Author: Rhys Gregory

The exterior side wall of the Blue Pearl’s Fish and Chip Bar in Maesteg town has stopped residents in their tracks since being used as the canvas for a vibrant mural, dedicated to spotlighting the rich cultural heritage of the town and its surrounding areas. Organised and funded by Maesteg Town Council, the eye-catching artwork of Lloyd Roberts, ‘Lloyd the Graffiti’, reveals iconic features of the mining valley town’s past.  Birthplace of Welsh Rugby International JJ Williams, and where the first Welsh collier to become a Cabinet Member of Parliament, Vernon Hartshorn OBE, served as a miners’ agent in 1905,…

A woman from Pencoed who illegally claimed just over £7,200 in council tax support from Bridgend County Borough Council has been prosecuted. Cardiff Magistrates Court heard that Mrs Heather Thomas of Beechwood Grove, Pencoed submitted a claim form for council tax reduction in May 2019 to the council which she knew to be false, as she had failed to declare an additional bank account, failed to declare shares she held in Tesco Plc and failed to declare income from a pension scheme. An investigation revealed that during the period of her claim, which ran from May 2019 to August 2022,…

Plans for a major refurbishment and extension of another secondary school in Swansea, improving learning for thousands more pupils and their teachers, are set to take a big step forward. More than £18m is earmarked for investment at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bryn Tawe to revamp part of the existing buildings, build a new teaching block for the sixth form along with pupils with additional learning needs, and to create new sports facilities including an all-weather pitch. The new build will also be the first net zero carbon in operation building for Swansea and there will be significant alteration to the…

Chef Lloyd Ryland and local multi-business entrepreneur Ryan Thomas have joined forces to upgrade the offer for visitors at Neath Port Talbot’s popular Afan Forest Park Visitor Centre. The business partners have recently been granted a new lease of the visitor centre and campsite by the council and plan to open an upmarket café, restaurant and takeaway at the Afan Valley attraction which also boasts a campsite complete with electric hook-ups for campervans. And for history and culture enthusiasts, the site offers the South Wales Miners’ Museum which is also run independently For the many mountain bike enthusiasts who visit…

A principal contractor has strengthened its commitment to Wales and the South West by launching a new office in Cardiff. Inco Contracts, which works with hundreds of industrial, commercial & education clients across the UK, has invested £215,000 by moving into Quest House on St Mellons Business Park in the city. The company has targeted the region due to a significant rise in dilapidation schemes and a surge in demand from existing partners operating in the area. It has already secured three new contracts and is hoping to generate £3m of revenue in its first year, creating up to eight new jobs in the…

Cardiff office market demand picked up in the first half of the year according to new research from global property consultancy Knight Frank. According to its national review, in H1 – January to June 2024 – take-up in Cardiff’s city centre reached 188,112 sq ft, 27 per cent above the equivalent period in 2023 and four per cent above the 10-year H1 average. The largest deal to complete in H1 involved the Welsh Government, which purchased over 50,000 sq ft of space at Centre 7, Cardiff Gate Business Park to support the expansion of the compound semiconductor cluster in South…

Plans for the regeneration of Cardiff Peninsula have been submitted to Cardiff Council. Cardiff Peninsula Consortium was appointed as master developer of Cardiff Peninsula by the council in September 2023. Plans to revitalise the derelict land around the International Sports Village have now been submitted to the council for approval. The masterplan for the peninsula would see the ice arena, International Pool, yacht club, and International White Water joined by: Cafes, shops, restaurants and a market square along a new high street and bayside promenade An innovation hub and business quarter, with co-working office space A new hotel Public gardens…

Leading south Wales law firm JCP Solicitors has opened its doors to the next generation of legal professionals by welcoming its new cohort of Legal Apprentices for 2024. Opening the Legal Apprenticeship scheme for the second year running, JCP Solicitors has appointed four new starters to the trail blazing legal training programme. Ruby Shadrach, Caitlin Shell, Isabella Killeen-Lott, and Kenza Maaroufi join the business at the firm’s Swansea headquarters, taking on roles as apprentices within the Lifetime Planning, Residential Conveyancing and Business Support teams. The four new apprentices will be enrolled onto the legal apprenticeship scheme which offers a pathway…

A Denbighshire-based construction firm has secured the enabling works at the new £15.8m orthopaedic hub at Llandudno Hospital, with the company already progressing with stage one of the project. Wynne Construction has been on site since March to build two new orthopaedic theatres and extend the radiology unit, as well as carry out the refurbishment of the existing Aberconwy Ward and x-ray department. The latest contract, which was awarded by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), will see its team also deliver upgrades to the car park and hospital infrastructure in addition to constructing an energy centre to power the…

A new replica veterinary clinic is set to open at Aberystwyth University as Wales’s only School of Veterinary Science expands. The investment, worth around £150,000, in the Veterinary Education Centre will pay for new facilities such as waiting, examination and treatment areas along with key equipment used for small animal care. Most of the new work to expand the Centre’s site at the University’s Penglais campus was funded by a bequest from the estate of the late Gordon Burrows. The new investment is in addition to over £2 million that was spent to establish Aberystwyth Veterinary School, which was officially…