Author: Rhys Gregory

Newtown’s escape rooms attraction, Beyond Breakout, has launched a live, online Avatar game that is attracting teams from around the globe. The attraction, located on the fourth floor of Newtown’s Royal Welsh Warehouse, Pryce Jones Building, reopened in July following a four-month lockdown due to COVID-19 restrictions. To ensure that the company’s escape room games reach as many people as possible, players can now either solve the Adventures in Puzzle Land game in person or take on the challenge remotely. “So far we have hosted teams from around the UK, Germany and America,” said Lorna Morris, who launched Beyond Breakout…

A 109-hectare grassland farm on Anglesey is the largest to hit the market on the Island since 2016. Carter Jonas says the scale and quality of the well-equipped Trysglwyn Fawr, near Amlwch, will attract interest from local buyers as well as from those further afield. Associate Partner Hugh O’Donnell said: “What we’re seeing on Anglesey and in North Wales generally is a demand for grassland with buildings to establish and expand beef and dairy operations. “There have been other farms sold on the Island but nothing of this scale for a number of years. It is a rare opportunity and one…

Wales’s capital city is to introduce lockdown measures to counter a recent rise in COVID-19 infections. From 6pm Sunday (September 27), residents and visitors in Cardiff  MUST adhere to the following restrictions: People will not be allowed to enter or leave the Cardiff County Council boundary area without a reasonable excuse; People will no longer be able to form, or be in, an extended household (sometimes called a “bubble”). This means you are not allowed to meet indoors with anyone who is not part of your household (people you live with), unless you have a good reason, such as providing care to…

Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, has set-up a group to examine the feasibility of a North Wales medical school. The Welsh Government is already providing £7m a year to fund undergraduate medical training in North Wales and is now looking to explore a proposal by Bangor University and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board for a new medical school. A total of 19 students began their studies at Bangor University in 2019/20 and 18 are due to begin the C21 Programme in 2020/21. Mr Gething said: “I am committed to the expansion of medical education and training in North Wales to help…

Coronavirus laws are being tightened across South Wales this weekend, including in the capital city, in response to a growing spread of cases, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has confirmed. Local restrictions will come into force in Llanelli from 6pm on Saturday – the first time restrictions have been introduced on a more localised basis – and in Swansea and Cardiff from 6pm on Sunday. Ministers will also meet public health experts, local authority leaders and others over the weekend to consider whether local restrictions need to be extended to Neath Port Talbot, the Vale of Glamorgan and Torfaen on Sunday…

Essential maintenance work to strengthen the bridges on the A55 at junction 27 is now underway. Built in 1970, the three bridges supporting the A55 through the Talardy Interchange are being strengthened so they can continue to carry heavy loads safely in the years to come. The scope of works includes concrete repairs, replacement of movement joints, carriageway resurfacing and the addition of steelwork to strengthen the bridge decks. This is essential to protect the safety of the travelling public and to provide unrestricted passage for heavy vehicles which would otherwise need to be diverted off the A55 on to…

The Minister for Health and Social Services Vaughan Gething has welcomed the launch of a new coronavirus testing facility at the University of South Wales in Pontypridd. The site, which opens yesterday (Friday 25th September), is based at the university’s student car park at the Treforest Campus, and is part of a Welsh Government agreement with the UK Government to create 12 local testing sites (LTS) in Wales which will increase testing capacity.It is a walk-through site and tests can be booked in the normal way by calling 119 or online at gov.wales/coronavirus The first tranche of local testing sites will be rolled out between September and October and…

A recent report by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has revealed the crucial role that accountancy firms have had in enabling SMEs to stay afloat during the pandemic and the continued support they will provide in a post-Covid world. In its most recent report, Responsible Practice Pacesetters, which surveys almost 50 global SMP (small medium-sized practice) leaders, ACCA found how regional accountancy firms, including those in North Wales, have acted as a safety net for SMEs and microenterprises trying to rebuild and steer their way through mandatory lockdown measures. The financial impact of the crisis has been…

Without immediate help, new Welsh Government rules will lead to thousands more jobs losses and usher in the collapse of the hospitality sector in Wales, warns WIRC. “The First Minister’s statement last night urging people to avoid non-essential travel will be the final nail in the coffin for many pubs, restaurants and cafes in Wales if it is effectively tells the public not to visit hospitality venues outside of their immediate area – there is simply no way the industry can survive if that advice is widely followed. The First Minister must clarify that this was not his intention and…

Swansea Council is to offer grants to help freelance workers in the cultural and creative sectors through the pandemic. The funding – in the form of one-off £2,500 payments – will support applicants facing financial challenges as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. The fund will be managed by the council’s cultural, economic development and external funding teams and will offer grants on a first come first served business. The application portal will close when all grants are committed.  Robert Francis-Davies, the council’s cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said: “Many freelancers have had no work since lockdown. Many…