Author: Rhys Gregory

Denbighshire Leisure Ltd’s Community Arts team are delighted to be announced as one of only 9 organisations to have been awarded funding from the new lottery funded Arts, Health and Wellbeing Fund. The new Arts, Health and Wellbeing fund has been created to prioritise the support of better mental health and wellbeing through the Arts, to tackle health inequalities, support improved physical health following the pandemic, and support the wellbeing of staff within the arts and health sectors.  Funding is open to organisations working together across the arts, health, social care and third sectors. Arts Council of Wales Chair, Phil…

Welsh medal winners Matt Richards and Lauren Williams will be hot-footing it to Better Cardiff Leisure Centres on Saturday, fresh from their Olympic success in Tokyo. They will join the I am Team GB’s Festival of Sport events being run by several Better venues across the city over the week-end. There will be free activities to participate in as well as official I Am Team GB giveaways and athlete appearances from retired athletes, celebrated cyclist Ed Clancy and five-times British champion and Commonwealth Games silver medallist, gymnast Laura Halford. On the Saturday, Eastern Leisure Centre will be welcoming Matt Richards…

Checkatrade has revealed Wales’s top tradespeople, as decided by the consumers who used them. With over 44,000 members, Checkatrade’s ‘best of the best’ were selected by using the 5 million verified reviews left by customers. Those which made the cut achieved consistently brilliant customer feedback, going above and beyond in everything they do. Top trades include Evans Builders from Narberth, who have secured an average review score of 10.00, and L P Contractors Building & Roofing, Aberdare, who have also generated an average review score of 10.00 in the last 12 months – the highest score achievable on Checkatrade. The…

Famed chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White visited the Welsh-based gin distillery which he’s chosen to exclusively make his brand-new London dry gin. Master distiller Dai Wakely of Cygnet Distillery and Pierre White have been working behind the scenes for months on the development and inerrancies of creating a gin. They met to put the development plan and recipe into action to distil the first 1,000 bottles. Called Mr White’s, London Dry Gin the renowned chef has been involved with every aspect from the   recipe, bottle design and branding. Juniper led, it includes botanicals such as hand peeled orange, lemon…

New research by Acas has found that a quarter of British employers have not been giving their staff paid time off for COVID-19 vaccinations and have no plans to allow it. Acas commissioned YouGov to ask businesses in Britain about whether they would be giving staff paid time for COVID vaccination appointments. The poll found that: Six out of ten (59%) have been giving staff paid time off; 4% have not been doing it but plan to in the future; and 18% did not know. Acas advice is that employers should support staff to get the vaccine once it is…

A community cycling group in Llansannan is urging other rural organisations in Conwy to apply for £60,000 available in the latest round of windfarm funding. Clwb Beicio Llansannan bought 13 electric bikes helped by a £7,000 grant from the Brenig Wind Farm Fund and Club organiser Huw Rawson said they’re in regular use, especially at weekends. The closing date for applications for the latest round of funding is Wednesday, August 25, and he said: “It’s a great opportunity for local organisations to take advantage of these grants. “It’s helped us and we’re seeing plenty of use made of these bikes,…

A successful Denbighshire community transport scheme is appealing for volunteer drivers as it continues its expansion into Llangollen. South Denbighshire Community Partnership’s not-for-profit scheme is travelling further afield as it helps elderly and vulnerable people to get out and about. As part of an exciting £500,000 three-year initiative SDCP have extended their services along the Dee Valley to Llangollen and its surrounding villages from its base in Corwen. The partnership’s social inclusion services include a dial-a-ride facility, luncheon club, meals-on-wheels, leisure excursions and shopping trips. But a bigger area means more drivers are needed to keep the charity’s fleet of…

CHARITY MENINGITIS NOW are urging young people off to university or the world of work this Autumn not to assume it’s COVID-19 if they feel ill – it might be meningitis. As A-level results are announced and thousands of young people contemplate their future, the charity is concerned that the combination of new-found social freedoms, the desire of young people to mix in large groups and a move to campus-based accommodation for students, present the ideal opportunity for infectious diseases to spread, putting young people at a higher risk of meningitis. It’s calling on young people to carefully consider their…

Rural residents and businesses in Denbighshire are being remind to apply for funding towards the cost of installing gigabit broadband. The Welsh and UK governments are working together on the Gigabit Broadband Voucher scheme which covers part of the cost of installing new gigabit-capable internet connections. Under the partnership £7,000 is available for small-to-medium sized businesses and up to £3,000 is available for residential premises. Gigabit-capable broadband connections offer the fastest and most reliable speeds available, and the scheme is open to rural premises with broadband speeds of less than 100Mbps. Cllr Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of Denbighshire County Council…

Electronics manufacturer Davlec has secured a six-figure Development Bank of Wales loan to expand its agri-tech and sub-contract business. Founded in 1983 by her parents Glyn and Sue Davies, electronics manufacturer Davlec is managed by Nia Davies. From its origins designing, manufacturing and servicing equipment for the dairy parlour Davlec has grown to provide a full sub-contract electronics manufacturing service to customers from across a wide spectrum of industries. The Welshpool-based company initially approached the Development Bank for support during the Covid-19 pandemic through the Covid-19 Wales Business Loan Scheme. Nia and the team, working with their portfolio executive Stewart…