Author: Rhys Gregory

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…

A world-renowned contemporary circus is heading to Swansea while an international crime fiction festival will be held in Aberystwyth in 2023, thanks to funding from the Welsh Government. The Circus Village is coming to Swansea for the first time, led by the internationally acclaimed NoFit State Circus in a partnership with leading circus companies and artists, and an international crime fiction festival in Aberystwyth will receive Event Wales funding for the development of the events. NoFit State will welcome around 200 UK circus artists for a programme of collaborative professional development in South Wales. The Circus Village was first held in…

A slowdown in the final quarter of the year saw the take up of industrial property over 50,000 sq ft in Wales reach just under 2m sq ft in 2022, down significantly from the 3.49m sq ft in 2021 and the 2.74m sq ft in 2020, according to research from Knight Frank. Neil Francis, head of Logistics & Industrial at Knight Frank in Cardiff, said: “After a strong third quarter where 1.3m sq ft was transacted, the final quarter (Q4) witnessed a slowdown in take up for large units, with just one deal of 103,000 sq ft completed across all…

A biotech and medtech innovation hub in the Welsh capital has reached a milestone third decade of helping to grow some of the UK’s most exciting businesses. Founded in 1992, Cardiff Medicentre was the first business incubator of its kind in the UK. It now operates as a joint venture between Cardiff University and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, providing low-cost desk leasing through to high-spec laboratories for start-ups and established life science businesses.  Set in the grounds of the University Hospital of Wales, it provides the environment and the hands-on support to get innovation off the ground and…

Swansea Council is to introduce a plan that will help it go net zero carbon by 2030. A draft plan to reach this milestone in the fight against climate change was approved by the council’s ruling cabinet on December 15. The plan could cost around £187m over the next eight years. It’d see the council achieve a balance between the greenhouse gases it puts into the atmosphere and those it takes out – net zero carbon.  Around £4m of the figure is already budgeted for. The council would look for most of the other funding to come from national governments and from…

Talyllyn Railway has won a National Rail Heritage Award for the reconstruction of an original locomotive watering point on the line. The railway was jointly awarded the Hendy and Pendle Trust Volunteers Award by The Duke of Gloucester at a ceremony held in London. The Tŷ Dŵr watering point, originally installed when the railway was built in 1865, transferred water from a nearby waterfall to the first locomotive shed by a series of troughs supported on slate columns. The shed was situated on what was then the mineral extension between Abergynolwyn station, the original passenger terminus and what is now…

The culinary director of the Culinary Association of Wales is keen to see talented young Welsh chefs progress into the Senior Culinary Team Wales. Graham Tinsley, MBE, executive head chef at Carden Park Hotel and Spa, near Chester, praised the Junior Culinary Team Wales for their silver and bronze medals at the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg. Now he wants the chefs, who are too old to compete with the junior team at the Culinary Olympics in 2024, to take the step up into the senior Wales squad as part of the CAW’s succession planning. Three chefs – Harry Paynter-Roberts…

Menter a Busnes is entering a new chapter and aligning itself with the aspirations and activities of the Wales of today and the future – says its new Chief Executive Officer. It is a vision that Llŷr Roberts, who has just taken up his new post, shared with the company’s 150-strong staff at a special meeting to map out the business’ future. Menter a Busnes, which was founded in Aberystwyth 30 years ago, has a strong track record delivering for its clients and the broader Welsh economy. Enterprising and creative in its activities, the business fosters a unique, flexible and…

A federation of work-based learning providers across Wales has welcomed a commitment in the Welsh Government’s 2023/24 draft budget to invest an extra £18 million in apprenticeships. A total of £140m has been allocated by the Welsh Government for apprenticeships in the next financial year. Lisa Mytton, strategic director for the National Training Federation for Wales (NTfW), said: “We welcome the additional £18 million that will be invested in apprenticeships which is in line with the strategic priorities of the NTfW and Regional Skills Partnerships. “This commitment continues the Welsh Government’s ambitious programme, set out by the minister earlier this…

Hospital staff are launching their very own Baywatch – but to keep people safe on the wards rather than at sea. They will take it in turns to watch Morriston Hospital patients at high risk of a fall. When they are admitted into hospital, each patient undergoes a falls risk assessment. Depending on their condition, they may need regular reassessments. Launched in December, Baywatch will see dedicated members of staff based within a ward bay where patients have been assessed as being at high risk of falling, making it easier for staff to monitor them. Working to an hourly rota,…