Author: Rhys Gregory

Aldi has announced its largest ever package of annual investment to accelerate its expansion across Britain’s towns and cities. In its annual trading update, Aldi said it plans to open 23 new locations before the end of the year – including 1 new store in Wales – marking a record £800m investment programme during 2024. The retailer, which currently has over 1,000 stores, has previously announced plans to scale to 1,500 stores across the UK and Aldi has confirmed Wales is among the areas it is focusing on.  The areas in Wales where it is currently looking for sites include West Swansea and Cardiff. The…

New homebuyer demand in Wales rose at the fastest rate seen since 2021, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey, as more houses came onto the market. A net balance of 50% of respondents in Wales reported that new buyer enquiries rose through the month of August. This is the highest this balance has been since May 2021. Welsh surveyors also report that supply had increased in the most recent survey. A net balance of 57% of respondents noted that new instructions to sell had risen, up from 30% in July. With demand and…

The first residents have now moved into state-of-the-art new apartments developed by Cardiff based housing and support provider Taff Housing. The new apartments on the brownfield site of a former Bingo Hall in Splott have been fitted with innovative infrared wallpaper, among other carbon-reducing technologies, as part of the housing associations commitment to offer its tenants better access to more affordable warmth. The low-carbon infrared wallpaper has been designed to help heat homes, while also reducing carbon emissions and with the aim of lowering fuel costs. Installed on the ceilings, the technology is unobtrusive to residents and can warm single…

A 27-year-old woman has been jailed after the car she was driving hit a cyclist – who lost a leg as a result of the collision. Savannah Roberts, from Penarth, also later sold her car in an attempt to cover up her role in the incident, which took place in the early hours of Friday, August 5, 2022. Roberts, driving her Ford Fiesta, collided with a cyclist when driving up Penarth Road in Cardiff at around 2.25am, knocking the rider off his bicycle and causing serious injuries. Although Roberts did stop and return to the victim, she then drove off…

Transport for Wales has selected global company Hitachi to help digitally transform public transport within Wales, making it easier for customers to plan, book and pay for different modes of travel. Over the next five years, Hitachi will deliver a multimodal digital booking system that will include all modes of public transport and be available to customers through a simple user-friendly app. Rail, local bus, fflecsi and TrawsCymru services will all be available to plan and book through the one digital back-office solution from Hitachi.  It will also host other micromobility (bikes, e-scooters) and demand-based mobility solutions already being used…

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…