Latest news with #JamesDavies
Rhyl Journal
7 hours ago
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
New bin system pays off? Denbighshire's Trolibocs a year on
It has been a year since the local authority made the move to the much opposed Trolibocs system, which was rolled out on June 3, 2024. A spokesperson for the council acknowledged that while the initial rollout of the new service model faced challenges and "did not go as planned", improvements had been made. The spokesperson said: "We would like to thank our residents for their continued support for carrying out recycling in Denbighshire. "Last year we acknowledged the rollout of the new service did not go as we planned and quickly implemented a number of changes to improve services across the county during the autumn. 'These changes including new routes, more operatives and vehicles and a strengthened service management team have moved the service forward for the 47,000 properties we collect from across the county. RELATED STORIES Denbighshire to launch new bin and recycling rounds Denbighshire's new recycling scheme: Chance to ask questions Debate ignites over Denbighshire's £22m Trolibocs system 'Recycling rates have improved, but we are still in the process of analysing the data, and we will be reporting the 2024/25 performance data to a future Scrutiny Committee. The final recycling figures for 2024/25 will not show the full impact of the new collection model because we were still operating the old collection model for part of the financial year. We will therefore not see the full benefit of the new model until the 2025/26 recycling figures are published. However, we have seen a significant increase in food waste recycling in 2024/25, which has increased by around 16 per cent. We have also seen a nine per cent reduction in residual (or non-recyclable) waste. "This is important because reducing the amount of non-recyclable waste that is then incinerated is a top priority for the council and was a key aim of the new waste model. 'We aim to have an ongoing programme of informing and educating residents to make continual improvement to our recycling performance. Now that the new model has settled-in, we believe that the service will only get better over time, and that it will result in further reductions in non-recyclable waste and better recycling in Denbighshire.' The new service, which involved the scrapping of the blue wheelie bin, is 55 per cent funded by Welsh Government. Residents are tasked to separate their 'dry' recycling using a three-tier trolleybox. A free new weekly collection services, for small electrical items, household batteries and textiles, was also implemented. The revamped recycling scheme was labelled a "disaster" when it first launched with widespread missed collections; the authority's chief executive and leader cllr Jason McLellan made public apologies as the service ran £640,000 over budget and residents reported rubbish piling up on pavements attracting flies and vermin. James Davies, then MP for the Vale of Clwyd, labelled the change as "one of the worst decisions the local authority has made". Denbighshire introduced the Trolibocs stackable, separated recycling system to improve the "quality" of recycling collected and to meet the Welsh Government's 70 per cent recycling target which has been set for all local authorities in Wales.
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Major plans revealed for former hotel overlooking one of Wales' most famous beaches
Major plans revealed for former hotel overlooking one of Wales' most famous beaches The works in the application, and an accompanying Listed Building Consent application, include changes to restore some original features in the 'historically significant' Grade II listed building Tenby's North Beach (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) A proposal for renovations at a former hotel with views over one of Wales' most loved beaches has been lodged with a national park authority, preceding a future request to formally alter its use. Fourcroft Management Ltd has submitted plans to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority for refurbishments to the Grade-II-listed former Fourcroft Hotel on The Croft in Tenby, which is said to be situated in a "historically significant Georgian terrace" overlooking the town's North Beach. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What's On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here . The proposed works detailed in the submission, along with an associated Listed Building Consent application, involve alterations to the rear elevation windows at first and second floor levels and on staircase landings, sealing up modern openings tailored for the building's past hotel function, fitting replacement sash windows, and expanding some original window openings, among other modifications. An accompanying statement explains: "The Former Fourcroft Hotel formed part of a classical and historically significant Georgian terrace overlooking Tenby North beach. "The terrace was originally 11 individual dwellings. Over the years there have been alterations, and the originality of the individual houses has been lost." It continues, "Houses 1 and 2 have been combined and have been converted into apartments. Article continues below "Houses 3, 4, 5 and 6 were integrated to form the Fourcroft Hotel. Houses 7-11 remain visually, as single houses although have been converted internally into apartments." The document also notes that "repair and stabilisation of the building has been ongoing for the last two years or so." The Fourcroft Hotel in Tenby (Image: James Davies Photography ) The statement outlines that the current application "precedes a full application for change of use of the former Hotel and for alterations to the basement and ground floor facade including extensions and terraces in order to facilitate the new proposed use," with the applications for alterations being phased "due to legal complications over existing leases connected to the hotel". It highlights that the proposed works "will be positive and will not affect the architectural or historic interest of the building to a degree that would alter its special interest in any significant way but will certainly preserve that interest". North Beach from The Croft, Tenby (Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service ) Furthermore, it states: "The repairs and interventions proposed are sympathetic to the age and construction of this Grade-II-listed building and will sensitively upgrade and repair its historic fabric. "The works will involve the minimum amount of intervention necessary in order to achieve the optimal result. "The outcome of the works will enhance the property's overall appearance and utility and thereby have a beneficial impact on the Tenby Conservation Area." Article continues below The application is set to be reviewed by park planners at a forthcoming date.
Times
13-05-2025
- Health
- Times
Three ways to ease neck pain
According to Nice (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), up to 70 per cent of us will experience neck pain at some time in our lives, with prevalence peaking during middle age. Poor posture — while looking at your phone or laptop, for example — and anxiety are often underlying causes of neck tension and gentle daily stretches can help. 'Make sure you perform any neck stretches slowly and smoothly,' says the osteopath James Davies, author of Body. 'If they cause pain or make the muscle tension worse, you need to stop immediately and seek medical advice.' Davies suggests using a tennis ball to massage your neck muscles. Place the ball between the back of your neck and the wall. 'Position the ball
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Crypto Valley Exchange Bets 'Smart Clearing' Is DeFi Derivatives' Missing Link
The complex pipes that keep derivatives trades moving are about to get a major efficiency boost in DeFi, according to Crypto Valley Exchange. Crypto Valley Exchange's "smart clearing" protocol will lower the capital requirements for derivatives traders by setting collateral levels in light of the traded assets' correlations in price. In doing so, it could make DeFi more competitive with the mainstream financial markets crypto trying to replace, according to CEO James Davies. The service is a new take on an age-old problem in DeFi: how to sufficiently mitigate counterparty risk in a trustless environment. Traditional financial markets like CME and NYMEX rely on clearinghouses to be a trusted counterparty for every buyer and seller. They demand some collateral, but hardly 100%. DeFi markets, meanwhile, definitely lack a trusted middleman, and so can't afford to require anything less than full collateral. This system works, but hardly well. More collateral requirements means traders have less capital to deploy elsewhere. Davies claims this severely limits the market's growth. "This is the one place where all of crypto is much more conservative than TradFi," Davies said. "We're really, really undersized in this space, and that's because clearing is needed to create this efficiency." He pointed to the seeming lunacy of requiring full margin for trades involving highly correlated assets, like forms of oil. "If I was to go to, say [commodities exchange] NYMEX as an oil company and want to buy oil and sell jet fuel, and you asked me to put down full margin on both parts, I'd laugh at you, because those things are 90% correlated," Davies said. He believes the same logic should apply in DeFi. "Ethereum isn't going to 10,000 on the day Solana goes to zero," he said. Because of the correlation, a trader betting that ETH will rise relative to SOL shouldn't need to post full collateral. In his telling, clearing is the missing piece in DeFi's effort to gobble up traditional finance. If protocols gain an ability to better manage the risk, and also do so transparently, on a blockchain, so that everyone can see what's happening and how, then they'll become competitive with the financial rails they're trying to replace. "You can't just build a perps DeFi platform for, say, treasuries or commodities, go up against NYMEX or go up against CME, and expect to win when you have to lock up so much more collateral than you would do to trade on those platforms." Davies said. If crypto's real-world asset (RWA) subsector delivers on its promise of bringing tokenized versions of everything on-chain then, according to Davies, DeFi will need a solution to the clearing efficiency problem such as this. Institutional investors won't put up with requirements for triple the collateral capital they're used to – especially on correlated trades, he said. The first user is Crypto Valley Exchange itself. Already, the Arbitrum-based futures and options DEX is running dated futures orders through its smart clearing. More capabilities are coming later this year to support commodities markets beyond crypto, and Davies hopes for other protocols to plug into smart clearing, too.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Dentist reveals how you can earn up to £150k - and what he's really thinking when he's looking in your mouth
Each Monday, our Money team speaks to someone from a different profession to discover what it's really like. This week we chat to James Davies, a specialist orthodontist at Quayside Orthodontics in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire... People think my job is... something they would not want to do. Looking in people's mouths all day! What I'd say to them is... it's better than working with smelly feet. One thing I'd change about the industry is... the NHS contract. Dentists used to be paid for what they did, now they are paid per course of treatment. In short, if you do one filling or 20 you get paid the same. This discourages the treatment of those in high need unless the dentist becomes a charity. What we have seen over the past 20 years is privatisation by stealth. Make the NHS contract so difficult to undertake profitably that dentists vote with their feet - then the government can blame the "greedy dentist". Being able to build a quick rapport is vital... Working in people's mouths is an intrusive process, so being able to reduce anxieties and tensions over difficult, potentially painful procedures is key. Communication is the most important skill - manual dexterity is a close second to this. Every dentist will have a small number of they would gladly pay to go elsewhere. The biggest mistake I made with a patient was... is miscommunication. A larger lady entered the practice and I asked her "when she was due". To my embarrassment, she replied "I had the baby 12 weeks ago." Cringe! Watching the complete life transformation of a patient... who has finished their course of treatment is the most rewarding thing. Often within orthodontics, patients walk in unwilling to smile and with low self-esteem. They can walk out beaming and overflowing with positivity into their new lives. I personally find treating teenagers is incredibly rewarding, they have lots of dreams and aspirations, and they help to keep me young. Read more of this series: Often our hands are tied... by NHS regulation. There is so much dentists can do to improve people's smiles, but there is an overly complex set of rules of what constitutes NHS and private (cosmetic) treatment. A practice I worked at was bought out by a multinational... and I was left working for a company that put profits over patient care and treated everybody as a number. On the positive flip, it motivated me to set up my own practice to be everything they were not, and it has been a runaway success. Kindness and the personal touch cost nothing! Salaries start at... £38,000 in year one, rising to about £100,000 in year five. With a specialism you can earn upwards of £150,000. There is a huge amount of freedom to pick and choose your work schedule... as most dentists are self-employed and are contracted to a practice. I have always worked four days a week, which gives me a day to pursue other interests, be it DIY, gardening or learning Welsh. My day begins at... around 8am with a bowl of cornflakes (something I think is grossly underrated). I always buy an i newspaper on my way to work and see my first patient by 9am. I tend to see 25 patients a day and try to fit a 5km run at lunchtime twice a week. My evenings are spent ferrying my children to various activities before retiring at 10pm. When you're staring into someone's mouth... the mind does wonder. I think about things going on in the family, ambitions/dreams and how to strive to be a better person. Dentistry in the UK is a five-year course... to attain a bachelor in dental science degree from one of 16 dental schools. It is usually an undergraduate degree, though graduate entry is available from Aberdeen and Preston. Upon graduation, you enter on a dental foundation programme within the NHS. This currently pays £38,472 a year. Most dentists can expect to earn around £60,000 to £100,000 in subsequent years. There are 13 specialisms within dentistry that dentists can choose to study and attain postgraduate qualifications. I undertook a career in orthodontics, which required a three-year post graduate degree. I would hope to semi-retire at... 60. I am lucky enough to have a NHS pension - a defined benefit pension scheme underwritten by the government. For a dentist joining today, you will have to be 67. If I am enjoying it, which I hope I still am, I would happily work two days a week for as long as I can or am allowed! If I had my time again I would have... slowed down and lived my life at a jog rather than a sprint. I would have worried less about the future and enjoyed the journey more rather than the destination.
