Author: Rhys Gregory

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Trading Standards have successfully prosecuted Louise Bunford, trading as Farmersyard Pantry Farm Shop, of Top Yard, Tir Y Gelli Farm Ynysybwl, for making false and misleading claims in relation to the origin of beef sold and membership of a farm standards scheme. It follows a routine inspection made by Trading Standards in July 2019 and a consumer complaint received concerning meat and egg origin claims being made by the business. The shop, which is on the site of a farm, was found to be claiming via advertisements in local newspaper, Clydach News Stream, that beef sold,…

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is opening a temporary COVID-19 testing unit in Rhymney, Caerphilly county borough, from Tuesday 24 November. Located at the former Aldi carpark site on Old Brewery lane, the mobile test facility will provide a morning walk up testing service to Caerphilly county borough residents between 9am and 12:30pm. By appointment only. The testing centre in the Bargoed Library car park will remain open for afternoon tests, with a revised time opening time of 2pm – 4pm. If you have symptoms of Coronavirus (Covid-19) – a new continuous cough, high temperature or loss of taste and/or…

A coalition of small business leaders, tax experts and company directors have mapped out the measures needed to address a government shortcoming which has left thousands with no income support throughout months of Covid-linked disruption. Many of those classified as self-employed by UK Government have been able to claim grants covering the significant majority of their incomes if they’ve been impacted by restrictions since the Spring, and can continue to do so until April 2021. By contrast, the Treasury and HMRC have stated that a comparable scheme for company directors would be impossible to establish because many pay themselves in…

A POPULAR Spanish sauce company has been bringing sunshine to the lives – and plates – of customers throughout the year. Despite the challenges brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic, Beatriz Albo and the team at Wrexham-based Sabor de Amor worked hard to support local producers and communities by supplying a steady stream of their award-winning sauces and salsas. Winner of the BBC’s Top of the Shops programme two years ago, Beatriz launched the business in 2015 using family recipes to create incredible flavours, including the much-loved Paella in a Bottle. Having arrived in North Wales as a biology student…

South Wales Police officers have been out and about in the Vale of Glamorgan this week to spread the word about fraudsters and how to make sure you don’t fall foul to one of their deceiving and dishonest scams. With increasingly sophisticated scams, even the most knowledgeable person can find themselves falling for one of these cons, which can range from telephone calls, cold calling at the door, emails, Facebook posts and so on. But with the Coronavirus pandemic causing people to feel lonely and isolated as they shield themselves or follow the stay-at-home restrictions and lockdowns, even more people…

Scientists at Bangor University are playing a critical role in paving the way for one of the world’s biggest wind farms off the coast of North Wales. They are working with German renewable energy giant RWE on the siting of the Awel y Mor extension which will more than double the size of the Gwynt y Mor wind farm, already the world’s fifth largest. Their expertise in 3-D mapping the seabed is crucial in plotting the location of the giant turbines and in helping plan for the next generation of deep water wind farms off the coast of North Wales.…

Startup and coworking experts TownSq has marked its third birthday with a period of rapid growth following an acquisition, a joint venture, two senior appointments and the winning of three contracts, potentially worth more than £10m in revenue. The contracts will see the team replicate their award-winning model of startup and small business support in new office and workspaces across Rhyl, Chester and Devon. TownSq has also added additional services through the acquisition of administrative support business, Wize Virtual Admin and a joint venture with Wrexham-based Bank Street Coffee. The Wize acquisition will become ‘TownSq Admin Support’ and will allow…

A Crickhowell based company producing the increasingly popular nutritious microgreens has found a gap in the market in the south east of England. Dragon Microgreens are now supplying a number of top restaurants in Brighton after they had to look for new customers when their business had to close in the March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Microgreens are the seedlings of leafy herbs and plants that are harvested before they grow to full size. It’s easy to see why they have become a must-have ingredient as they are a simple way to get your five-a-day. As lockdown hit, the…

An international consortium, brought together by welsh innovation group DST, will bring the Dragon Energy Island to life, placing Wales at the forefront of technical innovation and green energy. The Dragon Energy Island will be the largest ever development project of its kind to be launched in Wales/UK. The project will significantly contribute to the UK Government’s ambitious plan for a green industrial revolution in the post-covid economic landscape. The Dragon Energy Island consortium boasts world leading organisations with a proven track record of successful billion-pound developments, design and project delivery. An announcement of the selected members will be made…

Barratt and David Wilson Homes has announced its NHS Deposit Scheme, offering NHS workers a 5% deposit contribution of up to £15,000, has been extended for a further six months. The decision will allow the five-star housebuilder to continue to support vital NHS workers until June 2021, after what has been an extremely challenging year for many health professionals. The Deposit Contribution Scheme was set up to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to all NHS employees who have shown such courage in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. The scheme has already helped 1,000 NHS workers to buy their own…