Author: Rhys Gregory

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…

A high-profile Swansea Council scheme to bring more key public services to the heart of the city centre has received a major funding boost. A £2m grant from the Welsh Government has been provided – and a further £3.5m is available to the council to develop the former BHS store as a public focal point. The funding is being provided under the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns initiative that provides support to improve town centres across Wales. Council leader Rob Stewart said: “This substantial funding will help us deliver an outstanding venue for people to meet and to access a range…

The headteacher of a primary school in Swansea has been to Buckingham Palace this month to receive an MBE from Prince William. Alison Williams, who has been head teacher of Craigfelen Primary School for 11 years, was presented with the award for services to education and the community. During her time as headteacher she has led the school to an ‘excellent’ Estyn inspection as well as writing two best practice case studies. Her passion for enterprise education has ensured that this is at the heart of the school’s curriculum and has spread to other schools. She has led the very…

Margam Country Park’s Farm Trail has had a very special delivery, just in time for the summer holidays. Two baby alpacas, also known as ‘cria’, will be the first of their kind to enter the historic grounds of Margam Country Park. An ‘Alpaca Enclosure’ has been prepared on the Farm Trail and the Park’s Estates Team has received full training in preparation for the arrival. The Alpacas have come from Penrhallt Farm on the North coast of Gower. The family run farm has agreed to loan the alpaca mothers and also an auntie for a few months, in order to…

Community groups in the Caerphilly County Borough have benefitted from £21,187.96 in grants in the first half of 2022. Grants totalling £2,140 have been allocated via the Council’s Grants to the Voluntary Sector Fund, including support for a range of community groups such as Fleur de Lys Community Centre, Rhymney Castle Select Flying Club and Ravenswood Allotment Society.  In addition, a number of individuals have also secured financial support to represent Wales/GB competitively at their chosen sport. The Welsh Church Acts Fund has provided total funding of £19,047.96 to enable Libanus Lifestyle Wales CIC to install cladding in the main…

Caerphilly County Borough Council is inviting businesses to attend a special networking event, being held at 5pm on Friday 29 July 2022 Bargoed Library. The event is being hosted by the Council’s Business Enterprise and Renewal Team and will offer attendees the opportunity to meet with Council staff, Councillors, and other businesses throughout the county borough. Cllr Jamie Pritchard, the Council’s Deputy Leader, said “This is the third in a series of events offering businesses the opportunity to share best practice, whilst also finding out more about the support available to them from the Business Enterprise and Renewal Team. “We…