Author: Rhys Gregory

Richard Smith runs a business where visitors literally sit back and enjoy the view. He gets to places often far off the beaten track that celebrate the wild tranquillity of Wales and includes a local history lesson along the way. [aoa id=”1″] Motivated by a passion to share the hidden delights of “the biggest undiscovered secret in Britain”, Richard set up his tour business, Cambrian Safaris, in rural Mid Wales six years ago. Cambrian Safaris offers guide-driven tours of some of the most spectacular countryside anywhere in Great Britain. In today’s fast-paced world, Mid Wales is an area where visitors…

Newport City Council and Newport Live are delighted to announce that Geraint Thomas MBE has accepted our invitation to rename the city’s Wales National Velodrome in his honour. [aoa id=”1″] It will become the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in recognition of his fantastic success and his close links with Newport’s key cycling venue. In July, Geraint became the first Welshman, and only the third UK rider, to win the world’s most famous cycling road race, the Tour de France. Next month he is heading to Newport as part of Team Sky in the Tour of Britain when the…

Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas and Giro d’Italia winner Chris Froome will ride together in the OVO Energy Tour of Britain for the first time since 2009, Team Sky have announced. [aoa id=”1″] Newport hosts the finish of the first stage of the prestigious and high profile event on the afternoon of Sunday 2 September. For more info visit www.newport.gov.uk/events The British pair, who placed first and third in July’s Tour de France, will both be on the start line of Britain’s biggest annual sporting event in Pembrey Country Park, Carmarthenshire. They will be joined by Dutchman Wout Poels, himself…

The city’s newest hub bringing services and facilities to the heart of the community, opens next week, Monday, August 20that 9am. The new Hub on Crickhowell Road, St Mellons will open six days a week and will provide a wider range of services and better facilities. [aoa id=”1″] The new Hub has been refurbished and extended to become the latest facility to open in the Council’s successful community hub programme.The £3million project has benefited from a grant under the Welsh Government’s Regeneration Capital Programme. Extensive public consultation helped shape the design and layout of the new integrated facility which…

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service are taking over Cardiff Bay from 28th– 30thSeptember, hosting one of the UK’s largest rescue challenge event, the very first Tunnel to Towers 5k family walk/run and staging a Super Safety Village packed full of activities and entertainment for all the family.   [aoa id=”1″] On the 28thand 29ththe prestigious United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) Caerdydd Challenge will see more than 600 of the UK’s most skilled firefighters compete in staged rope rescues, water rescues, vehicle rescues and urban search and rescue contests in and around the Roald Dahl Plass. With SWFRS already boasting…

Gerald Thomas Chartered Accountants, an established accountants and business advisory firm in Swansea, has promoted Chris Jenkins and Jamie Williams to Associatesas it gears up for a new phase of growth. [aoa id=”1″] Chris Jenkins has been with Gerald Thomas for 2 years. He is an experienced accountantwho previously built up and sold a catering business before joiningthe Top 4 firm PwC,where he retrained to become a fully qualified accountant. He will combine his existing responsibilities advising businesses througha strategic role withGerald Thomas. Tax management specialist Jamie Williams, who has also been withGerald Thomas for nearly 2 years, is experienced…

A duo of young Cardiff entrepreneurs has learned the value of tenacity, having carried out a ruthless remodelling of their premium food business to refine it, ahead of their major launch at the Lunch! Expo in London, in September. [aoa id=”1″] Maria Marling and Marysia Thompson registered a premium, guilt free snacking business back in 2016. Under the brand name Benga, they set about selling protein shakes direct to budget gym users, using a bike and cart, before pivoting to market protein balls to leading café brands in Cardiff. During this period the pair spotted a gap in the healthy…

The winner of a £500 Swansea City Centre spending spree has said Swansea’s independent businesses are its trump card. Astra Phelps has scooped a £500 prize via the Swansea BID (Business Improvement District) Independents’ Month competition, which saw Swansea BID shine a spotlight on the City Centre’s many independent retailers and businesses throughout the whole of July, via a social media and loyalty card campaign. Small is beautiful was the message to visitors to Swansea City Centre throughout Independents Month, with people encouraged to shop locally in July – from boutiques and beauty salons, to cafes and restaurants – in…

A CONSTRUCTION firm responsible for a new police station has built a legacy that will last for years to come – including a £25 million boost for the region. [aoa id=”1″]North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones says contractors Galliford Try have built not only an eco-friendly divisional police headquarters in Llay, but also a stronger regional economy while creating well paid jobs and other opportunities for local people. It all adds up to an estimated £25 million economic boost in spending in the businesses and shops of the region. And the company with bases nationwide – and a…

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has expressed concern that the level of bovine TB in Wales has risen over the last 12 months, despite the introduction of further cattle control measures in October last year. Recent data from Defra has shown an increase in both the number of New Herd Incidents and the number of cattle slaughtered in Wales. Ian Lloyd, FUW Animal Health and Welfare Committee Chairman, said: “Recent data has shown that in the 12 months to May 2018 there was a 4 percent increase in the number of New Herd Incidents and a 2 percent increase in…