Author: Rhys Gregory

To mark the start of the 2020 series of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! at Gwrych Castle in Abergele, Bangor University is highlighting some of the castle’s history. Dr. Shaun Evans of Bangor University’s School of History, Philosophy and Social Sciences provides the background saying: “Gwrych was constructed as a massive Gothic fantasy castle between about 1810 and 1825 by Lloyd Bamford-Hesketh (1788-1861) in memory of his mother Frances Lloyd and their Lloyd family ancestors. The Lloyds, or Llwyds, had been associated with the locality for generations, residing at a Welsh country house called Plas yn…

Health Minister Vaughan Gething has announced an extra £15.7m to nearly double the contact tracing workforce in Wales for the winter. The funding will increase the number of contact tracing staff in Wales from 1,800 to 3,100 in time for an expected rise in demand in December and through to the end of March. A new all-Wales team is also being set-up to support local teams when they have a surge in cases. “Contact tracing is a vital element of our Test, Trace, Protect strategy to stop the spread of the virus,” Mr Gething said. “The contact tracing system in…

A £60,000 fund will give “power to the people” to decide who receives cash seized from criminals in North Wales. The Your Community Your Choice scheme was launched to reward local crime busters across the region and North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones is urging community groups to bid for a share of the pot. Up for grabs are three grants of up to £2,500 for groups in each of the six counties of North Wales and three grants of up to £5,000 for organisations working in three or more counties. This is the eighth year of the…

Expanding asbestos-handling specialist City Environmental Services (UK) Ltd has invested £275,000 in buying larger premises in Adelaide Street, Newport. The company purchased the 3,694 sq ft detached industrial unit in Adelaide Street earlier this year for £173,600 and has invested more than £100,000 in refurbishing it to suit its needs. Property consultancy Knight Frank advised the seller on the sale. Tom Griffiths, from Knight Frank’s Industrial & Logistics team in Cardiff, said: “The industrial and warehouse unit with offices is detached and sits in a secure yard compound. CES have invested heavily to make the site suit their purpose and…

A major campaign has been launched to ensure qualified staff who work in care homes and domiciliary care in Wales are paid a minimum of £20,000 a year. Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales, said they had been condemned to low pay for many years because of the “morally bankrupt” formulas used by local authorities and health boards to calculate the fees for social care. According to Mr Kreft, the heroic response of care workers in saving lives during the coronavirus pandemic had highlighted their true value and it was high time it was recognised by the…

With access to over 500 skilled operatives around the world, a Welsh maritime repair company is looking to expand. 4 Corners Marine Services has moved into a larger, 6000 sq ft unit at Cardiff Bay Business Centre (CBBC) from where they will co-ordinate the teams they engage to work on shipping around the world. Paul Robbins said he and his fellow directors Joel Reddin and Paul Rebhan are on target to achieve a global business in excess of a £5 million turnover within the next year and have ambitions much higher for the years to come. We could not do…

The chairman of a Ruthin-based civil engineering firm has been awarded an MBE for services to the economy in Wales. Huw Jones of Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK was awarded the honour as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Jones Bros, which employs more than 500 people, is currently working on contracts in various sectors including highways, flood and marine defence, waste management and renewable energy around the UK. Huw said: “I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to lead and develop an organisation through steady growth over a number of years. “My focus has remained…

Firefighters and ambulance crews will now be able to reach emergencies in the Severn Tunnel much faster as they now have a dedicated road-to-rail vehicle thanks to Network Rail. Network Rail developed and funded the multi-agency vehicle before officially handing it over to the emergency services on 12 November and it will now be housed at Maindee Fire and Rescue Station, Newport. The 7.25 tonne Mitsubishi Canter can switch from road to rail helping emergency services reach any incidents on the railway much faster and potentially helping to save lives. Network Rail has been working on the design with South…

A 22-year-old young entrepreneur who developed an app that provides a click and collect service for catering outlets at universities has now launched at campuses across the UK. Alex Coldea, a Swansea University Computer Science graduate from Romania, began operating his app, Dill at the beginning of this year, building a platform which allows students and staff to skip the queues at university canteens by pre-ordering their meals online. The concept was originally designed to reduce waiting times for staff and students in their breaks, but since the coronavirus pandemic Alex has received positive feedback from universities who saw the…

We’ve all been doing things a bit differently this year. It’s been a year of change – but one of discovery too! Christmas is the perfect time to take a ‘virtual discovery tour’ of Welsh food and drink, and celebrate and support local producers who work day and night to give us outstanding, flavour-filled produce. As part of its strategy to put producers in the spotlight, Cywain is calling on shoppers to show their support and to ‘Keep it local, keep it Welsh!’ this Christmas. Whether it is Christmas dinner and all the trimmings, a seasonal tipple, or a sweet…