Latest news with #Shared
South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
New all-weather sports pitch officially opened in Caerphilly
The 3G artificial turf facility is located at St Cenydd Leisure Centre and will be used by both St Cenydd Community School and the wider community. Funded through the UK Government's Shared Prosperity Fund, the £1 million development is part of Caerphilly County Borough Council's Sport and Active Recreation Strategy and Place Shaping programme. Councillor Chris Morgan, cabinet member for leisure, said: "This new dual-use facility represents a significant investment in local sport and physical activity. "It will provide a safe, modern and accessible environment for school pupils, sports clubs and the wider community to enjoy all year round. "The project reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting healthier, more active lifestyles through the Sport and Active Recreation Strategy." The pitch meets World Rugby and FIFA standards, allowing year-round use by schools, clubs, and residents. Bookings follow the council's established sports pitch allocation criteria.
Business News Wales
5 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
Agroecological Growing Pilot Set to Test Commercial Viability
Councillor Jake Berriman (fourth left), Leader of Powys County Council, visiting the Sarn Farms project near Newtown. Farmers have started work on three new plots near Newtown to test whether Powys land can be used to grow fruit and vegetables agroecologically on a commercial scale. Between them they are working 36 acres of Powys County Council-owned land in Sarn. It will be used to supply produce to local markets, schools in Wales and possibly in future nearby cities such as Birmingham. The successful applicants, who all come from Powys or the nearby border areas, were selected based on their business plans and former growing experience. The farmers will work collaboratively to provide a local veg box scheme, as well as developing individual enterprises. Plans include selling organic vegetables to wholesalers and salad crops to local cafés and restaurants, supplying seeds to the Wales Seed Hub, selling vegetable, herb and tree seedlings, along with fruit and eggs, offering beehive building and food preparation courses, and selling kimchis, chutneys and other prepared foods at local markets. Councillor Jeremy Brignell-Thorp (third right), Powys County Council's Cabinet Assistant for the Climate Emergency, visits the shared tool store and packing shed at Sarn. The farmers also plan to incorporate agroforestry and a small number of livestock, along with woodchip and biochar production, to increase soil health and fertility, manage pests and create a more closed-loop system, with little or no need for external inputs such as compost and fertilisers. The project is being delivered by the Future Farms Partnership which includes Powys and Carmarthenshire County Councils, Our Food 1200 and Social Farms & Gardens. The site includes three temporary homes, which received planning permission under new guidance issued last year by Powys County Council. The guidance supports the installation of temporary dwellings as part of small-scale horticultural enterprises. 'The work at Sarn is a pilot, that we hope can be replicated across the county on land owned by the council and by private individuals, as part of a much bigger programme,' said Councillor Jake Berriman, Leader of Powys County Council. 'We want to see more of the fruit and vegetables we eat grown here in Powys, so we can cut our food miles, improve our food security and with it create more resilient farming communities and more jobs. 'We are already great at livestock and dairy farming in Powys, but we could also become great at growing vegetables and grains here too.' The new farmers who are working the land at Sarn, over three plots, as part of the project. Funding has been provided by the Welsh Government (£270,000) through its Asset Collaboration Programme, the UK Government (£341,000) through its Shared Prosperity Fund and the National Lottery Heritage Fund (£20,000) through its Local Places for Nature Capital Fund. Our Food 1200 director Duncan Fisher said: 'Agroecological horticulture produces a substantial amount of food on a relatively small amount of land. But until now, the big barrier has been the lack of housing for the farmers, who need to be onsite full time. With the council's new planning guidance in place, the next stage in Powys is to scale this up, with more land and more housing, to open up many more opportunities for talented new entrants to farming.' Social Farms & Gardens Joint Wales Manager, Alison Sheffield added: 'As an organisation that's been supporting communities to farm, garden and grow together for over 40 years, it's been exciting for us to take a lead role in this pilot. We know we need more veg grown in our country to meet our nutritional needs and opening up more land for opportunities for local people is essential to help us on this journey.' The new farmers are being supported by Cultivate, Pathways to Farming, Mentera, Lantra and Farming Connect. The members of the Future Farms Partnership are Social Farms & Gardens, Our Food 1200, Shared Assets, Landworkers' Alliance, Cultivate, Nature Friendly Farming Network, Lantra, Black Mountains College, Ecological Land Cooperative, Eco Dyfi and Gwlad Consortium.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
How India's top CIOs are future-proofing strategy for 2025
At the ETCIO Annual Conclave 2025, some of India's most influential CIOs and tech leaders tackled the defining question of the digital era: how do you prepare for what you can't predict? In a dynamic panel titled 'CIO Agenda 2025: Disruptions You Can't Afford to Miss,' the discussion exposed the visible and invisible shocks shaping the future—and what India Inc.'s technology leaders must do to stay by senior journalist and ETCIO Consulting Editor Gautam Srinivasan, the panel featured voices from across industry verticals: Hilal Khan (CIO, Honda Cars), Vrijesh Nagathan (CIDTO, Marico), Yogesh Garg (CDO, Kotak Mahindra Bank), Mahesh Ramamoorthy (CIO, Yes Bank), Gopi Thangavel (Group CIO, L&T Group), Biswajit Bhattacharya (Partner, IBM), and Ashish Lahoti (Chief Transformation Officer, ServiceNow). Beyond AI: Disruptions that are reshaping the CIO mandate The conversation opened with the most visible disruption in every boardroom today—Generative AI. But Marico's Vrijesh Nagathan warned that what lies ahead is more profound. 'GenAI was just the start. Agentic AI will challenge every assumption we have about business and customer engagement. It's overwhelming—and that's precisely why it's exciting,' he said. Yes Bank's Mahesh Ramamoorthy called for reimagining customer experience beyond personalization—towards intelligence. 'We're not just talking about customizing experiences. We're talking about intelligent, contextual and consistent engagements that feel intuitive,' he noted. Alongside this, he stressed cybersecurity and operational efficiency as imperatives to scale responsibly. L&T's Gopi Thangavel added another layer to the disruption stack: integration between legacy OT systems and new-age IT, complicated by deep skill gaps. 'We're staring at a massive resource deficit. Managing this while modernizing is our tightrope walk,' he said. The hidden earthquakes beneath the surface When the panel shifted gears to 'hidden disruptions,' the insights deepened. Honda's Hilal Khan drew attention to CASE—Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric—disrupting the very DNA of the automotive industry. 'It's not just technology transforming operations. It's redefining our business model,' he asserted. His message: data, IoT, and AI must converge to drive entirely new value. Kotak Mahindra Bank's Yogesh Garg spotlighted a societal disruption: India's underserved millions without access to credit. 'Account Aggregator and digital public infrastructure will create a credit revolution for those left out of the formal economy. That's disruption with impact,' he said. IBM's Biswajit Bhattacharya pointed out that many CIOs are underestimating 'localized disruption.' He cautioned against blindly replicating western tech models in Indian contexts. 'What works in California won't necessarily work in Calcutta. CIOs need to architect for Bharat,' he said, also flagging the risks of unsecured AI use and the need for vernacular innovation in platforms. Ashish Lahoti from ServiceNow introduced perhaps the boldest prediction of the session: orchestration of AI agents as the next evolution. 'Forget chatbots. Imagine a team of intelligent agents solving for specific outcomes like customer churn—nested, coordinated, and outcome-driven. That changes software, GCCs, consulting—everything,' he warned. Strategy in a state of flux The panel underscored the futility of rigid roadmaps in a volatile world. 'Today's playbooks will be obsolete tomorrow,' said Ramamoorthy. He proposed a four-block model: a stable core, a constant innovation track, flexible micro-pivots, and an extended partner ecosystem. Hilal Khan urged CIOs to stop thinking like IT managers. 'We obsess over our backend processes and lose sight of our customers. Technology-first thinking is now a liability. Business-first, customer-first must drive IT,' he said. His advice? 'Think like a T20 captain—be agile, read the pitch daily.' Kotak's Yogesh Garg shared a sharp framework—his 4Cs: Customer, Company, Colleagues, and Community. 'Disruptions must be solved for real people—customers underserved, employees undertrained, and regulators demanding accountability. That's how you convert shocks into sustainable opportunity,' he said. Innovation vs. risk: Walking the razor's edge A sobering truth emerged—while innovation is accelerating, safeguards aren't keeping pace. Vijesh Nagathan warned of the 'non-malicious collapse' when unvetted tools scale too fast. 'You don't just need security from hackers. You need protection from yourself,' he said. Ashish Lahoti bluntly stated that most organizations will fail if they try to 'build' their own AI capabilities. 'The AI stack is too deep, too wide, and evolving too fast. Standard protocols don't even exist yet. Leverage platforms, and reduce your risk surface,' he said. Gopi Thangavel noted that crises don't wait for readiness. 'The system will force your hand—like COVID did. You either modernize the easy way or the hard way,' he said. Building resilience: The ultimate agenda As the session closed, the panel reflected on future-proofing resilience. For Hilal Khan, it was about moving from IT as a utility to IT as a differentiator. Yogesh Garg quoted a scene from the Blackberry movie: 'Perfection is the enemy of business, but good enough is the enemy of humanity.' CIOs, he urged, must build solutions that go beyond checkboxes. Mahesh Ramamoorthy focused on supply chain risks. 'You must know what lies beyond your four walls. Your resilience depends on your partners,' he said. Thangavel summed up his approach in one line: 'Do more with less.' IBM's Bhattacharya stressed cybersecurity, vernacular tech, and agility through cross-functional teams. Ashish Lahoti reminded CIOs that resilience isn't an appendage. 'It must be embedded into your sprints, your governance, your tech stack—make it a first-class citizen,' he said. The CIO agenda for 2025 is not just about chasing innovation—it's about building intelligent, resilient, and responsible enterprises. Hidden disruptions, from agentic AI to local market volatility, demand agility, orchestration, and context-driven thinking. India's top CIOs aren't just preparing for the next wave—they're redesigning the ship while navigating the storm.
The National
30-06-2025
- General
- The National
Everything you need to know as new public toilets open in Edinburgh
Funding by the UK Government, through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the new public toilets were designed to provide modern, accessible amenities while respecting the historical significance of the location. Here's everything you need to know. Where are the new public toilets in Edinburgh? The new public toilets have opened at Hawes Pier in Queensferry, overlooking the Forth Bridge. (Image: City of Edinburgh Council) What facilities are there? The toilets incorporate energy-efficient and low-carbon technology, including sustainable materials, energy-saving features as well as a green roof, which is a roof which has been partially or completely covered in vegetation. The surrounding area has also been adapted to provide wheelchair accessibility and step-free entry. READ MORE: UK Government looks to rescue English oil refinery as hundreds of jobs at risk There are three individual cubicles and one disabled toilet, which include baby changing stations, handrails and stoma shelves. The toilets also utilise technology to enhance safety, including monitoring systems, time-controlled doors and integrated CCTV. The facilities also feature a water bottle refill station, while the installation of benches, bike racks and external bins is expected to be completed throughout July. Where will other new public toilets open in Edinburgh? These are the first of four new toilet units to be installed across the capital this summer. The City of Edinburgh Council said further toilets will open in the next month in the following areas: Meadows Leith Links Inverleith Park The council's culture and communities convener, councillor Margaret Graham, said: 'These new facilities are both convenient and inclusive, and were designed with community feedback in mind. 'Thanks to UK Government funding through the Shared Prosperity Fund we've been able to meet a local need with this toilet unit, which has been built with accessibility at the heart of the project. 'I am very pleased that both residents and visitors will be able to benefit from the state-of-the art facilities."
Rhyl Journal
01-06-2025
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Sadness as Rhyl mother-and-baby charity closes its two hubs
Blossom & Bloom's wellbeing and development hubs shut for good on Friday (May 30). The charity was established in 2020, and has supported more than 700 families, providing a safe, free-of-charge space for parents with pre-school-age children to attend on a daily basis. In 2023, the wellbeing hub opened at the centre, followed a year later by the development hub, which offers a separate learning space. Blossom & Bloom's wellbeing hub (Image: Vicky Welsman-Millard) It has attributed its decision to close in part to Denbighshire County Council's decision not to allocate it any funds from its share of the Shared Prosperity Fund which it has received for the new financial year from the UK Government. Vicky Welsman-Millard, the charity's founder, said in a joint statement with its board of trustees: 'After five extraordinary years, Blossom & Bloom staff team now make their way to continue their careers within other organisations. 'We would like to thank them all for their hard work and commitment over the years and for staying with us until our last day. 'This has made continuing our wellbeing services possible over the last few months and has provided us time to put together some legacy opportunities for local mums, babies and families. 'Women lift women, and when they are given opportunities to come together, to celebrate each other and offer mutual support, magic happens.' Mrs Welsman-Millard told the Journal her charity received £129,688.09 from Denbighshire County Council's share of the UK Government's Shared Prosperity Fund in 2023-24, and £119,381.20 in 2024-25, but nothing for 2025-26. This is the third and final financial year when SPF funding will be distributed. The council said its decision not to allocate funds to Blossom & Bloom for this year was due to an 'overall reduction in Shared Prosperity Fund funding'. A public meeting was held in Rhyl regarding the charity's future in May, while a petition was also set up to try to save it. Blossom & Bloom's development hub (Image: Vicky Welsman-Millard) The charity's closing statement added: 'We've seen the impact of empowering women to value themselves and to achieve - personally, professionally and within their communities. 'Mothers with babies and young children are the heartbeat of our community. They are our future, and together they offer immense social value when recognised and supported. 'We have challenged the negative opinions and headlines surrounding young mums, single parent families and mums who are struggling with the parenting journey, and we've shown that with care, connection and opportunity they can thrive. 'Sadly, poverty is the headline economic marker of our town, and the poverty trap is real for so many families locally. 'Our delivery model has built communities, friendships, hope and prosperity. 'Whilst funding constraints close our current much-needed Blossom & Bloom wellbeing services, we are hoping that our model and vision for local families is adopted by statutory services moving forward. 'The team all leave the charity in a paid capacity with fierce pride celebrating the work done, time spent and differences made to hundreds of local families.' A public meeting was also held in Rhyl regarding the charity's future in May. (Image: Submitted) Numerous parents who used Blossom & Bloom's hubs shared their sadness at the closures when the news initially broke in early April. Ebonie Hitchen said the charity 'made me the person I am today' and helped her 'achieve so much', while Laura-Jayne Clark said she was 'heartbroken' and 'extremely disappointed' by the news, having benefited from Blossom & Bloom's 'astonishing' work. The charity's closing statement added: 'Our message to mums: you must never stop learning, about yourself, your family, how the world works through other people's eyes and never stop indoors feeling sad or lonely for more than 48 hours, never stop pushing yourself forward, accessing education and training and creating a family life you are proud of. 'The poverty trap is real. It doesn't just hold you; it reaches for your children and theirs. See it for what it is: a trap designed to keep you small. But you are not small. 'You are the mothers who've grown with us for five years. Every connection is making a difference, every skill gained and qualification earned, every door pushed open that's you breaking chains for generations. 'To every mother: stay connected. Isolation keeps us down, but together, we move mountains. 'With boundless love and absolute belief in your power, happy mums are the best mums.'
