Author: Rhys Gregory

Almost 600 new beds from the Bay Field Hospital have now been distributed and are helping Ukrainian refugees and local communities in Swansea Bay. Three months after Swansea Bay UHB offered to donate the 595 unused beds from the Bay Field Hospital to people in need, all the beds have now been allocated. Sadly, bed poverty, where families do not have adequate beds, mattresses or bedding, is a concern in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. Cases of people sleeping on sofas; on home-made mattresses stuffed with old clothes, or children ‘topping and tailing’ in a shared bed are being reported.…

South Wales tech-for-purpose business, Big Lemon, has been named a 2022 Best for the World™ B Corp in recognition of its exceptional positive impact for its workers. Best for the World is a distinction granted by B Lab to Certified B Corporations (B Corps) whose verified B Impact Scores in the five impact areas evaluated in the B Impact Assessment — community, customers, environment, governance, and workers — rank in the top 5% of all B Corps in their corresponding size group. Big Lemon has earned this honour on the back of realigning the business around a new mission two…

The British Business Bank announces today that, through the Recovery Loan Scheme, accredited lenders have offered over £135m to smaller businesses in Wales as they steer a path towards a sustainable recovery. Of the £135.4m of total funding offered through 690 facilities, £117.7m has been drawn down through 639 facilities. Total funding offered from the scheme represents 3% of the national total, broadly in line with the relative size of the nation’s business population (4%) A total of £4.51bn of lending has been offered through over 20,643 facilities across the UK, £3.83bn has been drawn down through 18,338 facilities. The…

Eliminating 90 per cent of CO2 emissions on heavy plant activity on a single site is just one example of the impact of a civil engineering firm’s focus on its environmental goals. Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK is future proofing itself by having a clear carbon management pathway for year-on-year savings when it comes to emissions. The Ruthin-headquartered company is monitoring its Energy Performance Indicator (EnPI), which will allow a thorough review of new initiatives, and ensure it is performing and reporting as under the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Regulations (SECR). As part of its bid to reduce carbon emissions,…

Moneypenny, a leading provider of answering services, outsourced switchboards, Live Chat and outbound calls for small and large businesses, has further extended its services in the US with the acquisition of Alphapage.   Alphapage is an award-winning communications company that provides bi-lingual (English and Spanish) call management solutions to businesses of all sizes.  Alphapage ensures businesses run smoothly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They blend unsurpassed customer care and industry expertise with the high-efficiency of today’s telephone and web-enabled technology to provide exceptional service. The company was founded by Joe Bean in 1989 and is based in Denver, Colorado. Following…

The departing boss of Marks and Spencer was given a stirring send off at a North Wales bakery by a choir singing Bread of Heaven. The visit by chief executive Steve Rowe to the Jones Village Bakery’s headquarters on Wrexham Industrial Estate was his last official call before stepping down from the helm of Britain favourite retailer. It was also a touching occasion for two members of the 50-strong Rhos Male Voice Choir, firefighters Paul Scott and Tim Williams. On August 19, 2019, they were part of the crew from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service who were called to tackle…

Sir David Attenborough, the world’s greatest environmentalist, has been immortalised in recycled plastic bottles by a Welsh food artist. Nathan Wyburn created the 3m x 3m sculpture at the Royal Welsh Show (last week) in six hours using 1,000 recycled plastic bottles. The bottles were supplied by Radnor Hills, official water sponsor of the famous Builth Wells show and Wales’ leading water and soft drinks manufacturer. Keep Wales Tidy collaborated with Radnor Hills on the artistic project to celebrate Wales coming third globally – and first in the UK – for its recycling credentials. Nathan, from Blaenau Gwent, is an…

Officers from Bridgend County Borough Council and the Shared Regulatory Service are monitoring the development of 57 new homes on the site of a former school in Newton, Porthcawl after receiving complaints from local residents. The 2.5 hectare development is being constructed by Taylor Wimpey UK on land that previously formed part of St John’s School, which closed down in 2014. When complete, it will feature nine three-bedroom houses, 40 four-bedroom houses and eight affordable homes. Following the complaints, site visits have been carried out and the developer has been provided with a number of actions that must be undertaken…

More than 20 cherry trees, forming part of a newly planted avenue in Heath Park were vandalised this weekend. The trees were gifted to the park as part of The Sakura Cherry Tree Project which was created to celebrate 150 years of friendship between Wales and Japan. Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke-Davies: “These trees were only planted in January and were meant to symbolise friendship and understanding so for them to be subject to such mindless destruction is sickening. It’s a deliberate act of vandalism, a crime, and I fully condemn this completely unacceptable behaviour.…

Improving urban and rural communities, supporting small businesses and boosting people’s skills are among the key themes of a new plan to unlock funding worth nearly £138m to South West Wales over the next three years. Cabinet members at the local authorities of Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea will soon be asked to approve the regional investment plan, which is aimed at securing UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund money already earmarked for the region. The plan also looks to further support regional priorities that are already in place. These include the potential to make South West Wales a…