Minister reviews progress on Corwen station project

* Ken Skates AM looks at aerial views of the works area taken by Dewi Davies using a drone at the end of August.

Ken Skates AM, Welsh Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Transport, visited the Corwen station works site and viewed progress with the building of the new platform and signalbox installation.

He was given a briefing on progress in preparation for an opening of the new terminus in 2019.

He said: "Completion of Corwen Central station will be a high boost to the railway and the town opening great opportunities for more visitors in 2019."

Project leader Richard Dixon-Gough said: "We were very grateful for the opportunity to update the Cabinet Secretary with details of the progress being made with the new station and our aim to open it for train services next year."

Library knitters make blankets for the Gambia

* Members of the Nitter Natter group at work on the blankets for the Gambia.

The Nitter Natter group which meets each Wednesday at Cefn Mawr Library has been busy knitting and crocheting blankets for needy children in the Gambia.

For the past year about six ladies have been producing the woollen squares which go to make up the multi-coloured blankets.

They say they would welcome donations of wool.

Guardian diarist walks the Vale of Llangollen

The country diarist from the Guardian newspaper has walked the Vale of Llangollen.

For the full story, see: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/sep/24/vale-of-llangollen-wales-walking-route-william-hazlitt

Missing person scheme launched

A scheme which provides valuable information for those who search for missing vulnerable people has been launched in North Wales.

The Herbert Protocol is a national scheme being introduced locally by the North Wales Safeguarding Board and North Wales Police to encourage carers and family members to compile useful key information which could be used in the event of a vulnerable person going missing.

This can include details of places frequented, medication required, general routines , description and recent photograph.

In the event of a family member or friend going missing, the information can easily be sent to frontline police officers and PCSOs, to reduce the time taken in gathering this information and will provide those involved in the search for the missing person with essential information to promote their safe return.

The protocol is named after George Herbert, a war veteran of the D-Day landings in Normandy. He was suffering from dementia when he went missing several years ago.

Neil Ayling, Chief Officer – Social Services at Flintshire County Council and chair of the North Wales Adults Safeguarding Board, said:  “There is nothing more frightening or distressing than when a loved one, friend or neighbour fails to return home when they are expected.

“For people living with someone with dementia, this could be quite common and the Herbert Protocol could give you some peace of mind.  People still need their independence and the protocol can help to reassure their family and friends that, if their loved one does go missing, the information can be passed through swiftly and there is a greater chance of finding them quickly”.

Chief Constable Gareth Pritchard said: “North Wales Police is committed to helping those people with dementia live an independent life for as long as possible.

The Herbert Protocol provides reassurance to families and loved ones, assisting us in obtaining accurate, vital information, giving us the best opportunity to locate the individual as soon as possible.

I would ask those who know someone who is living with dementia to complete the form and keep it safe in the event that they have to report their loved one missing.”

Successful year for Citizens Advice in the county

Citizens Advice Denbighshire secured £7.4 million worth of benefits and credit gains for its clients across the county in the last financial year.

The various branches also handled £6.6 million of debt during the same 12 months and ensured that 64 clients facing repossession received help in court.

These figures are revealed in the latest annual report from the organisation, which gets financial assistance from town councils across Denbighshire, including Llangollen which put in £1,500 last year to ensure the registered charity can continue its good work.

The report also shows that £1.5 million of backdated benefits was received by clients thanks to Citizens Advice intervention.

Over 350 clients were raised out of fuel poverty and two out of three clients said the organisation’s welfare benefit service improved their quality of life.

During the course of the year Citizens Advice helped 5,990 clients with 9,041 enquiries.

A total of  3,391 clients were seeking help with benefit issues and 80 per cent of debt clients said that following the advice process made a lot of difference to their peace of mind.

Others figures revealed in the annual report are that 27 per 10,000 adults in Denbighshire entered insolvency during 2017 – higher than the England and Wales rate of 21.5.

Two in five clients with council tax arrears also had rent appears, according to the report.

Eighty per cent of the welfare benefit appeal and reviews assisted by Citizens Advice were successful.

Family fun day in the Llan woods

* A woodland skills workshop featured in the family fun day in the woods.

The Woodland Trust is hosting a family fun day in Pen y Coed woods off Pengwern Road.

The Tree to Saw event, which goes on until 3.30pm (Saturday) gives people the chance to take the ancient wood returns tour and finish by sawing and chopping their own unseasoned firewood.

They can also see a range of saws in action and make a bird feeder, planter or wood cookies.

Friends of Pengwern have been selling soup, rolls and cakes at their community centre to raise funds for future events.

Lottery players to win free Llan cinema entry

* Hugh Jackman stars in The Greatest Showman.

It's National Lottery Cinema Day on Sunday September 30 and selected cinemas up and down the UK are offering free entry to those with a valid lotto ticket.

New Dot Cinema Llangollen is holding a special screening  of hit musical The Greatest Showman and invites everyone to come along and enjoy this thrilling movie experience.

Inspired by the imagination of P. T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show  business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

Starring Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zak Efron and Zendaya amongst others, this is a high energy circus-fantasy bursting with power pop.

The film aims to champion the 'misfits' of the era. Its Oscar nominated, Golden Globe winning song "This Is Me" has been described as an anthem for the marginalized, disenfranchised, the bullied and the outcast.

The Greatest Showman is an all-singing, all-dancing feel good hit that inspires repeat viewing, sing-a-long screenings and tribute circus costumes.

The screening takes place on Sunday September 30 at Llangollen Town Hall, Castle Street LL20 8NU.

The Greatest Showman is rated PG. Doors and bar open at 7pm with the film starting at 8pm.

* More information can be found on Facebook, Twitter and at www.newdotcinema.org

Important information: all Lotto tickets purchased for draws between September 26 and 29 qualify for free entry for one adult. Under-16s and those without a valid lottery ticket can pay £6 on the door for entry. Tickets for the screening are only available on the day, from 7pm.

Second steam star signed up for railway gala

* Pannier Tank engine No. 7714 will be a star of the railway's Autumn Steam Gala.

Llangollen Railway has signed up a second venerable guest engine for its popular Autumn Steam Gala.

Already booked to appear at the three-day event, which runs over the weekend of October 12, 13 and 14, was the former Royal Train engine BR Ivatt 2MT No. 46521, courtesy of the Great Central Railway.

But organisers have now also managed to secure an appearance by the pannier tank engine No. 7714 away from its usual home at the Severn Valley heritage railway. 

Built for the Great Western Railway, these pannier tanks were regularly used on local freight and passenger workings.

No.7714 is an old friend of Llangollen Railway, having been based at Birkenhead from 1937 until 1958 before moving briefly to Wrexham's Rhosddu shed prior to withdrawal.

This interesting old engine will be starring alongside another visiting 'local loco', Ivatt No. 46521.

A one-time hauler of the Royal Train, this locomotive spent almost its entire working life in Wales and was allocated to Oswestry, Brecon and Machynlleth steam sheds during its career.

No. 46521 was also regular sight around Barmouth during the 1950s and 1960s, working trains along the Cambrian Coast route and the regular shuttle service up the Mawddach estuary to Dolgellau.

Llangollen Railway’s ‘Along Cambrian Lines 2‘ gala will be a celebration of the much-loved trains heading for the seaside during the 1950s and early 1960s.

The visiting locomotives will be supported by members of the Llangollen’s home fleet, recreating many of the authentic sights and sounds of the era.

Attractions for the weekend include:

* Interactive activities for all the family, including ‘Make your own Luggage Labels‘.

*  A display of entries for the railway’s 2018 ‘Steam Trains to the Seaside‘ children’s poster competition.

·         Intensive timetable over all three days.

·         Full line and local services to-ing and fro-ing.

*         Demonstration goods and parcel loading at Berwyn station

A special exhibition telling the story of some of the viaducts, road bridges and station buildings along the line will be running in the Henry Robertson suite at Llangollen Station throughout the gala weekend.

The full working timetable will be available free of charge to holders of travel tickets for the event from all the booking offices at the railway while stocks last.

* For more details and to book tickets, go to: llangollen-railway.co.uk/event/autumn-steam-gala-12th-14th-october/ 

Outdoor event planned for this Saturday

Shuttle times:

Collection Market Street Car Park	Drop off Corner Tan y Coed and Brooke Street	Collection Corner Tan y Coed and Brooke Street	Drop off Market Street Car Park
10.45am	11 am	11.15am	11.30am
11.45am	12 pm	12.15pm	12.30pm
12.45 pm	1pm	1.15pm	1.30pm
1.45pm	2pm	2.15pm	2.30pm
2.45pm	3pm	3.15pm	3.30pm

Information for Gas Safety Week

During the current Gas Safety Week, Wales & West Utilities has given some timely safety information to users ...

After the long hot summer this year we’re now focusing on preparing for winter – and we’re urging everyone in the communities we serve to take just five simple steps to make sure winter doesn’t catch them out:

1.       Get gas appliances safety checked by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer – this should be done every year.

2.       Keep your eye on your appliances: Flames on your cooker and boiler should be crisp and blue, and no sooty black marks on or around any gas appliances.

3.       Make sure you have an audible carbon monoxide (CO) alarm: it might save your life and save you from the debilitating side effects of CO poisoning.

4.       Know the signs of CO poisoning: a headache is the most common but also dizziness, feeling sick, tiredness & confusion, stomach pain and shortness of breath.  The symptoms are flu-like without the high temperature – but very high levels can kill almost instantly.

5.       Save the National Gas Emergency Number 0800 111 999 in your phone so you can call it immediately if you smell gas or suspect the presence of CO.

To keep people informed we’ve launched a social media campaign raising awareness of gas safety and letting people know how they can prepare for winter. We’d really appreciate if you would consider sharing this information on your social media channels, so your followers have even more opportunity to see these vital safety messages.

Some tweets that you may want to use are below:

1.       Its @GasSafetyWeek 2018 #GSW18 and @wwutilities are reminding you to get your gas appliances checked by a @GasSafeRegister engineer before winter.

2.       To mark Gas Safety Week #GSW18 @wwutilities are reminding you to save the National Gas Emergency number in your phone: 0800 111 999. It could save your life!

3.       Do you know the symptoms of CO poisoning? @GasSafetyWeek is a great chance to remind yourself how to stay safe from the ‘silent killer’ http://wwutilities.co.uk/services/safe-warm/carbon-monoxide/ @wwutilities #GSW18

Museum talk on the coming of the railway to Llan

Project engineer Peter Dickinson from Llangollen Railway will be giving a talk in the town's museum on Wednesday September 26.

Entitled Thunder & Smoke and starting at 7.30pm, it will be looking at the coming of the railway to Llangollen during the Victorian era and will include many unpublished/unseen images from his own collection.

Concert for pancreatic cancer at Town Hall

A concert in aid of Pancreatic Cancer UK  will be held in Llangollen Town Hall on Saturday  October 6, at 7 pm.

The 30-strong James Lambert Singers from Wrexham, conducted by Mair Evans, are 

giving an evening of their well-loved and entertaining light music.

This charity supports research into pancreatic cancer, which kills most of 10,000 patients a year within six months.

Until now no treatment has been effective but the current research, funded by PCUK, has produced results which has at last given hope for effective treatment in the near future.

* Tickets for the concert are available, from £7, from Philip Hughes on 07774 850677.

Fire chief answers questions about mountain blaze

* The fire rages on Llantysilio Mountain. 

The army makes a charge if it is called in to help fight mountain fires like the one which raged for weeks above Llangollen recently.

This was revealed by the fire chief when questioned on the issue by Denbighshire county councillor Mabon ap Gwynfor (pictured right) at the recent full council meeting in Ruthin.

A film released by Cllr ap Gwynfor’s Plaid Cymru party shows the member for Llandrillo quizzing Chief Fire Officer Simon Smith about the Llantysilio Mountain blaze.

He asks: “In Saddleworth the army was called in after three days. In this instance the army weren’t called in for assistance. Why was this the case? Who would make the call? And do you think that in future the army might be called in circumstances like this?”

Mr Smith replies: “A decision to bring in the army would be made if we felt that we did not have the resources or the manpower to adequately deal with the incident ourselves.

“Going back to the previous question, the army charge – they don’t do it for nothing, and I would need to be convinced that there was a sound economic set against the operational argument before we would do that.

“Clearly, Greater Manchester and Lancashire, in terms of Saddleworth Moor, took a different decision and that decision would be, first of all, the decision to ask would be one that would be taken jointly with the key stakeholders including the police, NRW (Natural Resources Wales) etc and then it would be very much a decision by the senior people in the army whether or not they could provide that resource.”  

Cllr ap Gwynfor said later: “At the full council meeting the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority were in front of us asking for money.

“I therefore had an opportunity to ask them about the Llantysilio Mountain incident.

“The question that many were asking was why weren't the army called in, like they were on Saddleworth Moor.

“I asked the Chief Fire Officer why weren't the army called in, and my understanding of the response was that it was because the army would have charged them!

“I thought they were there to provide a service during civil emergencies.

“I've sent the Ministry of Defence some Freedom of Information requests.”

* To see the film, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/PlaidCymruDeClwydSouth/videos/2271053899785324/

Bosses: Meet potential employees at Glyndŵr

Businesses from across the region are being offered the chance to meet potential employees at Wrexham Glyndŵr University’s annual Careers Fair.

The fair, on October 18, has already more than 50 exhibitors, but a few last-minute places are still available. The popular yearly event, organised by the University’s award-winning Careers service attracts both students and graduates from the University, as well as members of the public and other visitors.

Running from 10am to 2pm at the university’s Sports Centre, employers have used the day to meet future employees, promote causal vacancies or graduate jobs, or find interns or volunteers.

Exhibitors attending this year include attending this year include Art and Business Cymru, Chetwood Financial Limited, Clwyd Alyn Housing Association, the Co Op, NHS Wales, Flintshire and Denbighshire County Councils, HMP Berwyn, Nidec, North Wales Police, Wockhardt, Kronospan and Theatr Clwyd. Any company or organisation who wants to join them on the day will get tea or coffee, snacks and a light lunch for up to two people as well as floor space, Trestle Table and chairs. A CV review service is also available at the event.

Student Employability Advisor Angela Corbett (pictured) said: “At Wrexham Glyndŵr University, our award-winning Careers service strives to ensure all our students leave ready for their chosen career – and that they can get relevant experience during their studies, whether that is paid work or finding a suitable internship or volunteering opportunity.

“Events such as the Careers Fair help them – and they also help leading players in our local industries find skilled workers and boost our region’s economy.

“Employers large and small have found the right person for their business after taking part – and there’s still time to apply for a place.”

Anyone interested in attending can email Angela Corbett on ang.corbett@glyndwr.ac.uk or phone 01978 293240.

Find out more about Wrexham Glyndŵr University’s Careers team and their work here: https://www.glyndwr.ac.uk/en/Studentsupport/Careers/

Welsh Development Bank opens

* Development Bank chief executive Giles Thorley, left, with Ken Skates AM.

The Development Bank of Wales opened its new headquarters in Wrexham yesterday (Friday) at Yale Business Village on the Technology Park.

With regional offices in Cardiff and Llanelli the new HQ supports the Bank’s pan-Wales location strategy to serve businesses across the whole of the country.

23 of the Bank’s 172 staff will initially be based at the Wrexham HQ, though it is expected this will double to more than 50 by 2021. Employees will benefit from fully refurbished offices designed to promote agile working in a flexible and productive environment.

Risk, Compliance and Legal Director Neil Maguinness will be based in the new HQ, which will also provide a regular base for Chief Executive Giles Thorley as well as other senior staff including the newly appointed Finance Director, David Staziker and Investment Executives. Half of all board meetings will be held in Wrexham.

Giles Thorley, Chief Executive of the Development Bank, said: “I’m delighted that the Wrexham headquarters is now open for business.

“The Welsh Government’s Economic Action Plan includes a focus on strengthening Wales’ regional economies. Although we have improved our online accessibility, businesses still tell us that they value the face to face contact that comes from having teams on the ground.

“That’s why we’ve been scaling up our operations in north Wales over the year and continue to see ambition and appetite for investment from businesses in the region, supported by a vibrant business community.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: "It was nearly two years ago that I set out my ambition for the headquarters of the Development Bank of Wales to be located in North Wales so I am absolutely delighted to now be formally opening the new offices at the Technology Park in Wrexham.

“The new headquarters demonstrates my determination that the development bank truly will serve the whole of Wales. It will be an important partner, working closely with Business Wales,  in our work to strengthen Wales’ regional economies while delivering 50 additional high quality jobs in North Wales. It will also help ensure that  the bank  delivers best in class operational efficiency, while providing businesses in the region with the face to face human contact we know they value.”

North Wales' new chief constable checks in

* New chief constable Carl Foulkes with Police and Crime

Commissioner Arfon Jones.

The new chief constable of North Wales has revealed how investigating the horrific triple murder of a young mother and her two children gave him a passion for protecting the victims of domestic violence.

Gulf war veteran Carl Foulkes, who hails originally from Caergwrle, near Wrexham, was speaking after his appointment was confirmed by the North Wales Police and Crime Panel.

They backed the choice of the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Arfon Jones, of Mr Foulkes, 47, as his preferred candidate following a rigorous two-day interview process in early August.

As well as moving to North Wales to live, Mr Foulkes has also promised to make it a priority to learn Welsh.

In fact, he has already signed up for an intensive course at the National Welsh Language Centre at the former quarrying village of Nant Gwrtheyrn in Gwynedd during his annual leave in October from his current job as Deputy Chief Constable in Merseyside.

He will take up his new role heading up North Wales Police on Monday, November 5.

Born at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Mr Foulkes spent the first few years of his life in Caergwrle before the family moved to Scotland and later to the East Midlands because of his father’s work as an aircraft engineer.

After serving in the Royal Navy and seeing active service in the first Gulf War, he spent 10 years working for British Transport Police before joining West Midlands Police prior to becoming the deputy chief constable of Merseyside Police.

He has national portfolio responsibility for Assisting Offender Debriefing under SOCPA, Open Source Investigations and UK Protected Persons Service (UKPPS).

Mr Foulkes is married with a teenage son and enjoys outdoor pursuits including running, walking and cycling. 

He described being appointed as the chief constable of North Wales as the pinnacle of his career and immediately pledged to crack down on serious and organised crime and protect vulnerable people like the victims of domestic violence.

Mr Foulkes said: "I am proud and privileged to be the chief constable of North Wales - I'm not sure many chief officers get the opportunity to be the chief constable in the place that they were born, where their family live, where they genuinely love the area. I'm delighted to be coming back here.

“I am also really excited about the opportunities to make a real difference to the communities of North Wales.

“I want to work with the Police and Crime Commissioner around diverting addicts away from drugs and being more preventative and problem-solving in our approach- and working with partners to be more preventative.

“I want to ensure that our officers have state of the art equipment and technology so we can do things like fingerprinting out on the street and accept dash cam footage and other information via social media.

“I want our officers to operate as effectively on the street and in people's homes as they do on the internet when they are in a police station.

“I can't do any of that without the right people so I want to be very clear about how I support them, their wellbeing, their mental health and their physical health.

“We need to make sure we have an organisation that's fit for the next five years, not just fit for here and now.”

The awful case that led Mr Foulkes to dedicating himself to combating domestic abuse happened in Walsall on Christmas Eve in 2003 when a builder, Spencer Smith, 30, killed his 25-year-old girlfriend, Lisa Higgins, and their two little daughters, Keighley, six, and Demmy, three.

Smith was charged with murder but was found hanged in prison before he could stand trial for stabbing them to death.

Mr Foulkes said: "I was still relatively inexperienced as an investigator and it was very difficult.

“Luckily I had a fantastic team that worked around me and supported me. It's probably where I got my passion for vulnerability and domestic abuse.

“When you see something like that in such a young family that had everything going for them, you realise that we need to do something different for the future. We shouldn't be having those incidents.

"What I learned from that homicide with regards to vulnerability and domestic abuse very much chimes with the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner’s priorities.

“I think when you read the PCCs priorities he's very clear that the one thing that runs through his Police and Crime Plan is vulnerability and reducing harm.

“My two main priorities will be around protecting vulnerable people, including victims of domestic violence, and also tackling serious and organised crime, particularly the emerging and growing threat of County Lines where criminal gangs from places like Liverpool and Manchester seek new territories for their drug dealing networks.

“We need to drive out serious organised crime that so that people are happy to live here and feel confident in their communities.

"But the first three months for me will be very much around internal and external engagement, getting out and about to meet our staff and our partners.

“Being the chief constable of North Wales is something I am passionate about and I am deeply committed to doing the very best job I can.”

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones said: “I am delighted that the Police and Crime Panel have endorsed the appointment of Carl Foulkes as our new chief constable.

“As well as being a first-class chief officer, he is a man of great vision and integrity and will build on the excellent work of his predecessor Mark Polin in shaping a force that is effective and efficient whilst being responsive to new and emerging crimes.

“With ever diminishing budgets, we should not underestimate the scale of the challenges that lie ahead, but I feel sure we have the right person to do the job.”

Author will sign new castles book in town tomorrow

* Author Mike Stevens will sign copies of his new

book at Courtyard Books on

Saturday morning.

The author of a new book on the region's castles will be signing copies at Courtyard Bookshop in Llangollen tomorrow (Saturday) from 11am-noon.

Following his successful walkers’ guide to The Pilgrims' Way Mike Stevens has just completed a 235-mile round trip of all the castles in North Wales, from Chirk to Caernarfon, once again on foot.

For the resulting book, The North Wales Castles Trail,  has has pioneered footpaths and rights of way to all the major castles that lie in ruins and some sites where castles used to stand.

In Denbighshire Mike has tramped from Chirk to Llangollen and on to Caergwrle, before taking in Bailey Hill in Mold on the way to Ruthin, Denbigh and Rhuddlan.

Next he went via Conwy and Beaumaris to the high mountain castles of Dolbadarn at the foot of Snowdon and Dolwyddelan in the valley beyond.

The veteran walker pushed on to the remote Roman castle ruins above Trawsfynydd before ending his trek via Harlech and Criccieth.

* His book is published by Kittiwake, 2018.

People have their say about the town and its future

* Mike Edwards from Shape My Llangollen notes down the views of a visitor to Love Llangollen.

A constant stream of local people packed into a town centre shop today to give their views on Llangollen past, present and future.

There’s an open invitation for everyone to take part in a special two-day Story Studio event entitled Love Llangollen and based at the former CiCi shop in Castle Street being staged today and tomorrow by the Rural Futures programme funded by the Big Lottery.  

* People were asked to place stickers on a large map of the town expressing their views on how it could be improved. 

The idea is for members of the public to tell, listen to and exchange stories on their local community and generate ideas about its future.

Today’s session was hosted by the new Shape My Llangollen group which is gathering information about various aspects of the area to help in the preparation of the new Local Development Plan which is now under consideration.

This prompted people to express their views on issues ranging from housing, jobs and amenities to traffic and parking.  

The walls of the hop were adorned with pictures of old Llangollen loaned by the town’s museum.

The programme is:

10am-4pm both days

Story Studio open for drop in activities including a range of maps and activities for you to add your ideas, thoughts and memories. Photo space – bring your photos of Llangollen along. Postcards from Llangollen - “If Llangollen could speak what would it say? ”

Saturday September 15

Walk-shops. A series of guided walks exploring Llangollen in the past, present and future. Approximately one hour maximum. Ten people. Meet at the story studio.

10am: History & Heritage. Explore the fascinating heritage of the town and how it can be seen in the town today.

12pm: Working walk. How people work in the town in the past, present and future and its impact on the town.

2pm: From town to around. Explore the connections between town and landscape.

4pm: Ideas walk-shop. Discussing ideas from the story studio sessions.

Views sought on town's future at special event

People are being invited to a special two-day event today and tomorrow at which they can share their views on Llangollen's future.

The Story Studio is a welcoming creative space where the community can tell, listen to and exchange stories – a place to have conversations and generate ideas about the future of the community and the town.

Being staged on Friday and Saturday, Love Llangollen is based in the former CiCi clothing shop in Castle Street and is part of the Rural Futures programme funded by the Big Lottery.

The programme is:

10am-4pm both days

Story Studio open for drop in activities including a range of maps and activities for you to add your ideas, thoughts and memories. Photo space – bring your photos of Llangollen along. Postcards from Llangollen - “If Llangollen could speak what would it say? ”

Friday September 14

10am: Shape My Town Workshop. Bringing together the community, local groups and businesses to discuss the challenges facing the town and ideas and initiatives to create a positive future for the town and its surroundings. Hosted by the newly-formed Shape My Llangollen.

2pm: Traffic & travel. Drop-in session hosted by Arcadis. You can contribute to future thinking about traffic and travel in and around the town.

Saturday September 15

Walk-shops. A series of guided walks exploring Llangollen in the past, present and future. Approximately one hour maximum. Ten people. Meet at the story studio.

10am: History & Heritage. Explore the fascinating heritage of the town and how it can be seen in the town today.

12pm: Working walk. How people work in the town in the past, present and future and its impact on the town.

2pm: From town to around. Explore the connections between town and landscape.

4pm: Ideas walk-shop. Discussing ideas from the story studio sessions.

Major cycling event on the Horseshoe this weekend

The last event in the season-long Lapierre Road Series, which this year is combined with the TLI Cycling 2018 National Time Trial Championships, takes place this Sunday on a sporting course based on the Horseshoe Pass.

A full field of 120 riders has entered the event which has faced a last-minute course change due to road works, which has reduced the distance to be raced by five miles to 30 miles.

The finish is at the Ponderosa Café at the top of the pass.

The event is open to TLI Cycling members only and as it is part of the Lapierre Series of road races, riders will have to ride normal road bikes.

The first rider off is at 9am, with the start at the base of the Horseshoe Pass.