Author: Rhys Gregory

Wales’ brightest entrepreneurial minds are being urged to seize an opportunity to fast-track their business ideas. The Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme is now accepting applications for its innovative 10-week immersive Start-Up Accelerator Programme, which will launch on Tuesday 13 May 2025 and conclude on Friday 18 July 2025. This entirely virtual programme offers tailored support to help participants turn their ideas into fully operational businesses. Through targeted coaching and masterclasses, participants will learn how to develop a sustainable business model and secure their first paying customers. Sessions will explore new AI applications that boost creativity, streamline market research and enhance efficiency. These applications will equip participants with the skills to compete in a rapidly changing marketplace. The accelerator is open to aspiring Welsh entrepreneurs with pre-revenue business ideas.…

A man who was told he had just a ‘30% chance of survival’ after a serious car accident is now getting ready to run the ABP Newport Marathon. In June 2022 Ethan Brown suffered severe injuries after his Ford Fiesta crashed on the A470 near Brecon. The 24-year-old Mechanic from Swansea said: “I don’t remember anything about the accident apart from waking up in hospital after being in a coma for two weeks.” Ethan later learned that an off-duty police officer was driving past and saw what happened. They phoned the emergency services and the Welsh Air Ambulance arrived soon…

The go-ahead has been given for a major expansion at a North Wales port that will create 300 new jobs. The Port of Mostyn is pressing ahead with its plan to build a new berth to cater for the next generation of much larger floating offshore wind turbines It was made possible after Natural Resources Wales granted a Marine Works Licence to build a new 350 metre quay and reclaim 13 acres of land behind it. The new quay has been designed to enable the world’s largest jack-up crane barges to berth and load the turbines. Meanwhile, the port has…

A pair of bidders battled it out to buy a stunning cottage in a gorgeous West Wales setting at auction. The cottage, Dinorwic, in the hamlet of Cnwch Coch in the stunning Vale of Ystwyth, near the coastal university town of Aberystwyth, was for sale with a guide price of £68,000. The head-turning property, blending traditional and modern, soon created interest when it was posted for sale by Paul Fosh Auctions. In the end two bidders went head-to-head to secure the one-of-a-kind bungalow before it sold for £83,000 after seven bids. Sean Roper, of South Wales Based Paul Fosh Auctions,…

Health and Care Research Wales and British Heart Foundation (BHF) have announced a significant £3m agreement to support cardiovascular research in Wales through funding for the National Cardiovascular Research Network (NCRN). The five-year agreement means that Welsh researchers will be able to investigate key areas of unmet health and care needs in people with heart conditions such as arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), heart disease and vascular ageing. The network will bring researchers, health professionals, patient representatives and others together to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease in Wales and beyond.  The agreement will see Welsh Government funding key…

Newport-based Hexa Finance has announced the appointment of Michael Oxby as Advisor to the Board. With over 40 years in the finance industry, including two decades in Managing Director roles at major institutions like Santander, Macquarie, and Allied Irish Bank, Michael brings extensive experience to the team. Having previously worked alongside Hexa Finance co-founder Ben Davies during his time at Macquarie, Michael is familiar with Hexa’s operations and objectives. In his new role, he will focus on business growth, strengthening relationships with funders, and supporting Hexa’s ongoing expansion. Throughout his career, Michael has held senior leadership positions in both UK…

South Wales Police will be deploying additional live facial recognition cameras in Cardiff during this year’s Six Nations rugby internationals as a further measure to keep city centre visitors safe. A network of temporary cameras will be positioned across the city centre. The feeds from these cameras will be transmitted to Live Facial Recognition vans where officers will be alerted to anyone who is on a predetermined watchlist. Officers will be deployed in response to an alert to confirm whether the person who creates the alert is who police need to speak to before taking appropriate action. Cameras will be…

Seven people have been arrested as part of an operation to disrupt county lines drug dealing in Anglesey. Officers have been working with Merseyside Police over the last nine months to prevent and disrupt serious and organised crime in the area. Across three proactive days of action this, seven people were arrested on suspicion of offences including the possession of class A drugs with intent to supply, possession of class B drugs, robbery, and assault. Cash and suspected cocaine and ketamine were seized, and several stop searches were carried out, with one person arrested on suspicion of drink/drug driving. Those…

Get a taxi in Cardiff today and your trip could now be cleaner and greener due to a Cardiff Council scheme which has provided more than £200,000 of grants to enable the city’s taxi drivers to upgrade to more fuel efficient or fully electric vehicles. Every year the average full-time taxi driver in the UK clocks up anything from 25,000 to 45,000 miles of driving1- significantly more than the approximately 7,500 miles2the average UK driver covers. Cardiff’s Hackney Carriage fleet consists of many older, Euro 4 and Euro 5 diesel vehicles, meaning much of that mileage has a negative impact…

TATA STEEL UK’S PROPOSALS for a £1.25bn Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) based steel making facility at its Port Talbot site have been approved by Neath Port Talbot Council’s Planning Committee. The decision taken on Tuesday, February 18th, 2025, paves the way for a new era of green steel making in Port Talbot just months after Tata closed its traditional blast furnaces in the town at the cost of thousands of jobs. The Planning Committee granted approval for the project subject to a long list of conditions and the signing of legal agreements which include securing long term ecological management and…