Author: Rhys Gregory

A REGIONAL celebration of food and drink will take place virtually this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The second annual Blasu/Taste North East Wales event was to be held in October after a successful debut in 2019 saw more than 30 businesses and 400 visitors take part in a series of activities over 40 days. Organised by Clwydian Range Food and Drink and Llangollen and Dee Valley Food and Drink (formerly the Good Grub Club), with the support of rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd, the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB and the local authorities of Flintshire, Wrexham and…

Cardiff’s Tudor Street is set to benefit from a multi-million pound regeneration programme designed to create an attractive and vibrant shopping area for the local communityand visitors to the Riverside area. Phase one of the development, which starts on site next month, will see £1m invested in commercial premises which have signed up to take part in the Tudor Street building improvement scheme. Further funding of approximately £3m has been earmarked for work in early 2021 which will enablea large transformation of the whole street environment. Consultation on the 2021 project is about to commence and the scheme aims to…

The Health Minister has this week announced that video consultation services will be extended to dental practices, opticians and community pharmacies. This follows the successful roll-out of the service in primary care, community and secondary care during the coronavirus pandemic. Video consultation has rapidly expanded during the last few months and has helped to transform how people access healthcare services during the COVID-19 response. To date over 6,400 GP video consultations have been undertaken and over 8,800 video consultations to support community and secondary care. 97% of patients who have used the service have rated it as excellent, really good…

The Welsh Government’s bespoke Economic Resilience Fund (ERF) has provided vital support to a key engineering business to help it deal with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, Economy Minister Ken Skates has announced. MII Engineering Limited in Caerphilly supports a diverse range of industries, including steel, power, food production and rail. The company is a significant employer in the area and the £417,000 grant funding it has received from the ERF will help protect hundreds of jobs. The ERF, which is part of the Welsh Government’s £1.7bn support package for business, is providing significant financial support to companies across…

A public consultation for the Planning Application to build a new Fitzalan High School opened this week, Tuesday 7, July and members of the public are invited to share their views. If progressed, the new Fitzalan High School will represent a £63.5m investment in the local community and would see the existing school replaced with a new-build school on land next to the Leckwith Stadium in the Canton area of the city.  It would be a 10 form entry, accommodating up to 1,500 students between the age of 11 and 16, plus a sixth form. The new school would offer…

An animal sanctuary in the Brecon Beacons is preparing to re-open in good health, following support from Lloyds Bank and the general public. Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary, which is home to more than 200 rescued animals, has secured £50k of emergency funding via the government’s Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan scheme for small businesses. The loan, provided by long-standing banking partner Lloyds Bank, will provide a long-term safety net for the charity alongside ongoing fundraising activity as it continues to meet basic running costs of £25k a month. In addition to meeting the welfare needs of the sanctuary’s animals, which…

The management team that will be heading up the brand-new Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill in the SA1 area of Swansea have been appointed. Rhys Andrews, John Taylor and Mark Humphries have now taken up new roles as the general manager, head chef and food and beverage manager respectively, as work to open the new restaurant continues at pace. With each heralding from Swansea will mean the new venue, that’s located alongside the city’s popular waterside, will have a distinct Swansea vibe that will make it the place to be seen. With 15 years’ experience in hospitality management…

An inspirational woman who regularly opened a bottle of wine for breakfast and washed it down with vodka is getting her life back on track thanks to a pioneering scheme. Samantha Taylor, 47, who lives in Rhyl, is being supported by the appropriately named Dechrau Newydd (Fresh Start) scheme which provides rapid-response support and help to break the vicious circle of drug and alcohol addiction and offending. The initiative, managed by the Kaleidoscope organisation, has been commissioned jointly by the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). Sam landed herself in…

Now in their fifth year, they are exclusive to Welsh companies that have launched within the last three years and provide a unique opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements of those new businesses that are making the greatest impact on the Welsh economy.  Having received a record 540 entries – with 40 per cent coming from female-owned firms – a total of 108 finalists have been selected across twenty six categories covering all sectors in Wales. Professor Dylan Jones-Evans, Assistant Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of South wales and the creator of the awards back in 2016, was surprised…

As the UK gradually comes out of lockdown, Empire Fighting Chance has continued to punch above its weight throughout the pandemic, supporting 636 young people with boxing therapy and delivering over 3,700 coaching hours in the process. The Bristol-based charity has continued providing vital services in support of young people who rely on its services across the South West and South Wales, where others have had no option but to pause. Throughout lockdown, Empire Fighting Chance has: Supported 636 young people with continued boxing therapy Provided 3,797 coaching contact hours Worked with 25 schools across Wales and the South West…