Author: Rhys Gregory

The iconic Palace Theatre building in Swansea has reopened its doors today (Thursday November 7) as Tramshed Tech’s newest location, marking a significant milestone in the city’s £1bn regeneration. The historic landmark – which dates back to 1888 – has undergone an extensive three-year restoration, led and funded by Swansea Council with an investment worth more than £6.9m from the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns initiative. The carefully restored six-floor building now offers state-of-the-art workspaces designed to support tech, digital and creative businesses. Cherished architectural features have been maintained, including the decorative iron balcony, original Ebbw Vale brick, and restored floor tiles.…

Monmouthshire Building Society has reopened in Abergavenny, in a bid to bring branch services back to the high street. The Newport-based building society have opened their ‘Community Connect’ at the Market One-Stop shop on Cross Street. Monmouthshire Building Society Community Connect will be open on Tuesdays and Fridays, between 10am and 3:30pm, closing for lunch. Eve Wilkins, Chief Customer Officer at Monmouthshire Building Society, said: “As a regional building society, we are committed to remaining on the high street. “At a time when many banks and building societies are closing their doors, we are keen to provide services to as…

Wales’ leading full-service law firm, Hugh James, has raised a record  £29,000 for their charity partners Ty Hafan and Velindre Cancer Care at their annual Rugby Lunch fundraiser. Over 180 guests attended Cardiff’s Parkgate Hotel to support the firm’s flagship fundraising event, hosted once again by three-time Grand-Slam winner and former Welsh rugby captain, Ryan Jones. Joining this year’s lineup of special guests were Cardiff Rugby and former Wales captain Ellis Jenkins, and former Wales and British and Irish Lions player, Adam Jones, who over the course of the Q&A shared their thoughts on the upcoming Autumn Internationals, as well…

Innovate UK’s South West Wales Launchpad has announced a new pot of up to £1 million for innovative projects in parts of the South Wales Industrial Cluster. Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has announced that it is working with Net Zero Industry Wales (NZIW) and Welsh Government to invest up to £1 million in innovation projects in South West Wales. The funding, which represents a third round following the success of MFA Round 1 and New Innovators Round 2, is being provided by Innovate UK’s Launchpad programme. The Launchpad programme is aimed at supporting clusters of…

Morgan’s Army was set up in 2023 to support South Wales families affected by childhood cancer, in memory of Morgan Ridler who sadly passed away after a rare form of adrenal cancer. The charity has grown considerably since its inception, which has meant that the spare bedroom Natalie Ridler – charity founder and Morgan’s mother – was using as the charity office was no longer suitable. “I knew we needed a bigger space to work from and a more professional premises to meet sponsors and families,” said Natalie. “But after doing some research, we discovered how expensive a company office…

Construction workloads in Wales rose in Q3 for the third consecutive quarter, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Construction Monitor, with public housing workloads rising fastest out of all subsectors. A net balance of 13% of surveyors in Wales reported that workloads rose with all subsectors seeing growth apart from private housing activity which was reported to have declined (a net balance of -10%), and other public works which fell flat. A net balance of 26% saw a rise in public housing activity, 6% in private industrial, 10% in infrastructure and 9% in private commercial. Surveyors…

Electric Vehicle (EV) charge point operator Believ has opened a new office in Cardiff, Wales, to support Welsh local authorities, businesses and landowners seeking tailored and fully funded EV charge point solutions.  The opening follows Believ’s acquisition of SMS’ public EV Charging business and will significantly boost the company’s regional presence and operational efficiency.   With three offices strategically located in London, Leeds, and now Cardiff, Guy Bartlett, Believ CEO says Believ is prepared for further expansion to support its growing network and customer base: “We are pleased to open our Cardiff office, adding to our network of regional offices across…

Abigail Kavanagh, 25, of Ely, Cardiff, was sentenced at Newport Crown Court on October 22 for her role in trafficking controlled drugs on behalf of an organised crime group. Kavanagh was arrested during an operation run by Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit for southern Wales. Operation Gemstone was an investigation into the import of wholesale quantities of Class A drugs, namely MDMA, more commonly known as Ecstasy. On March 8, 2024, Border Force officers at East Midlands Airport intercepted a package sent from Austria and destined for Kavanagh’s home address. The package contained 10 kilograms of MDMA, disguised as…

Military personnel and veterans can travel for free on Transport for Wales rail services to attend Remembrance Day events this Sunday (10 November). As part of an industry-wide initiative, the offer of free travel is open to serving military personnel and veterans. Free travel is allowed for current serving Armed Forces personnel in uniform or serving military personnel and veterans on production of the following: • a current MOD90 Ministry of Defence-issued identity card. • a Veterans Railcard, Veterans Oyster card, Ministry of Defence-issued Veterans ID or other form of identification showing the customer is a veteran (e.g. proof of…

Rhyl Library has won the All Stories national competition, which grants a fully funded writing workshop, aiming to encourage and support aspiring writers from underrepresented backgrounds. The workshop, taking place on Thursday 14 November 2024 at 2pm, will introduce participants to the basics of writing for children and inspire them to develop their creativity. Intended as a true introduction, the workshop requires no awareness of publishing, writing as a career or previous written work. The workshop will welcome people from underrepresented backgrounds of any kind. To continue supporting local writers, a writing group will also be established at Rhyl Library,…