Author: Rhys Gregory

PLANS for a £200 million Wellness Village in Llanelli could provide a global blueprint on how healthcare and leisure services should best be delivered in future, according to Scarlets boss Nigel Short. [aoa id=”1″] Mr Short, who sits on the Swansea Bay City Deal’s Economic Strategy Board, says the project earmarked for a site at Delta Lakes has the potential to boost not just Llanelli, but Carmarthenshire and South Wales as a whole. Providing specialist private sector guidance to the City Deal’s decision-making Joint Committee, the Economic Strategy Board is made up of experts in sectors including business, housing, life…

Nine Welsh organisations have been shortlisted for the prestigious Action on Hearing Loss Cymru Excellence Awards for the work they do to make their services accessible to the one in six people in Wales with hearing loss.   [aoa id=”1″] The leading charity established the awards to recognise businesses and organisations that go above and beyond to support the 575,000 people in Wales who have varying degrees of hearing loss. The shortlist is made up of a myriad of organisations across Wales and includes health boards, emergency services, councils and charities. [/aoa] Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of…

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has completed on the sale of The Eagles Hotel, a Grade II listed, 16 bedroom hotel in the heart of North Wales’ picturesque Conwy Valley. [aoa id=”1″]The imposing hotel is situated in village of Llanrwst on the banks of the River Conwy, near to Snowdonia National Park and the popular tourist resort of Betws Y Coed and benefits from significant tourist trade throughout the year. The original building dates back to 1750 and, in keeping with its history, the hotel offers guests a combination of both period features and modern amenities. A more…

FinTech Wales is a new, not-for-profit independent membership organisation set up to champion the FinTech and Financial Services industry in Wales. [aoa id=”1″] It was launched earlier this week (April 29th) by Richard Theo, the UK Government’s FinTech Envoy for Wales, at the annual Innovate Finance Global Summit at the Guildhall in London. FinTech Wales will operate as a trade association with member organisations comprising of FinTech and financial services companies headquartered or operating in Wales. [/aoa] It brings together entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes, as well as technology suppliers, innovators, universities and public sector bodies. The association has…

Chepstow based PR and content agency, Cohesive Communications is calling on local people to take part in ‘Wye Walk’, a fundraising walk to help Welsh charity Llamau tackle homelessness.    [aoa id=”1″] The charity provides holistic support, including safe accommodation, domestic abuse refuge and mental health support, to help vulnerable women, young people and children to leave homelessness behind, for good.   “We have recently announced our partnership with Llamau and the Wye Walk is our first big community fundraiser of the year”, Cohesive co-CEO Andy Williams explained.  [/aoa]   “Llamau’s motto is ‘never to give up on anyone’ and…

Overall business confidence in Wales was the lowest in the UK in April, having dropped to minus one per cent, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. [aoa id=”1″] While Welsh firms’ confidence in their own business prospects rose by six points to 12 per cent, when combined with their views on the economy overall confidence fell 11 points to minus one per cent – the lowest in the UK. This was reflected in their hiring intentions, with a net balance of 14 per cent of businesses now expecting to hire more staff during the next…

A POPULAR sports centre has been given a makeover by creative Coleg Cambria students. [aoa id=”1″] A group of the college’s Level 1 and Level 2 Painting and Decorating cohort helped to revamp Deeside Leisure Centre while on work experience. They have been busy painting communal areas and function rooms at the Queensferry site and were rewarded with free passes to use the gym and ice-skating facilities. [/aoa] Ian Hogg, Deputy Director of Curriculum for Construction at Cambria, said: “We would like to thank Deeside Leisure Centre for giving our students the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in a professional…

A company boss is in training for a marathon trek to raise money for a cancer charity in memory of his mum. [aoa id=”1″] Paul Barlow, the chief executive of Wrexham-based online criminal record checks firm Disclosure Services, will be taking part in the 26-mile Mighty Hike around Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District. He will be joined by his wife, Fiona, and their close friends Carl and Tracy Burkhill. [/aoa] They will be walking along the Ullswater Way, from Dalemain House to Lowther Castle and they’re hoping to complete the challenge in around nine hours. The…

Music Festival ZipRoc, which takes place at the historic Penrhyn Quarry on Saturday 15th June is the world’s only festival in a quarry and is dedicated to raising funds to help save and change the lives of people affected by cancer. [aoa id=”1″]Last year ZipRoc, which is curated by Mike Peters MBE of The Alarm, raised £25,000 to support Mike’s Love Hope Strength Foundation and organisers are hoping this year’s event will help make a real difference again. As part of the day, over 100 people will be zipping down the Velocity zip-line whilst the bands are playing to raise funds to benefit…

A new £1 million fund has been launched by Co-op’s charity, The Co-op Foundation, today (Wednesday, 1 May) to enable groups in Wales with a community and environmental focus to safeguard spaces and become more sustainable. [aoa id=”1″] The funding boost has been generated by proceeds from the 5p single-use carrier bag charge in the Co-op’s Welsh food stores. Welsh groups can “bag” grants of up to £10,000 to explore enterprising ideas that could contribute to a more sustainable future for their community space. Funding could support feasibility costs, technical or legal fees and, projects which test and explore new…