Author: Rhys Gregory

BUSINESSES and event organisers forced to move a celebration of local food and drink online due to the Coronavirus pandemic thanked customers and communities for their support. Taste North East Wales was held virtually this year and featured a series of interactive tours, tasting sessions and a successful bilingual social media and video campaign showcasing the best of local produce. Viewers from across the UK – including Bristol, Hertfordshire and Pembrokeshire – joined in the celebrations, from the popular cheese and chutney and gin-tasting evenings, to cookery demonstrations and more. The businesses involved have been food heroes in 2020, but…

A viewing platform has been installed as part of a wetland restoration project. Work is continuing on the Morfa, a 35-acre wetland in Prestatyn which was purchased by Denbighshire County Council after securing Welsh Government funding to protect its status as a natural wetland resource. The land had previously been in private ownership. As well as the wooden viewing platform to allow enhanced access to the site, further work will include the excavation of ponds, which will attract a host of wading birds and insects, while grazing will be extended to other parts of the site to bring down the…

Welsh salami producer, Cwmfarm Charcuterie has received a top award in the 2020 National Pig Awards winning the Marketing Initiative of the Year category for social media use to promote their business. These awards recognise and reward excellence, foster innovation and inspire creativity and information sharing. It is the only awards competition exclusive to the British pig industry. Based in Swansea, Ruth and Andrew Davies started their business over a decade ago with two pigs; they now have 44 breeding sows consisting of rare breed saddleback and large blacks, which they rear outdoors and free range on their 40-acre land…

Staff and volunteers at a cancer support charity have received a donation of £1,000 from the Amazon fulfilment centre in Swansea. Macmillan Cymru Wales supports people in Swansea and across Wales living with cancer by offering emotional, physical, and financial advice. The charity cares for people from diagnosis through to treatment and also helps patients receiving follow-up care. Macmillan Cymru Wales works with patients to explain different treatment options, helps with side effects and gives recommendations on how to eat healthily and stay active. The charity also helps patients plan their finances and offers grants and specialist advice. The donation…

A newly-launched cold storage business backed by a £250,000 investment package is aiming to create jobs in the Valleys as the area fights back against the effects of Covid 19. Celtic Cold Storage Ltd, a new venture in Merthyr Tydfil, offers a complete packing, cold-storage and transport service  to leading supermarkets, as well as to smaller food suppliers. The business has been launched by a team of three  – Andy Phillips, Jayne Bowen-Davies and Marion Jellings – who together have 60 years’ complementary experience in the industry. Ten people are presently employed at the newly-created facility, and in three years…

Aldi stores in Wales are building on the supermarket’s successful festive food donations programme this year by donating meals on New Year’s Eve as well. For the last few years, the supermarket has donated unsold fresh and chilled food to charitable causes after stores close on Christmas Eve. For the first time, stores in Wales will also be inviting charity partners to collect unsold food on New Year’s Eve, when Aldi expects to donate a further 200,000 meals throughout the UK. With the help of Neighbourly, a community giving platform that links businesses to charitable organisations, Aldi is also launching…

CPT has today announced that Josh Miles has been appointed as the first full time Director of CPT Cymru.   Taking up his post in early February Josh will be responsible for leading CPT’s work across Wales, including engagement with Welsh Government to help deliver CPT’s policy goals for the industry. Josh is currently the policy manager at Federation of Small Business (FSB) Wales and manages the policy and research agenda for its 10,000 Welsh members. He has experience of high level engagement with Welsh Government and has previously worked for an MP representing a Welsh constituency. Commenting on Josh’s…

South Wales Police can confirm that a 48-year-old woman who was the victim of a serious assault in Mayhill on December 1 has sadly died in hospital. Helen Bannister was a loved mother of two children who will be dearly missed by her heart broken family. A murder investigation has now commenced and her family continue to be supported by specialist officers. They have asked for privacy at this sad time. A 37-year-old man has previously been remanded by the court after being charged with GBH with intent. We would like to remind people of the importance of not posting…

A £55 million investment that will help future-proof the Swansea Bay City Region’s digital infrastructure has taken a major step forward. The Swansea Bay City Deal’s Joint Committee has approved a programme of digital infrastructure and connectivity improvements which will now be submitted to the UK Government and Welsh Government for final approval. The City Deal digital infrastructure programme will benefit residents and businesses in all parts of the City Region, which includes Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea. It’s estimated to be worth £318 million to the regional economy in the next 15 years. Led by Carmarthenshire County…

A health expert has warned coronavirus levels in the Swansea Bay area could soon reach catastrophic levels unless people follow the rules on social distancing during the Christmas season. Swansea Bay University Health Board Director of Public Health Dr Keith Reid warned that if people don’t do the right thing and keep their distance from others as much as possible, the virus will have a stranglehold and risk bringing health and social care services to their knees. Neath Port Talbot has record levels of Covid-19 infection rates which are the highest in Wales and numbers are rising rapidly and Swansea…