Author: Rhys Gregory

A rapidly-growing North Wales builder has started work on a £25 million scheme to build over 100 new homes in Colwyn Bay. Bamber Homes is a new division of the Mochdre-based Brenig Group and has been formed to develop the company’s private housebuilding projects. Their first venture is on a 13-acre site on Queens Drive, Colwyn Bay, where they will build a mixture of two- to five-bedroom houses and apartments on the former John Braddock and Mary Bamber convalescent centre site. The plans include 14 executive-style apartments in the John Braddock building, originally built as a luxurious mansion-style home for…

A new work by royal composer Paul Mealor is being premiered at a top music festival. The concerto written by Professor Mealor, one of the world’s most performed living composers who was born in St Asaph and brought up in Connah’s Quay, was jointly commissioned by the North Wales International Music Festival. The event is being held in a hybrid format for the very first time this year and resumes virtually later this month. Organisers say the support of the Arts Council of Wales and festival sponsors was crucial in enabling the hybrid event to go ahead. The headline sponsors…

A mountain rescue team is dealing with a record number of call-outs because of increases visitor numbers and extreme weather caused by climate change According to Tim Bird MBE, the team leader of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation (OVMRO), they are being helped to rise to the challenge thanks to some ground-breaking technology donated by the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PAC). In a year when rocketing visitor numbers to Snowdonia have made the national headlines, the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation (OVMRO) has responded to 110 call-outs to date and expects many more this winter. The new…

The Rhyl Pavilion Panto cast magically appeared at SC2 Rhyl for the official Cinderella Panto launch in search for Cinderella’s lost glass slipper. Soap opera star and Dancing on Ice winner Hayley Tamaddon, playing the Fairy Godmother, joined Buttons, Prince charming, Father Baron Hard-up and Cinderella in search of the missing glass slipper throughout the Ninja TAG arena. The cast are now asking the public to help them find the slipper throughout November so that Cinderella can go to the ball! The spectacular show of Cinderella at the Rhyl Pavilion Theatre has morning, afternoon and evening performances, from Wednesday 8th…

In a move designed to speed up the switch to electric vehicles, Welsh entrepreneur, Jarrad Morris, has officially announced the launch of Fleet-e, a company dedicated to assisting businesses and individuals make the switch in response to Local Authority and Government targets and the urgency to do so outlined at COP26. With a working valuation of £1.2million and a funding round due to launch, Fleet-e offers a wide range of electric cars and vans available to lease, ranging from the latest Tesla Model 3 and Jaguar i-Pace, to the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe, and also provides support with installing…

One of the UK’s most celebrated hospitality entrepreneurs, Stephen Hargreaves, is blazing a trail for the modern age, by accepting cryptocurrency as payment at his luxury flagship hotel, The Cranleigh Boutique. In so doing, the hotel becomes the first venue in the North- West to include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Utrust Token and Tether, as accepted forms of payment.  It’s another ‘first’ for the Lancashire-born entrepreneur, who has built an extensive portfolio of exclusive businesses in Bowness-on-Windermere, including The Cranleigh Boutique, The Boutique Hideout House, Baha Pacific Street Food restaurant, The Fizzy Tarté cocktail & champagne bar, and Lake View Garden Bar,…

Chepstow based health tech firm Forth is set to capitalise on the growth in the female science and technology market as it has secured £1.6m funding to support the launch of its ground-breaking female health product. Leading the team at Forth is CEO and Co-Founder Sarah Bolt. She said: “Today, more and more people are realising that understanding and measuring your body’s biochemistry is key for a long and healthy life. For women in particular, gaining unique insight into how their hormone levels fluctuate throughout their unique cycle can give women the support they have been lacking and help to…

A nurse dedicated to helping people with diabetes is celebrating winning a prestigious national award for her work. Chris Cottrell-Morgan has won an NHS Wales Outstanding Contributor Award for Services in Diabetes in the QiC (Quality in Care) Diabetes Programme. Chris is a diabetes specialist nurse who has worked in both hospital and community settings for many years. She has been at the forefront of many national initiatives to improve services for people throughout Wales, particularly during the pandemic, including managing the ThinkGlucose quality and safety campaign. She has helped develop new programmes such as the DiabetesClinic@Home app to improve the…

A KIND-HEARTED animal carer who launched a business while seriously injured in lockdown is developing the sweet smell of success. Gill Thomas-Jones was nursing a badly broken ankle just weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in the UK. A former sales rep and account manager in the pet sector, she used her time in rehabilitation – coupled with years of knowledge and experience – to create a range of sustainable products aimed at improving the health and beauty regimes of humans and animals. As she marks the first year of Mountain Garden Botanics, based in New Brighton, Wrexham, Gill is…

A group of ‘Rising Stars’ from the Welsh food and drink industry had the opportunity to put their products in the limelight at Wales’ premier food and drink event – BlasCymru / TasteWales 2021. The industry-wide showcase was held at the International Convention Centre Wales at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport (October 27-28th). BlasCymru/TasteWales featured over 100 Welsh food and drink businesses who took the opportunity to showcase more than 200 new products to some of the industry’s most important contacts. The flagship Welsh Government event brought together buyers, suppliers, and businesses across the Welsh food and drink industry. The two-day…