Author: Rhys Gregory

Swansea Building Society’s Cowbridge branch has achieved a record amount in mortgage balances, which the Society has attributed to its personal approach to mortgage lending and focus on developing niche mortgage products. These products have been particularly welcomed by those who are self-employed, professionals, high income earners, those looking to build or renovate their own home and those looking to let properties on a short-term basis.  [aoa id=”1″] The Society’s Cowbridge branch, which opened during December 2017, has reached £50 million in mortgage balances – an impressive figure considering the branch has been in operation for less than two years.…

One of the highlights of the UK motorsport calendar returns to Anglesey Circuit for the sixth year this coming weekend. Mission Motorsport’s unique Race of Remembrance features fifty teams in a 1,000km race. Although primarily a ‘clubman’ event, the Race of Remembrance attracts a diverse crowd of racers from novices to experts. Mission Motorsport beneficiaries play a huge part in the event; organising, planning, providing, racing, spannering and covering the action. The twelve-hour endurance race will begin on Saturday afternoon and will continue until 9 p.m. when the all cars will return to Parc Ferme until the re-start on Sunday…

Nominations are being sought from producers in Wales for a new artisan food award – the ‘Britannia Artisan Food Collection’. The Collection is being curated by food and drink journalist and broadcaster Nigel Barden, and will map the UK’s best produce and producers as it launches this month. Premium cooking appliance manufacturer Britannia is behind the launch of the Artisan Food Collection, a curated list of the best produce from around the British Isles. From November 2019 to March 2020, Britannia will be seeking nominations from the public for their favourite food and drink from where they live. From jams…

Representatives from North Wales Economic Ambition Board joined the Welsh and UK Governments to sign Heads of Terms and agree the seven programmes that will form the Deal from 2020 onwards. The Heads of Terms commits the two Governments to investing £240m into programmes that will have a positive impact on thousands of households, businesses and organisations across the region. When combined with the contributions from partners and the private sector, the Deal is worth more than £1billion to North Wales. The programmes within the Deal include projects on low carbon energy, advanced manufacturing, land-based industries (agriculture and tourism), land…

Andrew Lee Jones of Tonypandy, appeared at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court on Friday (1 November) for sentencing. He had pleaded guilty to one offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 on 30 October.  He had admitted that on 1 May this year in the area of de Winton Street, Tonypandy, he intentionally killed a gull. CCTV footage caught Jones trample and kick the gull – which sadly died in consequence of his actions. An RSPCA appeal for information was launched in June as part of enquiries into the incident. The CCTV footage – from two cameras – was kindly provided…

Business confidence in Wales rose two points during October to 2%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. However, companies in Wales reported a lower confidence in their business prospects at 7%, which along with their views on the economy in general gives an overall confidence of 2%. Businesses’ hiring intentions showed that a net balance of 8% of businesses in the region expect to hire more staff during the next year, down one point on last month. Across the UK, overall confidence rose four points to 6% as firms’ confidence in their own prospects climbed…

A record number of people in Wales have been diagnosed with heart failure, according to a new analysis by British Heart Foundation Cymru (BHF Cymru). Admissions to hospital are rising, with 350 people a month in Wales now admitted due to heart failure as the primary diagnosis, and hundreds more being admitted with heart failure as part of their diagnosis. The rise in hospital admissions is reflective of increasing numbers of people living with heart failure in the UK. It’s estimated that around 920,000 people have the condition and its burden is now similar to the four most common cancers…

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has responded to the Welsh Government’s consultation on post-Brexit rural support by proposing a framework and dynamic farm support system that takes full account of all Welsh Wellbeing Goals, National Wellbeing Indicators and other Welsh objectives. The Welsh Government had proposed in its Sustainable Farming and our Land consultation – the deadline for which was 30 October – that future farm and rural support should be focussed on the United Nations’ definition of ‘Sustainable Land Management’, and that this should be the objective of a future policy. “While the UN’s Sustainable Land Management definition…

The team from the Electrical Industries Charity undertook the challenge with Omar Kahil of ECA – Excellence in Electrotechnical and Engineering Services. EFT Consult, a Wales-based company that specialises in cutting edge and innovative technologies in relation to the design and consultancy of the built environment, sponsored the charity team to reach the Mount Everest base camp. EFT Consult is part of the RD Group, which also comprises RDM Electrical Services and DRS Facilities and Environmental. On reaching their goal, the team said: “We would have felt berEFT without your sponsorship, EFT Consult. Omar Khalil and the EIC explorers applaud…

A town mayor admitted she got it wrong when she opposed the transfer of the estate where she lives to a housing association after they transformed it with a £1.4 million makeover. Cllr Angie O’Grady, the Mayor of Llandudno, was speaking at a special celebration to mark the presentation of a coveted Green Flag Award to the town’s Tre Cwm estate. The flag raising ceremony marked a momentous double coup for Cartrefi Conwy housing association which manages the only two Welsh social housing estates ever to be crowned with Green Flag status. Five years ago, the Peulwys estate in Llysfaen,…