A North Wales company has raised almost £500,000 from the Carbon Trust to work on technology that could lead to light-emitting wallpaper for homes and offices. Lomox, based in St Asaph, is developing organic light-emitting diodes which could be incorporated into wall coverings, replacing traditional lightbulbs. The company’s lighting film needs just 3 to 5 volts and could be powered by solar panels and batteries. Other potential applications include traffic signs and television screens. The Carbon Trust is seeking further applications for grants of up to £500,000 through its Applied Research scheme. An open call for applications is due to close on 18 February.

Carl Sargeant, the local government minister, has widened the Assembly Government’s small business rates relief scheme by raising the upper limits on rateable values. The maximum rateable value for 50 per cent general relief has been increased to £2,400 from £2,000; the limit for 25 per cent general relief to £7,800 from £6,500; and the limit for 25 per cent retail relief to £11,000 from £9,000. Sargeant said: “From next April, over half of all business premises in Wales could qualify for this relief.”

Grŵp Gwalia, the social housing and care group, is to take on 132 new staff this year after winning work from the Future Jobs Fund and Welsh Assembly Government. Gwalia will take on 90 care workers across Wales following an application to the jobs fund, which aims to get under-25s into work. A further 22 jobs will be created by Gwalia’s redevelopment of Llys Glas, a former police station in Swansea. And 20 posts for trade trainees will be set up in the Llanelli and Swansea areas.

The Assembly Government is to tap into European funding to widen the spread of broadband internet services. The cash will be used to improve access to high-speed data lines in rural and isolated parts of Wales, the so-called “not spots”. Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said: “Over the coming weeks, I will be looking carefully at the options available to maximise the impact of these changes so that communities and businesses can start benefiting without delay.”

Plans for an £8m redevelopment of Tenby’s former civic centre into luxury flats have been lodged with the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority. Developer Macob (Tenby), a joint venture between Macob and Anglodefine, submitted revised plans after a previous application stalled. Work on the One Tenby scheme was put on hold a year ago because of the recession. Chris Waterworth of CW Architects, the scheme’s designer, said: “The re-application seeks to improve on the original proposals. It is more traditional and reinforces the Georgian aesthetic of the old Guildhall and Glendower House and indeed Tenby as a whole.”

Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones has approved a £35m upgrade for four miles of the A470 north-south route in Powys. Work on the stretch between Cwmbach Llechrhyd and Newbridge-on-Wye will start early this year, following a public inquiry last summer. It will tackle problems such as a lack of verge, poor visibility joining the road, a low railway bridge and single lane crossing over the River Ithon.

Local councils, the National Botanical Garden for Wales and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, have won funding from the Assembly Government’s cost-cutting fund. They will share in £11.5m allocated so far through the Invest-to-Save scheme, which aims to improve procurement processes, streamline business processes, introduce technology and reduce the cost of corporate functions. Successful applicants include Powys, Neath Port Talbot, Flintshire and Wrexham councils. Business and budget minister Jane Hutt said: “Public service providers need to find ways to work smarter, and this fund will help them to implement changes that lead to the release of efficiency savings.”

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