Author: Rhys Gregory

Robert Lloyd Griffiths OBE has been appointed Director for Wales by chartered accountancy body ICAEW. Robert will support ICAEW Chartered Accountants in Wales, and the businesses they work with, and work with key stakeholders at the Senedd. Previously the National Director for the Institute of Directors in Wales, Robert holds several non-executive and advisory positions and is a board member of Qualifications Wales. He has a degree in banking and finance from Cardiff University and was awarded an OBE in the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to the economy and voluntary services in Wales. Robert said: “It is a…

Swansea has been crowned the most festive place in the UK with families putting up their Christmas decorations earlier than anywhere else in Britain. While households across the nation are often divided when it comes to deciding when they should start decorating their house, it seems those in Swansea have concluded the earlier the better. Having asked 1,000 Brits from across a number of different cities and counties when they put up their Christmas decorations, it was those living in Swansea who said they hang them up the earliest – an average of 49 days before Christmas Day. That’s November…

Wales & West Utilities is using this year’s Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week to launch a campaign that encourages young people to understand the dangers of carbon monoxide (CO) and the steps they can take to stay safe this winter. Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week runs from 22-28 November and is organised by the All Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG). It aims to raise awareness and help consumers and the public to wise up to carbon monoxide. As part of the campaign, Wales & West Utilities is specifically targeting 16–25-year-olds, with a simple message – Stay safe from CO or it…

National charity Youth Music, has today launched the Youth Music Recharge Fund, supported by People’s Postcode Lottery. The one-off funding round of £1,750,000 will be equitably invested to support around 40 music organisations nationwide, with approximately £170,000 intended to support youth music-making in Wales. Successful applicants will receive grants of up to £30,000 a year for three years. The Youth Music Recharge Fund has been designed in direct response to research the charity undertook last year about how COVID-19 affected youth music-making, which found that 60% of creative organisations want help with funding and income diversification. The funding will give music organisations much needed…

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s brand new £3m animal care facility at Coleg Glynllifon has been officially opened by Lesley Griffiths MS, Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales and Trefnydd. The new Animal Care Centre, which was funded by Welsh Government 21st Century Schools and Colleges programme, houses the college’s full range of animal care courses, including Level 1 Land Based studies, Level 2 Animal Care and Level 3 Animal Management. Vet Nursing and Assistant Vet Nurse Apprenticeships are also available through the new centre with a dedicated Vet Nursing Laboratory for students to prepare for external practical examinations linked to…

Pontyclun-based DEPLOY™ is disrupting the water storage industry with the development of the first-ever air-deployed ready-to-use water tank that improves accessibility and sustainability for agriculture and rural communities. Manufactured with a concrete-filled fabric to ensure durability, resistance and reliability, DEPLOY™  is the brainchild of engineers Paul Mendieta from Ecuador and Beren Kayali of Turkey. Together, they have now secured the backing of the Development Bank of Wales with a £250,000 equity investment along with £187,000 from the Start Up Funding Club (SFC Capital) and a Smart Cymru grant of £133,000. Having also won the support of Innovate UK, the business…

South Wales Police’s Major Crime Investigations Team have launched a murder investigation following the discovery of a woman’s body in #LlantwitFardre on Sunday (November 21, 2021). It was made at a house on St Anne’s Drive at approximately 2.45pm. At this stage officers are unable to release the identity of the deceased. An incident room has been set up at Cardiff Central Police Station and detectives investigating the murder want to hear from anybody in the village who may have heard or seen anything suspicious between 00:01hrs on Friday (19 Nov) to 14.40hrs on Sunday (21 November). A large police…

South Wales Police are currently at the scene of a road traffic collision on the A4226 in Barry. The road is closed in both directions from the B4226 roundabout to the Port Road roundabout, and is expected to remain closed for some time. Motorists are advised to find alternative routes where possible. The collision happened at around 5.20am this morning and involved a car and a motorbike. If anybody witnessed or has dash-cam footage of the collision please contact the police quoting reference 2100410553. Please go to: https://bit.ly/SWPProvideInfo Send us a private message on Facebook/Twitter Via email: [email protected] Phone: 101

Thousands of residents and visitors turned out for Swansea’s annual Christmas parade on November 21. They enjoyed the free Swansea Council event that featured a vibrant mix of local community groups, spectacular professional entertainers, marching bands, magical floats, colourful film characters and festive inflatables. Santa was there too, switching on the improved and expanded city centre Christmas lights. Council cabinet member Robert Francis-Davies said: “The Christmas countdown for Swansea really did start on Sunday night! This year’s parade – another free event provided by the council – was another great spectacle. “It was probably Swansea’s biggest ever Christmas parade – and probably…

Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet has agreed an updated Biodiversity Duty Plan demonstrating how it will continue to help halt the decline of biodiversity. And at their meeting on Wednesday (Nov 17th, 2021), Cabinet Members also agreed the council will sign up to the Edinburgh Declaration – a commitment to tackling the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss by integrating nature-based solutions into the way it works. The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 already places a duty on public authorities to maintain and enhance biodiversity by promoting the resilience of ecosystems in its functions, meaning Welsh councils and other…