Four N.Wales B&Q stores are safe - for now Bosses of DIY giant give assurances for this financial year
track of where the red squirrels are going.”
Efforts to stem the loss of Anglesey’s red squirrels in 1998 when there were only around 40 reds left on the island.
First step was to remove grey squirrels – there are now none left – before reds were introduced from the Welsh Mountain Zoo, Colwyn Bay.
Seven more introductions followed, helping red numbers climb back past 700, and they have even begun spreading to the mainland.
Next step is to recruit citizen scientists to help monitor red squirrel spread – via the Squirrel Location Map app.
Created by Llandudnobased digital experts Livetech, this also allows people to find out where they can see red squirrels.
Livetech managing director Paul Levy added: “The app focuses on north west Wales but it could be easily rolled out to the rest of the UK.”
More details: www.redsquirrels.info or www.livetech.co.uk
DIY giant B&Q has revealed that the future of four of its North Wales stores are safe – for now.
Parent company Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, announced in March it was to cut as many as 60 stores in the UK.
This put the future of stores in Bangor, Llandudno, Rhyl, Queensferry and Wrexham in doubt.
In April they confirmed that the store in Queensferry would close but remained tight lipped on the future of the other outlets, which employ around 200 staff.
Now they say the remaining stores are not planned for closure in this financial year.
A B&Q spokeswoman said: “Staff at the Rhyl, Llandudno, Bangor and Wrexham stores have been told that their store is not a store planned for closure this financial year.”
There was no further information beyond those dates and B&Q said in March that the cuts to the number of stores would take place over two years.
The closure of the Queensferry store on Deeside Retail Park will affect around 40 workers.
The closure will take place next year and B&Q have said they will try to re-deploy as many staff as possible.
Kingfisher said it expects to offset the B&Q jobs impact by opening a similar number of shops at sister business Screwfix and through redeployment.
Last year, rival DIY chain Homebase said it would close a quarter of its stores - about 80 outlets - in the period up to early 2018.
This has included the Holyhead store and the shop at Llandudno is also due to close with plans to replace it with a B&M store.