Author: Rhys Gregory

The remarkable progress of a Valleys Community Bank is being recognised in the upcoming finals of the Social Business Wales Awards. Smart Money Cymru is a finalist in two categories of the prestigious event – Tech for Good and Team of the Year. The awards are part of the Social Business Wales Project which highlights and honours the best social businesses in Wales, and winners go through to the next round of the UK-wide event. Mark White CEO of Smart Money Cymru said he was delighted that the hard work of his staff, coupled with digital innovation in recent years,…

The Development Bank of Wales is funding the first dedicated exotic animal veterinary practice in Wales. A £300,000 loan from the Development Bank’s Wales Flexible Investment Fund is being used by award-winning veterinary surgeon and advanced zoological medicine practitioner Doctor Sophie Jenkins to open the new independent run clinic at Riverbridge Business Park, off Newport Road in Cardiff. The 3,000 sq. ft. unit features dedicated car parking, multiple consulting rooms, dedicated clinical wards for different types of species, an isolation room, diagnostic suite and two operating theatres. Two qualified veterinary nurses, three full-time vets and two veterinary nursing assistants have…

Business confidence in Wales fell 29 points during August to 1%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.   Companies in the country reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down 37 points at 4%.  When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, down 17 points to 2%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 1%. Despite the fall in optimism during August, a three-month average of local businesses’ confidence scores reveals a more positive picture. The average sits at a net confidence score of 18%, factoring in monthly scores of June, July and August. The Business Barometer, which questions 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and…

More than 200 of Wales’ historic sites, landmarks and hidden gems will offer visitors free entry this September — as the Open Doors festival returns for 2022. Funded and organised by Cadw, the ever-popular festival of Wales’ built heritage will encourage Welsh residents and visitors alike to explore some of the country’s lesser-known sites ― several of which are usually closed to the public. The 2022 programme features a range of historic venues owned by Cadw, National Trust Wales, Church in Wales, local councils, private owners, including Neath Abbey, Oystermouth Castle, Caerleon Amphitheatre and Barracks, Bodnant Gardens, Denbigh Castle, and…

Living Streets Cymru, part of the UK charity behind the biggest walk to school campaign is encouraging families to leave the car at home as schools return. With rising fuel prices and cost of living, the charity is advocating walking to school to save money while also getting more active. It comes as a recently published report revealed that Wales’ children are amongst the most inactive in the world with just half of 3-17-year-olds exercising the recommended 60 minutes a day. The ‘2021 Active Healthy Kids Wales Report Card suggested the situation has worsened since the pandemic. Currently, fewer than…

Zip World, the adventure company best known for the world’s fastest zip line, is offering an hour of FREE adventures to families local to their four Wales-based adventure parks every Saturday during the month of September 2022. The new initiative is in response to the financial difficulties brought about by the pandemic combined with the cost-of-living crisis. Families who feel they need help can claim free tickets for any of the 15 Zip World adventures on offer. Zip World’s Commercial Director Andrew Hudson said: “All families are having to make difficult choices right now about what they can and can’t…

Mass strandings of pilot whales may be linked to disruption to their family groups new research has suggested. Recent genetic analysis in both the northern and southern hemisphere by a team including academics from Aberystwyth University challenges existing thinking as to the role of social behaviours in mass strandings of these animals. Mass stranding events in cetaceans – a group of marine mammals including the whale, dolphin and porpoise – have been reported since the times of Aristotle and there has been a long drive to understand what causes them. Long-finned pilot whales – a gregarious species with complex social…

As part of the charity’s Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, the RSPCA has revealed it received more than 100 reports of animals being abandoned every single day throughout 2021 and sadly these figures are on the rise this year. A total of 38,087 abandonment reports were made to the charity’s cruelty line last year across England and Wales – an average of over 3,000 reports a month, 104 a day or four abandoned animals every hour. In Wales there were 2,509 abandoned animals reported to the RSPCA in 2021. This included 279 alone in Rhondda Cynon Taff, 191 in Caerphilly and…

Cardiff’s Summer of Fun continues to keep thousands of children and their families amused, educated and active and a series of camps at Ysgol Glantaf in north Cardiff saw around 150 young people try their hand at a wide range of sports. The programme – a series of organised events during the school holidays funded by the City Council – includes free-to-attend events throughout the city, all designed to appeal to youngsters of all ages and abilities. The sports camps at Glantaf were run by Wales’ largest youth organisation Urdd Gobaith Cymru whose coaches guided around 50 youngsters a day…

Visitors to Aberafan Shopping Centre will be greeted with a full-size replica of a Battle of Britain Mk I/II Supermarine Spitfire plane next month. The striking exhibit will be at the Centre from Monday 5 to Friday 9 September during the Wales and the Battle of Britain Touring Exhibition, which tells the story of Wales’s contribution in the largest air battle ever recorded. Visitors to the event will be able to find out more about the Spitfire – one of the most important aircraft in history, the Battle of Britain and World War 2, as there will be an educator…