Author: Rhys Gregory

A biotech company from Caernarfon has expanded into the Middle East for the first time after appointing a new distributor, having received support from the Welsh Government to develop its exports. Bee Robotics, which designs and manufactures robotic instruments that handle liquids for the biotechnology industry, such as allergy and tuberculosis testing, has set its sights on growing its business and sales through exports. With the Middle Eastern and African allergy markets estimated to reach $500 million by 2030, the North Wales company sees entry into the region as a key route to achieving this. The company has signed a…

PROPOSALS have been submitted for a 50-bedroom student accommodation building at a leading land-based college. Coleg Cambria plans to further develop its Llysfasi campus following the completion of a £10m agriculture and education centre, featuring a library, classrooms, a climbing wall, laboratories, a coffee shop, meeting spaces, atrium, and wellbeing and HE hubs. Designed by TACP Architects, the new development would be built by Read Construction – both companies are based in Wrexham. Head of Llysfasi Elin Roberts said a surge in student numbers in past years and growth of industry partnerships with the likes of AGCO and Kubota –…

NESTLED In the Welsh countryside is a small festival with big plans for 2025. Big Love festival, set in the County of Monmouthshire and just 35 minutes from Bristol and Cardiff, is hoping to shine a spotlight on East African music, art and culture this summer. Thanks to a British Council International Collaboration Grant, the festival — which currently attracts around 3,000 attendees each year with its vibrant mix of music, art installations, and performances — will grow bigger and bolder in 2025 through a new partnership with Uganda’s Nyege Nyege Festival. The collaboration with Nyege Nyege, renowned for its vibrant celebration of East…

Occupier demand for commercial property in Wales fell flat through the final quarter of 2024 according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Commercial Property Monitor, but there has been an improvement in the outlook overall, driven by optimism for the industrial property sector. Whilst overall occupier demand is flat, there is variation in the sub-sectors. Occupier demand for industrial space rose (a net balance of 7%), demand for office space was reported to have fallen flat, and a net balance of -7% of Welsh respondents reported that demand for retail space had fallen, an improvement from -23%…

Wales’ largest building society has unveiled plans to boost access to cash provisions in Buckley, Flintshire with a cash kiosk in partnership with shared banking innovator OneBanx. The first of its kind in North Wales, the Buckley presence follows two installations in Principality’s Cowbridge and Caerphilly branches – fulfilling the building society’s ongoing commitment to its branch presence and loyalty to customers, by making cash more accessible in communities affected by recent bank closures. The OneBanx service, facilitated by Principality colleagues, represents a significant milestone for the Buckley community. Following the high street’s final bank closure in 2019, local councillor…

Due to overwhelming public demand, THERE’S A MONSTER IN YOUR SHOW will head out on a third major UK theatre tour, playing 47 venues through to 1 June 2025. The critically acclaimed production will play at Ffwrnes Theatre from Wednesday 26 to Thursday 27 February 2025. Tom Fletcher’s interactive adventures for big imaginations, based on the beloved ‘Who’s in Your Book?’ series, leapt from page to stage in October 2023 and quickly became a must-see family musical theatre show, with Mother & Baby Magazine calling it, ‘The perfect toddler theatre show’. THERE’S A MONSTER IN YOUR SHOW has now been…

The principle member of the ‘Omari’ drug line has been jailed. Amara Harris, 22, took orders for crack cocaine and heroin and met with his customers to hand over drugs, who he targeted with bulk messages between April, 2024 and July, 2024. Forensic phone data analysis led officers to a shop in Pontcanna, Cardiff, where Amara topped up his phone on June 14. Officers sourced CCTV footage of the event and identified Harris as the man topping up the device. The CCTV footage also captured him pulling up outside the shop in a black Audi – despite him not having…

Transport for Wales (TfW) is thrilled to announce the opening of a new Men’s Shed at Milford Haven Station. A great use of one of TfW stations, providing a new base for community support. Men’s Sheds are community spaces where individuals come together to make, repair and repurpose, all while supporting projects in their local communities. These spaces host mainly ‘grassroots’ community activities that respond to shared needs within the local area. Sheds bring several health benefits, including improved wellbeing by providing communities with a way to stay social. Members (or Shedders as they’re known) reported a 96% reduction in…

An historic Corwen monument is supporting work to help future generations of local nature and communities. Denbighshire County Council’s Climate Change and Clwydian Range & Dee Valley National Landscape teams are working to provide a new area of support for nature and visitors to enjoy underneath the watchful eye of the Caer Drewyn Iron Age Hillfort monument. Over 1,500 trees have been planted on the lower slopes below the hillfort to help create new diverse species-rich habitats to support local nature. A 190-metre hedgerow has been created with the help of Ysgol Caer Drewyn pupils, containing over 1,000 whip trees…

Work to improve active travel routes in Pillgwenlly and Malpas started earlier this month. A new active travel bridge is being installed over the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal at Gwastad lock in Malpas. The new structure will be a manually operated bascule bridge and will be installed alongside the existing bridge. The existing bridge is not being removed, it will remain in place next to the new bridge, providing two crossing points at the lock. The new bridge is designed to remove the risk of bottlenecks along the canal path at the lock. It will feature a counterweight lift which…