Bryn Howel Hotel has new owner

The Bryn Howel in Llangollen has been bought for an undisclosed sum.

The buyers were named yesterday as Anrai Rose Limited.

The hotel had been in administration under KPMG since the collapse of Stephanie Booth's Llangollen Hotels group, of which it was part, in July last year.

A statement released by the hotel said: “The landmark hotel formerly belonged to entrepreneur and TV celebrity Stephanie Booth.

“This was the last of her chain of hotels to find a buyer.

“The management and staff would like to take this opportunity to thank Stephanie Booth for establishing such a successful business and which we intend to maintain under the new private ownership.

“Our new owners were able to greet many of our regular customers over the course of the weekend and seemed equally delighted that the future of the Bryn Howel Hotel has now been secured.”

The general manager of nine years Mr David Irwin was delighted and promised the hotel would maintain its high standards.

It is now planned to refurbish the hotel, but not alter its ambience or historic aspect.

Booth’s Llangollen Hotel Group – which also included Bodidris Hall in Llandegla – went into administration in July last year.

Last month, the Wild Pheasant, also previously owned by Ms Booth, was bought for £2.2million, safeguarding 50 jobs.

It was acquired by London-based investor Asif Siddiqui.

Last June, the Chainbridge Hotel was bought by businessman and hotelier Seamus O'Keeffe.

Man arrested by police hunting missing girl

Breaking news ...

The BBC and other media are reporting that a 46-year-old man has been arrested by police searching for a five-year-old girl abducted from her street in mid Wales.

April Jones was with friends near her Machynlleth home when she "willingly" got into a van at 7pm on Monday.

Police said they are continuing their search in order to bring her home to her family.

"We knew who we were looking for," said Det Supt Reg Bevan, who is leading the inquiry, told the BBC.

Speaking at a news conference in Aberystwyth, Det Supt Reg Bevan said: "Within the last hour we have arrested a 46-year-old man from the Machynlleth area who has been detained at Aberystwyth Police Station.

"We made the arrest just outside Machynlleth and we're hopeful that the individual will assist in locating April who is still missing."

He said that the man arrested was being sought by police and was stopped while he was walking along a road outside the town. His vehicle has now been recovered.

"We knew he was in the area, we've been anxious to trace him and speak to him," he added.

Det Supt Bevan added: "We're still pursuing all lines of inquiry with the view that April is still alive and will continue to do so until we find her."

When asked if police were looking for anyone else, he said: "It's a very early stage. He is a local man and it's a small community. I wouldn't like to speculate further."

Meanwhile, a 12 mile stretch of the A487 from Machynlleth to Cross Foxes near Dolgellau has been closed in both directions due to a "police incident".

Police statement on missing girl

* April Jones.

North Wales Police have issued a statement on behalf of officers in the Dyfed-Powys force about five-year-old April Jones who has been missing from her home in Machynlleth on Monday evening.

Released by Detective Superintendent Reg Bevan, it says: "It is still early days in the investigation and we are still speaking to witnesses to gather as much info as possible. These witnesses are children and speaking with them is a delicate and time consuming process.

“I would like to return to the description of the vehicle, and I am mindful that we are still in the process of speaking to these children, so I am anxious that we only provided as accurate information as possible.

“What the witnesses have told is that the vehicle looks like a van, they describe it as small at the front and large at the back, so it could be interrupted that this could be something similar to a Ford Connect type van or a Landrover.

“Furthermore April has been described as getting into the driver’s side of the vehicle. This may be because she got in with the driver or that it is left hand drive vehicle.

“We still believe that the van is grey or light coloured, but again these things can be affected by failing light and street lamps.

“We are following expert advice and research which says that in situations like this you concentrate your searches in the immediate area and then widen it out. This is what we are doing.

“If you were in the area of Bryn y Gôg yesterday evening at around 7pm or you recognise the additional information about the van we have provided please call the incident room on 0300 2000 333. And please get in touch if you have any footage which may assist in our inquiries. If any pieces of information trigger something please get in touch. ”

Fears grow for missing five-year-old girl

 

Llangollen may be over 50 miles away from Machynlleth but we are on a main road, so llanblogger believes it may be useful to carry the story of the five-year-old girl missing from the Powys town since yesterday (Monday) evening. 

Police say they are treating the disappearance of April Jones as a suspected abduction and are becoming increasingly concerned for her safety.

 * Missing ... April Jones.

April was seen playing with friends near her home and then getting into a grey or light coloured van at 7.30pm.

Hundreds of local people have been helping in a search of streets, farmland and woodland through the night.

Det Ch Supt Simon Powell of Dyfed-Powys Police said officers were "becoming increasingly concerned for her safety".

Local people gathered at Machynlleth Leisure Centre on Monday evening to help look for the girl, as news of her disappearance spread on social network sites.

A crowd of people had also gathered in the town's main street to take part in the search, and posters of April have been put up.

Police have set up road blocks to check vehicles, while the street where April disappeared has been cordoned off.

 

Officers are appealing for anyone with information to contact them by calling 0300 2000 333.

Bins to roll out across the county

Thousands of households in Denbighshire are set to receive enhanced recycling services in the biggest roll-out of the x2 scheme the Council has ever undertaken.

By the end of November, around 11,000 of the 16,000 households that currently use sacks for recycling and refuse collection will be in receipt of the very popular x2 service provided to 27,000 households already.

This big switch to bins has been made possible by replacing older refuse trucks and pick-ups with smaller refuse trucks that can be fitted with the necessary lifting equipment for wheeled bins.

This means that wheeled bins can now be used in previously inaccessible narrow streets and many country.

The effectiveness of the x2 service is such that it has helped Denbighshire residents take recycling to the highest levels achieved in Wales – despite only two-thirds of households receiving the full service.

With over 90% of households receiving x2, the council expects recycling to increase to around 64% - a level the Welsh Government doesn’t expect councils to reach until 2020.

After this huge expansion of the x2 service, around 5,000 households will still rely on sack services because of access problems that cannot be overcome.

However, where sacks still have to be used collections are being changed so that residents can enjoy all the facilities of the x2 service.

Residents will receive separate, weekly food waste collections using secure orange bins. This separate collection of food waste will go a long way towards eliminating the biggest problem with sack collections - the fact that birds and other animals see refuse sacks as a source of food.

Also, householders will be offered garden waste collections for the first time. This is possible because the reductions in the amount of refuse achieved through high levels of recycling, coupled with the new food waste collection, mean that is no longer necessary to collect pink sack refuse on a weekly basis.

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, said: “Throughout October and November, residents will be provided with their new bins, where appropriate, and their new recycling and refuse collection schedules directly.

“When Denbighshire initially switched to wheelie bins, housholders only had two bins, now, with the advances made in recycling technology, we are providing over 11,000 households with three different bins and a food waste collection service.

"It has been a huge logistical excercise and months of planning to get to this stage.The sheer size and scale of this roll out means there may be a few teething problems but we would like to thank residents in advance for their patience over the next two months.”*

A briefing on the x2 roll out can be arranged on request by the council.

5p carrier charge could spread to rest of UK

One year on from the introduction of Wales’ 5p bag charge, Environment Minister John Griffiths has said he can see no reason why the charge wouldn’t work just as well in other parts of the UK.

Since the charge was introduced in October 2011, carrier bag use in Wales has reduced by as much as 96% in some retail sectors, and a recent survey of attitudes indicated that the charge is now supported by around 70% of people in Wales.

The charge has also resulted in more money for charities and not for profit organisations as the Welsh Government has called on retailers to pass proceeds from the 5p charge onto environmental or good causes

Latest figures from RSPB and Keep Wales Tidy show that collectively they have already received more than £800K in donations as a direct result of the charge. This money has come from the proceeds of bag sales at major retailers including Tesco, McDonalds, Argos, Asda and Wilkinson, and RSPB and Keep Wales Tidy are just two of many good causes to benefit.

Co-op are donating proceeds from the charge to environmental causes across Wales, and in April they pledged £75,000 to the Vincent Wildlife Trust to support a three-year project to protect Pine Martens, a rare species living on the south west Wales and in Snowdonia.
Speaking about the success of the charge, the Environment Minister said: "One year on from the introduction of our 5p bag charge it is obvious that it has made a real difference to shopping habits of people here in Wales.
“Checkouts across Wales are now full of people using their own bags to carry shopping rather than paying 5p for a new one, and it is really heartening to see people in Wales developing sustainable shopping habits and being much less wasteful with the world’s natural resources. I think the Welsh experience proves that if you want to effectively reduce carrier bag use, a charge really is the best way to go.
“I have been really impressed by the ease with which Welsh retailers and shoppers have adjusted to the charge. Their efforts have been key to its success and I can see no reason why the charge wouldn’t work just as well in other parts of the UK.”

Police seek handbag snatch man

Police are appealing for information after a woman was robbed soon after she left a bank in Ruabon.

The incident happened on Thursday September 27 around 1pm after the woman left the HSBC Bank in Ruabon High Street.

She walked the short distance to her car which was parked the Wynnstay Hotel car park.

While sitting in her vehicle, a man described as white, in his 20’s, of average build with dark hair and wearing a black ‘blouson’ style leather jacket, opened the passenger door and grabbed the handbag before running off.

DS Paul Kelly said: “We are appealing for witnesses who may have been in the Ruabon area on September 27 and may have seen the suspect.

"If anyone recognises this man from the pro-fit please contact Wrexham C.I.D. on 101 or crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."