Author: Rhys Gregory

COLEG CAMBRIA is mass producing safety visors and face masks to help in the battle against Covid-19. The north east Wales institution is using 3D printers to manufacture vital PPE (personal protective equipment) for NHS staff and frontline workers facing up to the Coronavirus pandemic. Nick Tyson, Assistant Principal and Director of Technology, Engineering and Construction, and Engineering Technology instructor Len Robinson have been hard at work creating more than 50 visors a day at the college’s University Centre in Deeside. Using the equipment and materials they have at their disposal the pair hope to support the NHS with mass…

The regeneration of a former redundant brownfield site in Barry aims to reconnect the local community with buildings that were once right at its heart.   Avison Young has been appointed to provide valuation services for The Goodshed, Barry, a hugely inspirational project that will see the restoration of former heritage railway buildings in the town. The Goodshed is being developed by Simon Baston’s company Loft Co. Over recent years Loft Co has won a string of national awards for its renovation and rebuilding of historic properties across South Wales. Simon Baston explains, “The aim of this scheme is to bring…

A six year old from Aberdare is taking to her treadmill and walking to help other children during lockdown. Ivey Moore-James will be doing her first ever charity fundraiser and completing a 30 minute walk to raise money for The Children Society. According to her mother, Joanne James, Ivey usually hates walking but wanted to do something challenging to help to kids less fortunate than herself: “Every time we go out after five minutes she starts saying she doesn’t want to walk, so for her 30 minutes is a big challenge. We are very fortunate, when we went into lockdown…

Mums-to-be whose antenatal classes have had to be cancelled because of the coronavirus are now taking advantage of free online advice from a Swansea University expert. Dr Alys Einion-Waller, Associate Professor of Midwifery and Women’s Health, says her first three-week course of classes has already proved very popular – 12 couples signed up for the first session but now that figure has risen to 33 pairs of expectant parents. The classes in Centred Birth hypnobirthing, a way of using deep relaxation and self-hypnosis in labour and birth, are normally delivered at the University’s Health and Wellbeing Academy. They teach techniques…

Sainsbury’s café and Greggs in Bridgend have donated all leftover food to local homelessness charity Emmaus South Wales before closing due to the current coronavirus outbreak. The two businesses offered their support to the charity, which helps people who have experienced homelessness, by donating perishable food before temporarily closing. Emmaus South Wales shut its five charity shops in Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan following the Government’s announcement on Monday 23rd March, which issued stricter measures and ordered all shops selling non-essential goods to close. The charity’s five shops, which sell second-hand furniture, household goods and clothing, generate the funding…

Businesses and universities across Wales are responding to a nationwide call for action to help supply the NHS and social care with vital equipment to support staff. Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates has urged more to companies to join the effort. Gin distillery In The Welsh Wind, from Ceredigion, has started making World Health Organisation-approved hand sanitiser from its Gogerddan Arms base. Margam-based Rototherm Group, meanwhile, is producing face shields which will be used by healthcare staff, sourced from Premier Plastic Services Ltd, in Bridgend, via Cardiff stockist Amari Plastics Ltd, which paid for the first…

COUNCILS in North Wales are helping companies in the region access vital business support during the Coronavirus pandemic. Supported by North Wales Economic Ambition Board, the six local authorities in Gwynedd, Wrexham, Anglesey, Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy are working hard to inform organisations and the self-employed about the financial packages and benefits available to them following the Covid-19 outbreak. The Welsh and UK Governments have announced an unprecedented set of measures to assist firms in the months ahead, including business rate relief, grants, access to finance and fiscal aid for employees and the self-employed. In addition, the Welsh Government’s Business Wales…

While many businesses are closed during the Coronavirus pandemic, apprentices across Wales are forging ahead with their qualifications with online support from their learning provider. Directors and staff at award winning, pan-Wales learning provider Cambrian Training are all working remotely from home during the pandemic but are staying connected to their learners via the City & Guilds’ Learning Assistant e-portfolio system. Training officers use the Google Hangouts communications software to speak face to face with learners even though they are often hundreds of miles apart. This enables them to provide support and review evidence for learners’ apprenticeship portfolios. Arwyn Watkins, OBE,…

The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth could be used as a temporary hospital to support the Hywel Dda Health Board’s response to the COVID-19 emergency. Health board officials visited the library to discuss options which include storing equipment and medical records and possibly using parts of the building as a hospital. The library car park has already been released for use by health workers. Library staff are being encouraged to volunteer their services and the library building will be lit blue every Thursday evening to show support for the NHS. Whilst the library is closed to the public and…

The number of confirmed new Coronavirus cases have risen by 284 in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 4,073. There has also been 33 further deaths of people who had tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of deaths in Wales to 245. Dr Robin Howe, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “284 new cases have tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 4,073, although the true number of cases is likely to be higher. “For operational…