Author: Rhys Gregory

TV presenter Sian Lloyd is urging people in across Wales to give help and hope to those living with dementia by taking part in a ‘walk like no other’ this autumn. The Welsh star will join hundreds of fundraisers at Bute Park, Cardiff on Sunday, September 17 alongside friends, family and colleagues for Alzheimer’s Society Cymru’s Memory Walk, to end the devastation caused by dementia. Sian said: “I’m very excited to be taking part in Memory Walk this year in Cardiff, a place that holds a special place in my heart. “I was so disappointed to have sustained an injury…

At least 250 new jobs are anticipated to be created over the next five years by Invertek Drives Ltd at its global headquarters and manufacturing facility at Welshpool, Powys, UK, the company has announced. The roles will be in its Innovation team, production, and other business areas of the company as it continues to invest in the design and production of its energy-saving variable frequency drives used to control electric motors. It will also significantly expand the development of careers through its college and graduate training programmes. It comes after the company, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year,…

Chris Jenkins has been sentenced to five years and three months’ imprisonment following an armed robbery in Llanishen. At 6am on 19 June, Jenkins, 35, entered the local shop on Station Road, Llanishen armed with two knives and cornered the 41-year-old female victim behind the till. He demanded money from the tills but the distressed victim unable to open them. He then demanded she empty her pockets, which she revealed had nothing in them. A member of the public witnessed a man acting suspiciously behind his home, just after the incident had taken place. He appeared to be changing his…

In 1959, Maes-Y-Coed School first opened its doors to provide education and support to children and young people with additional learning needs. 65 years on, ex-staff, pupils, and parents of children who attended the school gathered for a reunion. Maes-Y-Coed was one of few schools at the time which offered specialist education to pupils with additional learning needs. For decades teachers and staff provided vital support to pupils and their families as many have continued to keep in touch over the years. The school boasted a number of unique facilities such as a sensory pool and partnered with Barry Hostel…

Visitors to Cardiff Castle have been admiring the latest floral design gracing the grounds outside the popular city landmark. The Badge Bed Bee is the work of Ruby Mason, a second-year horticultural apprentice with the Council’s parks team. “I went with this design to celebrate pollinators and to raise awareness of their importance,” said Ruby, 24. “Habitat loss and climate change, as well as pesticide use, are threatening the native bee population and we all need to play our part in safeguarding them and the environment. “Around 75% of our crops are pollinated by bees so the least we can…

MORE than 20 busy roads and residential streets are being resurfaced this year as part of a near-£6m road maintenance programme. Ten projects in areas including Townhill, Gendros, Cwmbwrla, Caswell and Morriston have already been completed with another 11 earmarked for the coming months. The maintenance programme follows a series of resurfacing schemes completed as part of last year’s plans. Roads completed included Townhill Road, Gellionnen Road and Cecil Road in Gowerton In March this year, the Council’s Cabinet approved the overall investment for the city. More than £2.6 million is being spent on the full resurfacing schemes taking place…

Blaenau Gwent County Council’s Cabinet has agreed to undertake a consultation exercise to seek your views about charging a council tax premium for long‐term empty properties and second homes in the county. The Housing waiting list across Blaenau Gwent is significant and the Council also experiences high levels of homelessness requiring costly short term emergency accommodation to be provided. To help address these issues, the Council’s Empty Property Strategy aims to bring vacant properties back into use by considering all the options available for tackling the problem of empty properties, and to ensure that where vacant properties are identified every…

A US specialist games company with offices in New York and Texas is to set up its new European headquarters in Wales thanks to Welsh Government support, Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Dawn Bowden has announced. Rocket Science will set up its new studio in Cardiff, creating 50 highly paid and skilled jobs for games industry graduates and professionals, working directly on, and solving some of the hardest technical projects for the biggest video games in the world. This inward investment project was secured following a successful Welsh Government-led trade mission to the Game Developers Conference in San…

A new purpose-built, award-winning sheep milk dairy in Bethesda, Gwynedd, has been visited by Rural Affairs and North Wales Minister Lesley Griffiths Llaethdy Gwyn, based at the town’s former Catholic church, is the realisation of a dream for former grassland ecologist turned artisan cheese-maker Dr Carrie Rimes, who began making her sheep milk cheese, Cosyn Cymru, in 2015. Now the owner of a growing dairy enterprise, Carrie plans to make the most of the space afforded by the 1960s building while retaining elements of the property’s religious heritage. Cosyn Cymru’s cheese is made by hand in small batches from unpasteurised…

Dreams, the bed retailer, has reopened its Cardiff distribution centre and retail store after a £300K investment. The reopening follows a year spent refurbishing and expanding the sites with the aim of enhancing the experience of shoppers and colleagues in the local area. The distribution service centre now covers 31,000 square feet and can store more than 2,000 (2,290) mattresses and bases. This increased capacity will help to improve product availability and provide shorter lead times for customers demanding faster and more flexible deliveries. As part of its People-First strategy, Dreams has also increased the space dedicated to colleague welfare…