Shape My Llangollen to meet the public again

* SML team members Phil Robinson and Issy Richards outside the Co-op last week.

The latest in a series of public consultation exercises by the team of volunteers putting together Llangollen’s contribution to the county council’s next Local Development Plan will be held tomorrow (Thursday).

Shape My Llangollen (SML) was formed last year at the behest of the Town Council to produce a 'place plan' for Llangollen.

The idea is that this plan, when approved and endorsed by the Town Council, will feed into the new emerging Local Development Plan being produced by Denbighshire County Council.

The plan will cover topics such as the natural environment, built environment, economy, and community and is a genuine opportunity for some grassroots democracy.

SML is therefore engaged upon a far-ranging consultation exercise contacting groups and individuals to seek their views on any issues which affect or concern them so that they can have an input into the plan.

Over the summer the team is hosting a series of consultation events to introduce themselves to the public and to get their views.

The first of these was held on May 7 at Llangollen Health Centre when throughout the day team members spoke to scores of people to gain their feedback.

The second successful session was held outside the Co-op store in Regent Street on May 13 when, again, SML gained lots of useful feedback from shoppers.

The third question-and-answer session will be held outside the Home Bargains store, next to Aldi, tomorrow, May 23, from 10am-1pm and 2-5pm.

And for those people who haven’t been able to attend the week-day sessions SML will be holding a major meet-the-public event in Centenary Square on Saturday June 1, starting at 10am and continuing until at least lunchtime or possibly longer.

SML chair Phil Robinson said: “The two sessions we’ve held so far have each been a big success and we spoke to as many people as possible about a wide range of issues which interest them, which was anything from the state of local roads and pavements to the provision of social care and youth facilities.

“Perhaps not unexpectedly there were lots of concerns voiced about traffic congestion and the availability of parking. But lots of other issues were raised such as the spending priorities of the county council, public transport and the lack of local affordable housing.

“The information we gathered will be invaluable in compiling out final report which we are aiming to publish before the end of this year.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has so far been able to spare a few minutes to answer our five quick questions.

“I’d urge as many people as possible to come along and speak to our team members during our next two sessions, outside Home Bargains and in Centenary Square, because this is your big chance to have your say about Llangollen’s future.”

The questions SML is asking are:

1. What makes you happy about Llangollen?

2. What makes you sad about Llangollen?

3. What makes you mad about Llangollen?

4. How would you make Llangollen better?

5. How would you spend £10,000 for Llangollen’s future?

People unable to make it to SML’s meet-the-public sessions can fill in one of the question sheets which are available in the Town Hall office.

They can also jot down the answers in a reply to the posting about the health centre session on the Shape My Llangollen Facebook page.