Author: Rhys Gregory

Wales has been hit with major flooding and slides as a result of the weekend weather. The most severe impact was upon Rhondda Cynon Taff, and more specifically the Taff valley, which experienced multiple floods and landslides. These incredible pictures show the major shift in the mountain side in Tylorstown. Inspections of old coal tips on the mountains in the Rhondda are underway following a landslide during Storm Dennis. Water levels are subsiding, but South Wales Police continues to liaise with organisations such as the Met Office and Natural Resources Wales to monitor the ongoing situation. Although the severe weather…

Cefn Mably Farm Park on the outskirts of Cardiff has been devastated by the rising flood water in the wake of Storm Dennis. The family-run farm park is popular with young families and those looking to get up close with the great outdoors. The farm has a number of outdoor activities for children, including a climbing area and real ‘diggers’. Visitors can also get up close with the animals. However, the farm park has had to close suddenly due to the damaged caused to its grounds as a result of the bad weather South Wales experienced at the weekend. The…

With Storm Dennis causing devastating damage across the UK last weekend, Towergate Insurance Brokers are advising on what steps to take if your business has been affected, most importantly taking photos and not to dispose of any damaged items until you have sourced advice from your insurers. Storm Dennis brought strong winds and heavy rainfall this weekend, leaving thousands of homes and businesses damaged in its wake. As of 23:45 GMT on Sunday, more than 700 flood warnings and alerts have been put in place across the UK, with eight severe flood warnings outlining a threat to life. 54 flood…

The Development Bank of Wales has invested £200,000 to support the leasehold purchase and refurbishment of the Costcutter store in Knighton, Powys. The purchase of the lease sees new owner John Ewens, 67, returning to his roots a decade after first managing the store. The Knighton store is hugely valuable to the rural community of just over 3,000 people. It is a place where local customers can buy their fresh foods and other household goods without travelling to the nearest supermarket, 16 miles away. John believes the store will help retain and bring new people to the high street: “We…

Tourism leaders from across Swansea enjoyed a birds eye view of the city’s £135m arena scheme. Their spectacular vantage point at the top of the 29-storey Meridian Tower allowed them to see construction work progressing on the site next to the LC. The Swansea Central Phase One scheme is due to open in the second half of next year with the 3,500-capacity arena, almost 1,000 car parking spaces, new parkland, homes, commercial space and a landmark bridge across Oystermouth Road. It is designed to be a catalyst for further Swansea regeneration, the arena alone attracting more than 200,000 of visitors…

Female STEM graduates and aspiring students across Wales are being urged to “step up and smash the gender divide” by applying for an industry-leading masters run by Wales’s top employers. STEM students, and those looking to enter a STEM career, are being called on to get their applications into the Welsh Data Science and Analytics Programme, based in Cardiff, before the looming February 28th deadline. The graduate development programme, which is run by the Wales Graduate Programme and a consortium of leading Welsh businesses including Admiral and GoCompare, is a fully-funded two year masters scheme aimed at fast-tracking graduates into…

Wales will travel to the Rotterdam for their final preparation match before EURO 2020 against the Netherlands. This will be Ryan Giggs’ last opportunity to test his players before they fly to Baku for the final tournament. Both teams played each other in the run up to EURO 2016, during a friendly match in November 2015 at the Cardiff City Stadium. Joe Ledley and Emyr Huws were on the scoresheet in a narrow 3-2 defeat, where Robben’s second goal in the 81st minute proved the difference. Ryan Giggs will hope for a similarly contested match in June, one week before…

Cardiff based We Build Bots has been chosen as one of the ten winners of Tech Nation’s Rising Stars, the UK’s national early-stage tech scaleup competition. The Rising Stars competition is the only national early-stage tech scaleup competition in the UK, and is designed to showcase the most exciting companies at Seed to pre-Series A funding from all areas of the country. Tech Nation’s Rising Stars are on track to become the world leading tech companies of tomorrow – the UK is a world leader in producing successful tech companies, and is now home to 77 billion-dollar businesses, double that…

The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company’s Café Môr has been awarded an artisan food award by food and drink journalist and broadcaster Nigel Barden and premium cooking appliance manufacturer Britannia. Set up nine years ago by Jonathan Williams, and joined a year later by Susan Davenport, the company is an ethical seafood supplier specialising in seaweed and laverbread products. Y Bechgyn, a coffee shop, bakery and deli in Llandysul, took second place with its sourdough loaf, and The Moody Cow, a farm shop and bistro in Aberaeron, was awarded third place for its rib eye of beef. Nigel Barden commented on…

Many businesses are beginning the enormous task of cleaning-up following Storm Dennis at the weekend. Some of the worst-hit areas include the village of Nantgarw and Pontypridd in South Wales, with many businesses finding their offices without power and office furniture completely ruined. Despite the devastating scenes, offers of help from businesses in the community are coming in hourly. There are offers of free temporary office space and use of onsite facilities including, kitchen use, desk space and wifi. This was the scene at ARC Group HQ in Treforest on Sunday. Posting on Linkedin, the Managing Director of ARC Group,…