Author: Rhys Gregory

Registrations for IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea 2023 are now sold out. Next year’s race will see 1,900 athletes take to the start line in Swansea, Wales on July 16, 2023. Athletes from all over the globe and all age groups will compete in Wales next summer, traversing scenic coastline and rolling countryside before culminating in Swansea’s city centre. Swansea Council cabinet member Robert Francis-Davies said: “We’re delighted that IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea on July 16 is already a sell-out. It’s another great – and successful – event being held in our spectacular coastal location. That weekend will also see thousands of athletes,…

As we exit 2022 it is worth reflecting on where we were this time last year, says Paul Slevin is Executive Chair of Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid. “Restrictions due to Covid were being lifted and while Christmas itself was again disrupted, there was great optimism that the excellent work of the NHS and vaccinations would allow us to return to a different normal. “That period of restrictions severely tested business, employees, and society as we endured the full scope of the virus.   “The impact on some was profound, but we left 2021 with a level of optimism…

The world’s biggest culinary event is coming to Wales in 2026. A Team Wales partnership has secured the Worldchefs Congress & Expo 2026 for the nation. Wales defeated Italy 28-24 in a final vote, announced by Worldchefs, to host the global event which is expected to attract 1,000 chefs and more than 5,000 visitors from 100 plus countries around the world to International Convention Centre Wales (ICC Wales) and the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport. The successful bid to host this event, which is held every two years, involved months of work and lobbying by the Culinary Association of Wales…

There is less than one month for around 5.7 million Self Assessment customers to file their tax return or they may face a penalty, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said. More than 12 million customers are expected to file a tax return for the 2021 to 2022 tax year by 31 January 2023. HMRC has revealed that 129 customers submitted theirs on 1 January between 00:00 and 00:59, joining those customers who have already met their obligations. More than 42,500 customers chose to see in the new year by submitting their return on 31 December and 1 January: New Year’s…

A Pembrokeshire man who raped and sexually assaulted young children, and posted images of the abuse to other paedophiles on the dark web, has been jailed for life. Martyn Armstrong was identified after specialist National Crime Agency investigators reversed distortion filters he used to disguise his face in the images. The abuse began 17 years ago in June 2005 and continued to February 2011. The 50-year-old was stopped and arrested by South Wales Police officers while driving on the M4 on 30 July 2022, following a request by the NCA. Law enforcement partners across the world had been trying to…

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is delighted to announce the Wakelin Award recipient for 2022. The annual award is given to an artist living and working in Wales, whose work is purchased for the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery’s Permanent Collection, and will be on display at the Gallery in spring 2023.  The recipient for The Wakelin Award 2022 is Ingrid Murphy. Previous award winners include Brendan Stuart Burns, Anthony Shapland, Catrin Webster, Jonathan Anderson, Meri Wells, David Cushway, Helen Sear, Clare Woods, Alexander Duncan, Philip Eglin, Richard Billingham, Cinzia Mutigli and Anya Paintsil. This year’s selector is Swansea based artist and…

The city’s newest hub is preparing to open after the major refurbishment of a north Cardiff library. Rhiwbina Community Wellbeing Hub will welcome customers back to the former library building on Pen-Y-Dre on Monday, January 16 following the remodelling of the facility to enable the delivery ofadditional and enhanced services for the community. With funding from Welsh Government’s Integrated Care Fund,Integration and Rebalancing Care Fund (IRCF) and MALD (Museums, Archives and Libraries Division), the building has been transformed into a fit-for-purpose community facility that will support the co-location of library services with new advice, health and wellbeing, housing and social…

Market traders are offering a new free service – they’re providing customers with Swansea Council recycling bags. Two stalls in Swansea Market now have supplies of the green bags and food bin bags that can be collected for free by city centre shoppers. Homeware supplies store Market Spares and coffee shop Storm in a Teacup are already handing out hundreds of the bags every week. They join other locations around the city offering a similar service, including council offices, neighbourhood shops, post offices, libraries and recycling centres. Wayne Holmes, of Market Spares, said: “We thought this’d be a great idea,…

LOCAL businesses working on major regeneration projects for Swansea Council are helping save millions of pounds a year, boosting and protecting jobs. City centre schemes like Swansea Arena, the Kingsway makeover and the creation of the new community hub on Oxford Street have all benefited from local firms winning shares of contract work. Other heritage projects like the restoration of the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks, the ongoing renewal of the Bascule bridge and the Palace Theatre have also seen millions of pounds of council-managed money spent in Swansea and Wales. The success stories of local small and medium-sized businesses bidding for work…

Work progresses on Powys County Council’s Levelling Up funded project to rejuvenate the local canal network in Montgomeryshire by opening up previously un-navigable sections of the canal to increase its appeal and attract more tourists to the region. Announced by the Chancellor in the 2021 Autumn Budget, the £4.8billion Levelling Up Fund invests in infrastructure to improve everyday life across the UK including regenerating town centre and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets. Of this fund Powys secured almost £14million for this project. The enhancement of the Y Lanfa building, its wharf and the…