News

Self-employment event hailed a huge success

Published

1 year ago

June 6, 2018

FOR aspiring business people and entrepreneurs, on May 15 all roads led to Pembroke Dock Jobcentre for the Be Your Own Boss event.

Be Your Own Boss co-ordinator, Fred Hatton, an Employer Advisor with Jobcentreplus who worked with Hilary Vaughan, a Development Officer with PRIME Cymru – a charity Founded by HRH The Prince of Wales and the only organisation in Wales dedicated to providing practical support to people aged 50 and over who want to become and remain economically active – spoke after the event.

He said: “The concept of Be Your Own Boss is a multi-agency approach highlighting all the free help and support that is available for people who are looking to start their own business and take the first steps into self-employment and for existing businesses looking to expand.”

The event featured over 20 organisations and local businesses who were kept busy all day talking to the potential entrepreneurs who attended.

The Deputy Mayor of Pembroke Dock, Cllr George Manning, attended to see what excellent support was being offered in Pembrokeshire in order to support the Government’s initiative to encourage and support all ages to move forward their ideas of running their own business.

“We do not want people to start their own business without talking to the experts,” he said.

“That is when businesses fail. It is really good to come here and talk to the representatives of the organisations here present and I have learned a great deal. They all seem to have been extremely busy especially Business Wales who had a bit of a queue. Excellent work from you all. I am proud to be part of this community that cares for the future of our residents.”

Speaking on behalf of the team at Pembroke Dock Jobcentre, Fred Hatton said: “We would like to thank everyone who took part and who attended our Be Your Own Boss event. It was fantastic to meet so many partners and providers who can offer such excellent support to those seeking Self Employment. It was a great opportunity for our staff to meet them to enable them to advise our customers on what support is available locally.

“We were pleased by the public attendance on the day and it was lovely to meet so many people who would not normally come into our office. Our office truly felt like a community hub on the day, working in partnership with others for the benefit of our community at its best.”

Hilary of PRIME Cymru added: “After previous Be Your Own Boss events across South Wales we have seen a number of businesses starting up after accessing the help and support that was on offer, we are confident that we will see this repeated in Pembrokeshire.”

Many businesses can be very easy to start and operate, for example, more and more self-employed people are running successful businesses from home, these days. Small businesses can easily be fitted around other commitments, making self-employment the flexible option for so many people.

Jobcentreplus used social media to advertise the event and articles appeared in the local press. Social media is a tool that more and more businesses are using as an effective and economical way of publicising their products and services.

After the event Hilary commented: “The hard work starts now. All the organisations will be meeting up with the potential business people they met on the day and working towards turning their dreams, hopes and aspirations into reality.”

For people who were not able to make it on the day, or did not have a chance to visit all the organisations, there is an electronic version of the event directory available, with contact details and brief details of what services are available.

Please email Hilary for a copy: hilary@primecymru.co.uk

Alternatively, you can pop into the Pembroke Dock Jobcentre during normal opening times and pick up a copy.

News

Herald publisher ceases operations

Published

23 hours ago

October 18, 2019

Thomas Sinclair

HERALD NEWS UK LTD, the company which prints The Pembrokeshire Herald, The Carmarthenshire Herald and The Llanelli Herald has ceased operations.

Editor of Pembrokeshire Herald, Thomas Sinclair said: “After finalising today’s paper to go to print yesterday, a meeting was held last night. It was confirmed that the expected further investor funding would not be made available for the company.

“This meant that operations need be halted as the businesses was not able to pay its ongoing costs.

“At 10am today the 24 members of staff working at the newspaper have today been given notice of redundancy.

“We are absolutely devastated that after nearly 7 years and hundreds of editions of the paper we can no longer continue.”

“I would like to think that over those years, some of the stories we have written have made a difference to Pembrokeshire and beyond.”

Director of Herald News UK Limited, John Hammond said: “The company accountant could be appointing administrators as soon as next week.”

“The Owners of The Pembrokeshire Herald came to the conclusion last night during a finance meeting that the venture is no longer financially viable.

“Whilst every conceivable effort has been made to improve the financial situation of the business, we have to face the fact that there is no way that we can now continue in a solvent position.

“Whilst there has been a slow decline in readership of local newspapers, our costs for wages, printing and transport have substantially increased.”

“We would like to thank all of our loyal readers and staff.”

Community: Herald titles were campaigning newspapers

Popular: 45,000 people read Herald titles each week in west Wales

News

Crocodiles to appear at Folly Farm in early 2020

Published

3 days ago

October 16, 2019

Kristy Davies

A PAIR of crocodiles is set to join the Folly Farm family and be shown off in a new enclosure. The West African Dwarf crocodiles will take their place in the Tropical Trails exhibit next February.

The fascinating reptiles are classified as vulnerable due to being hunted for their meat and having their habitats destroyed. The crocs are labelled as ‘dwarf’ in name only, as both are over five foot long at 29 years old. Folly Farm is re-homing them from Drayton Manor Park, their home for several years, as it is currently renovating its crocodile enclosures.

The female of the duo was caught in the wild as part of the illegal pet trade and seized by customs whilst her male companion was captive-bred at Barcelona Zoo. The two crocs will join sloths, bats and snakes in the Tropical Trails enclosure.

Folly Farm’s zoo curator, Tim Morphew, said: “Tropical Trails seeks to highlight the issues of habitat destruction and the illegal pet trade, so these new additions will be a flagship species for the conservation messages we’re trying to deliver. We’re designing the enclosure to replicate the swampy, forest habitats in Africa with plenty of glass viewing windows so our visitors will get a good view of these powerful creatures.”

News

Community Engagement Event in Narberth

Published

3 days ago

October 16, 2019

Kristy Davies

A PART of the roll out of information about the Household Waste and Recycling Changes, Pembrokeshire County Council will have information and advice for local residents. It is a chance to find out about:

Reusable Nappy Scheme
Absorbent Hygiene Product collections (AHP’s)
Availability of assisted collections
Kerbside Sort – New method and new containers
Additional recyclable household items
Text alerts for collection days

There will also be plans on show of the current active travel routes in Narberth and residents will be able to discuss and comment on how they work for the town and how they could be improved whilst planning for the future.

An officer from Sustrans, the Sustainable Transport Charity, will also demonstrate what has been done so far with the multi user route from Narberth to Haverfordwest and what plans there are for the future.

Cllr. Vic Dennis said

“All 3 of these pieces of work are part of the local efforts to reduce carbon and improve our environment, along with helping us to access and enjoy our environment. I am delighted that we have staff from County Hall here to advise and answer questions as well as listen to local people.

The roll out for the new recycling and waste collection is planned for 4^th November so it will be very timely to have this information available before then. Join us in the Sports Hall at Bloomfield Community Centre, Narberth between 1-4pm on Weds 23^rd October 2019.

I hope that residents from the surrounding area will also take the opportunity to join us to find out more.”

This is a part of a wide information campaign so look out for further information in the press, on social media and on the website at www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/waste-changes