Author: Rhys Gregory

A West-Wales farming couple have been successful in securing funding from Triodos Bank UK to expand their already successful diversified farm, and take it off-grid. Geraint and Christine Thomas, of 80-acre Bargoed Farm in Llwyncelyn, Aberareron, first established themselves as a successful camping and caravan site in 2016, providing over 50 serviced hardstanding pitches (many of which have private hot tubs). In the years since, they have expanded the business to include the Moody Cow farm shop and bistro – selling locally sourced food and drink, which are well used by both tourists and locals alike. A very popular indoor…

Superstar footballer Gareth Bale has become a shareholder of Penderyn Distillery and will be a global ambassador for Penderyn’s spirit brands. Bale, who is on his way to the World Cup as the pivotal player in the Welsh football team, is proud to be creating this world-class partnership with the internationally acclaimed Welsh business. Penderyn Chief Executive Stephen Davies said, “It is a combination of two global Welsh brands. Gareth Bale is an ambassador for Wales as a nation all around the world, and Penderyn is renowned for world-class award-winning Single Malts and other spirits and is now distributed in over…

A Carmarthenshire headquartered fuel supplier has donated in excess of £250,000 worth of fuel to its most vulnerable customers this winter. In September, Oil 4 Wales announced it would be donating a one-off delivery of 800 litres of oil to its customers aged 80 years old or over to ensure they were kept warm over the winter months. Thanks to its eligible customers who contacted their local depots to take part in the scheme, Oil 4 Wales’ forecasted pledge of £75,000 towards heating fuel was surpassed, with over £250,000 being donated over the past two months. With the scheme exceeding…

Do you know someone who regularly goes the extra mile for others, is an outstanding charity fundraiser, has performed an act of great bravery, or has put the local area on the map by achieving something special over the past 18 months? As the year draws to a close, the Mayor of Bridgend County Borough is seeking nominations for the Mayor’s Citizenship Awards 2023, where individuals, groups or businesses will be acknowledged for their outstanding achievements. Previous winners have included two brave young brothers who saved their mother’s life, following her suffering a seizure at home; a 10-year-old who, having…

People looking forward to attending this year’s Christmas Parade in Swansea are being urged to plan ahead of the event this Sunday. Thousands are expected to enjoy the free Swansea Council event that will feature a vibrant mix of local community groups, spectacular professional entertainers, marching bands, magical floats, colourful film characters and festive inflatables, joining Santa Claus to switch on the city centre’s glittering Christmas lights. The council is encouraging those planning to attend to check arrangements beforehand as some roads will be closed to allow the parade to start at 5pm. Swansea Council Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration…

New nature inspired artworks are appearing in green spaces across Gwent, encouraging more people to value the nature found in communities. The pieces have been developed as part of the Nature Isn’t Neat project, which aims to raise awareness of the decline in pollinators and encourage local action, including embedding a regional meadow management approach across the Gwent area. Over the summer, communities have been busy designing and building mosaic artworks with artist Stephanie Roberts, that reflect the beauty of nature in their local green spaces. The artworks are situated across Gwent, in Gilfach, Bargoed, Bryn Bach Park, Tredegar, Rogerstone…

Because of our Family Fun Day and Christmas lights switch-on this coming weekend, a number of town centre roads and car parks will be closed. Gillar Street Car Park will be closed from 6pm Thursday 17 until Sunday 20 November. This will be to accommodate the Christmas funfair, which will be in operation on Friday 18 from 4- 8pm and on Saturday 19 from 10am-9pm. Saturday 19 November will see the following closures: Broad Street (8am-9pm) Swan Street (8am-4pm) John Street (8am-4pm) The following roads will all be closed from 4pm–6pm: Pontmorlais High Street High Street Tramroad Side North Castle…

Eagle-eyed Powys County Council (PCC) officers helped to prevent fraud and errors worth £1,257,912 during the last 12 months. And to mark International Fraud Awareness Week 2022 (13-19 November), the council’s Corporate Anti-Fraud Team has revealed that since it was founded in 2015 it has prevented fraud and errors worth £6,622,956. This figure includes £2,490,992 in recoverable overpayments and £4,131,964 in fraud and errors which were prevented, allowing this money to be spent instead on providing services for those in genuine need. International Fraud Awareness Week is organised by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and aims to minimise the…

A long-awaited business park in Powys has now been handed over by the contractor with tenants moving in shortly to a number of the units and others ready for other businesses to make use of the state-of-the-art sustainable facilities. Nine new units have been designed and created at Abermule Business Park on a greenfield site in the village between Welshpool and Newtown. The site was acquired from the Welsh Government and the council is grateful for the financial support provided by them to bring the development to completion. Powys-based company SWG Group has been on site for ten months, creating…

A new social housing development in north Powys has been officially opened by the county council. Clos-Yr-Hen-Ysgol in Llanidloes has been delivered by Powys County Council’s Development Team and was officially opened by Cllr Matthew Dorrance, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for a Fairer Powys, on Tuesday, 1 November. The development, which consists of 22 new council homes on the former livestock market in the town, was built by contractors J Harper and Sons (Leominster) Ltd. As part of the development, two four-bed houses, four two-bed houses, six three-bed houses, eight two-bed bungalows and two three/four-bed dormer bungalows have been…