Author: Rhys Gregory

Further development work towards extending rail services from Aberdare to Hirwaun is underway, after the Council secured important Welsh Government funding through the Cardiff Capital Region Transport Authority. The Council has secured £239,633 to fund further studies towards delivering the significant Metro Plus project, which will complement the ongoing delivery of the South Wales Metro that will see four trains an hour serving Aberdare. Previous work within the project’s appraisal process (which is currently at WelTAG Stage 2, Outline Business Case) considered two options for the project, and identified a preferred option for development. The preferred option would extend the…

The Newport Medieval Ship project has hit its latest milestone after conservation of the ship timbers finished earlier this month. The project, led by the council and its partners at the Friends of Newport Ship (FONS), took delivery of the final batch of timbers from specialist conservation contractor, Mary Rose Archaeological Services. The fifteenth-century ship was discovered in the banks of the River Usk in 2002 during construction work for the Riverfront Theatre. The ship’s timbers were disassembled and lifted out of a side channel piece by piece, with work finishing in spring 2003. The next stage of the project…

Millions of people who lost their lives in the Holocaust during the Second World War and in genocides around the world have been remembered with a special memorial event at Caldicot Hub. The event hosted by Friends of Caldicot Library was held on Thursday 26th of January, ahead of the annual commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day on Friday 27th of January. Members of the public, Monmouthshire County Council cabinet members and colleagues were all in attendance to hear the stories of survivors, listen to readings and to light candles in the victims’ memory. This year the theme for Holocaust Memorial…

A small but mighty team from Caedraw Primary School made the long journey to Birmingham to compete in the F1 in Schools UK National Finals. Held at the NEC, the Autosport Show hosts the Formula 1 in Schools STEM competition where children are challenged to design, build and race a gas canister-powered model Formula 1 car. Caedraw Primary is proud of its strong history in competing, including being crowned as previous F1 winners, successfully led by Miss Jodi Stokes and Mr Scott Beale. ‘Team Astro’ consisting of Joshua Pike, Korey Mason, Alfie Williams and Jake Williams were the students selected…

Minister Julie James has this week (Monday, January 30) announced a new £50m scheme to bring more empty homes back to life. The National Empty Homes Grant scheme, that will run over the next two years, has been developed to build on the success of previous Welsh Government initiatives like the Valleys Taskforce Empty Homes Grant. The National Empty Homes Scheme could see up to 2,000 long-term empty properties brought back into use. This scheme will run alongside with other Welsh Government schemes like Leasing Scheme Wales which is designed to improve access to longer term affordable housing in the…

Ten years since its launch, Business Wales has supported more than 390,000 entrepreneurs and businesses, assisted the creation of over 19,000 new start-ups and directly helped to create nearly 47,000 jobs in the Welsh economy. Business Wales is the Welsh Government’s flagship bilingual business support service for Welsh micro-businesses and SMEs including social enterprises, and aspiring entrepreneurs of all ages. Business Wales is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government. It provides dedicated support for those people wishing to start, sustain or grow their business through a range of face to face, telephone and online provision. Economy Minister,…

The CMR (Convention relative au contrat de transport international de marchandises par route) provides a clear, cross-country legal framework for the transportation of goods by road. Its aim is to standardize documentation, protect goods, improve efficiency, and reduce legal uncertainty. Despite its many benefits, not everything in the garden is rosy.  Reasons CMR Is Not a Perfect Solution Some countries have faced challenges with the implementation and enforcement of the CMR. Some of the common challenges include: Differences in national laws: Despite the efforts of the CMR to standardize the conditions for the transportation of goods by road, there may…

Swansea-based AD Marketing has started 2023 with a new office and a new look, as they look to build on the successes of the last five years. Established by experienced digital marketer Alix Charles in 2018, the firm began as a small freelance operation from offices in Neath Abbey, as Alix explains. “I had always wanted to run my own business, and after many years working for some of the largest agencies in Wales, I decided to venture out on my own, so secured funding from the Development Bank of Wales and set up Alix Digital.” Having managed the PPC…

Leading independent accountancy firm, Kilsby Williams, has announced a series of promotions within its tax and business services teams to start the new year. Dafydd Ford, who has been with the firm for over 15 years, has been promoted to Tax Associate. Dafydd has experience advising clients across a broad range of sectors and has used that experience to identify key tax planning opportunities for many clients over the years. He has particular expertise in areas such as property tax, investment tax relief and research and development tax relief. Dafydd said: “Since starting my tax career with Kilsby Williams in…

Business confidence in Wales rose by 16 points during January to 34%, the highest reading since 2021, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Commercial Banking. Companies in Wales reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 12 points at 43%.  When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up 20 points to 26% this gives a headline confidence reading of 34%. Welsh businesses identified their top target areas for growth in the next six months as evolving their offer (42%), investing in their team (39%), and diversifying into new markets (29%). The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide. A net balance of 29% of…