Author: Rhys Gregory

A house-building company with an innovative business model is ready to kick-start its operation with more than 120 new homes for sale in North Wales and Cheshire. Housing association Cartrefi Conwy has joined forces with Brenig Developments Ltd to form a joint venture named Calon Homes, to create a wholly commercial operation in a partnership that’s believed to be the first of its kind in Wales. Cartrefi Conwy will be using its 50 per cent share of the profits to plough into affordable housing whilst using Brenig’s expertise to “develop much needed quality homes for sale”. The ground-breaking joint venture…

A SMART Partnership between Aston Martin and UWTSD is helping to drive graduate employability through academic and industry collaboration. [aoa id=”1″] The partnership between academic staff, research associates and engineers is aimed at knowledge exchange and collaboration between the University and Aston Martin to develop graduates that are industry ready. Welsh Government Smart partnerships provide financial support to businesses for innovative projects that require academic collaboration – helping to develop new products, and in this instance using automation and digitalisation to remain competitive. Richard Morgan, Programme Director Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering at UWTSD said: “The SMART partnership which we undertook…

Llanbrynmair Forest, one of the largest privately owned commercial forests in Wales, has been brought to the market by Savills. [aoa id=”1″] The 5,342 acre forest is situated in the Montgomeryshire area of Powys, a region well-known for its timber production. Made up of a number of individual plantations brought together under single ownership, the sale represents a rare opportunity to acquire a large-scale commercial forest complex. James Adamson, Head of Forestry Investment at Savills, says “Due to the limited size of the UK market finding a single commercial forest of this scale and productive capacity is very rare…

Inspectors have again praised South Wales Police for its performance in responding to crime and protecting people – rating it among the top forces out of those most recently inspected. The report, published today (Friday, September 27) by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, rates South Wales Police as being: good in effectively reducing crime and keeping people safe; good in operating efficiently and providing sustainable services to the public; and good in the way it treats the public and its workforce. South Wales Police has been described by inspectors as “good at responding to crime and protecting people”. They add that…

The holidays may be over but thanks to Technocamps, school pupils will be taking new skills and experiences into their next term. [aoa id=”1″] Technocamps, Swansea University’s innovative outreach programme designed to give pupils an insight into the world of computer science, delivered a variety of activities to pupils across Wales during the summer holidays. These included programming, app development, games development and robotics. 2019 Robotics Competition The theme of this year’s robotics competition was Disaster Droids with pupils challenged to design and create a robot, capable of providing assistance to disaster-struck areas. This included war zones and areas devastated…

After a successful launch last year, olive’s Chef Awards are back, saluting the unheralded chefs who have been quietly excelling in the background – all nominated by the hungry public. Focussing on the people, rather than the places, the awards commend the hard-working chefs that have dedicated their lives to having a positive impact on the way we eat. Jon White of The Two Anchors in Cardiff has been shortlisted for the Best Street-Food Chef award for their fresh, sustainable seafood. They are located at Sticky Fingers Street Food in Roath. Gareth Ward, chef at Ynyshir near Machynlleth is up…

The family of the man who died at Tata Steel on Wednesday have paid tribute to him. Justin Peter Day, aged 44, of Llansamlet died during an incident at the plant Wednesday afternoon. His family has issued the following tribute: “Justin was a family man who loved his family so much, he was a hardworking to provide the best for his family. “He was a doting dad to his daughter Keeley and granddaughter Lyla-Jay who he idolised. “He was a passionate rugby fan and supported the Ospreys and Wales and had been looking forward to the world cup. “He was…

Eight exceptional social businesses have been recognised at this year’s Social Business Wales Awards 2019. A sustainable building project tackling poverty, a community energy charity and a school partnership enterprise were amongst the winners that took home a coveted sector award, presented by Wynne Evans at Venue Cymru, Llandudno. The Social Business Wales Awards recognise the excellence of social enterprises, co-operatives and employee-owned businesses in Wales. There are currently 2,022 social businesses across the country that contribute an estimated £3.18bn to Wales’ economy. And the Social Business Wales Awards winners are… Wales Social Enterprise of the Year Award winner: Aura…

Three neighbours from Newtown are celebrating today after scooping a share of £120,000. The trio scooped the cash when SY16 2DZ was announced as a winner on Wednesday 25th September with People’s Postcode Lottery. The win saw two of the Milford Road residents picking up cheques for £30,000 each, while the third netted themselves £60,000 thanks to playing with two tickets. Grandfather Ross Varley (53) was the lucky double ticket holder. When he saw what he’d won he kissed his cheque and exclaimed: “You beauty!” He continued: “I feel like a right lucky so and so. I haven’t got a…

HSBC UK today launches a £550 million lending fund to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Wales as part of its commitment to help businesses realise their ambitions for growth and navigate Brexit. The Wales SME Fund is part of a wider £14 billion fund for SMEs across the UK. Since launching the SME Fund in 2014, HSBC has committed more than £60 billion to UK SMEs as part of its commitment to help British businesses innovate, evolve and grow. The HSBC UK 2019 Fund includes increased ring-fenced pots for international businesses and for the agriculture sector. The allocation…