Author: Rhys Gregory

A Cardiff-based site manager from David Wilson Homes South Wales has been recognised for exceptional on-site management at the National House-Building Council’s (NHBC) Welsh regional Pride in the JobAwards. Paul Oakley, Senior Site Manager at Goitre Fach in St Fagans, was presented with three illustrious awards, a Quality Award, Seal of Excellence and a Wales Regional Award — a feat which will see him represent Wales at the NHBC UK national awards in January 2021. With more than 450 site managers shortlisted, the NHBC judging panel opted to award Paul as an outstanding example of dedication, passion and leadership in…

Local charities and groups from North Wales are being urged bid for a slice of a £5,000 community fund set up by a big-hearted bakery. The family-run Village Bakery say they want to give something back to the community which has helped the award-winning firm become such a success. According to managing director Robin Jones, they’re aware that many community groups, associations and charities have been struggling to survive during the pandemic because their fund-raising activities have been curtailed. The company had always made a point of supporting good causes in an ad hoc way but had now decided to…

On Saturday, November 7th, people living and working within the Cardiff Capital Region area will have the opportunity to contribute to a discussion around the futures of food systems by taking part in the ‘Field to Fforc’ online event. In partnership with Food Cardiff, the event will be facilitated by researchers at the Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University and is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences 2020. This online event builds upon a number of online People’s Assemblies on food and farming carried across out Wales since the start of the lockdown. Responding to calls for public…

Today for the first time, National Museum Wales, Tŷ Pawb in Wrexham, and the Ruthin Craft Centre in North Wales will join five other iconic galleries and the BFI (the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image), to present a unique photography exhibition where the subjects aren’t celebrities or historical figures, but instead the unheralded everyday champions of the arts sector. Ruthin fashion creator Patrick Joseph and Welsh National Opera producer Jennifer Hill areamong the remarkable people throughout the UK who are being honoured by the National Lottery for keeping the arts in their local area alive…

Grants are available for small businesses that face operational and financial challenges caused by the fire-break lockdown. The cash flow scheme is in place to support small businesses in Cardiff that are directly impacted by from the national measures that have been put in place to slow the spread of coronavirus. The following grants are currently available: Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses who have been forced to close during the firebreak lockdown period occupying a property with a rateable value between £12,001 and £51,000, will be eligible for a £5,000 payment; Businesses in receipt of small business rate relief will…

Welsh Government’s Empty Homes Grant scheme, piloted first by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, continues its success across the County Borough. The Empty Homes Grant scheme aims to bring long-term empty homes back into use, by providing owners of long-term empty properties with grants of up to a maximum of £20,000, plus a possible further £5,000 for renewable energy measures, so these properties can be transformed into liveable homes. This funding crucially has provided an opportunity to alleviate some issues such as poor housing stock, eye-sores in local communities and hotspots for anti-social behaviour. It has also enabled numerous first time…

Lewis School Pengam and Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni have both received brand new 3G – multiuse sporting pitches as a part of a series of pitch updates recently completed across the county borough. Both of the pitches have been converted from the previous Artificial Turf Pitches (ATP) to the new 3G style pitches that are more user friendly and will provide key strategic facilities for the surrounding communities in each of the areas. The two new 3G pitches join the recently opened facility at St. Cenydd Community School and complete a series of projects to update key facilities for the…

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet has approved plans to modernise the street café licence process and waive any fees associated with trading externally until 30th September 2021. A report was considered by Cabinet at a virtual meeting on 28 October where they have agreed to make the process easier for Caerphilly businesses to create a “street café” culture to support local town centres in a very challenging economic climate. The report states that the current process for seeking and obtaining permission to trade on the footway within the County Borough is no longer fit for purpose i.e. it is a…

At the start of Wales Climate Week, Future Generations Commissioner Sophie Howe will share her vision for Wales in 2050. Carbon-neutral homes, car-less city centres and a world-leading public transport system – welcome to a new Wales – as imagined by the Future Generations Commissioner and more than 5,000 people. At the start of Wales Climate Week, Sophie Howe has presented a vision of how the nation could look in 2050, if we achieve the ambitions of the Well-being of Future Generations Act. The interactive artwork features in a website accompanying the commissioner’s latest Future Generations Report, the result of…

Front Runner Events are proud to announce a new headline partner for the award-winning Llanelli Half Marathon.  M and D Care will be the main sponsor for the event, which is a well-established race with a long history in the community of South West Wales. M and D Care was founded in 2008 and has been delivering specialist, complex and bespoke care services throughout South West Wales for people with Learning Disability, Physical Disability and Mental Health diagnosis. It is a company that has grown steadily over recent years and has collected the West Wales Business of the Year Award 2020. M and D Care…