Crane lifts roof frames for new Corwen station into place

 

* Nearly there ... the frame is guided onto the station roof.

* Steady now ... the frame about to be fixed in place.

* The 51-metre crane towers above the Corwen car park.

* This the superb aerial drone shot was captured by LR volunteer Richard Walliker, a qualified drone pilot with full permission to be onsite, and Wayne Ronnenback, Corwen Stationmaster.

* The Railway Trust team anxiously watches the process from the ground.

Another vital stop along the route to opening the new Corwen Station for Llangollen Railway’s trains was reached this morning (Tuesday) as the first of the huge metal frames to support the roof was lifted carefully into place by a towering crane.

At a total cost of around £1.25m, volunteers at the heritage railway have spent the last eight years working on extending the line through the Dee Valley from Llangollen to its final terminus in Corwen.

The new station, which has been under construction for the past year or so, is now heading for completion in time for when the entire line opens to the public in what is expected by railway bosses to be the second quarter of this year.

Richard Abbott, health and safety director for the Trust which has run the railway since it emerged from liquidation and the Covid lockdowns last year, said: “The pillars and subframe of the station are already in place and today our specialist contractors, Plant & Robinson Construction Ltd, began the job of adding the roof canopy frames.

“The 26 frames, each weighing just under one ton, will be delivered to the site by our suppliers based just outside Wrexham and lifted into place by a 51-metre-high crane we have hired for the job.

“Before being lifted into position each of the frames is being assembled from their 11 component parts by the contractors’ team and the whole job should take the next few days to complete.

“The next phase of the work is to fit the roof cladding.”

Railway chairman Phil Coles, who was watching the process along with fellow Trust members, said: “This is another important step in the extension of the line to Corwen, which has now been going on for eight years.

“The canopy has been paid for by the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund, administered by Denbighshire County Council, while the Welsh Government paid for the new station platform. The rest of the money has come from donations to the Trust over a number of years.

“So far we have spent just over £1m and the total cost of extending the line here from Corwen East is expected to be £1.25m.

“What has been done so far is a marvellous achievement and lots of the work has been handled by our volunteers who have an average age of 67, with some of them in their late seventies.    

“We are hopeful that the line to Corwen will finally be open to the public by the second quarter of this year.”       

Leaking roof crisis at museum leads to salvage operation

* Tidy Town Team volunteers move boxes of exhibits from the museum to the old courthouse across Parade Street.

Volunteers from Llangollen Tidy Town team moved into to prevent priceless artefacts at the town’s museum being damaged by rainwater pouring in from a defective roof.  

The dozen-strong group carefully moved dozens of items, including some 4,000-year-old Bronze Age bones and a Bible dating back two centuries, to a safe temporary home in a storage area at the old courthouse just across Parade Street on Monday morning.

The salvage operation was necessary because the vaulted roof in the 50-year-old circular museum building is now in such a dire state of repair that worried trustees say completely replacing it has become the only option.

But to secure grant aid for the work they are first aiming to acquire the building from its present owners, Denbighshire County Council, from whom they have been renting the former Llangollen Library for the past 20 or so years   

Museum trustee David Crane said: “We’ve been having major problems with the roof for some time but things have recently become much worse due to all the heavy rain.

“Water has been building up on the roof and then pouring in through one of the skylights which surround the roof.

“A roofing expert who looked at it for us said the roof was like a swimming pool and would cost more to keep on repairing than having the whole thing replaced.

“Another problem with the way the place is designed is that the drains from the roof run inside the building rather than on the outside.”

He added: “We have had to look at a number of options, including moving out of this building. But finding somewhere else to go and then moving our entire collection would not be easy.

“We have therefore come up with a plan to buy the building from the county council and at the same time apply for grant aid to cover the cost of renewing the roof.

“We estimate that the purchase and roof renewal would cost in the region of £130,000-£150,000 in total.

“We are hopeful of being able to get external funding but if we aren’t successful the only thing left would be to close the museum, which means the town would lose a very valuable asset.”

The Tidy Town Team, led by David Davies, formed a human chain to move a large number of boxes containing valuable exhibits from two storerooms on the museum’s upper floor,  which are most at risk of water damage, just across the road to the old courthouse.     

Another museum trustee Suzanne Evans said, so far, none of these artefacts, including Bronze Age bones found in the hills near Llangollen, a 200-year-old family Bible and a rare map of properties on the Chirk Castle estate, had been damaged in any way but were being moved before the rainwater reached them.

Trustees say that, despite their ongoing battle with the roof, the museum, which is one of the largest independent and accredited ones of its type in the county, would hopefully be opening again to the public following its Christmas break early in February.       

Llangollen county councillor Karen Edwards, who helped the Tidy Town Team with the salvage operation, said: "Llangollen Museum is a major asset to the town of Llangollen, providing an invaluable service to our community. 

"It was heartening yesterday to see the community come together to help the museum temporarily relocate their collections in order to safeguard them for the future. 

"I wholeheartedly support their efforts to establish a safe space for the future of our town museum." 

Llangollen mediation expert offers free business advice

A Llangollen-based expert is offering free advice on how to overcome risks faced by modern-day businesses. 

Selana Kong, managing director of the International Dispute Resolution and Risk Management UK Centre (IDRRM UK), is offering two mediation sharing webinars over the next few weeks.

She said: “These are for UK business leaders, people managers, legal professionals and newcomers from Hong Kong

“If you are looking to reduce business cost and risks, join us in two free webinars and find out more about how international mediation and intercultural business strategies can help you avoid disputes and achieve more success in 2023. Webinars will be conducted in English with Chinese summary.”

The free webinars are:

* Topic: International Mediation Experience Sharing  Date: Wednesday, 25 January 2023 

Time: 1:00 pm 

Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqdeyupjosGNGqHSiJ_w0kgycA7MOVO77t                                   

* Topic: Intercultural Business Strategy

Date: Wednesday, 1 February 2023 

Time: 3:00 pm  

Registration: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vf-urrjgtGtWvEsPAWxW41Hf16_9svH6d

Wales football boss stops off at Ysgol Dinas Bran

* Rob Page on the pitch at Dinas Bran.

* Above and below: Rob Page watches some pitch action.

* The manager meets a group of fans.

Students and staff at Ysgol Dinas Bran welcomed a celebrity guest earlier today in the shape of Wales football manager Rob Page.

On its Facebook post this afternoon the school says: "Well, what an experience our school football teams have had today.

"We spent the morning with Rob Page where he gave our year 10 team a coaching session and then spent time with all the teams from year 7 to sixth form where he presented to them on his experiences in football and how to deal with setbacks and build resilience to be able to succeed.

"He also spoke about being Welsh and what that means to him. Our students were also given an opportunity to ask him questions. This has been a brilliant experience for the students.

"A big thanks to Mrs Gardner for arranging this opportunity to our students as a thank to them for representing our school.

"Thanks to Rob Page and Steve Williams and all at FAW."

Work starts on new look for Riverside Park

* Contractors have started work on the old mini golf course at Riverside Park.

Work has started on face-lifting facilities at Riverside Park in Llangollen.

A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: “Contractors have just started on site at Riverside Park on building a new nine-hole mini golf course on the site of the old course which was in a state of dis-repair.  

"This is part of the Welsh Government's Brilliant Basics funding to enhance parks and recreational spaces which was obtained successfully last year by the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB and supported by Llangollen Community Parks project and Denbighshire County Council’s StreetScene.

“As part of the funding, work will also start on some green infrastructure work and adding new play provision for 5-12 year olds."

Four Great Highways project gets wider public consultation

The £1.25m scheme to improve links between the four famous ‘highways’ that run through the heart of Llangollen is going out to wider public consultation.

Following on from the recent online question-and-answer sessions for what is known as the Four Great Highways project a questionnaire has now been launched paper copies of which will also be available at Llangollen Library and responses to the questions can also be e-mailed direct to fourgreathighways@denbighshire.gov.uk

The project was given the go-ahead by Denbighshire County Council following a successful application to the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF).

The aim is to enhance the public spaces that connect Llangollen Canal, the old Ruabon to Barmouth Railway line, the River Dee and A5 Holyhead Road. 

As the first phase of a public consultation exercise four members of the project team – the council’s project managers Sian Lloyd Price and Kimberley Mason along with design expert Daniel Smith and landscape specialist Chris Brinnington from consultancy firm Burroughs & The Urbanists - recently held three separate half-hour Microsoft Teams sessions yesterday.

The first for local residents attracted around 10 participants, about four businesses were at the second and the third, for everyone else, was attended solely by llanblogger’s Phil Robinson.

Total budget for the project, which has received substantial help from Levelling Up, is around £1.25m and work is expected to be completed by March of 2024, they said.

A spokesperson for the project team said: "At this stage of the consultation we are seeking people’s early views on the four areas we have proposed for improvement.  These views will then be used to inform designs which we will share for further consultation before Easter. 

"Details of future engagement sessions will be shared on our website in due course, this will include a walkabout of the project areas with our design team in early February.  

"Further information regarding these site visits will be confirmed and promoted on our social media pages and website towards the end of the week."

* The consultation questionnaire can be seen via Denbighshire’s County Conversations engagement portal at:

Cymraeg: Ymgynghoriad Pedair Priffyrdd Fawr 

English: Four Great Highways Consultation

County Council launches new volunteering project

Denbighshire County Council are launching a new project this month, with the hope of improving the mental health and well-being of individuals living in the area. 

The Edge of Care team are looking for volunteers to get involved in their new project. 

Volunteering could include meeting individuals face-to-face, over the phone or by attending social groups together. 

The opportunities may be suited to students who require volunteering experience within mental health or for those who have some free time and want to support others in their community. 

Cindy Elliott, Team Leader said: “There are many volunteering opportunities available which are suited to a range of abilities, but essentially we are hoping to improve the mental health and well-being of others through reducing isolation and improving socialisation."

The council says that if you decide to volunteer, the team will try to match you with someone who shares similar interests. 

You can volunteer on days and times that are convenient to you and suit your existing commitments, with training provided to help you feel confident in your new volunteering role.

Councillor Elen Heaton, Lead Member for Health and Social Care said: “This is a brilliant service if you are looking to gain valuable volunteering experience. Why not start this new year in a meaningful way by helping someone improve their well-being and mental health.”

* For more information, please go to: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/edge-of-care