Author: Rhys Gregory

THE search is on to find a new director to lead the Growth Vision for North Wales onto the next stage in its journey. [aoa id=”1″] With Heads of Terms on the verge of being finalised for the £1billion North Wales Growth Deal, it’s a crucial and exciting time for the North Wales Economic Ambition Board. A Programme Office is being established and the new Programme Director position will be pivotal in taking forward the seven programmes that make up the Deal. Dyfrig Siencyn, chair of the Ambition Board and Leader of Gwynedd Council, said this permanent role will work…

A new Cardiff Council campaign has been launched reminding residents that they are responsible for disposing of their waste correctly, and could face steep fines if waste is fly-tipped by unregistered waste carriers.  The Beware the Waste Cowboys campaign was launched outside Cardiff’s City Hall where four tonnes of fly-tipped waste appeared on Thursday, August 8, sparking a wave of social media enquiries wondering where the waste came from and how it could have been allowed to get dumped in front of one of Cardiff’s most famous buildings. It was later revealed that the rubbish was placed by Cardiff Council…

Biodiversity is getting a boost at Forest Farm following a successful bid for funding that will see a range of habitats at the popular nature reserve enhanced and restored.  [aoa id=”1″] Woodland, scrub, ponds, wetlands, orchard, hedgerow and grassland at the site will all benefit from a £60,000 grant from Network Rail’s Greater West Programme. Working with partner organisations Buglife and Plantlife as well as the Friends of Forest Farm, the project also includes plans to survey the site and train a pool of volunteers to assist with future surveys so that the impact of the work on the flora…

The award-winning design consultancy will support a host of worthwhile causes through the course of its work moving forward, with two Welsh organisations in place for year one. Cardiff-based AP Cymru – The Autism Charity, and Many Tears Animal Rescue in Carmarthenshire, are the first to benefit from the move. Rebecca said: “As a company we have always looked for ways to support great causes, either through donations or by providing consultancy services free of charge. “IAD’s progression to a fully not-for-profit organisation was a natural next step for us, therefore, and one we feel is really going to guide…

New Media Ghost, a Cardiff based online business, has taken on three students this month to complete their internships.  [aoa id=”1″] Kiki Choda, the founder of New Media Ghost, decided to start a cooperation with two graduates Jonathan Silk and Katarzyna Felinska, and a 2nd year student Michael O’Brien.  New Media Ghost is a fast-growing online management business with clients such as C-suite Executives, Surgeons and business owners. It operates in the UK, Europe and has clients in the USA. The company is part of the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator programme in Cardiff.  [/aoa]   The company provides a unique service helping create…

A Swansea University student has this week been crowned the fastest Deliveroo cyclist in Wales, as riders from across the country battled it out in the seventh heat of Deliveroo’s British cycling championship – Deliveroo Rider Races.  [aoa id=”1″] The riders descended upon the Maindy Centre Velodrome, Cardiff, in a bid to record the quickest lap of the 450 metre circuit. The historic track hosted cycling during the 1958 Commonwealth Games, and is also where Geraint Thomas – two time Olympic gold medalist and 2018 Tour de France winner – first began cycling at the age of 10. Three riders,…

Kye Harwood, 19, from London, was arrested in February following an investigation by detectives into a series of scams where fraudsters purport to be police officers conning elderly victims into handing over thousands of pounds. Harwood pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud by false representation at a previous hearing. Yesterday (Aug 8) he was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court to 24 months in a young offenders institution. The defendant was part of a group who used a sophisticated and well-rehearsed scam which has been replicated across the UK. Targeting vulnerable people with cold-calls, scammers claim to be police officers…

SCIENTISTS in Wales have received £514,000 from Cancer Research UK to develop a new test using Salmonella which aims to detect bowel cancer at an early stage.  Prof Paul Dyson at Swansea University and Dr Lee Parry at Cardiff University have discovered that a safe strain of strain of Salmonella can be found in the poo of people with bowel polyps. If left untreated, polyps can go on to develop into bowel cancer over time. Each year around 2,400 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in Wales*. When diagnosed at its earliest stage, more than 9 in 10 people with…

Europe’s largest trailer maker has created 150 new jobs with the help of the successful launch of two new flagship horseboxes. [aoa id=”1″] Ifor Williams Trailer is looking for the extra staff across all their four sites in Cynwyd, Corwen, Sandycroft and on Deeside Industrial Estate where around 600 people are currently employed. The company has also launched a Summer Placement Programme to provide students with work experience. Participants are paid £320 a week and the aim is to attract young people who might not usually consider working in manufacturing. [/aoa] Apprenticeships are also available at the company’s Weld Academy…

A social enterprise in Flintshire, which supports the physical and mental wellbeing of its local community, continues to go from strength to strength with over 1.5 million visits to its leisure centres and libraries across the county during the last 12 months. [aoa id=”1″] Aura Leisure and Libraries is a charitable organisation that runs many of the leisure centres, libraries and heritage services previously operated by Flintshire County Council. The social enterprise was established in September 2017 as a way to keep all libraries and leisure centres open for the community following an extended period of public sector austerity and…