Skates calls for rail electrification timetable

Labour Assembly Member Ken Skates has called on the UK Government to put in place a clear timetable for electrification of the North Wales mainline railway.

The call comes after the Department for Transport at Westminster said an announcement about plans for the next phase of High Speed Rail north of Birmingham will be published early in the New Year.

The Clwyd South AM said the announcement was a pivotal moment for North Wales and risked leaving the region in the economic ‘second tier’ if a plan to electrify the North Wales mainline was not put in place to retain business confidence in the future of the area.

He said: “I fully support the UK Government as it develops the High Speed Rail programme, it could help secure quicker journey times and deliver economic growth to areas outside London and the South East that badly need it.

“My only concern with how the project is being progressed is that the current plan risks leaving North Wales in the economic second tier if there is no realistic timetable put in place to electrify the North Wales mainline at the same time.

“As the economy picks up businesses will be making strategic decisions about where to invest in the medium to long term and if they see ambitious plans to extend High Speed Rail to areas such as Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and South Wales, but no plans to upgrade the North Wales line, it is inevitable that investment and jobs will migrate to those more accessible areas.

“We need to see the business case for North Wales electrification progressed and then a coherent plan, backed by both the UK and Welsh Governments, to get the North Wales mainline electrified as soon as possible.

“If we don’t do this at the same time as progressing HS2 then the North Wales region will not benefit from High Speed Rail, indeed it might even damage economic confidence in the area. You can’t upgrade the infrastructure of parts of the UK in a piecemeal fashion, every regional economy needs a good transport network and there needs to be a coherent plan for the whole of the UK.

“The UK Government has been clear in its ambition to increase prosperity to the regions of the UK, now it is time to follow through on that commitment.”

Health Minister visits community hospital

Following today’s (Wednesday) visit by Health Minister Lesley Griffiths to Ruthin Hospital, Llyr Gruffydd, Plaid Cymru’s Assembly Member for the North, said: “I’m glad the Minister has taken the time to hear for herself the concerns that many of have about the planned centralisation and downgrading of our local health services.

* Llyr Hughes Gruffydd AM.

“In the case of Ruthin, the loss of the minor injuries unit and X-ray service will impact quite drastically on the hospital’s ability to provide a full local service, including orthopaedics. The hospital currently serves a wide area of south Denbighshire and, for people in the Corwen area who may also lose Llangollen Hospital, it will mean very long journeys for relatively minor health care.

“What the health board has failed to recognise in proposing these changes is the very real problem of transport in rural areas. Many people struggle to run a car with prices at the pump rising almost daily at times. Added to that very real ‘transport poverty’, there is little alternative. Public transport in this area is patchy at best and certainly not geared to provide a service to and from hospitals. In some cases we’re talking of an hour’s drive to the nearest hospital so it’s not a case of people hopping into the car and driving an extra few miles.

“The Health Minister is still awaiting the final decision by Betsi Cadwaladr’s board in January, which will then come to her for approval. That is then her opportunity to reject the proposals where they advocate moving health services beyond the reach of the local population.”

No it's not snow!

* A frost-laden Llan this morning.

A deep overnight freeze turned Llangollen into a winter wonderland this morning (Wednesday).

Temperatures slumped well into minus figures and thick frost formed on buildings and trees.

Weather forecasters predict things will warm up later in the week when we might also be in for some rain, they say.

* If you have any striking frost pictures please send them in to us at llanblogger@gmail.com so we can share them with our readers.

Operatic's Festive Frolics is a seasonal treat



* Cast members of Festive Frolics during the show. 

 A packed Town Hall audience enjoyed every magical moment of last night’s (Tuesday) Christmas show by Llangollen Operatic, Festive Frolics.

The programme included a selection of favourite carols and seasonal songs, ranging from Hark the Herald Angels Sing to the ever-popular White Christmas.

Musical items were interspersed with Christmas-themed readings by cast members.

The audience, who were served mince pies and wine during the interval, enthusiastically joined in a rousing delivery of The Twelve Days of Christmas led from the stage.

One of the most moving moments came when a soldier’s account of the legendary Christmas truce on the Western Front in 1914, near the start of the First World War, was read out with English and German versions of the carol Silent Night being sung - just as they were that day by the opposing troops in the trenches.

MEP's campaign to boost local firms

Plaid Cymru the Party of Wales MEP Jill Evans, whose office is in Wrexham, is working on changes to European Union public procurement rules to help local businesses get more government contracts. The party estimates that 48,000 jobs could be created by adopting an effective 'buy-local' policy.

The European Parliament is currently reviewing the laws adopted in 2004 which have so often been used as an excuse by government at all levels in Wales to avoid using Welsh companies. The Party of Wales President wants to make it easier to buy from local suppliers.

In Wales around £4.3 billion is spent by the public sector every year, highlighting the massive advantages of ploughing this money back into the Welsh economy. Jill Evans launched the party's "buy local" campaign at the Royal Welsh Show.

At local government level, the North Wales Procurement Partnership, which consists of Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham, has reported that public procurement is worth £550 million in the north alone.

When Plaid Cymru was in government it was made easier for local firms to win government contracts. By 2010/11, some 52% of public sector business was being won locally, an increase from 35% a few years earlier.

Jill Evans, who is a spokesperson for her parliamentary group on this issue, has been working for a simplification of the rules, allowing the public sector to put value for money before cost when awarding contracts.

She said: "The public sector currently spends over £4 billion in Wales every year but sources barely half of its goods and services from local firms. We want to see that figure increase to at least 75% which could help create tens of thousands of local jobs.

"To do that we have to make sure that the rules are simplified and that local authorities are able to work together to provide services. We have to protect our education, health and social services and that means that contracts are not given to those who simply offer the lowest price.

"There has been pioneering work done in Wales, by our universities and the voluntary sector in particular, to show how we could really develop our economy and create jobs in this way. I will be ensuring that the new laws will help us do that."

The draft law will be voted in committee in the European Parliament in December and will go to the full session of Parliament in the new year. Intense negotiations are going on to reach a compromise on the 2,597 amendments that were put in.

Ms Evans will be speaking on Public Procurement at Bangor University on 22nd March 2013. The talk will be part of the Institute for Competition & Procurement Studies' Public Procurement week which will take place from 18th March until 22nd March.

Santa Specials draw in the crowds

The second weekend of the Santa Special trains season at Llangollen Railway attracted large crowds, with all four trains each day heavily loaded for the run to "Lapland" at Carrog. 

 

 * The first train on Sunday passes Berwyn with the

Black Five locomotive No.44806 tackling the climb.

* The last train of the day, with Foxcote Manor No.7822, is seen at

rest in Llangollen station as darkness descends.

* Visiting the station on Monday was Heart FM Radio from

Wrexham with representatives greeting travellers.

A470 blocked near Betws-y-Coed

The Daily Post and North Wales Police have just tweeted (around 5pm) that the A470 has been completely blocked near Betws-y-Coed after a lorry jack-knifed on the road at 4.45pm. More at http://dailypost.co.uk