Author: Rhys Gregory

A temporary plan for Swansea’s St David’s Shopping Centre site including a pop-up park has been given the green light. Swansea Council’s Cabinet has approved a two-year scheme for the site, pending its regeneration in the longer term. Work on the pop-up park will start this summer ahead of its completion in the autumn. Developed by the council in partnership with Natural Resources Wales and Urban Foundry, it will include a rain garden and a mixture of planting, living roofs, seating and bike shelters. Other temporary plan features include two food and drink container units for start-up businesses. A community container…

Horse-mad pupils can now bring their ponies with them to a top North Wales private school after its equestrian centre re-opened this month. The right royal £30,000 renovation comes 15 years after Olympic eventing gold medallist Princess Anne opened the facilities at what is now Myddelton College in Denbigh. It is the latest addition to the amenities at the fast-growing co-educational school, one of the newest in the UK, which took over the premises of the former Howell’s School in 2016. The school’s 37 acres of grounds already have extensive sporting facilities including tennis and squash courts, a gym and…

A leading bakery has launched a £3,000-a-year scholarship programme to help raise standards in the food industry. The first recipient of the Jones Village Bakery’s bursary is Jo Flower, 21, a food technology and product development student at Harper Adams University in Newport in Shropshire. Part of the prize will be spending the next year on placement with the multi-award winning Wrexham-based company. By the time she starts, the family firm’s new state-of-the-art super bakery will be up and running. At 140,000 sq ft, it’s four times the size of the bakery it’s replacing and will also be the home…

Compass Cymru has announced a new surplus food partnership with Cardiff-based food charity, FareShare Cymru. This partnership will encourage Compass’ sites across Wales to donate surplus food to communities in need. Projects which receive food from FareShare Cymru include community centres, foodbanks and homeless shelters. The food FareShare Cymru distributes – such as fresh fruit, veg, meat and non-perishable items including pasta and tins – is surplus, but still good to eat and would otherwise go to waste. Launched as a distinct business in April 2021, Compass Cymru is part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, the UK’s largest food…

Macmillan has welcomed an improvement in cancer treatment waiting times but warns that a third of cancer patients are still facing worrying delays in their care. The latest cancer treatment times data, which was published today, shows that over 550 people faced delays in their treatment during March 2021 alone. The charity says that while this is a marked improvement on the previous month, it demonstrates just how far Wales’ cancer services have to go in recovering from the pressures of the coronavirus pandemic. Macmillan also warns that despite the improvement in the number of cancer treatments taking place in…

With 2021 set to be the year of the staycation, there couldn’t be a better time to explore Wales with our dogs. It can be difficult to find places to visit and eat that allow dogs, let alone welcome them as much as their human companions! Fortunately, dog-friendly holiday provider Canine Cottages has crunched the TripAdvisor data to find the most dog-friendly places to go in Wales. Based on the percentage of reviews on TripAdvisor suggesting a place was dog-friendly, they found the most dog-friendly beaches, places to visit, pubs and cafes across the nation, which can also be found…

An Aberaeron couple pleaded guilty to coronavirus restrictions and public order offences before the start of a scheduled trial in Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 18 May 2021. David James and Meinir Bowen of the Castle Hotel, Market Street, Aberaeron, were accused of offences that took place on the night of 4 December 2020 after Ceredigion County Council Public Protection officers and a Dyfed-Powys Police Officer inspected their hotel that evening having heard drunken voices from within the premises. The court heard that after being permitted entry to the bar of the hotel, the officers were faced with verbal abuse…

Construction work is underway on the second phase of a housing development in Undy. Bellway Wales is building a total of 180 homes at Greystone Meadows, off Parkhurst Drive, including 144 houses for sale and 36 affordable properties for rent or shared ownership. All 29 homes in phase one of the development have now been completed, and many of the plots in phase two are under construction. Greystone Meadows, which forms part of a wider neighbourhood of 266 new homes, launched in September 2019 and is due to be completed by 2022. Bellway has also created a pond and drainage…

AWYR LAS (Blue Sky) is driving a campaign to build a revolutionary mobile scanning vehicle for cardiac patients in rural communities. The North Wales NHS charity is calling on the public to help raise £66,000 towards the appeal as part of this year’s popular NHS Big Tea event. The Cardiac Diagnostic Vehicle will be fitted with advanced technology, allowing clinicians to journey to vulnerable patients so they can diagnose and perform assessments remotely. This innovative approach will save Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) vital resources, clinic space and reduce waiting times as people will be seen outside their homes,…

The owner of a family-run farm shop is encouraging people in Flintshire to continue to buy local in order to support the wider community. Swans Farm Shop, based in Treuddyn, was opened by husband and wife Clive and Gail on their 200-acre farm 18 years ago. Swans Farm Shop has remained open throughout lockdown, which has enabled its supply chain to continue selling products where it otherwise may have closed.  The farm shop, which has extended its product range for some brands, stocks Flintshire producers and manufacturers including beers from Hafod Brewery, gin from Angel Feathers and jams and chutneys…