Author: Rhys Gregory

Caravan parks across Mid Wales are pulling out all the stops to welcome back England-based customers safely on Monday, April 12 as Covid 19 lockdown restrictions continue to ease. The Welsh Government took the first step to easing restrictions on March 27 when caravan parks and other self-contained accommodation were able to open to people living within Wales. Now people living across the Welsh border will be able to return to caravan holiday home parks and drive to touring caravan and motorhome parks across Wales, bringing a welcome boost to the tourism economy. The reopening of the parks coincides with…

A specialist nurse in Swansea has become the first non-medical practitioner in Wales to qualify to give a sight-saving injection. People with certain ophthalmic conditions require steroid implant injections into their eye to avoid sight loss. Previously, this could only be done by doctors. But now Singleton Hospital-based medical retina nurse practitioner Melvin Cua has completed a training module and has started providing the treatment to patients. This will help free up doctors to do other work – vitally important at a time when eye departments across Wales are under huge pressure. Medical retina is a sub-specialty of ophthalmology. It…

Leading medtech firm Bond Digital Health has appointed a Chief Technology Officer to oversee its growing team of developers as they deliver a series of global projects. The Cardiff-based business has tripled the size of its team over the last twelve months on the back of significant investment and demand for its digital technology. Bond has promoted Russell Hicks to the newly created role of CTO. Russell, who has a master’s degree in computer science from Cardiff University, has been with Bond for two years as Head of Technology. As CTO, Russell will be responsible for the technology strategy of…

Daryl, a work-based learning assessor at Coleg Cambria Deeside, is a tenor with the award-winning Fron Male Voice Choir. Based in the Dee Valley, they reached number one in both the Classical Artist and Classical Combined charts with their latest release, Voices of the Valley: Echoes Daryl, from Ruabon, also appeared in the YouTube video for first single Bring Him Home, with the choir performing virtually from their homes due to the Coronavirus pandemic. “It’s such a strange and surreal experience but we are all over the moon,” said Daryl, who has two children with wife Sarah – Emily and…

Principality Commercial has provided £5m in funding to support a new open market and affordable housing development coming to Abergavenny. The Grove, based in Llanfoist village on the outskirts of Abergavenny, is a 106 home development, constructed by Candleston, a subsidiary of Melin Homes housing association. The development will provide 69 homes for open market sale and eligible for Help to Buy Wales and 37 homes as affordable housing for local communities. Finished to a modern and high quality standard, the housing will range from two to five bedroom properties, with terraced, semi-detached and detached housing available. Prices for open…

Award-winning, independent housebuilder Llanmoor Homes has recently completed the purchase of land adjacent to its existing Bedwellty Field development. Situated just off Pengam Road, with easy access to the A4049, the latest phase of the wider development will add a further 46 homes for private sale, including 15% affordable homes which include six apartments and one bungalow for Caerphilly Homes – bringing the total between the two phases to 101. The development will offer a mix of two, three and four bedroom homes, which include a choice of 11 of Llanmoor’s house designs and includes three new house types -…

Cancer charity Macmillan Cancer Support gave more than £620,000 in hardship grants last year to help people with cancer across Wales struggling with the pandemic’s financial impact and the unexpected costs cancer can bring. The charity’s grants are available to anyone living with cancer in Wales facing financial difficulties thanks to donations from the public. During 2020 Macmillan gave more than £620,000 in hardship grants1 to 1,967 people with cancer across Wales meaning they were able to pay for home comforts and essentials, such as heating their homes, travel to hospital appointments, bedding and clothing. Macmillan grants are means-tested, one-off…

The vaccines are rolling out and restrictions are beginning to be lifted – the end is in sight. As we prepare to emerge from a long year of lockdowns, which saw the UK experiment with different cuisines, on-demand at-home deliveries, and TikTok food crazes, Deliveroo has taken a look back over the last three months in lockdown to reveal what the people of England, Wales and Scotland have been tucking into and ordering at the touch of a button. Here are some interesting trends over the last three months: Deliveroo saw an 188% increase in Mochi orders between January and…

Residents in Bridgend county borough can now take advantage of free community testing facilities at the Ogmore Valley Life Centre. With no appointments necessary, the walk-in centre in Ogmore Vale is available until Tuesday 13 April between 9.30am-6.30pm Monday to Friday, and 10am-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. As part of the second phase of the community testing programme in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board region, three different centres will be opening up this month in the county borough. Anyone who lives, works or studies in the county borough can now get tested at the centres. This also includes anyone visiting the…

Residents who are keen to help boost wildlife in Bridgend County Borough are being invited to apply for a hedgehog pack. Urban areas have become a stronghold for our prickly pals, with gardens providing a plentiful supply of food, both natural and supplementary, as well as many potential nest sites for breeding, resting and hibernation but numbers have dramatically declined in recent years. Research suggests this is partly because it is becoming harder for hedgehogs to move freely due to an increase in the number of solid walls and fences being put up around gardens. Thanks to Local Nature Partnership…