Author: Rhys Gregory

Helping support entrepreneurship, dozens of start-up businesses in Swansea have benefitted from funding worth more than £80,000 in the last year or so. Figures for April 2021 to March 2022 show 87 start-up businesses received funding to help cover the costs of work including website design, training courses and equipment. Run by Swansea Council, funding schemes include the Swansea Start-up Grant and the UK Steel Enterprise Start-up Grant. Also run by Swansea Council’s business support team is a Swansea Start-up Enterprise Club, which holds monthly workshops with expert speakers to give new businesses tips in areas including social media, employment…

Dare Valley Country Park has been the focus of sustainable works to develop and deliver multi-user trails, with complementary interpretation and visitor infrastructure such as public benches and nature and ecology boards. The new Tracks and Trails project is now complete and open to the public around the top lake area, reservoir and River Dare sections of the park. The Council gained funding for the Tracks and Trails project from Welsh Government’s ‘Enabling Natural Resources and Well-Being in Wales’ grant scheme to deliver the project, with new interpretation and benches installed during the spring. Councillor Ann Crimmings, Rhondda Cynon Taf…

Newport City Council and Coleg Gwent’s exciting proposal to create a city centre campus providing first-class further education facilities is taking another step forward. Pre-planning consultation has been launched ahead of an outline application being jointly submitted by both organisations. It is intended that the city centre campus will be built on the site of the existing Newport Centre and a new state-of-the-art leisure centre will be built on a nearby brownfield site by the riverfront to replace the ageing Newport Centre. When it is completed, Coleg Gwent’s city centre campus will form part of the Newport Knowledge Quarter (NKQ)…

Approximately 110 Cwm Gwyddon Primary School pupils, friends and family members took part in the Race for Life’s Pretty Muddy Fun Run on Saturday the 9th of July, in aid of Cancer Research. The run came about after much loved Head Teacher, Anita Tucknutt, was diagnosed with bowel cancer earlier this year. The Race for Life is Cancer Research UK’s biggest series of fundraising events. Taking place across the UK, the events included 3k, 5k and 10k routes for participants to walk, jog or run, as well as a Pretty Muddy obstacle event. Started more than 25 years ago as a…

The Legion playground in Penyard and St John’s Grove playground in Penydarren have suffered frequent and escalating vandalism and anti-social behaviour in recent months, resulting in the parks being closed for the safety of users. Broken bottles and ripped safety flooring have been a constant issue that our parks officers have worked hard to clear and repair, however as quickly as they are being put right, the vandals are striking again. A spokesperson for the Council said: “A difficult decision has been taken to close both parks until we are able to come to a solution to keep them safe…

The Minister for Education and Welsh Language will set out today how local authorities aim to increase Welsh-medium education in their areas. Local authorities across Wales are finalising their Welsh Education Strategic Plans (WESPs), which set out how they plan to grow Welsh-medium education in their areas over the next 10 years. The plans include 23 new Welsh-medium new primary schools across Wales. There are also plans to increase the capacity of 25 existing Welsh-medium primary schools. The Welsh Government has set targets for 26% of Year 1 learners to be receiving education in Welsh by 2026, rising to 30%…

Council tax in Wales is set to be made fairer under new plans put forward by the Welsh Government. The reforms, which are part of the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru, would ensure a more progressive approach to supporting the local services which council tax helps pay for, including schools, social care provision, policing, fire and rescue services, and road infrastructure. Proposals include a revaluation exercise to ensure people are paying the right level of tax. Council tax pays for around a fifth of spending by councils, but the current system is nearly twenty years out of date and contributes…

When you research this topic, you may find a broad range of responses and not all will be applicable to you or the property you are selling, purchasing or both. Traditional average conveyancing costs are applied from the onset, through to the end of the transaction and are usually taken from the proceeds of sale (on a sale) or form part of the balance to be paid by the buyer on a purchase. The cost can range from a basic cost of £697 + VAT to £2500 on a sale and £997 + VAT to £3000 on a purchase. The…

The FUW are calling for farmers to adopt more stringent security measures on farmland across Wales following a spate of burglaries from farm shops in the Mold area. Mold Rural Crime Team have issued a statement after a sharp increase in burglaries in Cheshire and Staffordshire were soon followed by break-ins in the Wrexham area. Targeting the premises after hours, it would appear that the burglaries are premeditated and planned, with the perpetrators forcing safes and tills open to gain access to any cash held inside. Speaking about the crimes, North Wales Police said: “Please take positive steps to protect…

Gareth Jones, Rhug Estate’s Farm Manager, will celebrate a significant work anniversary next year having been employed by Rhug Estate for 30 years. With that amazing milestone comes Gareth’s decision that it is time for him to hang up his boots and take life a little easier. Rhug Estate now has the difficult task of finding a suitable replacement for this prestigious position of Farm Manager for the high profile north Wales estate. A lot of changes have taken place during Gareth’s time at Rhug. When he started in 1993 the then Lord Newborough was farming conventionally. They had 3,000…