Author: Rhys Gregory

Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales Ken Skates has announced over £16 million in transport grants – nearly £5 million of which will be spent on repairing the damage caused by storms at the start of this year. All local authorities were invited to submit applications for funding and 21 applications were received from 13 local authorities. The Resilient Roads Fund of £16.9 million will support 18 schemes across 13 local authorities, and will be spent on schemes to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, including addressing disruptions caused on the highway network by the severe…

Aberystwyth University staff have won a prestigious global award for the first phase of their fundraising appeal to redevelop the Old College. The relatively new Development and Alumni Relations team at the University have succeeded in raising £12.3 million towards the costs of redeveloping the iconic seaside building in the town as a major cultural and creative centre for students, the community and visitors.  That fundraising helped to trigger a further £7 million from the Welsh Government and EU funding. The fundraising efforts have now received world-wide recognition from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) with a…

A company that specialises in facilities management has warned of the potential dangers that companies face when reopening workplaces that have been unused for many months because of COVID-19 and lockdown. DRS Facilities Management, a Swansea-based provider of specialist engineering solutions to the facilities management sector, has stressed that unused buildings and work premises can host a number of dangers in addition to COVID-19 including Legionnaires’ disease developing in the water or air conditioning, gas-powered boilers malfunctioning, fire alarms and emergency lighting failing. In response to this challenge, DRS has launched a specialist audit service designed to both check and…

Morrisons is to extend the 10% discount that NHS heroes receive on their grocery shop until the end of September. The discount was first introduced in April and aims to support the 1.5 million NHS staff through the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. It is a thank you from Morrisons. NHS staff are continuing to put themselves at risk and face numerous challenges during the Coronavirus emergency. Morrisons is therefore to extend the discount until September 30th when it will be reviewed. For the first time, NHS workers will also be able to gain the discount if they are ordering a home…

THE BSc Computer Science degree at the University of South Wales (USW) has been approved by a leading Government body. The course has received a prestigious certification by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC),  which is the UK’s lead technical authority on cyber security and a part of GCHQ. The process of certification requires rigorous assessment criteria to be met to ensure the course is of a high standard and is valuable to students and their prospective employers. This includes the NCSC assessing the subject areas that are taught, how students will be examined, and the academic team delivering the…

Ten technology rich early stage businesses in Wales are a step closer to developing their innovative products and services having secured equity investment from the Development Bank of Wales. £2.4 million has been secured by ten companies in just ten weeks since the UK went into lockdown. Those to benefit include £625,000 for Flintshire based Reacta Biotech to further develop their diagnostic tool for food allergies. Other investments include: Swansea-based Armadillo. The £150,000 equity finance will enable the provider of advanced materials to commercialise their electroplating technology. £400,000 for Cardiff based Digital Asset Services, a provider of insurance services to the…

Covid-19 is impacting many families and individuals in very different ways. But with so many of us spending more time at home than ever before, many people are thinking about whether they can move or extend to gain more space, or just taking advantage of lower interest rates. The housing market is now opening up and rates are changing yet many people are unsure about whether mortgages are available for them. TSB’s Head of Mortgages, Nick Smith answers some important questions on getting a mortgage in the current environment: Can I still get a mortgage in the current environment? Yes,…

Welsh LGBT+ charity, Pride Cymru, has announced that this year’s Pride Cymru’s Big Weekend will be a week-long primarily online series of events. The Big Weekend, which is widely known for its parade, was due to take place on the August Bank Holiday weekend. However, due to the current pandemic, the event which attracts over 50,000 people each year will be running a programme of online events starting on Monday, 24 August. Gian Molinu, Chair of Pride Cymru, said: “Since the Coronavirus pandemic began, we’ve held out hope that circumstances would improve and that we would be able to celebrate…

A pioneering new service has been launched to transform the lives of people hooked on drugs in North Wales. The Dechrau Newydd (Fresh Start) programme will provide rapid-response support and help break the vicious circle of addiction and offending. The scheme has been commissioned jointly by the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The support will be provided by three nurses working for Kaleidoscope, a Wales-wide independent charity that works to tackle the stigma faced by people with drug, alcohol and mental health issues. They will speed up the process…

Farmers’ Union of Wales President Glyn Roberts has welcomed the fact that key concerns raised by the FUW in correspondence with members of the House of Lords were echoed by members across the political spectrum yesterday as the Agriculture Bill received its second reading in the house. The bill – considered to be the most important piece of UK legislation in relation to food and farming for more than 70 years – includes a clause that would ensure imported organic food from an overseas country is produced to standards equivalent to those applicable in the UK. However, an attempt to…