Author: Rhys Gregory

Detectives investigating the death of Tomasz Waga on January 28, 2021, have charged a further man in connection with his murder. Gledis Mehalla, 20, was arrested in Albania and extradited on Thursday, January 20 in a successful, joint operation involving South Wales Police Major Crime Detectives and other UK and Albanian law enforcement agencies. He is due to appear before Cardiff Magistrates’ Court today (Friday, January 21). Three other men – Josif Nushi, Mihal Dhana and Mario Qato – are due to stand trial on March 1 charged with murder. Other individuals arrested during this long and complex investigation remain…

The new Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) Strategic Premises Fund has officially launched and is open for new loan applications. The £50m Fund has been created to support the development of commercial real estate projects, across a variety of different sectors, in South Wales. All potential development schemes must provide socio-economic benefits to the local area with the core objectives being regional regeneration, job creation and accelerating the delivery of employment land. The Fund is managed by CBRE’s Investment Advisory team, part of CBRE Capital Advisors, which manages a number of other development Funds across the UK, including the North West…

A £500,000 grant from the Welsh Government will fund new facilities at Aberystwyth University for its nursing courses which will start in September this year. The announcement comes six months after the University’s plans to offer nursing qualifications for the first time were given the go-ahead by Health Education and Improvement Wales. The money will be used to invest in facilities at the University’s new Healthcare Education Centre, located opposite Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth. The plans include capital works and the purchase of equipment to create a suite of high quality clinical practice rooms, as part of a £1.7 million…

Ministry of Furniture, the company which emerged from Remploy Furniture, has unveiled exciting growth plans for 2022, which include a significant investment in systems, a planned move to larger premises and the launch of a new product line. The business will also streamline and simplify its offering in line with its core skillset – the design, manufacture (and remanufacture), and installation of furniture. As such, it has completed the divestment of Ministry Graphics, its division offering graphics and signage, which has been sold to its original shareholder. Ministry of Furniture first invested in Ministry Graphics, originally called Sign and Print…

A new site is set to help grow the green shoots of Denbighshire County Council’s work to improve biodiversity across the county The Council has set up a local provenance tree nursery at Green Gates farm on the edge of St Asaph. This new site aims to produce 5,000 trees and 5,000 native wildflower plants a year, with the hope to expand in the future. Following the Council’s declaration of a climate and ecological emergency in 2019, this project is part of an ongoing commitment to enhancing biodiversity across the county, Across Denbighshire there are now nearly 60 Wildflower Meadows…

A finance specialist, with more than 20 years’ experience, has joined Cardiff-based Lexington Corporate Finance as it seeks to strengthen its services to mature businesses wanting to expand, restructure or enter new markets. Sinead Johnson joins the award-winning company as a director, bringing decades of experience working with businesses across the SME and mid-markets at NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds Bank and, more recently, as a principal with Growth Lending, one of the UK’s leading alternative finance providers for innovative, fast-growing companies. She will play a crucial role in managing and developing the service line, which helps owners of companies raise funding…

Forest Holidays has announced its newest location due to open in late 2022. It will see 40 eco-sensitive cabins open for overnight stays in the Brecon Beacons National Park amidst 400 acres of woodland at the southern gateway, Garwnant. This will be the company’s 12th UK location and 2nd in Wales, the first one having opened in Snowdonia National Park in 2018. Garwnant will be Forest Holidays 6th location set within a National Park and has been carefully designed to integrate with the natural environment. Work on the location will begin this month. This opening represents a multi-million-pound investment including…

Macmillan Cancer Support is warning that the latest waiting times data for Wales reveals how patients continue to face worrying delays in life-saving cancer treatment. Released today, cancer treatment waiting times data for November shows that performance against Wales’ national target was at its lowest point since the pandemic began. Only 57.9% of patients newly diagnosed with cancer started their first definitive treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer, which is well below the national target of 75%. The charity warns that during November alone, over 740 people with cancer were left to face worrying delays in…

A cancer charity is hoping that a green revolution in fashion will help boost their finances after their fundraising efforts were badly hit by the pandemic. According to Tenovus Cancer Care, which has shops in Llangollen, Bala, Barmouth, Pwllheli, Porthmadog, Buckley and Mold, more and more people were ditching fast fashion and buying pre-loved clothes. As a result, the new generation of bargain hunters are snapping up designer outfits for rock bottom prices. Carole DeRosa, a retail manager at Tenovus, was speaking during a visit to Ifor Williams Trailers which have established collection points for the charity at each of…

Regional tourism trade organisation, MWT Cymru, and award-winning training provider, Cambrian Training Company, are joining forces to deliver skills training to tourism and hospitality businesses across Mid Wales. A programme of practical skills workshops, curated by Cambrian Training Company, will be delivered online to members of MWT Cymru throughout 2022 to help tackle a skills and staffing crisis across the tourism and hospitality industry. The first online event to launch the workshop series will take place on February 8, coinciding with National Apprenticeship Week (February 7 – 13). Businesses will hear from speakers at Cambrian Training Company about the benefits…