Author: Rhys Gregory

Bee1, a Welsh beekeeping business educating on the importance of bees to our ecosystem, has today announced a change to its board. Bee1 has now officially welcomed Booie Sall into the business. Mr Sall, who boasts decades of experience heading up businesses and assuming strategic corporate roles, is joining the business during an exciting time of expansion, coming on board as the business’ Director. Mark Douglas, Founder of Bee1, comments: “We are thrilled to welcome Booie into the business as a Director. He has been involved in various Bee1 initiatives over the past year and his input has been invaluable.…

A team of leading property professionals is to help Swansea Council create a community hub in an existing city centre building. They are experts in design, architecture, engineering, project and cost management. The team will help the council transform the former BHS and What! building, in Oxford Street, into a multi-purpose venue offering a range of key public services. This will secure jobs in the city centre, increase footfall for nearby businesses and give long-term use to a prominent building. It will help the city tackle the economic shock of the pandemic. Led by project and cost management specialists Coreus…

An independent development trust and social enterprise which delivers sustainable community projects to benefit Newtown has the potential to make the town the circular economy capital of the UK. That’s the opinion of Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams who met officers Stuart Owen and Adam Kennerley from Open Newtown to hear about the company’s current and incubating projects. Open Newtown, which manages 140 acres of green space in Newtown, delivers sustainable community projects with the aim making the town a viable and vibrant place to live, work and visit. With Newtown Town Council, the company has developed a new destination play…

Owain Sparnon, a Fine Art student graduating at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David has won the Josef Herman Foundation Art Award 2021. The annual award from the Josef Herman Foundation is given in memory of Carolyn Davies, who died in 2018. Carolyn was Chair and a Trustee of the Herman Foundation, and promoted the arts in the Swansea area. The arts were important to her, and she was always helpful in supporting graduates, and ensuring creative opportunities for them.  Carolyn was an inspirational person, and promoted the arts whenever she had the opportunity to do so. Her key…

Swansea University ecotourism expert Carl Cater is taking part in global event to mark United Nations World Oceans Day on Tuesday, June 8. Dr Cater, associate professor of tourism at the School of Management, will join a panel discussion during the day-long virtual conference which is expected to reach more than 60 million people via social media. The theme for this year’s event is The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods and its programme of keynote speeches, panels, and presentations will be kicked off by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and President of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir. Dr Cater…

Calls are being made to ensure those renting accommodation in Wales shouldn’t be unfairly denied the chance to own pets. RSPCA Cymru has urged the Welsh Government to act as it responds to a consultation on new draft regulations linked to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. The Welsh Government is currently considering new draft model written statements. These will provide landlords access to consistent, uniform statements of contracts for their tenants, which they can use if they choose. However, the RSPCA is disappointed that the model written statements proposed include no reference to pets or animals. The animal welfare…

South Wales law firm Hutchinson Thomas has completed the merger with Simmonds Hurford Solicitors, expanding its client base and presence in Swansea while strengthening its expertise and offering in relation to property, probate, and business law. Simmonds Hurford, based on Walters Road, Swansea, has been established for more than 25 years. Michael Simmonds and Helen Hurford, its partners, will join Hutchinson Thomas as consultants. Four other members of Simmonds Hurford’s staff will also join Hutchinson Thomas. The merger extends Hutchinson Thomas’ reach to three offices – Neath and two in Swansea (SA1 and Walters Road) – and deepens its expertise…

Merthyr County Borough Council is consulting residents on plans to create a better environment entering the town centre by making improvements to Avenue de Clichy and the gyratory system. The proposal would see a shared route for pedestrians and cyclists running alongside the busy road, connecting the leisure village and businesses to the new bus interchange, town centre and train station – while also linking the Taff Trail to the town centre and its facilities. The route would run from the pedestrian crossing at Caedraw roundabout to the informal crossing at Swan Street, with both crossing points to be improved. …

All over-18s will be offered a Covid vaccine by the start of next week, as First Minister Mark Drakeford praised the people behind Wales’ world-leading vaccination programme. Wales expects to reach 75% take-up for first jabs across all priority groups and age groups a month ahead of target – the original milestone was the end of July – as the nation’s vaccination programme continues to go from strength to strength. The focus will now move to maximising vaccine coverage for all by ensuring everyone is offered a second dose by the end of September and that no one is left…

Every year when these dates approach, I receive a flood of messages from people asking me for advice on how to choose the best school for their sons and daughters. Well, perhaps it is not exactly a flood, but the truth is that in recent years the number of messages from parents concerned about an issue that is, indeed, transcendental has been increasing. Boys and girls spend a lot of time in educational centers and face an increasingly diversified offer of educational options. I understand that the choice is not easy and that doubts assail us until the last moment.…