Author: Rhys Gregory

Swansea Building Society has opened a new office in Monmouthshire to provide a local base for its mortgage team who cover that area. The new office comes as part of its five-year growth and investment plan for developing its presence in the region. The office is located at Swan House, 33 Cross Street, Abergavenny, where recently appointed business development manager, Dan Goulding, and his assistant are to be based – and which other Society business development staff can utilise as and when needed. The aim is to allow Goulding and his colleagues to meet customers and brokers face-to-face, and to…

A Wrexham-based engineering firm has been praised for their “quick-thinking and kindness” after helping RSPCA Cymru come to the aid of a stricken bird. RSPCA officers were alerted after a gull was spotted caught by his wing to a communication aerial approximately 30-feet from the ground, at a warehouse on the Wrexham Industrial Estate. Unfortunately, no suitable ladders were available to reach the troubled bird – so RSPCA inspector Phil Lewis visited the yard of the nearby JB Fabrication (Wrexham) Ltd, a North Wales-based engineering contractor. Staff at the firm were happy to help – and provided an aerial platform…

Two drivers who caused the death of a beloved grandmother days before Christmas, as they raced along a valleys road at speeds of up to 100mph, have been jailed. Witnesses described seeing Levi Edwards and Morgan Sansom “driving like idiots” shortly before Edwards lost control of his red BMW and collided with a car being driven by 84-year-old Shirley Hope on the afternoon of December 20, 2019. As Mrs Hope lay dying at the scene of the collision on Rhigos Road, Hirwaun, Sansom drove off in his white BMW, briefly returning and leaving again before emergency services arrived. Edwards was…

A range of parades and services have been organised across Bridgend County Borough to commemorate Remembrance 2021. This year’s Remembrance Sunday will see Members of Bridgend County Borough Council lay wreaths at the majority of war memorials in the county borough, paying their respects and reflecting on the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. A number of services and parades have also been arranged for members of the public to mark the day. Bridgend Town Council is co-ordinating two Remembrance events. The first is a Children and…

Bridgend County Borough Council has revealed details on where it is planning to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Each candidate site is currently being assessed and is dependent upon conditions ranging from Western Power supplies to planning requirements and partnership agreement. As part of the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, £2.87m has been set aside for installing electric vehicle charging points in a range of public places across the region. The candidate sites being considered within Bridgend County Borough include: Pencoed Railway Station Park and Ride car park. Maesteg car park. Rhiw multi storey car park in Bridgend. Brackla Street…

The fairy Godmother of all Pantomimes returns to Blackwood Miner’s Institute. Tickets are now on sale for Cinderella, the magical pantomime adventure starring Owen Money and a company of talented actors. Filled with fun, sparkles, singing, dancing, magic and more, audiences of all ages are sure to have ‘a ball’. Cinderella will be at Blackwood Miners’ Institute from Thursday 2nd – Thursday 30th December. Times and prices vary. For more information or to book tickets call the Box Office on 01495 227206 or visit the website at blackwoodminersinstitute.com.

Planning permission has been granted for a flagship housing development in Pontllanfraith; bringing much needed affordable homes to the area in the future. Approval for the Chartist Garden Village development was given during a remote meeting of Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Planning Committee, held on Wednesday 3rdNovember. Chartist Garden Village is an exciting collaboration between the council and the Pobl Group which will result in an attractive development on the former Pontllanfraith House council offices site comprising up to 125 homes – of these approx..83 (two thirds of the development) will be affordable; including opportunities for low cost home ownership…

Pupils in Newport will have the opportunity to learn about life in the health and care sector next week as part of an online careers week. Aimed at year nine pupils and above, the event, which runs from the 8th-12th November and is organised by Careers Wales and the One Newport partnership, will see partners and employers from across the sector hold virtual workshops with pupils which will cover: What it is like to work in health and care What skills and qualifications are needed to work in the sector The range of job opportunities available in the local area…

More people in Wales are starting a new business venture and seizing the economic and lifestyle changes that have been driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething revealed today as Global Entrepreneurship week gets underway. Latest figures show that since March 2020, the Welsh Government’s Business Wales service has provided advice and guidance to 3,020 individuals thinking of starting a business, which supported the creation of 1,556 new businesses in Wales. This included 324 entrepreneurs, that were previously unemployed, who started a business with financial support through the Start-Up barriers grant. This follows the announcement last week that Business…

Tackling health inequalities and more help to help people quit are key parts of a new plan to make Wales smoke-free by the end of the decade. Deputy Minister for Wellbeing, Lynne Neagle has today (November 8th) launched the consultation for the long term tobacco control strategy, A Smoke-free Wales. It will be open until January 31st. The target of the strategy is a smoke-free Wales by 2030, which means less than 5% of the population smoking. Whilst around 14% of people in Wales smoke, there are strong links between smoking and deprivation with those in more deprived areas more…