Author: Rhys Gregory

STAFF AT Specsavers in Colwyn Bay have raised over £2,300 to support young patient, 10-year old Rhea Hamlet-Jolley, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour, which was only discovered following a routine sight test at her local store. During the sight test, optometrist, Rhian Porter, identified abnormalities that led to a life-saving diagnosis, for which Rhea Hamlet-Jolley is currently undergoing treatment at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. To support Ms Hamlet-Jolley and her family during this challenging time, the Colwyn Bay Specsavers team set up a GoFundMe campaign which, thanks to donations from the local community, raised £1,200. In…

AN INSPIRING businesswoman is helping transform town centres in Wales. And next up for Medi Parry Williams, Founder and Director of MPW Making Places Work, is Bangor, which this year celebrates its 1,500th anniversary. Medi was successfully awarded a Skills and Innovation Voucher (SIV) by Bangor University and is working in partnership with academics to create an online presence that will boost the high street’s retail and entertainment offering. Together with Dr Steffan Thomas, a Senior Lecturer in Business Marketing – and with the backing of Bangor City Council – they are developing a new, virtual platform and exploring ways…

On Tuesday 4 February, NAHT Cymru will join other teaching unions for a rally at 12.30pm on the steps of the Senedd to highlights the pressures affecting school funding. This rally will take place before the Senedd debates the draft budget for 2024/25. NAHT has made multiple Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to obtain details of what extra, ‘consequential’ funding Welsh schools will receive on the back of increased education spending in England, but neither the Welsh Government and UK Treasury have been able to provide this data. This lack of transparency is deeply concerning. The NAHT’s  September report, Falling…

man and a child have sustained serious injuries following a collision in Wrexham on Sunday, February 2nd. It is reported that the driver of a small white or silver van travelling along Hullah Lane, Wrexham, collided with two pedestrians at approximately 5.50pm. The driver of the van, which lost the passenger side wing mirror during the collision, did not stop after the collision. Emergency services attended which resulted in the two pedestrians being taken to hospital with serious injuries. PC Scott Duncan of the Roads Crime Unit said: “I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision and who has…

An additional £16m has been announced to tackle issues that threaten Wales’ water quality. The announcement was made by the Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies during a recent visit to the Uwch Conwy catchment project in north Wales – one of the projects which has benefited from £40m funding through the Water Quality Capital Programme. The additional funding will allow Natural Resources Wales and the Mining Remediation Authority to tackle some of the key issues that threaten our water environment. These include rivers that have been modified from their natural state, pollution…

Welsh Government backing has been given to what will become the largest consented tidal energy project in Europe. Owned and managed by Ynys Môn social enterprise Menter Môn, the Morlais tidal scheme is the first of its kind anywhere in the world and will be operational from 2026. The Welsh Government has taken an £8m equity stake in the project to ensure progress. The Anglesey site has the potential to generate enough energy for up to 180,000 typical Welsh households, offering a unique ‘plug and play’ model for developers of tidal energy devices. This will help reduce costs as they…

Children from Cardiff babyballet class will be showcasing their dancing skills from 3rd til 9th February with a ‘Danceathon’ fundraiser for the pregnancy and baby charity, Tommy’s. Dancers from 6 months to 6 years old will be sponsored to complete dancing challenges in a specially themed ‘When I Grow Up’ event in Cardiff. Inspired by what they want to be when they’re older, children will be dressing up for the class too! Together with 30,000 babyballet® dancers from across the UK, the Cardiff event aims to raise £350,000 for Tommy’s. They have already raised over £200,00 before the week has…

AN AWARD-WINNING organic farm estate continues to raise the bar for sustainable practices in retail and agriculture. Rhug Estate, near Corwen in Denbighshire, unveiled a series of innovative schemes and initiatives in the last 12 months, as it targets net-zero emissions. Having introduced green energy projects ranging from 4KW to 5MW – including wind, solar, hydro and heat pumps – the 12,500-acre site invested in new technology to further lower its carbon footprint, notably an electric forklift. Recent developments included the transition from standard cardboard and polystyrene mail order packaging to FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified cardboard boxes, and wool thermal…

SCIENCE-LOVING students proved to be a real force in a national physics tournament. Learners from Coleg Cambria achieved staggering results at The British Physics Olympiad (BPhO), a series of competitions overseen by renowned lectures from Oxford and Cambridge universities. A seven-strong team representing Yale Sixth in Wrexham received two commendations, three bronze medals, one silver and one gold, which was secured by Lois Jones, from Gwersyllt. The students sat two challenging exam papers to test their knowledge of the subject and were up against more than 3,700 learners from 550 schools across the UK. Lecturer Rob Jones said he was…

 Event organisers Run 4 Wales are once again gifting 100 free spaces in the ABP Newport Marathon Festival for 2025 – with half marathon and 10K spaces up for grabs. The 100 Club initiative aims to support people in the local community who may be able to use the event to improve their health and wellbeing, with groups including the Gwent Drug & Alcohol Service, Slimming World, Newport Live and If You Go I Go involved this year. The race returns to the city on Sunday 13th April with record numbers of runners signed up to run the marathon, half…