Business

New businesses open for trade at Milford Waterfront as Covid lockdown eases

Published

4 years ago

April 30, 2021

MILFORD WATERFRONT, the hidden gem within Pembrokeshire’s tourism crown, has even more to offer visitors now that retail, hospitality, and tourism has reopened, with lots of new businesses opening their doors for the first time and some existing businesses having expanded since the pandemic.

From independent restaurants to barbers and environment friendly fashion shops, there’s plenty to eat, shop and enjoy at Milford Waterfront.

The Green Genie is a vegetarian and vegan bistro set overlooking Milford Marina. The only one of its kind at Milford Waterfront with its vegan offering, the bistro is family and dog friendly.

The Green Genie offers visitors a nutritious and flavour-packed menu with dishes including Asian style vegan noodles, vegetarian tacos, traditional English dishes and gluten free options as well as a selection of vegan wines, beers and ciders.

Delicious vegan and vegetarian food @ Green Genie Bistro

Madison’s Bar and Restaurant is the Green Genie’s sister restaurant. A unique dining experience is on offer at Madison’s; the vintage themed restaurant and bar transports you back to the 1920s and 30s. The food encapsulates contemporary and classic options from the land and sea, including steaks and lamb as well as fresh seafood such as their tender scallops using locally sourced produce. The Green Genie’s menu is also available for vegetarian and vegan diners.

Talouies opened in the summer of 2020 and adds to the growing café culture at Milford Waterfront. Open 7 days a week and dog friendly, Talouies offers visitors afternoon tea as well as homemade light bites, cakes and desserts, along with a wide selection of loose-leaf teas and fresh, aromatic coffees.

Sister company to resident restaurant Foam, Sugar Loaf Deli & Bakery are on hand to provide sandwiches, toasties, paninis, pastries, salads, soup and extravagant doughnuts. Everything on offer at Sugar Loaf is baked at their Bake House, which is based at Milford Waterfront as well.

Sugar Loaf offers Pembrokeshire produce, including jams, marmalades, chutneys, pates, cheeses and fudge from local suppliers. Sugar Loaf are also fully licensed supplying a wide range of wines, local ales, cider and spirits.

The Sugar Loaf team are not only passionate about artisan bread and baked goods, they care about the environment too, sourcing supplies locally to minimise their carbon footprint, and providing biodegradable/compostable packing for their takeaway products with the business looking to work towards being plastic free.

Established in early 2020 by owners Lee and Nic, CUB3D is an independent clothing brand which started selling environmentally-friendly fashion online and due to a successful start, CUB3D opened their store here later that year, adding to the great range of independent shops at Milford Waterfront. CUB3D does their branding and design work in-house to provide a quality service. All of the products that they design and create are moving more towards recycled and carbon neutral garments. They are also hoping to expand their ‘Earth Positive and Salvage’ recycled clothing range in 80-90% of their product offering by summer 2021. They offer products including t-shirts (which are 100% recycled), hoodies, jumpers, bobble hats, knitted hats, caps, belts, wallets and iPad cases too.

Opening its doors in March 2021 by owner Owen Grey, OG Barbers is the only dedicated barbershop at Milford Waterfront. Confident in all aspects of barbering, they provide a wide range of professional services including standards cuts, fades, skin fades and beard trims too. OG Barbers also offers top-of-the-range products used to style your hair, including Dapper Dan, Black Label and Fudge.

The Scoop Ice Cream Parlour and Coffee Shop has been serving ice creams from its kiosk next to the Pier Head since 2016, but this year due to its popularity, the business has developed and brought ice cream making back to Milford Haven with the addition of their own new ‘Ice Creamery’, based just over the road at Neptune House. This means that the ice cream served at the The Scoop is made at Milford Waterfront, with milk from Steynton Farm.

Coco’s Restaurant was taken over by new owners James and Phil in August 2020, offering a great selection of food and drinks in an informal, relaxed city-style venue. COCO’s home, ‘The Sail Loft’ is a Grade II listed building, which was once used to service the Nantucket Whaling ships and is now home to this vibrant restaurant serving yummy meals, decadent cocktails and coffee and cake every day from 11am.

Steve Edwards, Commercial Director at the Port of Milford Haven commented: “We are so delighted to have welcomed all these exciting new businesses to Milford Waterfront. It was reassuring to see non-essential businesses reopen earlier this month and now outdoor dining returning as well. Given the challenges that the pandemic has presented, as a destination we really are bucking the trend, with new businesses choosing to be based here at Milford Waterfront! Developing hospitality and tourism in the area is an important strategy for the Port, and with the addition of the new 100 bedroom Tŷ Hotel, which will be opening in spring next year, we really are achieving the ambition to make Milford Waterfront a must-visit destination in Pembrokeshire. We have so many fantastic businesses here that offer a variety of services to visitors, and we cannot wait to see everyone enjoying themselves as lockdown restrictions ease.”

Business

Wolfscastle Country Hotel crowned Wales’ best boutique wedding venue

Published

54 mins ago

November 17, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE Wolfscastle Country Hotel and Spa has been named Wales’ Best Boutique Wedding Venue for 2024 at the prestigious Welsh National Wedding Awards.

The ceremony, held on Sunday (Nov 10) at Swansea’s Brangwyn Hall, welcomed more than 600 guests for its 13th annual celebration. Thousands of votes were cast by brides, grooms, and supporters to determine the winners from over 300 shortlisted nominees.

Double victory

The Wolfscastle Country Hotel and Spa not only won the regional title for west Wales but also secured the national accolade for the second time in three years.

Known for its glamorous reception spaces and elegant ceremony room, the hotel offers a comprehensive bridal package. This includes wedding accommodation and a private spa experience featuring a hot tub, sauna, and various treatments.

Celebrating success

Taking to social media, the hotel expressed gratitude to its guests and staff for their role in achieving this prestigious honour.

Hotel owner Andy Stirling said:
“We’re very proud to have been nominated and voted winners in both our local and national categories.

“I have the pleasure of seeing how tirelessly Lowri, and my wife Mandy Stirling, our wedding coordinators, work on every wedding to tailor the experience to suit the couples we have joining us.

“We pride ourselves on offering exquisite in-house catering provided by head chef Seb, head pastry chef Adama, and our excellent kitchen team, backed up by first-class table service from our highly experienced waiting staff.

“I am overwhelmingly grateful for the support of our guests and couples who have wedded with us in helping achieve this award.

“I know that myself and the team all look forward to hosting many more phenomenal weddings in the future.”

Welsh National Wedding Awards

The awards celebrate the best wedding venues and services across Wales, with attendees from all regions of the country.

***Celebrations: Andy and Mandy Stirling with wedding co-ordinator Lowri Nicholas (Pic: Wolfscastle Country Hotel and Spa)***

Business

Upgrades completed at Port of Milford Haven’s simulator suite

Published

3 days ago

November 14, 2024

Tom Sinclair

UPGRADES have been completed to state-of-the-art equipment within the Port of Milford Haven’s navigation simulator suite at Milford Waterfront enabling marine professionals to receive bespoke specialist training. The virtual reality simulation system can safely replicate a range of scenarios that seafarers may experience in real world situations such as extreme weather conditions, emergency situations and escort tug work.

The upgrades provided by Netherlands-based company MARIN contain the latest hardware in terms of processing power and graphics, as well as upgrades to MARIN’s ‘Dolphin’ software, increasing the capability to create scenarios. These are complemented with new 4k visuals on 75” screens which increase the depth and field of vision, adding to the realism.

Recently, a training day was led by Training Pilot Captain Mark Johnson, assisted by ex-Pilot Andy Hillier, involving members of the Svitzer team as well as Pilots Matt Roberts and Ian Coombes. As part of the scenario, they were faced with a loss of engine power and steering along with worsening weather and sea conditions. The Pilots had to communicate with Svitzer in order to successfully instruct them on how to tow and direct a drifting tanker. While scenarios like these are uncommon within port operations, it is important to rehearse procedures that would be implemented if they are required and enhances participants’ skill sets.

Marine Pilot and Simulator Instructor, Captain Ewan McNicoll, said “This simulator suite has future proofed our training capabilities, both internally for Pilots and marine staff, but also externally for clients wishing to use the facility, be it for training purposes or research and development. We can create any type of scenario with any type of ship, ranging from practicing ship handling manoeuvres to emergency situations, it really is game changing! Working with our partners at MARIN has been a complete success and I am very proud of our new facility.”

For more information about training at the navigation simulation suite please contact the Port of Milford Haven at [email protected] or 01646 696100.

Business

Thousands of homes in rural Wales gain from faster 4G boost

Published

3 days ago

November 14, 2024

Tom Sinclair

RURAL Wales is seeing a major upgrade in mobile connectivity, with faster 4G now live in several areas. Seven locations across North, South West, and West Wales are benefitting from new 4G mast upgrades funded by the UK Government’s Shared Rural Network (SRN), aimed at closing the digital gap between rural and urban areas.

The upgrades, which went live on Thursday (Nov 14), bring improved 4G coverage to communities including Bontddu, Llanelltyd, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Penmaenpool, Tabor, Snowdonia National Park, and Bontgoch. Local businesses, emergency services, and residents are expected to benefit from faster internet access, which supports daily communication, business opportunities, and economic growth.

***There is a £170 million agreement with Openreach to provide gigabit-capable broadband to 70,000 remote Welsh properties***

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “Fast, reliable connectivity is essential for modern life and should be available from Cardiff to the remotest parts of Wales. Today’s upgrades bring us closer to making this a reality.”

SUPPORTING DIGITAL INCLUSION

As part of the rollout, Peter Kyle and Telecoms Minister Sir Chris Bryant visited Ebbw Vale to discuss digital inclusion with charity and industry leaders. They met with representatives at BGfm, a digital inclusion hub in Blaenau Gwent, to learn about how connectivity impacts daily life in Welsh communities.

Telecoms Minister Bryant said: “We are working tirelessly to make sure rural communities aren’t left behind online.

“These upgrades mean businesses can now operate without connectivity limitations, 999 services are better equipped to respond, and residents and tourists can stay connected across the Welsh countryside.”

ADDRESSING CONNECTIVITY GAPS

An estimated 1.5 million homes across the UK remain without internet access, limiting people’s ability to access essential services such as banking and healthcare. In addition to the SRN upgrades, the Chancellor has allocated over £500 million in next year’s budget for digital infrastructure expansion, targeting these underserved areas.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens highlighted the importance of this investment, particularly for rural Wales, where fast, reliable internet can be transformative.

“Connectivity is critical for day-to-day life in rural areas – from supporting local businesses to ensuring emergency services are just a call away,” Stevens said.

The upgraded masts, previously limited to EE customers and emergency 999 calls, now serve a wider user base, bringing essential internet access to more people without requiring new infrastructure.

Ben Roome, CEO of Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, said: “With the activation of five new SRN sites, Wales is seeing the tangible benefits of the Shared Rural Network, bringing crucial connectivity to rural communities.”

GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT IN REMOTE WALES

The improvements come alongside a £170 million agreement with Openreach to provide gigabit-capable broadband to 70,000 remote Welsh properties, helping future-proof digital access in even the most isolated locations.

The latest upgrades mark another step in the Government’s mission to improve mobile coverage and close the connectivity gap across Wales, creating opportunities and supporting economic growth across rural communities.