Author: Rhys Gregory

Escape to the Darran Valley is a free, guided walking event taking place on Sunday 21stSeptember at Parc Cwm Darran Visitor Centre and Café, organised by CCBC Countryside Service in partnership with Caerphilly Adventures. The day will feature a choice of guided walks designed to suit all abilities. Four 8.5-mile led walks will follow the Escape to the Darran Valley trail as closely as possible, including a reverse-route option for a fresh perspective. Weather permitting, participants will enjoy breathtaking views across the valley. Two shorter options ranging from 2 to 5 miles will provide a gentler experience, following a looped…

Residents in Powys are being encouraged to help bring long term empty properties back into use to help tackle the housing emergency in the county. Powys County Council is calling on residents to use its Empty Property Referral Form to report any empty homes they are aware of, especially those causing damage or damp to neighbouring properties. Launched in April 2024, the online form has already led to dozens of investigations and is helping bring unused homes back into use. 12 empty properties have been successfully brought back into between April and July this year, with more expected in…

Former children’s commissioner Sally Holland will chair the independent assessment of all maternity and neonatal services in Wales. The work will focus on the safety of all maternity and neonatal services and will evaluate the quality of services. The assurance assessment is designed to provide real-time and immediate assurance about the quality and safety of maternity and neonatal services following the results of the independent review of Swansea Bay’s maternity services and concerns about other UK maternity and neonatal units. The voices and experiences of women and families will be at the heart of this work – their perspectives are…

A further eight Aberystwyth University academics have been announced as members of prestigious sub-panels assessing research excellence in the UK higher education sector, bringing the total involved to nine. The panels are part of the Research Excellence Framework 2029. Each academic will sit on a panel within their specific area of expertise. The REF plays a vital role in the UK higher education sector. Sub-panels assess the quality of research across 34 different subject areas. The outcome of the REF is used to determine the yearly allocation of public funding worth £2 billion for research at universities. The eight announced…

An independent retailer is set to open a newly rebranded Nisa Local following a six-figure funding boost from HSBC UK. The store in Church Village, near Pontypridd – previously operating as a Co-op – closed temporarily on 19 July and reopened on 1 September under the new ownership of C&S Patel Retail.   The business has acquired the 7,500 sq. ft. site with support from HSBC UK, retaining all existing staff and planning to recruit additional team members as demand grows.   The store is expected to undergo phased improvements over the next six to eight months, with a focus on operational…

Applications are open for the next Business Wales Start-Up Accelerator, a fully online, ten-week programme that runs from Tuesday, 30th September 2025 to Friday, 12th December 2025. The application deadline is Monday, 15th September 2025.  The accelerator is designed exclusively for Wales-based entrepreneurs with high-growth business ideas, supporting their journey from securing a first customer to preparing for investment. Participants will benefit from personalised support from experienced coaches, with a strong focus on building a sustainable business model and revenue generation.  Over the ten weeks, founders follow a clear, step-by-step approach to shape their idea, win paying customers and strengthen their business foundations. The Start-Up Accelerator helps participants build core skills through webinars, masterclasses…

The manager of Europe’s most popular Youtube collective is set to appear alongside a list of media industry leaders at the Wales Screen Summit 2025. Jordan Schwarzenberger, manager of The Sidemen group with more than 244 million cross-channel followers and the third most searched term on Youtube globally in 2023, will appear at the screen industry conference next month. Jordan is co-founder of management company Arcade Media, named in the Forbes 30u30, a member of Downing Street’s SME Council and an investor in multiple start-ups. Wales Screen Summit, the premier event for the film and television industry in Wales, will take…

With students across the UK returning to school this week, heading back to the classroom can be a source of anxiety or stress for many children, especially if they are suffering from bullying. Finding out your child is being bullied is a distressing experience, and it can often be difficult for parents to determine the best course of action to help solve the issue. Here, the team at education training experts, High Speed Training, share some tell-tale signs that parents should look out for to tell if their child is being bullied, and the best course of action to stop…

Following a competitive tender process, Into Film Cymru have been awarded the contract to implement the Discover! Creative Careers programme in Wales across 2025 – 2026.  Working in partnership with Discover! Creative Careers, the programme has an ambition to reach at least 5,000 young people across Wales in 2025-2026. Ryan Chappell-Williams, Project Manager, Discover! Creative Careers Cymru, Into Film Cymru said:“We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen to lead Discover! Creative Careers, Cymru/Canfod Gyrfaoedd Creadigol. This is an incredible opportunity to open doors for young people across the nation and will help them explore the full breadth of careers across the creative…

Alongside Dynolwaith (26 Sept-4 Oct), its brand new co-production with Frân Wen, Sherman Theatre has curated a wealth of Welsh talent this Autumn, with a programme of visiting shows spanning several genres. Comedians Henry Paker, Benjamin Partridge and Mike Wozniak bring their Three Bean Salad Podcast – winner of the Chortle Awards’ Best Podcast award in 2024 and produced by Little Wander, to the Sherman (13 Sept). Discover three new worlds, from ancient mythology through to futuristic sci-fi, in Surge; National Dance Company Wales’ triple-bill of captivating dance and gorgeous design (17-19 Sept). Profound passion meets total chaos in Romeo a Juliet,…