Author: Rhys Gregory

Charities in Wales who team up for a dream project could get up to £1,000,000 to make their idea a reality, thanks to a new funding pot now open for applications. The Postcode Dream Trust, which is in its eighth year and is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, is making £3,000,000 available for three ground-breaking projects in 2019. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] The Dream Trust funded the ‘Building our Dreams’ project, in the Gower Peninsula, Swansea in 2016.  It was led by Valley Kids, an innovative community development initiative and supported by the Down to Earth Project, a social enterprise…

Health professionals from the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have been training medical staff in a rural region of Lesotho. [aoa id=”1″] Many women in Lesotho’s rural area of Quthing suffer complications giving birth, which are often made even more challenging by the high rates of HIV, so the training sessions are tailored to improve midwives and health centre staff skills. On this occasion, over 15 members of health staff from 8 Health Centres received the essential training. Grant funding also enabled some of the Lesotho based Health Management Team to visit Wales to share their learning and to…

Final plans have been submitted for a £100m scheme to transform a high-profile area of Swansea city centre, in south Wales. They reveal a dramatic, innovative and hi-tech new look for a huge area of land between the core shopping district and the Marina. Initial plans won overwhelming public support. Consultation respondents liked the proposed 3,500-capacity digital indoor arena, coastal park, digital plaza, “gateway” landmark pedestrian bridge, new homes and premises for retail, food and drink. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] If permission is granted by Swansea planners in October the major development, known as Swansea Central Phase One, will be built either side of Oystermouth Road –…

A fast-growing self-storage company has carried out a major expansion at its Chester area hub at Saltney. Denbigh-based Lock Stock Self-Storage is the UK’s biggest containerised storage company and they have increased the number of containers on their site at River Lane by almost 30 per cent to 360. The £150,000 redevelopment has involved the acquisition of an extra piece of land and as well as a new entrance the company’s Chester office has now moved to River Lane from its previous home in Saltney High Street. It is part of a major expansion across their 18 sites in North…

Looking to keep your children active and entertained during the holidays? Why not test their detective skills and keep them busy with Montgomery’s two family-friendly quiz trails.  The Town of Little Cars Trail is designed for younger children and is pushchair friendly. The quiz challenges children to find the names of 14 cars in windows at locations around the town centre taking in all the local sites. [aoa id=”1″] The quiz also includes a dot-to-dot puzzle and, once they’ve finished the trails, the whole family can visit the Cloverlands Model Car Museum in Arthur Street to see the original model…

Principality Building Society has appointed Annelie Grey as its head of financial reporting. Annelie’s responsibilities include producing the Society’s mid-year and annual financial statements, and reports to the regulators.  She joins Principality after spending the past three years as head of accounting policy for Nationwide and before that was an audit director for Deloitte. Annelie said: “I’m from Cardiff originally and can still remember going to open my first savings account in the Whitchurch branch of Principality as a child. I’ve been lucky enough to have a varied career that has enabled me to travel all over the world, but…

On Saturday 4th August, Visit Swansea Bay, Swansea Council’s tourism team began their four week Surfari Bus tour of Wales and Ireland to promote the area as a key visitor destination during Wales’ ‘Year of the Sea’.  First stop on the Surfari Bus tour was Oxwich Bay, Gower at which the star of the Surfari show – a branded Visit Swansea Bay vintage VW campervan – packed full of exclusive Swansea Bay competitions and offers – made its debut in the summer sunshine. Oxwich beachgoers were encouraged to take a ‘surfie’ (selfie!) in the giant #SeaSwanseaBay deckchair, or try a…

KPMG in the UK has opened applications for its 2019 graduate programmes for the Audit and Tax, Pensions and Legal Services practices. Roles are available in Cardiff as well as across the UK, and graduates from all subjects are invited to apply. Michelle Hinchliffe, head of audit for KPMG in the UK, said of the launch:“We are extremely excited to be opening our graduate programmes for 2019, and we look forward to welcoming more talented young people into our firm.  Being an auditor requires a specific set of skills, but not all of these may be what you might typically…

Thousands are expected to line the streets of Cardiff on Thursday to welcome home Wales’ cycling superstar and Tour De France winner Geraint Thomas. The Cardiff-born cyclist will be given a hero’s welcome at an event staged along St Mary Street and outside Cardiff Castle from 5pm until 5.30pm on August 9th. [aoa id=”1″] The Tour de France winner and Olympic Gold medallist will lead a peloton of young riders from Welsh Cycling accredited go-ride clubs up St Mary Street to Castle Street before taking to a stage in the castle moat where he will speak to the crowds. The…

A railway worker from Dowlais has scooped an incredible £70,000 on a National Lottery Scratchcard and is now on track to change his life with a new car, a family holiday and investing some cash in property renovation. Jordon Morgan, 27, was feeling lucky when he popped into his local store to buy a scratchcard on Sunday 29 July. When his first scratchcard revealed he’d won £2 he decided to see if it really was his lucky day and bought a second one – a £2 Red Hot 7s Doubler scratchcard. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] At first Jordon was stunned thinking he’d…