Author: Rhys Gregory

A grant to help people further their careers has been re-launched. Denbighshire County Council’s Employee Training Grant supports employed residents from Denbighshire earning below the county median wage. Funding of between £250 and £2,000 per person can be awarded for training, development or accessing mentoring to allow them to progress within their current workplace or with a new employer. So far those who have received the grant have seen their wages increase on average by 24 per cent per annum. The grant is administered by the Council’s Economic and Business Development Team and supports the Council’s corporate priority of ensuring…

A £10MILLION engineering complex is revving up for a family fun day. Coleg Cambria’s Bersham Road site in Wrexham is to welcome representatives from some of the region’s top car, scooter, and motorcycle organisations for a charity event. Bersham Wheels takes place on Saturday July 17 from 10am to 4.30pm and looks set to be a feast of fuel-injected fun for people of all ages. Among those taking part and bringing vehicles with them on the day are Holywell-based Mavericks Wales, Lindop Toyota, Oswestry Classic Car Club and former British Drift Champion, Ollie Evans. Private owners are also displaying their…

Charities, volunteer and community groups tackling food poverty in Swansea can now apply for grants from the council to support their work. Last year more than 40 organisations received financial backing totalling £155,000 from the Food Poverty Fund and the first round of this year’s awards is now open. In the past funding has been secured for a variety of schemes from community gardens growing fresh produce to groups providing crisis support for people in urgent need of a meal. Others work with families and individuals to give them the skills to prepare healthy and nutritious meals on a budget…

The man who manages Swansea Market is retiring after 31 years in the role. John Burns became market supervisor in January 1990 after a number of other jobs with Swansea’s local authority. He leaves it this month as a venue that, in non-pandemic times, attracts around five million shoppers a year. Last year it was named Britain’s best large indoor market by the National Association of British Market Authorities. Managed by Swansea Council, it is the permanent home to more than 100 businesses, hosts casual traders and puts on regular events. John was at the forefront of successful efforts to…

Pupils at Pontllanfraith Primary School have joined a ‘Daily Mile’ event walking about their school grounds, until together, they will have walked the number of miles it would take to walk around the coastline of Britain. To date, the school has raised £1,125 for Tŷ Hafan, in memory of their classmate Thomas Meacham, who was cared for by Tŷ Hafan before he passed away. Thomas would have now been in Year 6 and his classmates were eager to complete a challenge in memory of him before they leave the school in July, to begin secondary school. Unfortunately, the pandemic prevented…

A brand new velodrome at the International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay is on track for delivery in 2022/23. Cardiff Council’s Cabinet will decide on Thursday, July 15, whether to proceed with the plans for the velodrome after considering the outline business case. If approved the council will proceed with the procurement, design and construction of the velodrome which would take the place of the current facility at Maindy, where a proposal to build a new Cathays High School has presented an opportunity to relocate the existing velodrome. Cabinet Member for Investment and Development, Cllr Russell Goodway, said: “We have…

Plans to reduce the national default speed limit in Wales from 30mph to 20mph on residential roads and busy pedestrian streets will form part of the Welsh Government’s legislative priorities for this year, Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters has confirmed. If passed, Wales will be the first country in the UK to introduce the change which will play an instrumental role in helping to save lives, protect our communities and improve quality of life for everyone. The first phase of this change is being rolled out in eight communities across Wales this year in order to gather data…

Director Gareth Evans’ exciting new project for Netflix, HAVOC, is set to be filmed in Wales this summer. The action thriller will be one of the biggest films ever to be produced in Wales, with Tom Hardy and Forest Whitaker on board to star. The production will be supported by Creative Wales, and filmed at locations across south Wales. This is not the first time Netflix has brought a major production to Wales: global smash Sex Education is filmed in Welsh hotspots including Llandogo, Tintern, and Penarth. The Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden recently  had a behind…

The Welsh Government has awarded £2 million to further education colleges to provide training for jobs in the green economy. The funding is part of the Welsh Government’s Personal Learning Accounts programme, which supports people in lower-income jobs to retrain and move into longer term, skilled jobs with higher earnings. Six colleges have been awarded funding to deliver the courses, which will include areas such as electric and hybrid cars, environmentally-friendly heating systems and e-bikes. The courses will be available from level 2 to level 5, with most courses at level 3. The courses are part-time and flexible, designed for…

Breast Test Wales, which usually screens 110,000  women each year is to receive £7.845m of Welsh Government funding to replace imaging equipment, the Minister for Health and Social Services Eluned Morgan has confirmed today (Friday 9th July). Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in Wales in women, over 70% of breast cancers are diagnosed at stage one or two in Wales and the Breast Test Wales programme provides a vital service in helping to detect breast cancer early. The service run by Public Health Wales (PHW) invites woman aged between 50 and 70 years for screening every three…