee,comprised of three independent members of the Standards and Ethics Committee, established to manage the conflicts…

Owners of long-term empty properties in Cardiff could be facing a further increase in their council tax charges under new plans to help alleviate pressures on housing availability in the city. From April, a council tax premium of 50% could rise to 100% for homes left unoccupied and unfurnished for more than a year in a bid to encourage owners to bring these properties back into use. Second homes in the city and furnished dwellings that are not anyone’s main home could also be charged a premium of 100% from April 2024 if recommendations being considered by Cabinet at its…

Proposals to make major sustainable travel improvements in Newport city centre have been unveiled. The plans, which were released by Welsh Government, Transport for Wales and Newport City Council on Friday 24 February, set out a series of improvements to Newport railway station, Queensway and Old Green roundabout. Members of the public are being invited to give their views as part of a six-week public consultation on the proposals which runs from today until 6 April. The proposals include: A new public transport interchange at Newport rail station, linking rail and bus services, making the station a hub for sustainable…

Caerphilly county borough council’s detailed budget plans for 2023/24 have been finalised. Councillors met on Thursday evening (23/02/23) to consider the final budget proposal following a period of public consultation. CCBC Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Eluned Stenner said “I am sure residents will welcome the news that our proposals do not include significant cuts to key services and that we have worked hard to protect the community due to our prudent approach.” “We continue to face huge budget pressures as a result of a number of external factors, but we are managing to successfully navigate our way through some…

The Minister for Education and Welsh language has announced that the Cynllun Pontio, a programme which trains primary school teachers to become secondary school teachers, will continue for the next academic year. The Cynllun Pontio gives qualified Welsh speaking primary school teachers training and support for them to become secondary school teachers in Welsh-medium schools. 20 places are available from September as part of the fourth year of the programme.  It has helped teachers to develop their careers and find permanent positions in secondary schools. The programme helps to increase the number of Welsh-medium secondary teachers. This is essential to…

Visitors to Cardiff Castle can show their love for Welsh food and drink this St David’s Day by sharing snaps of a specially commissioned heart-shaped daffodil installation. Featuring thousands of daffodils, the installation has been created as part of the Welsh Government Food & Drink Wales Trade Development Programme’s #CaruCymruCaruBlas #LoveWalesLoveTaste campaign. The installation, made from 12,000 daffodils, and donated by Welsh fresh produce brand Blas y Tir, is a tribute to Welsh food and drink producers as well encouraging Welsh consumers to share their pride and passion on St. David’s Day. Visitors to Cardiff Castle are being asked to…