Author: Rhys Gregory

Stena Linehas  announced their plans for the future of Prosperity Parc, on the old Anglesey Aluminium site at Holyhead. The plans will see the creation of a world leading, modern campus for new business investment, jobs and opportunity. The plans will revitalise the long disused site and create circa 200,000sqm of development as part of a low carbon campus, generating £578 million GVA; the equivalent to increasing the future size of the Anglesey economy by a third. The plans follow the work undertaken on the site to date which has included clearing the dilapidated buildings and remediating the land for…

Cardiff is about to get a new dining experience with the opening of ONJA on Barrack Lane. A £25,000 micro loan from the Development Bank of Wales has part-funded the start-up costs. Self-confessed foodie and mum of two boys, Justina John has used the loan from the Development Bank to fund the fit-out of her new African restaurant and takeaway that will offer a taste of Tanzania. ONJA is due to open on Monday 16 December 2024. Open for lunch and early evening meals from Monday to Saturday, ONJA will offer authentic cuisine for dining in, delivery and takeaway. The…

One of Wales’ premier wine producers, White Castle Vineyard, has unveiled a new chapter in its history. For the first time the vineyard has harvested and processed its grapes onsite in a newly established winery using state-of-the-art equipment, paving the way for a future of increased wine production within Wales. The exciting development is the culmination of years of planning and investment in the latest technology, aimed at improving both the quality and quantity of White Castle’s award-winning wines. It also marks an important development for the wine industry in Wales more generally, as it increases the capacity and ability…

Conwy-based Dragon Fire Doors is scaling-up the maintenance and fitting of commercial fire doors following a £35,000 investment by the Development Bank of Wales. Established by Director Neil Wansbrough in 2015, Dragon Fire Doors is Q-certified and specialises in providing fire door surveys along with fire door installation and maintenance services for the social housing sector. Key clients include North Wales Housing, ClwydAlyn Housing, Linc Housing and Stori Cymru.  Other clients have included NHS buildings, outdoor pursuit centres, private care homes, houses in multiple occupation (HMO) and privately-owned businesses. The loan of £35,000 is the second investment by the Development…

Folk singer Mari Mathias performed in the Welsh language to thousands of people on the opening day of one of India’s largest music festivals. Mari Mathias, a singer-songwriter who interprets traditional folk melodies for contemporary audiences, took to the main stage at the Hornbill Music Festival 2024 on Sunday, December 1, and Monday, December 2. The 24-year-old began her solo set in front of a large projection of the Welsh flag, before welcoming Naga folk musician Seyievinuo Chuzho to the stage. The pair performed a piece of music they collaborated on that brings Welsh and Naga languages together. Mari and…

Transport for Wales has named one of its new trains ‘Gavin and Stacey’ as they ‘step into Christmas’ and join celebrations for the final episode of the famous BBC series. The new Stadler Class 231 trains have been recently added to the Vale of Glamorgan line and are part TfW’s £800 million investment into brand-new trains and they’ve already seen an increase in passengers. Local children from Barry Island Primary School (pictured above) took part in the Christmas event, welcoming the newly-named train to Barry Island Station. Over the summer period, 57,000 more people were using the service compared to…

Investment by the Swansea Bay City Deal has led to three new facilities in Swansea. As part of the Swansea City and Waterfront Digital District project, City Deal investment is part-funding Swansea Arena, the Innovation Matrix at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and the new office development taking shape at the former Oceana nightclub site on The Kingsway. Developed by Swansea Council and run by Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), Swansea Arena has now been open for more than two years. Over 241,000 people enjoyed ticketed events, conferences, exhibitions, banquets, graduations and creative learning events at the venue in its first year…

Newport City Council will shortly be launching a public consultation on a proposal to amalgamate Monnow and Millbrook primary schools into one school. The preferred option that the consultation will set out is to combine the schools into a single three-form entry school from September 2026. The new school will relocate to a new building on the current site of Millbrook Primary School, providing a new state-of-the-art school in Bettws. The relocation would take place as soon as possible after the new building is completed. This is expected to be during the academic year beginning in September 2027. The council…

What better way to mine curiosity and build fascination in something old than to stitch it together with something new? That’s exactly what Cadw has done with the support of Microsoft’s Minecraft Education. The Cadw Minecraft World will be the first ever Welsh-language version of Minecraft Education, launched at Castell Conwy / Conwy Castle yesterday [Thursday 5 December]. Wales is one of the highest users of Minecraft Education in the world and this will be the first time children will be able to access this fun learning resource in their own language, which aims to encourage the use of Welsh…

The Welsh Government has today published the 2024 bathing water quality results, reflecting the ongoing efforts to protect and improve the health of Wales’ beaches and inland bathing sites. Wales secured high-quality bathing water results in 2024 with 108 of the 110 bathing waters sites meeting the standards. This means that for a second year running 98% of designated bathing waters have met stringent environmental standards. 75 of the 110 sites achieved the classification standard of ‘excellent’. For 2024, the results demonstrate strong performance across the majority of designated bathing waters in Wales, with an impressive number of sites maintaining…