Author: Rhys Gregory

Residents and businesses in Porth are encouraged to have their say on the Council’s draft Town Centre regeneration strategy – which would transform the area by introducing a modern Transport Hub and Station Quarter. [aoa id=”1″] A six-week public consultation into the draft strategy begins on Monday, October 29, after Cabinet agreed to consult on the plans. The Council is asking individuals, groups, businesses and organisations in Porth for their views on the draft strategy, and there are a number of ways the community can participate. The draft strategy includes transformational plans for Porth, to vastly improve connectivity in the…

Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Chair in Ancient History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University, has learnt Welsh to help improve his students’ learning experiences. Lloyd, 51, grew up near Bridgend in a non Welsh speaking family, but has had a strong interest in the language for around 25 years, since working within the costume department for the Welsh language soap opera, Pobol y Cwm, produced by the BBC and broadcast each weekday on S4C. Lloyd explains, “I knew very little Welsh before I started working on Pobol y Cwm. I gained a good understanding of the language and was able to…

Major companies have the opportunity to help deliver the proposed tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay. [aoa id=”1″] A taskforce set up by Swansea Bay City Region has spent the past three months re-evaluating the project and looking at alternative options for delivery. It has concluded the development of a tidal lagoon needs to be led by the private sector and without the reliance on government or local government subsidy. And now an official invitation, known as a Prior Invitation Notice, is being published to give companies and investors the chance to be part of this ground-breaking project. [/aoa] It follows…

Tourism businesses in North Wales are invited to participate in a one-day conference in central Manchester to debate important topical issues relating to tourism development, ‘over-tourism’, economic growth and sustainability. [aoa id=”1″] The conference is being organised by the Tourism Consultants Network (TCN, a section of the Tourism Society and Europe’s leading professional association of tourism consultants) and will take place on Thursday 22 November 2018 at Manchester’s iconic Central Library.   The full title of the conference is: “The Challenge of Destination Management: Balancing Growth and Sustainability” and confirmed speakers include representatives from Marketing Manchester, Manchester Airport, VisitEngland, the Tourism…

As climate-change appears to be causing more and more natural disasters, a Welsh flood-prevention company is gearing up for major expansion. [aoa id=”1″] MMEngineering of Port Talbot, which makes flood and blast defences to protect structures and buildings from the elements, has moved to new premises and is pursuing contracts worldwide, following a six-figure investment. The funding package, from Tata Steel subsidiary UK Steel Enterprise and Development Bank of Wales, is underpinning an ambitious business plan which forsees turnover rising to above £5 million and 14 staff being taken on in the next three years. MMEngineering will be installing a…

Earlier this year, Hendrewennol, renowned for their fruit and pumpkin picking events announced that they wouldn’t be holding their annual October half term activities this year. They also announced that their last day of pumpkin picking would be October 14th 2018. In recent years, the popularity of Hendrewennol has been phenomenal, driven in part by social media with many families sharing their experiences predominately on Facebook. I for one found out about this fantastic place after a friend shared their pumpkin picking adventures in a Facebook post. It goes almost without saying, that there has been many expressions of disappointment as people continue…

With Halloween parties kicking off this weekend ahead of the 31st October, we’ve created a spooktacular playlist that will be sure to set the mood for the big day. Featuring classics such as Nina Simone’s I Put A Spell on You, as well as a whole host of classics from Michael Jackson, AC/DC, Meat Loaf and ZZ Top. Although some of the tracks may not immediately stand out as Halloween picks, carefully listen to the lyrics and you’ll soon know why they feature on this incredible playlist. The best thing is that we’ve created this list of Halloween tracks on…

It goes without saying, the best place to watch Wales play rugby is in the Principality Stadium. The roar of the national anthem is enough to lift the roof off of the stadium and send chills down your spine – that’s of course, if you have a ticket. If you can’t make it to the stadium to watch Wales in this year’s Autumn Internationals, the next best thing is securing a spot in one of the city’s Welsh pubs or bars. If you’ve never done it before, you should, you can’t beat the electric atmosphere in Cardiff on match day.…

Life-size wild animals made from LEGO will be on display this October half term. [aoa id=”1″]The incredibly detailed models, which took almost 1,750 hours to build and comprise nearly 650,000 bricks, will be located in Tacoma Square, in the middle of Mermaid Quay, overlooking the waterfront from today (27 October) until 4 November. The event is free to the public.From lions and cheetahs of the Sahara, to agile jaguars of South America and, of course, a fabulous Bengal tiger, BIG CATS at Mermaid Quay is an exciting display of great wild cat species from across the globe.[/aoa]The models have been brought to Mermaid…

Techniquest has submitted a planning application for its £5.7m Science Capital project, which will see the radical transformation and expansion of its science discovery centre in Cardiff Bay. [aoa id=”1″] Planning has been submitted to extend the educational charity’s current building on Stuart Street to create an additional 900m2 of exhibition floor space. The scheme, designed by local architecture practice HLM, will significantly increase Techniquest’s footprint providing an additional 60% exhibition space to house brand new innovative content related to, and developed with, Welsh STEM innovators, academics and communities. The new immersive and innovative exhibition areas and experiences will help…