Author: Rhys Gregory

Sir Peter Wanless, the CEO of the NSPCC, is continuing the Cardiff Business Club’s 2022 season of live speaking events this February where he will discuss his role working with the UK’s leading children’s charity and what led him there. Peter, who was awarded a knighthood for services to children, young people and the charitable sector in the 2021 New Year’s Honours, joined the NSPCC as Chief Executive in 2013, after previously running the Big Lottery Fund and working as a Director at the Department of Education. As Chief Executive, Peter is advancing the NSPCC’s vision to prevent cruelty to…

Support from the Welsh Government’s Business Wales service boosted the Welsh economy by an estimated £790m a year by mid 2021, according to new research unveiled by Economy Minister Vaughan Gething today. More than 25,000 jobs have been created thanks to support from the service since 2015, with Business Wales also helping businesses generate a total of £469m in investment over the same period. This has resulted in a combined turnover level of more than £13bn. The performance of the service has been analysed by Cardiff Business School in a new report. The report examined the impact of two specific…

From small independent businesses to entrepreneurs, large companies and developers, over 70 exhibitors have already been confirmed for a major event taking place in the spring. Being held at Swansea Arena on Thursday March 17 from 10am to 8pm, the Swansea City Centre Conference and Exhibition 2022 will give an opportunity for city centre retailers, regional businesses, social enterprises, community projects and not-for-profit organisations to raise their profile and make connections. Organised by 4TheRegion in partnership with Swansea Council, the event will also give an opportunity to celebrate the city and the region and find out what’s happening both now…

Fourth generation jeweller Paul Howells has completed the refurbishment of his 155-year-old family business, bringing an adjoining retail outlet back to life and safeguarding four jobs in the market town of Haverfordwest. Established in 1866 by Paul’s great-grandfather, Howells Jewellers occupies a prime position on Quay Street in Haverfordwest. A six-figure loan from the Development Bank of Wales and funding from Pembrokeshire County Council’s Houses into Homes Empty Property Scheme, designed to bring empty properties back in to use, has enabled the refurbishment of the double fronted shop and creation of four new apartments. Offering views of the river, each…

Leading partnership developer Lovell has been selected as the preferred developer to deliver a new design and build scheme on the former council office site in Pontllanfraith. Pobl Group has chosen Lovell as their preferred partner to build 123 new homes on this strategically important site, including a mix of 40 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes for open market sale, 40 affordable shared ownership homes and 43 affordable homes for social rent. The land was owned by Caerphilly County Borough Council, who have played a pivotal role in the partnership which will see the development of these high quality,…

A milk bank has been set up for the first time in Wales to help ill or premature babies and, over time, mothers facing feeding difficulties. The new milk bank hub, based in Singleton Hospital, Swansea, is supplying human milk to babies being cared for in hospital, with much of the milk being donated by Welsh mothers. Donor milk can help ill or premature babies in supporting their feeding, growth and development and in preventing complications, while also supporting mothers who need time to establish their own milk supply. Until now, hospitals in Wales had received donor milk directly from…

Volunteers have dug deep to bring new natural life to a popular Rhyl green area. A group of kind-hearted volunteers recently rolled up their sleeves to help plant trees at Glan Morfa. Glan Morfa is an all-ability trail following the banks of the River Clwyd estuary. The wide path takes you through the young community woodland before cutting back towards the estuary. The Council is continually working to maintain, improve and increase the biodiversity landscape of the county by protecting vulnerable species and habitats for the benefit of both wildlife and people who live and visit Denbighshire. Some of the…

The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated how important public open spaces are for our mental and physical wellbeing, and luckily Neath Port Talbot is well served by its forests, parks and seaside. But one of the most popular local assets – Neath’s Gnoll Estate Country Park – is currently under regular attack by vandals who are causing extensive damage valued at many thousands of pounds. Over the past few months, toilets have been damaged, buildings broken into, the Visitor Centre has been attacked with CCTV cameras smashed, tiles have been torn from the roof, windows broken, and items set on fire. …

Construction company Willmott Dixon has recently made donations which will support many residents in the Caerphilly county borough. The contractor has been appointed by Caerphilly County Borough Council to deliver a key element of its new house building programme; with sites in Trecenydd and Trethomas currently under development. Willmott Dixon donated £1,000 to the council’s Christmas foodbank appeal, which saw a total of over £10,500 raised to enable foodbanks throughout the county borough buy the supplies they need.  In addition, Willmott Dixon also donated several ‘Prepare for Work’ packs for participants signed up to the council’s employment support programmes. Cllr…

A Monmouth woman and her sister battled extreme sleep deprivation, 40-foot waves and flying fish to row unaided across the Atlantic Ocean in just 40 days. Pippa Edwards and her sister, Felicity Ashley, both former students at Monmouth School for Girls, completed the epic 3,000-mile Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in a remarkable 40 days 11 hours and 25 minutes! It has been an incredible effort by Monmouth-based Pippa; Felicity and crew-mates Jo Blackshaw and Lebby Eyres, who got their challenge under way in La Gomera in the Canary Islands on 12th December and spent Christmas Day on the Ocean. Known…