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Wales Online
09-07-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Business owners worried about jobs after free parking scrapped at Welsh seaside towns
Business owners worried about jobs after free parking scrapped at Welsh seaside towns Vale Council said it would look again at plans to get rid of free parking in Barry Island and Penarth seafront, but recently decided to press ahead with the scheme Louis Ross of Barrybados Gift Shop in Barry Island claims he and other traders weren't listened to by Vale of Glamorgan Council (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) A Barry Island business owner claimed traders have not been listened to after Vale of Glamorgan Council decided to go ahead with controversial car parking charge plans. The local authority's cabinet members decided at a meeting on Thursday, July 3, to get rid of free parking at a number of on-street car parking spots in Barry Island and Penarth seafront three months after agreeing to look again at their proposals. Vale Council argues the charges will increase the turnover of visitors at both towns and generate income to maintain facilities there. However business owners like Louis Ross of Barrybados Gift Shop in Barry Island are worried that it will drive customers away – particularly regular customers who they rely on during the quieter winter months. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . Louis said: "As a trading community we have tried several times over six months to engage with the council about this issue but the council have not been interested. "We wanted to tell them first hand about the long winters and having a destination with zero free parking during the winter is severely damaging to our winter trade. "We all open later and close earlier. Some days we don't open at all. Article continues below "Now if locals have to start paying to come here they will just come less and find other places to go that offer free parking. "This will impact trade, which will result in hours being cut." The following on-street locations will be affected by new parking charges: Barry Island Paget Road – 54 spaces Breaksea Drive – 56 spaces Friars Road – 8 spaces (excludes disabled parking) Station Approach Road – 49 spaces Penarth seafront The Esplanade – 42 spaces Cliff Hill – 58 spaces Cliff Parade – 26 Spaces Beach Road (Part) – 13 spaces Bridgeman Road (Part) – 12 spaces Vale of Glamorgan Council was also met with opposition from traders in Penarth when it announced its car parking charge plans earlier this year. Petitions were set up for both towns with one in Barry Island gaining 3,337 signatures and the Penarth petition gaining 2,997 signatures. Parking is currently free for two hours at a number of on-street locations around Barry Island (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) However not all business owners have been opposed to the council's plans. One business owner we spoke with in Penarth said he agreed with the council's proposal, complaining that some people take advantage of the two hours free parking on the seafront and that customers are left struggling to find a space. Following a scrutiny committee meeting in March the council agreed to review its car parking charge plans. However the only obvious change that's been made to the original proposal is the times that people will be charged. Vale of Glamorgan Council is proposing to charge for parking at these locations seven days a week between the hours of 10am and 6pm. There will be a maximum stay period of four hours. Parking will be charged as follows: Up to two hours - £2.50 Up to three hours - £4 Up to four hours - £6 The initial proposals for parking on-street were to charge for seven days a week from 8am to 6pm at a similar hourly fee scale. Louis added: "We are concerned about peoples' jobs during winter. It's a shame the council doesn't share the same level of concern as we do. Penarth seafront will also be affected by the on-street car parking charges (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) "They have gone against the recommendations of traders, residents, the scrutiny committee, and their own Labour councillors by implementing on-street parking charges all year round without any winter concession. "Our winter trade is going to be damaged and they are willing to trial it for two years to see if it works or not. "A lot can happen in two years and if we see even the smallest of drops in trade during the winter we will have to cut hours of our staff. "We've tried to tell the council this but they will not engage with us on any level. We want to work with the council to find the right solution for all, we still do, but there's no willingness on their part to even engage at the slightest." Louis Ross said winter trade in Barry Island will be damaged by the council's parking plans (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) A consultation process is currently under way before the new car parking charges come into force. Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for neighbourhood and building services, Cllr Mark Wilson, said the later start time for charging is aimed at helping traders who need to unload stock in the mornings. He said at last week's cabinet meeting: "These are very popular resorts. We want to encourage people to visit those resorts. "We don't want them to go... around in circles finding a space. Vale of Glamorgan Council said it's car parking plans will help increase the turnover of visitors in Barry Island and Penarth (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) "I would also like to emphasise here that there are legal implications. We also looked at the equality act and we also looked at road traffic [access]. "One of the things I would like to emphasise is that the money generated here will be reinvested into improving the actual roads around that area and that's very important." Vale of Glamorgan Council's original car parking plans also included a proposal to close Court Road multi-storey car park in Barry. The council said the facility is costing them £80,000 a year to operate but some local councillors argue it is still needed. Plaid Cymru councillor for the Buttrills ward in Barry, Cllr Ian Johnson, said: "The time at which users enter the car park and the length of time they are there shows that the main users are the local school, which has no alternative car park, and staff working on Holton Road. 'They [the council] keep saying that they want to make Barry a better place so why do they have nothing to offer the centre of town? Article continues below 'This is quite literally levelling down rather than levelling up.' Vale of Glamorgan Council will review car parking charges at on-street sites in Barry Island and Penarth 24 months after their implementation.
Cision Canada
26-06-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
MEI Micro partners with Steadman Philippon Research Institute in new technology development
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., June 26, 2025 /CNW/ -- MEI Micro, Inc. is partnering with Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) to develop new technology and product platforms that will help establish new standards in accuracy and precision for a number of applications related to MedTech, healthcare, sports medicine and athletic performance. The partnership will bring together MEI's expertise in next-generation MEMs inertial sensor technology and the deep subject matter expertise of SPRI, one of the world's leading Institutes of orthopaedics and sports medicine research. The focus will include the development of smart surgical tools, medical-grade wearables and motion capture systems for the assessment and continuous monitoring of patients, athletes and military personnel. These systems will feature MEI's proprietary 3DS MEMs platform technology which is 80x–100x more accurate than existing consumer- and industrial-grade MEMs inertial sensors currently in use in life science applications including consumer wearables like smart watches and rings. "There is tremendous potential in this innovative partnership between MEI Micro and SPRI," shared Marc J. Philippon, MD, Managing Partner of The Steadman Clinic and Chairman of SPRI. "Harnessing MEI's technology will enable us to develop new products for surgical advancement while enhancing the patient's recovery experience through next-generation technology." MEI Micro recently began shipping first commercial product samples of its industry first navigation-grade, multi-axis chip scale 3 degrees of freedom (DoF) MEMs accelerometer platform, which received the Most Innovative Product Award for MEMs at the 2024 Sensors Converge conference. At this year's event, CEO Louis Ross will present " Next Generation MEMS Inertial for Life Science Applications" and will review its plans to work closely with SPRI, which has a long history of developing leading-edge approaches to orthopaedic surgery and conducting research to support the care of some of the world's top professional athletes and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams. "We look to democratize the use of high-accuracy inertial data", said Ross, which includes delivering the highest accuracy, lowest cost, size, weight and power (CSWaP) sensors to be put on the market. "The need for much higher accuracy has been accelerated due to the broad-spread application of artificial intelligence and machine learning, especially at the EDGE, which includes the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)." EDGE computing, also referred to as "TinyML", requires higher accuracy data in order to develop more efficient sensor fusion software and advanced algorithms that can become a catalyst for preventative, predictive and personalized healthcare and related assessments and medical treatments. MEMs inertial sensors also provide the ability to continuously track and monitor users, providing a key enabler for telemedicine/telehealth which will lead to lower costs for clinical trials and healthcare in general. "SPRI's partnership with MEI Micro will result in the development of a portfolio of healthcare technological advancements," said Dan Drawbaugh, CEO of SPRI. "As SPRI expands its artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, there is a natural synergy with MEI Micro's technologies for precision-based solutions. We look forward to working with MEI Micro to change the shape of personalized healthcare on a global scale." The organizations plan to develop new technology products, including targeted orthopaedic and sports medicine applications for individual joints, with the ultimate goal of advancing patient treatment, care and recovery. MEI Micro, Inc. is a technology start up commercializing the world's first tactical to navigation grade capable, multi-axis, chip scale MEMs inertial sensor systems. The company's 3DS proprietary MEMs platform technology includes MEMs manufacturing process, advanced semiconductor packaging, MEMs device design and applications related intellectual property. The company works closely with partners to develop custom, application specific solutions enabled by its 3DS MEMs inertial measurement units (IMUs) and inertial navigation systems (INSs). Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) is dedicated to keeping people of all ages physically active through orthopaedic research and education. With an enduring focus on applied clinical translation, SPRI is dedicated to discovering new therapies, treatments and cures that can be brought to patients in a clinical setting. SPRI utilizes the latest regenerative medicine techniques—basic science studies at the cellular level—to investigate the causes and effects of degenerative arthritis, techniques of musculoskeletal regeneration and healing processes. SPRI also uses state-of-the-art Biomotion and Robotics technologies, magnetic resonance imaging and over 35 years of patient outcomes data in its bench-to-bedside approach to research. The 501(c)(3) charitable organization is one of the most published organizations in sports medicine research and education.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Controversial plans to scrap free parking at Barry Island to be reconsidered
A council says it will look again at controversial car parking charge plans for two popular Welsh seaside towns. Vale of Glamorgan Council has announced it will carry out further survey work and evidence gathering before making a decision on plans to close Court Road multi-storey car park in Barry and introducing car parking charges at Barry Island and Penarth. The on-street charges would affect locations along the seafronts of both areas, where car parking is currently free for two hours. Vale of Glamorgan Council said the move would help increase turnover in two busy seaside locations and help fund the maintenance of resorts. However, the proposals prompted criticism from business owners who fear it will drive away vital winter-time trade and cause shops to close. The owner of Barrybados, Louis Ross, said of the recent news: "It is a very positive step. I am glad that the council have listened, taken in all of the feedback from the campaign." For more stories sign up to our newsletter here. READ MORE: Car flips and three teenagers hurt in serious crash READ MORE: Cardiff teacher dies suddenly aged just 24 "Hopefully they will realise what they proposed was going to hurt the island trade all year around and we are hopeful of finding a solution that suits the council and the traders and the public over the next few weeks." A petition started by Louis opposing the planned on-street parking charges at Barry Island has gained more than 3,300 signatures so far. The proposed charges for Barry Island, if they go ahead in their current form, will affect Paget Road, Breaksea Drive, Friars Road, and Station Approach Road. Parking charges at Penarth seafront are proposed for The Esplanade, Cliff Hill, Cliff Parade, and sections of Beach Road and Bridgeman Road. A petition opposing the plans in Penarth was also set up and has so far gained more than 2,950 signatures. Louis said he and other business owners in Barry Island have attempted to meet with council officials multiple times to discuss the proposed charges. He added: "We are hopeful to get a meeting with them so we can have a proper discussion and... let the council know first hand what damage this is going to do in the long term and for the island. If they'd implemented it the way... they said they would, I think it would have hurt peoples' jobs in the long run." A final decision on the on-street car parking proposals will be made at a future Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet meeting once additional information from the local authority's survey work is considered. The council, which currently faces a budget gap of £8m for 2025-26, said Court Road car park is costing it £80,000 a year to operate. However, Plaid Cymru councillor for Buttrills, Cllr Ian Johnson, said Barry town centre is already full "to bursting point" and closing the multi-storey car park would cause a "huge headache for shoppers". Vale of Glamorgan Council has approved the principle of charging at four coastal car parks and traffic regulation order proposals, which are subject to a 21-day statutory public consultation period, will now be published. The car parks affected are Portabello and Westfarm in Ogmore, the Knap and Bryn Y Mor in Barry and Penarth Cliff Walk. One business owner expressed concern over the car park plans at a council scrutiny committee meeting in January, highlighting that one of the sites was in a "poor state of repair". Matt Holland of Willmore's 1938 at Penarth Cliff Walk said an elderly gentleman broke his hip after falling at the car park in November 2024. Vale of Glamorgan Council confirmed resurfacing work will be carried out at two of the four car parks, including Penarth Cliff Walk, before charges come into effect. Vale of Glamorgan Council leader Lis Burnett said: 'There is already a charge to use most council car parks so introducing the same arrangements at others creates consistency. Car parking charges are designed to help the council cover maintenance and management costs associated with our resorts, which given their popularity are sizeable. 'It is only right that visitors should contribute to that upkeep as the responsibility should not lie solely with residents through their council tax payments. We want to be open in our rationale for these decisions and for others to be clear on that as well. 'With that in mind, we have taken on board the comments of scrutiny committee and asked for further evidence gathering to be carried out in relation to the potential closure of Court Road car park and proposed on-street charges at Penarth and Barry Island. This will then be used to inform a final decision on the matter. We will only be able to properly make a decision in relation to the future of Court Road car park and the proposal for on-street charges at Penarth seafront and Barry Island after we receive that further information.' Charges at the four car parks will mirror those in place at other council facilities. Season tickets are available for off-street coastal car parks, costing £60 for six months and £100 for a year, which are valid at any chargeable Vale of Glamorgan Council-run resort car park. A combined coastal and country park season ticket will also be introduced shortly, available at a lower price than buying these separately.
