Author: Rhys Gregory

A rogue builder who continued to carry out shoddy work after appearing in court has started a 10 month prison sentence. Scott Keane, of Milford Haven, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday October 6th in a case brought by Pembrokeshire County Council’s Trading Standards team. Keane, aged 42, had previously admitted six charges under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations and appeared last week for sentencing. The charges related to the poor replacement of a flat roof with a fibre glass roof in April 2021 and the removal of a chimney in July this year. Both examples of…

Enforcement powers have been enhanced in the Caerphilly county borough, thanks to endorsement by the Council’s Cabinet. During a meeting held on 5th October, Cabinet members approved additional powers for officers within the Council’s Public Protection Division under the following Acts of Parliament, in order to enforce the legislation and carry out their duties in relation to the following: Offensive Weapons Act 2019 – this includes new legislative measures to control the sale of knives and corrosive products, and introduces new offences relating to their possession and use. The Act creates a new criminal offence of selling a corrosive product…

A new scheme to help tackle fuel poverty in Powys has been approved by Cabinet, the county council has said. ECO4 Flex will be relaunched by Powys County Council after the grant scheme was approved by Cabinet on Tuesday, 11 October. The scheme will enable home energy improvements to be delivered to Powys residents in fuel poverty. Delivery of the new and improved scheme will again be delivered on behalf of the council by Warm Wales, a community interest company specialising in delivery of programmes designed to address fuel poverty in Wales. Warm Wales will provide a fully managed scheme,…

Work on a new social housing development in north Powys has been completed, the county council has said. Powys County Council’s Affordable Housing Team has developed 22 new homes on the former livestock market in Llanidloes.  The development, which has been named Clos-Yr-Hen-Ysgol, was built by contractors J Harper and Sons (Leominster) Ltd. As part of the development, two four-bed houses, four two-bed houses, six three-bed houses, eight two-bed bungalows and two three/four-bed dormer bungalows have been built at the Gorn Road site The £3.9m development, which will be owned and managed by the council, will provide much-needed accommodation that…

A Welshpool company which has invested £5 million in state-of-the-art machinery to create 50 new jobs in the coming years has been named Powys Business of the Year. Wipak UK Ltd, based at the town’s Buttington Cross Enterprise Park, collected the coveted overall award, sponsored by Powys County Council, at the Powys Business Awards 2022 held at Dering Lines, Brecon on Friday night. The company, which makes sophisticated, high barrier packaging films for preserving and protecting food products, also won the People Development Award, sponsored by NPTC Group of Colleges. Wipak UK Ltd, which has a turnover approaching £30 million and 107…

First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford will meet Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney at the second meeting of the Wales-Ireland Forum. The two-day event in Dublin and Cork will include discussions on the cost-of-living crisis with Ministers sharing their approaches to supporting people during this challenging time. Climate change and renewable energy will also feature prominently in the talks. Offshore wind is seen by both governments as a significant opportunity to improve energy security. Discussions will also centre around ports and border control as the Welsh Government works to find practical solutions to the many challenges presented by Brexit.…

Children at Durand Primary School, in Caldicot, were excited to tell the Deputy Minister for Climate Change, with a responsibility for transport, Lee Waters, how the new 20mph speed limit in their town has given them more freedom to walk, cycle or scoot to school, when he visited their school earlier this week. Caldicot, in Monmouthshire, was one of the communities chosen to take part in phase one of the programme to lower the default national speed limit on residential roads and busy pedestrian streets from 30mph to 20mph. The rest of Wales will follow in its footsteps from September…

A Mold-based PR agency has achieved an industry double following a prestigious awards ceremony.  Outwrite PR was named best small PR agency of the year and account manager Cal Behrendt scooped outstanding young communicator of the year at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Cymru Wales PRide awards.  The success follows on from the agency winning the same categories at the Public Relations and Communicators Association (PRCA) Cymru Wales Dare awards earlier in the year.  Outwrite has experienced year-on-year growth since managing director Anthony Bullick completed a management buyout in 2018, and the agency has welcomed more new clients…

Many people think that the only way to make a real difference in society is to embrace a role that will bring about change, such as becoming an activist or politician. These are not easy roles to fulfil; as a result, many people think that making a difference in the world is far beyond their capacity. Embracing a societal role is not the only way to make a difference. You can make a difference in many ways, and one of the easiest and purest ways to do this is to summon the spirit of generosity. Many people underestimate the power…

Today’s customers are more demanding than ever and they choose their brands carefully when it comes to purchase decisions. With the internet making it extremely easy to switch to competitors, businesses can’t afford to be complacent when it comes to attracting, converting and retaining customers. It’s therefore important for businesses to focus on improving customer loyalty. Why go the extra mile to satisfy customers? Brands that work hard to understand and satisfy their customers’ needs, wants and desires can help to grow their brand reputation, gain more customers and retain their customer base. They tend to enjoy more referral marketing,…