Author: Rhys Gregory

Plans for a new indoor arena in Cardiff Bay have been given a further boost with news that the Council’s Cabinet has agreed to go out to tender for a developer to build and operate a new arena. [aoa id=”1″]A report to Cabinet reveals that a final business case for the 15,000-seater arena will be presented at the end of 2019, with planning consent potentially achieved by 2020, meaning the new venue could be open for business by December 2023.[/aoa] Cabinet Member for Investment and Development, Cllr Russell Goodway, said: “We want to re-energise Cardiff Bay, boosting its profile as…

A business owner from Conwy has opened up about his journey from redundancy to successful entrepreneur in a bid to inspire those going through a similar experience to seek free support to help change their own story. [aoa id=”1″] Adam Jones, 41, was working in construction as a project manager when he was made redundant by his former employer after they missed out on a crucial contract. Despite being initially shocked and concerned at the news, Adam was determined to overcome this challenge and began researching his options online. It was then he first learnt about the support that was…

Katharine Richards Framing (formerly Free Range Frames) has moved to new premises in Market House in the Canton area of Cardiff, which is double the size of the business’ previous workshop. The business, which was established by Katharine Richards over five years ago, was previously known as Free Range Frames but has rebranded to better reflect the nature of the framing work she now does. [aoa id=”1″]The business was set up in 2014 and shortly after its founder left her 12-year career in law to concentrate on growing the company. Katharine completed a three-year apprenticeship in framing at Manor House…

Wheely Wonderful Cycling has welcomed twice as many overseas visitors for cycling holidays in Mid Wales and the bordering English counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire compared with the same period last year. [aoa id=”1″]Forty per cent of all the company’s holiday customers come from overseas and there is a big increase in the number opting to use electric bikes on their holidays. Most of the overseas bookings are from English speaking countries including the USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.[/aoa] “Is this due to Brexit?” surmised Chris Dartnell, who runs Wheely Wonderful Cycling with his wife, Kay. “The good exchange…

The £100 million urban village, recently awarded Residential Development of the Year at the Insider Property Awards, is one of Wales’ biggest regeneration schemes. [aoa id=”1″] The Mill is a partnership between Cadwyn, Tirion and Lovell, with support from the Principality Building Society and Welsh Government, and will provide 800 homes on the site of the old Arjo Wiggins papermill building in Canton. It will create a vibrant and sustainable new community with 442 homes available for rent for not-for-profit housing company Tirion through Cadwyn and the rest on the open market through Lovell. [/aoa] The long-term vision of creating…

Expanding property development and investment company Garrison Barclay Estates has appointed a new Head of Property. The Cardiff-based firm, headed up by founder Andrew McCarthy, has welcomed Jennie Howells into the team to manage its growing property portfolio. Jennie, 28 from Cardiff, has been working within the property industry since graduating from the University of West England with a degree in property management and investment. She started her career in Nuttall Parker as a graduate surveyor before moving into the commercial investment team at JLL where she gained her chartership (MRICS). She has vast experience working across Wales and the…

The men were caught as part of Operation Etna to tackle the supply of class C drugs into the UK and their onward distribution in the Bridgend area. This was a multi-agency operation led by officers from Bridgend’s Organised Crime Unit and involved The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, UK Border Force and the National Crime Agency. The defendants were responsible for the importation of more than 350,000 diazepam tablets which could have a potential street value exceeding £32,000. The investigation began when UK Border Force officers intercepted a number of parcels sent form Sri Lanka to addresses in…

Tackling mountainous obstacles around the park, the team took the opportunity to use the aqua park as a creative recovery session. Aqua Park Cardiff is Wales’ biggest inflatable aqua park measuring 8,000 square metres and features more than 70 exciting and challenging obstacles. [aoa id=”1″] The Cardiff Blues hurled their teammates into the air on the super soaking blast bag and showed off their flips and tricks off the Action Tower, exercising team trust and creating lots of healthy competition. Robin Sowden-Taylor, head of strength and conditioning at Cardiff Blues, said: “It was brilliant to finish our first week of…

South Wales headquartered construction firm, Jehu Group, has appointed two new directors to support the continued growth across the group, following a successful first quarter of 2019 with an order book worth more than £86m. The new directors will work alongside the established senior management team. [aoa id=”1″]Neil McCarthy, previously Commercial Director for Jehu Project Services, has stepped up to take on the newly created role of Managing Director of Jehu Project Services. Jehu Project Services currently delivers 14 to 16 concurrent schemes within the affordable housing, care, commercial and retail sectors with average contract values exceeding £6.5m.[/aoa] Mr. McCarthy…

A Welsh Government funded project has helped bakery companies to incorporate innovative ingredients into their products to make them healthier. This is in response to directives such as the Welsh Government’s Well-being for Future Generations Act. [aoa id=”1″]Project Hexagon brought together four Welsh bakery companies to work alongside new product development experts from Cardiff Metropolitan University’s ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre and Univar Solutions, a global ingredients company.[/aoa] Using ingredients from Univar Solutions, ZERO2FIVE carried out a number of successful trials for each company to help them develop their products. These included enriching sandwich maker Panini’s gluten free bread with protein…