Author: Rhys Gregory

Ambitious plans to transform public transport in North Wales will help people like a young woman who faces a nightmare four hour daily commute to work That’s the vow from Ken Skates MS, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, ahead of a meeting with business leaders in Wrexham. Mr Skates, who is also the Senedd member for Clwyd South, will be outlining details of the Network North Wales proposals at a breakfast meeting of Wrexham Business Professionals at the city’s Maesgwyn Hall on Friday, June 27. According to Mr Skates far too many young people are being “cut out…

Visitor numbers at a historic shopping centre in Cardiff have increased to record levels. In December, a record 657,740 visitors came through the Morgan Quarter, which is made up of the Morgan and Royal Arcades – a 23.5% increase compared to the same month in 2023, and a 62% increase on Christmas 2022. The trend has continued into 2025, with every month seeing a significant increase in footfall compared with 2024. Sunshine in April brought 386,383 visitors to the shopping centre, 19.6% higher than in the same month in 2024. While retail continues to face challenges, retailers at Morgan Quarter are reporting strong sales performance, with…

A Carmarthenshire based ice cream and frozen dessert company has secured globally recognised food safety certification following technical support delivered through the Welsh Government’s HELIX Programme, previously named Project HELIX. Mario’s Ice Cream, which was named food producer of the year at the Wales Food and Drink Awards 2024, has successfully secured BRCGS Start intermediate level certification. This food safety certification, which is designed for small to medium-sized businesses, will enable the company to target a greater range of customers who require the standard. Having expanded into a second factory unit in 2023, Mario’s decided to begin the process of…

Wales’s biggest business group has called for significant strengthening of business support to unlock the full potential of Wales’s SMEs. With two thirds of small businesses looking to grow their business and half wanting to become more productive, these ambitions demonstrate the key role SMEs can play in achieving the Welsh Government’s growth aspirations. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Wales has this week published a report, Cultivating Small Business Growth, which found high recognition levels for business support institutions across Wales. The report concludes that Wales’s approach of developing a ‘one stop shop’ approach to business support via…

Ardal, an innovative procurement service led by Cardiff Council has announced two new appointments to support its collaborative procurement delivery – Jemma Downes joins as Framework Manager and Erin Ryan-Phillips as Senior Strategy Officer for Carbon. Key regional procurement frameworks including the well-established SEWSCAP (buildings construction framework), SEWH (highways framework), and SEWTAPS (South East Wales Technical and Professional Services), all sit under the Ardal umbrella. Jemma joins Ardal with responsibility for leading and coordinating framework activities, ensuring effective management across the collaborative frameworks and will play an important role in continuing the success of the frameworks on a regional, all-Wales,…

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is calling for urgent regulation to clamp down on providers of aesthetic procedures such as fat injections, Brazilian Butt Lifts, botox and fillers – warning the public that there is a wild west of untrained, unlicensed and uninsured individuals who may be putting lives in danger. Trading Standards officers have uncovered shocking locations where procedures such as fillers are being administered including “pop up” shops on high streets, cubicles in public toilets and hotel rooms.  These locations fall outside of typical business premises and makes taking action against unscrupulous businesses and practitioners much more…

The Vale of Glamorgan Council, Parkwood Leisure and Legacy Leisure have unveiled a new ‘Strength Gym’ at Barry Leisure Centre. Wales’s Strongest Man Jacob Brook – who is also a member and current user of the leisure centre – attended the official opening of the facility. The highly-anticipated space was made possible thanks to funding from Parkwood Leisure, the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.This significant upgrade has repurposed an existing space to the side of Barry Leisure Centre, transforming it into a modern state-of-the art Strength and Functional training zone. The 600 metre-square space…

Aimed at removing floating litter and debris, a sea bin at Swansea Marina is helping to improve the cleanliness of the water there. The technology is being trialled, thanks to Swansea Council teaming up with environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy. Sea bins are bucket-shaped devices that rise and fall with the tide, collecting floating litter and debris. As water is drawn in by a pump, it passes through a catch bag which then traps the waste. Clean water is pumped back out, while litter and debris are safely contained for proper disposal. Powered 24 hours a day, the sea bin…

Pembrokeshire County Council is currently reviewing the implementation of 20mph speed limits across the county, following valuable feedback gathered during its recent listening exercise. This review comes in the wake of the Welsh Government’s introduction of a default 20mph speed limit in built-up areas—a policy that has generated considerable discussion across Wales. In Pembrokeshire, many residents, businesses, and community representatives have expressed concerns that a one-size-fits-all approach may not be appropriate for the county’s diverse and predominantly rural road network. The listening exercise took place between May and October 2024. Councillor Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, confirmed that…

The artist behind some iconic Caerphilly public art installations has officially reopened two Caerphilly town squares following a regeneration project. Stockland Square and Windsor Square, on Cardiff Road, were built in the late 1990s featuring now-familiar sculptures of jackdaws and geese, connecting residential streets to one of the town’s main shopping streets. The squares have undergone a full regeneration project under the Caerphilly Town 2035 Placemaking Plan to create a more open social space while introducing more greenery, seating, and improve bin facilities for local businesses. Artist Julie Westerman’s ‘Jackdaws of Caerphilly’ and ‘Gossiping Geese’ bronze works, which have been…