Author: Rhys Gregory

High street traders in the Vale of Glamorgan have released a music track appealing to residents to shop local this Christmas. ‘Shop Local This Christmas’ which is sung to the tune of John Lennon’s Happy Christmas has been released ahead of Black Friday to encourage residents to visit their local high street in the lead up to Christmas. The track features traders from across the Vale’s four towns – Barry, Cowbridge, Llantwit Major and Penarth, along with vocals from students in the Vale Academy of Performing Arts. The track is musically arranged and produced by Vale of Glamorgan resident Matthew Brind,…

A Monmouth woman and her sister will be pushing themselves to the limit this Christmas in a gruelling challenge to row the Atlantic Ocean. Pippa Edwards and her sister, Felicity Ashley, both former students at Monmouth School for Girls, will battle sleep deprivation, salt sores, physical extremes and 40-foot waves in the epic 3,000-mile Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Pippa, a working mum with four young children, will be following in the strokes of her husband, David Edwards, the Deputy Head (Pastoral) at Monmouth School for Boys, who successfully rowed the Atlantic in 2020. The challenge, which is expected to take…

Bolt – the UK’s second largest ride-hailing app with 4 million passengers across the country and 75 million users globally – is launching in Cardiff on Thursday 25th November as it continues its UK-wide roll-out. As the fastest growing mobility platform in the world, Bolt‘s arrival will help the people of Cardiff to travel around their city sustainably and affordably. Last month’s announcement of Cardiff’s “One Planet” strategy outlined the plan of action that the city will take to achieve its carbon neutral status by 2030.  As a compelling alternative to the private car, Bolt’s launch is ideally timed to…

The heroes of Wales contact centre industry have been reunited and celebrated at the 23rd annual Welsh Contact Centre Awards ceremony held at Cardiff Bay’s Coal Exchange and hosted by comedian Russell Kane. With the support of headline sponsors Jomo People, the awards honoured all who overcame pandemic adversities to dedicate themselves to providing a lifeline to businesses and individuals across the UK and beyond. Organised by the Welsh Contact Centre Forum, this year’s awards went further than simply recognising an industry that contributes £650m annually to Wales’ economy and employs over 32,000 people. Speaking at the Awards, industry chief,…

On Friday November 19, Aber Falls opened the doors to its new Welsh Farmer’s Market in Abergwyngregyn, with a special festive launch ceremony, officially opened by Welsh TV presenter and celebrity Siân Lloyd. Funded by the Coastal Communities Fund, the Aber Falls Farmer’s Market will provide local and independent Welsh businesses with a regular platform to showcase their products, whether it be food and drink or arts and crafts. The market is looking to connect the local community with small and upcoming businesses, by showcasing the best of Wales and encouraging the community to support these local suppliers. To celebrate…

AN ESTATE agent laid foundations for further growth in the new year after sweeping the board at national awards ceremonies. Williams Estates was a big winner at both the ESTAS and British Property Awards following a successful 12 months. Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the North Wales company – which has sites in Holywell, Denbigh, Mold, Rhyl, Ruthin, Prestatyn and Rhuddlan – recruited six new bilingual staff in past months. And the 25-strong team had even more to shout about having secured top industry accolades; they won six titles at the recent ESTAS, including their ninth Gold for…

Construction work will start later this month on a major new office development at the former Oceana nightclub site in Swansea. Providing space for 600 jobs, the development set for 71/72 The Kingsway will include 114,000 square feet of commercial floorspace with flexible co-working and office opportunities for innovative tech, digital and creative sector businesses. The start of work follows-on from Swansea Council – which leads on the scheme – signing a contract with main contractor Bouygues UK for the development build. Due for completion in the summer of 2023, the five-storey scheme will be carbon zero and worth £32.6…

Morgan Sindall Construction and Pembrokeshire County Council have celebrated reaching the halfway stage of delivering Haverfordwest’s £48.7m landmark new Haverfordwest High VC School building. The milestone was marked with a ‘topping-out’ ceremony, where the client team were invited to witness for themselves the dramatic progress that has been made on the former Sir Thomas Picton School site. The milestone also represents a continuing commitment to transforming Pembrokeshire schools into high quality 21st Century school environments. The strong partnership working between the authority and Welsh Government is providing learners with the very best facilities. The new school building will accommodate 1500…

For the second year in a row, Pembrokeshire residents have been crowned the best recyclers in Wales. The Welsh Government has confirmed that Pembrokeshire remained the best-performing local authority area for recycling from April 2020 to March 2021. A total of 73.2% of all waste collected by Pembrokeshire County Council was recycled during that period – the highest figure Pembrokeshire has ever seen – and up from the 72% the previous year. The Welsh Government recycling target for local authorities is 64%. Cllr Cris Tomos, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said he was extremely proud at Pembrokeshire topping the charts…

Caerphilly County Borough Council is appealing for residents, staff and businesses to support their local foodbank this festive period. Foodbanks provide emergency food and support to families and individuals who find themselves in financial crisis.  They rely heavily upon donations, particularly over Christmas, and have seen demand for their support increase because of the pandemic. The council is collecting cash donations as part of this year’s appeal to enable foodbanks to purchase the supplies they desperately need. There are also donation points located throughout the county borough where items of non-perishable food can be taken throughout the year: Rhymney Integrated…