August Citizens Advice column

Latest advice column from Citizens Advice Denbighshire is:

Q: Last month I signed up to Universal Credit for the first time, after I was made redundant. I am looking for a new job but I’m not sure if there’s anything more I need to do to ensure I keep getting Universal Credit?

A: When you apply for Universal Credit you’ll agree a Claimant Commitment with your work coach. A Claimant Commitment is a record of the responsibilities that you have accepted to receive Universal Credit payments. Your claimant commitment will be updated each time you see your work coach.

When you agree to your Claimant Commitment you will be put into one of four work-related activity groups (sometimes called “conditionality” groups). These set out the tasks you’re expected to complete in order to receive your full benefit payment. You can check which group you’re in by logging into your Universal Credit account online and checking your Claimant Commitment. If you’re not online, you will have been provided with a paper copy of your Claimant Commitment.

This will tell you which group you’re in and what tasks you'll have to do regularly to get Universal Credit. These tasks could include writing your CV, signing up for job alerts or applying for vacancies.

In order to show how you have completed the to-do list set out in your Claimant Commitment, you should keep a record of the tasks you’ve completed and how long they took in your Universal Credit online journal, or in a diary if you’re not online.

Some claimants, mainly those who have applied for Universal Credit for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19, may not have a Claimant Commitment yet. Those who claimed before the outbreak, will have had their Claimant Commitment suspended during the outbreak and had no work-related requirements imposed.

From 1 July The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said it will be calling all claimants to help them to prepare for work, so people should expect to be contacted to set up the Claimant Commitment. They do not need to contact the Department for Work and Pensions in the meantime.

The DWP has said that they will take a common-sense approach to work-related requirements and that those who are shielding, have childcare responsibilities because of COVID restrictions, etc. will have their Claimant Commitment tailored to reflect their circumstances.

Llan-based soccer hero is diagnosed with cancer

Former Wrexham, Everton and Wales goalkeeper Dai Davies, who lives in Llangollen, has been diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas.

Aged 72, he is being treated at the Nightingale House Hospice in Wrexham.

For the full story, see the Leader story at: https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/18655713.former-wrexham-wales-keeper-dai-davies-diagnosed-cancer-pancreas/

Cancelled walking festival organisers come up with two alternatives

Organisers of the annual Llangollen Walking Festival have come up with two local  alternatives to this year's event which had to be cancelled due to the coronaviris pandemic.

Festival spokesperson Mike Smart said: "As you know, way back in April we - like so many other events - were sadly forced to cancel our Llangollen Walking Festival 2020. 

"Such a shame, everything was in place, bookings were almost full and, the weather was so perfect for walking.

"But we have good news for our walking friends who don’t live within easy reach of Llangollen but are keen for a North Wales 'fix’.

"We, together with our colleagues at Secret Hills Walking Holiday have two opportunities for you to join us in Llangollen, with accommodation, later this year."

Details of these events are: 

* 18th September 2020, 2 nights and 2.5 days walking CLICK FOR DETAILS

* 18th October 2020, 5 nights and 5.5 days walking CLICK FOR DETAILS

Mike added: "Again with Secret Hills Walking Holidays we have a weekend of walking on the beautiful Malvern Hills, Worcestershire."

Details are: 

* 11th September 2020, 2 nights and 2.5 days walking staying at the 4 STAR

luxury Abbey Hotel. CLICK FOR DETAILS

"We have all our fingers and toes crossed that 2021 will see us back to normal and we very much look forward to walking and talking with you again in Llangollen," Mike said.

MP impressed with wharf's adaptions to leave lockdown

* From left, site manager Jane Hart, Simon Baynes MP, Neal and Irene Dufton, directors of Llangollen Wharf.

Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes made a socially-distanced visit to Llangollen Wharf to meet with staff and learn more about how their boat trips on the Llangollen Canal have adapted to new social distancing guidelines.

The wharf, which is a major tourist attraction and part of the World Heritage Site, has offered trips around the area since 1884 and continues the tradition of horse-drawn boat trips as well as motorised boat trips today.

They have seen strong demand since re-opening and have adjusted well to new social distancing requirements, all of which is helping to make up for the loss of income during lockdown.

Mr Baynes met directors Neal and Irene Dufton, site manager Jane Hart and staff members including Cadan Edwards, Pip Bolton and Ash Hart as well as one of the horses, Tobias.

Neal Dufton said: “We’re incredibly proud to welcome visitors back to Llangollen Wharf following our safe re-opening. 

"And we’re very grateful to the many visitors who have come to our newly re-opened tea rooms, which are almost back to pre-lockdown levels with additional takeaway business. 

"There’s also strong demand for our motorised self-drive canal boats and for the horse-drawn boats, so please feel free to come and enjoy our beautiful scenery with a perfect day out for all the family.”

Simon Baynes said: “Llangollen Wharf is a big generator of income for Llangollen not only in terms of the boat trips and tea room but also the benefits of the many canal boats which moor at the wharf and then visit the town. 

"It’s a major local employer, providing work for 41 people locally, and acts as an important source of tourist information for its visitors. 

"I’ve been so impressed to see and hear about how they’ve managed to safely re-open and I look forward to seeing them continue to bounce back.”

Welcome for exams announcement

The six education portfolio holders representing the 6 North Wales Local Authorities, their Chief Officers, the Regional School Improvement Consortium GwE and secondary head teachers warmly welcome the announcement by the Education Minister in Wales  that A level, AS, GCSE, Skills Challenge Certificate and Welsh Baccalaureate grades in Wales will now be awarded on the basis of Centre Assessment Grades. We feel this is in the best interest of our young people who have been anxious and unsure of their future.

We look forward to hearing more about the ‘independent review of events following the cancellation of this year’s exams’ announced by the Education Minister and hope that we will be given the opportunity to feed appropriately into the process.

It allows schools to now concentrate on the critical job of preparing to re-open safely in September. 

Isherwood calls for urgent action on A Level 'fiasco'

North Wales Member of the Welsh Parliament  Mark Isherwood is calling on the Education Minister to urgently address the A level downgrading fiasco which has resulted in hundreds of students missing out on University Places.

Students across Wales have accused the Welsh Government of "abandoning them" after 42% of grades were lowered by the exams watchdog.

Since the results came out on Thursday morning, Mr Isherwood has received  numerous emails from affected students, parents, Head teachers and Teachers in North Wales expressing upset and concern about the downgraded ‘A’ and ‘AS’ Level results.

He wrote to the Education Minister, Kirsty Williams MS, the next day (Friday), calling on her to give the matter her urgent attention and to put students out of their misery by confirming her intended course of action.

Mr Isherwood said: “The whole situation is absolutely appalling and demands urgent attention.

“The Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education Committee has been recalled and will now meet tomorrow (Tuesday), but every day of waiting is a day of torture for the affected students who desperately need answers now.

“I have received emails from students who have missed out on places to some of the UK’s top universities, including Oxford and Durham, because of this fiasco. Their future plans have been completely turned upside down by this fiasco.

“The process used to determine final grades is clearly flawed and it appears that it is students from disadvantaged schools who have been affected the most.  

“One student who contacted me attended a Wrexham sixth form that does not have a high A/A* record when looking at historical data, however they were given Centre Assessment Grades of A*A*A*AA and held an offer for the University of Oxford,  yet the standardisation process awarded them ABBBB. As the student stated “How can they justify downgrading me from A* to B?”

“This student is not alone, I have received many emails of similar cases, and the fear is we will see more cases of downgrading when the GCSE results are published this Thursday.

“This is not a matter that can wait, the well-being and the future success of our young people is at stake and the Education Minister must take action now to ensure that every student in Wales is treated fairly.”

Town councillors embrace the green agenda

* Town councillors Sheena Grindley and 

Austin Cheminais give some attention to one of the planters.

A group of local councillors have been helping to make the town centre look a little more colourful

Because of lockdown Derwen College students, who usually take care of the planters and troughs in and around Castle Street, couldn’t to do their usual summer planting.

Town councillor Austin Cheminais, who is also the town crier, explained: "We noticed a few weeks ago that they were looking pretty neglected and needed some attention.

"Derwen College were able to supply some plants but as it is not fully operative couldn’t plant them.

"Myself and my wife Jane along with my fellow town councillors Sheena Grindley and our newly co-opted member John Palmer took on the task and were out over a couple of days.

"Hopefully, the planting should provide an attractive display well into next year."

He added: "It’s been a very pleasant couple of days chatting and catching up with friends and local residents some of whom we’ve not seen since lockdown started way back in March.

"Both residents and tourists alike were pleased to see the planters and troughs getting some attention."

Llangollen actor helps make broadcasting history

* Dyfed Thomas as Eurwyn.

* The full cast of Rybish, from left, Mair Tomos Ifans (Val), 

Betsan Ceiriog (Bobbi), Dyfed Thomas (Eurwyn), 

Rhodri Trefor (Nigel), and Sion Pritchard (Clive).

An actor from the Llangollen area has made broadcasting history by becoming the first in the UK to complete a comedy drama series during the Covid-19 lockdown – by creating a bubble for the cast and crew in a closed down pub.

Production of the new sitcom Rybish (Rubbish), set in a recycling centre, was brought to a halt in March by the coronavirus crisis but undeterred Caernarfon-based Cwmni Da came up with a plan to carrying on filming.

Members of the crew self-isolated for a fortnight before resuming and they were tested regularly throughout the shoot.

They included Dyfed Thomas, a native of Rhos, who now lives just outside Llangollen.

When they were not working, the team were holed up in an empty pub, The Beuno, in Clynnog Fawr on the north coast of the Llŷn Peninsula.

The company built their own recycling centre on an old landfill site at Carmel, near Caernarfon.

They used fixed cameras which were remotely controlled to film the remaining episodes in the six-part series which will be screened on S4C in the coming months.

Director Sion Aaron said: “We’d filmed three episodes of Rybish before the health crisis.

“As we were filming the very first take of the fourth episode, we had a call from the office to tell us to drop tools due to the increasing risk of the spread of the coronavirus.

“When lockdown started to ease we were able to form a bubble, the cast of six, the writer and producer and myself, so we could live together after taking over the Beuno which closed years ago, and work together to film the remaining three episodes.

“Before the health crisis we had already decided to film the series in a unique way which meant the camera operators and sound recordists could work remotely anyway.

“We created a new role as we had, what we Christened our Covid Cop, on set at all times to ensure compliance with Covid-19 regulations.”

According to Sion, the sitcom revolved around daily life at a remote recycling centre in Gwynedd and follows the six members of staff as they go about the daily grind of their working lives and what they get up to.

He added: “ It’s brilliantly written and although the comedy is subtle it’s very funny.

“We built our own recycling centre after hiring skips from Gwynedd County Council who gave us fantastic support.

“Most of the action takes place in the workers’ cabin, the type of hut you see at every recycling centre.

“We wanted to film it in a similar style to Big Brother or 24 Hours in A&E, that type of fly-on-the-wall approach that would enhance the character-driven script. “We did that before lockdown so the final three episodes look exactly the same in style as the first three.

“It meant we could resume filming after lockdown, as maintaining a cast bubble to work separately to the crew wasn’t too difficult.

“The Beuno has been closed for years and last orders was called a long time ago but the fact that we stayed there meant we could work together and we really did get to know each other too which was a big bonus.

“I know some soap operas are also back filming but they are using camera techniques that make it look like the actors are far closer than they are. We didn’t want that.

“As most of the action in Rybish takes place in a workers’ cabin that just wouldn’t have worked. There wouldn’t be enough space, and it would've been harder for the cast to relax into their characters.

“We believe ours is the first scripted comedy series in the UK to be completed in this way, during the Coronavirus pandemic.”

Producer and BAFTA Cymru award winning writer Barry Jones, who penned Rybish, was delighted to get the filming wrapped.

He said: “The fact we built our own set in such a remote setting meant were isolated and didn’t have members of the public stopping by.

“It also helped that we did the filming in a unique way. We had the cameras in a fixed rig mostly above the actors. I wanted it in that style as if the viewer is getting a sneaky look at what is going on.

“We wanted Rybish to be character-based with the comedy coming because we get under the skin of the characters, so finding the right actors was very important, and a process that took a long time, but we're a hundred percent certain that we got the best cast possible in the end.

“It was a joy to see characters, that had been words on paper for so long, come alive in such a rounded way. We want the audience to associate with the characters so they can hopefully see elements of people the recognise in them, and we believe the cast took that to another level with their performances throughout the series.

“With regards to storylines, we wanted to keep them as realistic as possible. It would have been easy to write an over-the-top sitcom with crazy plots like workers at a recycling site finding a suitcase stuffed full of cash in a skip, but that isn’t what we wanted. 

“I’m not sure a comedy drama has been filmed in quite this way before. It’s very Welsh and I don’t just mean in linguistic terms. The comedy and situations have very Welsh connotations ."

He added: “It took me a long time to write and I spent days sat in huts at council recycling centres just listening to staff and observing what goes on and what they talk about. It gave me a real insight and lots of ideas."

It was an exciting time for Caernarfon actress Betsan Ceiriog, 22, who plays a character called Bobbi in Rybish, as it’s her debut TV role.

Betsan, who graduated from St David’s University Cardiff with a performing arts degree in July 2018, said: “I was thrilled to land the role. I had an audition and sent in a recording of myself. I already knew a couple of the Cwmni Da team so that helped.

“My character Bobbi is a university student who has graduated and is working at the recycling centre for the summer to get some money so she can travel.

“It was a fantastic learning experience especially as we were allowed to put in a bit of ad-libbing some and the plan now is to land more acting and TV parts and or musical theatre roles.”

Cwmni Da general manager David Parry Evans was christened the Covid Cop on set after taking on the role of ensuring coronavirus regulations were strictly complied with.

He said: “It was my job to ensure we had sufficient supplies of hand sanitizer and that everything was wiped kept clean and sanitised. If a camera operator needed to go into the cabin on set then I’d ensure it was deep cleaned afterwards.

“I had my two metre rod to ensure everyone moving around the set was two metres apart and wearing a face mask. I was obviously quite good at the job hence the Covid Cop nickname I was given."

llanblogger warns against bogus emails

Llanblogger is warning against “phishing” emails which used our name as an introduction to a local person whom they wished to scam.

Late last week the recipient of the emails, who doesn’t wish to be identified, received two of them from someone who claimed to be originally from France but was now living in the United States.

This person said they were struggling with cancer, had only a few months to live and had been unable to access a large cash sum left to them by a relative.

The sender told the recipient they would be glad to receive their response and informed them they had got their contact details from llanblogger’s web address.  

Attached to one of the emails was a picture of a clearly sick woman lying in a hospital bed.

The recipient said: “No doubt if I had responded to the emails they would have gone on to ask me for money ans possibly also steal my personal data.

“This is clearly a scam which was using the name of llanblogger to gain my confidence.”

Llanblogger editor Phil Robinson said: “I thank the local recipient for alerting me to this and would warn anyone else who receives email like this never to respond and to simply delete them.”

Legion leads VJ Day commemoration in town square

* British Legion standard bearers play a key role in the ceremony.

Llangollen Royal British Legion led this morning's commemoration of the 75th anniversary of VJ - Victory over Japan - Day in Centenary Square.

The special ceremony to commemorate the end of the Second World War in the Far East had to be curtailed due to the coronavirus situation and there was not be the usual march through town led by the Silver Band. 

The group from the branch including its standard bearers formed up at the war memorial to be joined by 15 of the Legion's riders.

The Service of Remembrance, led by the Vicar of Llangollen Father Lee Taylor, began shortly before 11am. 

Everyone taking part in the parade wore face coverings and were spaced out to meet social distancing requirements.

Although there was no march or band the traditional two minutes' silence was observed and pre-recorded versions of Last Post and Reveille were played before the laying of a poppy wreath took place along with the recitation of the moving Kohima Epitaph which includes the famous line "for your tomorrow we gave our today".

The ceremony ended with prayers and a blessing from Father Lee.

To coincide with the ceremony in the square the tenor bell - the heaviest of the eight bells at over 16cwt- in the tower at St Collen's Church was tolled 75 times at 11am.

* Father Lee Taylor leads the service.  

* British Legion branch chairman Phil Stroud

recites the Kohima Epitaph.

* Onlookers watch the ceremony in the square.

Inner Wheel donates £100 to Beirut emergency appeal

Last Wednesday afternoon Llangollen Inner Wheel held a picnic in the garden of their secretary, Angela Jeffries. 

Due to the generosity of members they were able to donate £100 to charities working in Beirut to help with the recent disaster.

Headteachers voice disappointment at AS and A Level results

The Federation of North Wales Secondary School Head Teachers has put out a statement about Thursday's AS and A Level results.

It says: "We cannot over-state how disappointed, confused and concerned we are about the A-level and AS results our young adults received today.  

"Although the headline data for Wales shows slight improvement, this is not a full reflection of the reality in schools. There are huge disparities in the outcomes of individuals which we cannot track, justify or explain. Pupils’ grades have moved up and down in ways we do not understand.  

"As schools, we were asked to consider all our internal and external testing data to create rank orders of learners’ centre assessed grades. We did this with professionalism and fairness to the students we have supported for the last 7 years. This data in many areas has been dismissed, devalued and discounted. Our rank orders have been overlooked and students moved within them making the allocation of grade impossible to fathom and unfair.

"Many universities have downgraded their offers with the absence of international students, resulting in more available places, so many of the young adults involved will thankfully be able to attend the university of their choice.  However this is not enough. 

"Our pupils’ grades will be with them for the rest of their lives, they will be on their CV for ever. COVID-19 has already disadvantaged them, but life after COVID, within a recession-hit country, means their outcomes will be even more important than ever as they enter a challenging job market. Our students have worked for these grades and deserve them; an algorithm that dismisses this is immoral. If there was ever a time for trust it was now. 

"As professionals, we were promised that any anomalies in school data would be discussed, to allow schools to provide the evidence to justify the centre assessed grades. This had not happened - we have been given no opportunity to provide evidence and no conversations have taken place. This has been a statistical model, over reliant on AS outcomes and historical data, and dismissive of the opinion of a profession who supported their students over many years. 

"We were grateful for the WJEC announcement about the review of the appeals system as currently it is unworkable and inhibits our ability to challenge the unfairness of these outcomes. The A-level results day is usually one of the happiest of the year. This year our children were hurt, confused and left wondering what had gone wrong, just as we are. 

"This week’s results have challenged our confidence in the system and call into question the structure we have previously trusted; however, our fears for next week’s GCSE results are beyond words. We would request that changes be made now to protect the life chances and wellbeing of our children and avoid the confusion and heartache our A-level students have had to face."

Senedd Member says VJ Day should be properly remembered

North Wales Senedd Member Mark Isherwood is calling on people to reproduce the "memorable" celebrations held for the 75^th anniversary of VE Day when the country marks the VJ Day 75^th tomorrow (Saturday).

VJ Day, which marks both the surrender of Japan and the end of the Second World War, is not as widely remembered as VE Day, he says.

And he is keen to remind people of the sacrifices made by those who fought in the Far East during the Second World War and to encourage people across North Wales to commemorate the special anniversary of Victory over Japan Day.

Llangollen will be commemorating VJ Day 

with a service by the local branch of 

the Royal British Legion which begins 

around 10.45am on Saturday 

in Centenary Square.

He said: “It was fantastic to see so many people across the country commemorating the 75^th anniversary of VE Day on May 8^th and it would be great if people carried out similar celebrations to mark VJ Day, the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, which in effect, brought the war to an end.

“Like VE Day, it is a significant moment in our nation’s history, and it would be terribly sad if it does not receive the respect it deserves.

“Also like VE Day 2020, many of the national events to mark this momentous occasion have had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, although some events will still take place.

  

“The official commemorations will begin at 11am when a national moment of remembrance will be marked with a two minute silence. During the afternoon, the Red Arrows will conduct a UK-wide flypast tribute over Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and London, and in the evening a special programme, ‘VJ Day 75: The Nation’s Tribute’, will be broadcast on BBC One.”

He added: “Whilst VE Day marked the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, many thousands of Armed Forces personnel were still involved in bitter fighting in the Far East.

“The war in the Far East, also commonly known as ‘the Burma Campaign’, was the longest campaign fought by the British and Commonwealth armies in the Second World War.

“In 1945 the South East Asia Command (SEAC) provided the largest army group – nearly 1.3 million men and women – ever assembled by the British Commonwealth and its Allies.

“It is so upsetting that the bravery and suffering  of these service men and women is so often overlooked and that they consider themselves ‘forgotten’.

“This Saturday,  I’ll be taking time to remember them, and the atrocious and harrowing conditions in which they served and were held prisoner, and I urge you all to do the same.

“Obviously we are still the midst of a pandemic, so I would  encourage people to mark the occasion, as they did for VE Day, in line with current social distancing and public gathering guidelines.”

* For further information on VJ Day and personal stories visit the Royal British Legion website at https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/remembrance/remembrance-events/vj-day/remembering-the-forgotten

Report says man's body found in canal

* A section of the Llangollen Canal. 

Leaderlive is reporting this afternoon that a man's body was found in the Llangollen Canal yesterday morning.

The story says: "The Canal and River Trust advised the public that the canal and towpath were closed between Bryn-Ceirch Bridge and Bryn-Howell Bridge on Thursday morning.

"North Wales Police confirmed on Friday afternoon that officers were called to the scene just after 7.25am on Thursday.

"A spokesman for the force said: 'Sadly a man’s body was found in the Llangollen Canal.'"

See the story at: https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/18652758.mans-body-found-llangollen-canal/?fbclid=IwAR2CaYt0S5UbDGC-_zDdg20oXGHrYmAK1bGBpoJWUxQRHDiM9i2erl-75VI

Pop up waste service to restart

Denbighshire County Council is informing residents in the Dee Valley of the re-introduction of the Saturday waste and recycling pop-up service in Llangollen and Corwen.

The service, which enables local residents to dispose of excess waste, garden waste, additional residual household waste and some oversized items, is resuming later this month.

It was stopped due to coronavirus restrictions, as the Council could not safely continue the service due to the on-going need for social distancing measures.

The Council has been reviewing the position constantly, and with more staff returning to work due to the lifting of the shielding restrictions, the service will resume.

There are a number of temporary changes to the service and local householders will be required to pre-book a slot and must attend at their chosen time. 

Slots can be booked online at www.denbighshire.gov.uk/recycling from August 18.

Customers are required to bring their booking reference number with them, along with proof of address, as the service is only available to Denbighshire residents.  Anyone attending without a booking will not be allowed to use the service.

On August 18, slots will be released for the first two events and only one slot per household can be booked for each event:

Saturday, August 22 – Llangollen Pavilion

Saturday, September 5 - Corwen, Green Lane Car Park

There will be 24 x 20 minute slots available between 9am and 11am.

On Tuesday, September 8, slots will be released for the next four events:

Saturday, September 12– Llangollen Pavilion

Saturday, September 19 – Corwen, Green Lane Car Park

Saturday, September 26– Llangollen Pavilion

Saturday, October 3– Corwen, Green Lane Car Park

Time slots will be reviewed after reviewing waste volumes and throughput to maximise the number of slots we can offer and the Council will continue to release slots on a four weekly basis, after reviewing the service. 

The service will operate on its historical alternating cycle as long as it is safe to do so, at Cowen on the first and third Saturday morning of every month, and at Llangollen on the second and fourth Saturday morning of every month.

Cllr Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment, said: “We would like to thank residents in the Dee Valley for their patience and understanding and to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“The coronavirus restrictions were put in place to protect people’s health and safety and now with more staff returning to work, we can reintroduce the services in Llangollen and Corwen safely.

“We will review the service on a weekly basis to ensure we optimise the service through this phased re-opening.”

There are a number of temporary changes to the service:

There will be no additional green waste service on the first and third Saturdays in Llangollen, but this will be kept under review.

Additional signage and traffic management will be in place to help direct customers, and enable social distancing rules to be followed.

Initially, the pop-up waste service in Llangollen will be situated on the actual Pavilion site, not the car par below.  This enables us to manage social distancing, prevents congestion, and frees up car park spaces at a busy time of year for the town.  Signage will be in place from the car park entrance to direct residents, and this information will be provision to anyone who requests at slot at the time of booking.

In order to allow as many residents as possible to use the service, we will not accept twin axle trailers at this time.  Households with such large quantities of waste should book a visit to one of the 3 HWRC permanent sites. We are now accepting all trailers at our permanent sites (a permit is still required). We are advising customers to bring no more that around 1100 litre of waste in any one visit (the equivalent volume of a Ford Focus with the seats down.) so that we have enough capacity on our vehicles to accept the waste.

Initially we will be unable to accept soft furnishings such as textile covered sofas and mattresses, but we do hope to expand the service soon.

Residents are also asked not to attend the site if they are self-isolating and/or showing Covid19 Symptoms.

Residents are not required to wear a face covering as the service is outdoors and the two meter rule will be strictly enforced. 

Library set for appointment only re-opening from today

From today Llangollen Library is offering limited access by appointment only to its public computers and One Stop Shop.

An order and collect service for library books has been in operation for eight weeks and has already proved popular with customers.

At libraries across the county so far 54 families have collected a free Bookstart pack for their babies, and almost 300 children have collected a Silly Squad Summer Reading Challenge pack.

Cllr Tony Thomas, Denbighshire County Council’s Lead Member for Housing and Communities, said: "Our libraries and One Stop Shops provide a wealth of services to our residents and this latest phase now gives residents the chance to access more services in a safe way.

“The order and collect service has already proved popular with our customers and the libraries already offering computer access and One Stop Shop services have received very positive feedback from customers. The online digital library for downloadable books and magazines is also very popular and over 400 people have joined the library online in the last four months.

“As lockdown continues to ease we will be planning opening our libraries for browsing and wifi use while ensuring the safety of customers and our staff.”

Customers should phone their local library to book an appointment to use public-access computers, or to visit the One Stop Shop to make a payment or for help with council services. Further information at www.denbighshire.gov.uk/libraries