North Wales News

[SteveH]

The Nicola Faith coroner's report

Mr Lewis gave a narrative conclusion into the men's deaths after a jury inquest.

And he has sent the prevention of future deaths report to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)

Inadequate checks on adapted fishing boats could put them at risk, according to a coroner's report.

It comes after three fishermen drowned when their boat sank off the Conwy coast during calm weather on 27 January 2021.

David Lewis, assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, has produced a prevention of future deaths report, external following their inquests.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c51xkk8n541o

[SteveH]

Single malt Welsh whisky given post-Brexit PGI status

Whisky made in Wales has been given protected status like Welsh lamb.

Single malt Welsh whisky is the first spirit to receive geographical indication (GI) status since UKGI was launched in 2021 after Brexit.

Production has expanded since its revival 20 years ago with exports to more than 45 countries. And the spirit is expected to generate ?23m this year.

Four distilleries were part of the final bid for GI status - Penderyn, In the Welsh Wind, Da Mhile, and Coles.

Penderyn boss Stephen Davies said gaining the status was a "significant milestone".

"It assists in safeguarding both the quality of the product and also its source of origin," he added.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66278973

[SteveH]

More people are moving from England to Wales and these are reasons why
Compare My Move says there has been hike in people moving to the country

A report has revealed an increase in the number of people moving from England to Wales - as well as the main reasons why. Compare My Move has compiled stats on where people are moving to and has seen a trend towards this country.

They show a 27.9% increase in people moving from England to Wales between 2020 and 2022. This covers the period of the pandemic and supports anecdotal evidence that this triggered an exodus from urban areas of England to parts of Wales.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/more-people-moving-england-wales-27389753

[SteveH]

North Wales bucks nation's employment trend with hike over last year

North Wales has bucked the nation's employment trend over the last year. The overall economic figures have been gloomy for Wales over the last 12 months.

The Annual Population Survey's labour market statistics show the country has seen the employment rate fall 0.6 percentage points to 73% between April 2022 to March 2023. But this is not the story in North Wales where the unemployment rate has increased 0.8 0.8 percentage points over the year, and now stands at 75.1%.

Mid and South West Wales also saw the rate increase by 0.8 to 73.4%. The national fall came due to a 1.9 percentage points drop in South East Wales where the rate is now 71.9%. The UK rate was 75.4%, up 0.3 percentage points over the year.

The largest increases in employment rates over the year were seen on Anglesey (up 6.0 percentage points to 76.6%), but this may not include the significant job losses at the 2 Sisters site, which shut at the end of March.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-bucks-nations-employment-27409731

[SteveH]

A "pro-growth" campaign group has launched a campaign for a third Menai Strait crossing after Welsh Government's roads review halted the project. Britain Remade wants Ministers in Cardiff to reverse the decision as well as restore other roads schemes axed in the review.

The campaign group is led by Sam Richards, a former energy and climate adviser to ex-PM Boris Johnson, and the push to bring back scrapped road schemes in Wales is backed by Ynys Mon Tory MP Virginia Crosbie as well as former Welsh Government Economy Minister Ken Skates.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pro-growth-group-launches-campaign-27413433

[SteveH]

?37m cheese plant starts major expansion and unveils UK's first electric milk tanker
Mona Dairy hopes its electric tanker will be the first of many, each quietly cruising along country lanes

A cutting-edge cheese factory that runs entirely on renewable energy is undergoing a major expansion just months after opening. Anglesey?s Mona Dairy plant is also aiming to go even greener with the introduction of an electric milk tanker, a UK first.

The 25,000 sq ft factory on Mona Industrial Park opened earlier this year and is capable of producing 7,000 tonnes of Welsh and continental cheeses every year. This will eventually rise to more than 30,000 tonnes following the completion of a multi-million-pound expansion.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/37m-cheese-plant-starts-major-27523323

[SteveH]

The big decision that could now transform Holyhead port as we know it
Stena Line has secured permission for huge changes to Wales's busiest port

A major decision has helped pave the way to transform Holyhead port and potentially create hundreds of jobs. The Holyhead Gateway scheme from Stena Line would see 100,000 m2 of land reclaimed from the sea and a new giant berth built.

The potential ?100m investment would support port operations and back cruise industry ambitions as well as supporting planned wind farm developments. It has the provisional backing of Ambition North Wales with a potential ?35m allocated from the North Wales Growth Deal.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/big-decision-could-now-transform-27532394

[SteveH]

North Wales is being looked at for the location of a new National Park. Currently there are three in Wales, Eryri (Snowdonia), Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast.

The Welsh Government has commissioned Natural Resources Wales, as the Designating Authority in Wales, to evaluate the case for a new National Park, based on the existing Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), in the north east. It would become the fourth in Wales, if given the go-ahead.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/whats-on/trips-breaks/north-wales-could-new-national-27693797

[SteveH]

Census map reveals North Wales' most crowded areas
Wrexham and Rhyl dominate but the population density in rural parts of Gwynedd is among the lowest in the UK

Whilst North Wales is mainly rural, especially in comparison to many areas of South Wales and over the border in England, there are a few areas in our larger towns and cities which are quite densely populated. According to Census data, which you can view on the interactive map below, the most densely populated area in our region is as packed as a football pitch with more than three teams playing on it.

cont plus interactive map https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/census-map-reveals-north-wales-27933118?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

New figures have suggested that up to 120,000 houses in Wales - or one in 12 - may be sitting empty.

The majority were classed as "truly vacant", with no indication that people were living there.

About 15% (17,500) were identified as second homes.

The latest data, which has been published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), combined Census figures from 2021 with information from other government bodies.

London was the only one of nine English regions with a higher proportion of vacant dwellings than Wales, while south west England was the only area with a marginally higher percentage of second homes.

The Welsh government said it was taking steps to ensure that "everybody has a right to a decent, affordable home to buy or to rent in their own communities".

But the ONS also warned that since the 2021 Census was conducted during the Covid pandemic, some homes that were usually occupied may have been empty when data was gathered.

With an estimated 7% of houses in Wales classed as "truly vacant", it was a higher proportion than every English region apart from London (7.3%).

cont   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-67244326

[SteveH]

The Wales Fast Growth 50, 2023: these are the fastest growing indigenous firms in Wales
This year's 50 firms collectively generated sales of ?800m in 2022 and created 2,000 new jobs in just two years

The fastest-growing firms in Wales can be revealed. The indigenous companies making the 25th annual list of the Wales Fast Growth 50 - a project devised by Prof Dylan Jones-Evans - collectively generated revenues of ?880m in 2022.

Over three years they grew by an average of 208% - a record for the Wales Fast Growth 50 index. And for the first time in 25-years, all 50 firms have grown by more than 100% to make the 2023 list

cont full list  https://www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/wales-fast-growth-50-2023-28198604?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Hugo]

Minister insists electrification of North Wales main line a 'priority'
They did not answer a question on the cost - with the ?1bn estimate dating back to 2015.     Will it still go ahead and if so when?



https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/minister-insists-electrification-north-wales-28245881

[mull]

This electrification should have been done in the 1970's same time as the A55. Whole job could have been done for less than the Conway Tunnels.
At that time BR had Electrification teams ready to carry out schemes. Because of this stop/start the teams are stood down and it then cost millions to get it up and running again, before work even starts. In my case after finishing the East Coast Electrification in 1989 we hoped to then take on Hull/York, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool but it was not to be. Here we are in 2023 and they are still talking about it. If it was France, Netherlands, Germany etc it would have been done years ago. We are fast becoming a 3rd world country.

[Hugo]

You're right about the fact that they should have done it in the 70's  but look at the A55,  all done on the cheap.     Those two roundabouts are still there and some of the slip roads are like the hard shoulders, non existent.
It's just General Election hype and they have even mentioned a third bridge over the Menai Straits.    Now if it was in Cardiff or London then things would have been done years ago

[Hugo]

On ITV  Wales last night they had some nice photos of the sky that were sent in by viewers.   The colours were really good and were various shades of lilac and purple.
Here in Colwyn Bay the light was really strange but more of a yellowish colour and very interesting to see



https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/how-sky-turned-pink-wales-28252309