Put us in the frame for a new prison, say council chiefs

Council leaders from the region led a delegation to meet Prisons Minister, Jeremy Wright MP, aimed at keeping North Wales on the map for a new prison.

The delegation was made up of Councillor Hugh Evans (Denbighshire), Councillor Dyfed Edwards (Gwynedd) and Neil Rogers (Wrexham) along with representatives of North Wales Police and the Wales Probation Trust.

The meeting was arranged by David Jones MP, Secretary of State for Wales, and Stephen Crabb MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales took the delegation to meet the Prisons Minister.

Hugh Evans said later: "We had a good meeting with Jeremy Wright and he listened to our call for a prison in North Wales. We told him we were open for business and that we would welcome the jobs and regeneration opportunities a prison would bring North Wales.

“A prison in North Wales will reduce the costs of public services and families supporting offenders and improve the rate of rehabilitation of offenders.

“The Minister told us that the Ministry of Justice is negotiating with the Treasury for monies to replace prisons in order to bring the cost of the prison estate down.”

Dyfed Edwards said: “North Wales is the only region in the UK without a prison. Many prisoners from North Wales are imprisoned too far from their families and in an environment where their Welsh culture is not available to them. This increases the risks of re-offending on release and self-harm in custody, particularly for young people.

“We have learnt from the bitter experience of the prison 'pulled' from Caernarfon. We told the Minister we will be flexible. We will meet the selection criteria of the Ministry of Justice for sites and will accommodate prisoners from England in a North Wales prison to do so.

“We demonstrated to the Prisons Minister that local authorities, the police and probation services have developed a strong partnership. We want a prison and we also want to develop innovative schemes that will see more offenders serving their sentences in the community. Dealing with low risk offenders locally will reduce costs to the public purse and maintain contact with professional and family support.”

School choirs sing their way to success

* The Ysgol Dinas Bran choirs.

The Mixed Voice Choir and Senior Girl’s Choir from Ysgol Dinas Bran recently competed in the North Wales Choral Festival staged in the North Wales Theatre, Llandudno.  

It was the first competition for both choirs and they were both placed third.  

This was an outstanding achievement with both choirs receiving wonderful comments from the international adjudicators.  

The choirs were also invited to take part in the evening grand concert where they received further praise from the audience.

The mixed Choir are currently busy preparing for the BBC Songs of Praise Secondary Schools Choir of the Year competition and the Barnados Schools Choir Competition. 

Meanwhile, the Junior Choir has been busy preparing for the school’s Carols by Candlelight Concert which will be held on Wednesday, December 19.

More road salt available this winter, says Minister

Minister for Local Government and Communities Carl Sargeant has confirmed that Wales will start this winter with higher levels of road salt stocks than ever before.

 

Working in close collaboration with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) the Minister outlined that there is currently 243,000 tonnes of salt in stock in Wales - compared with 137,000 tonnes at the same time in 2010.

 

The Welsh Government has already established additional storage facilities at Blaenau Ffestiniog in Gwynedd, Queensferry in Flintshire and Merthyr Tydfil.

Further facilities will come on line this season at Llanidloes and North Wales which will bring the total additional resilience storage Welsh Government will have created since 2010 to approximately 40,000 tonnes.

Mr Sargeant said: "Everybody appreciates that the winter weather in Wales can be unpredictable.

"Last winter, which was relatively mild, followed two severe winters with the combination of extremely low temperatures and widespread snowfall causing disruption to services across the country.

"The Welsh Government and the WLGA have continued to work closely throughout the year to ensure that there are sufficient salt stocks available across the country at the start of the winter maintenance season.

"This will ensure that we’re fully self sufficient throughout the winter period without the need to re-stock or introduce salt conservation measures.”

The self sufficient figure of 270,000 tonnes is greater than the 200,000 tonnes of salt that was used per year during the adverse winters of 2010/11 and 2009/10.

Guidance and advice has also been issued to authorities on the efficient use of salt in ensuring treatment methods are timely, proportionate and effective in addressing conditions whilst minimising wastage.

The WLGA’s spokesperson for highways, infrastructure and transport, Councillor Anthony Christopher, said: “Local authorities have worked collaboratively on the issue of salt stocks and have agreed on each authority maintaining stock levels that should meet their own needs through the winter.

"Alongside the Welsh Government’s strategic stock holdings and mutual aid agreements between authorities this also gives us greater resilience at a national level. We believe we enter the winter period well-prepared, although any prolonged periods of snow inevitably results in stock holdings running down quickly.

"Ongoing discussions with the main suppliers to Welsh authorities have been aimed at ensuring restocking takes place in an orderly way over the winter period.”

Louisa's first update from her Indian challenge ...

* The charity challenge cyclists in front of the Taj Mahal.

Llanblogger has just received the first update from Llangollen Operatic star Louisa Jones who is currently taking part in a marathon 220-mile charity ride through India.

Louisa, 33, has joined the Action for Charity’s Women V Cancer Cycle Challenge to raise cash for three women’s cancer charities.

She flew out to the sub-continent last Friday and after a short period of acclimatisation has just completed the first day of the gruelling challenge which will take her and around 90 other intrepid women cyclists from across the UK from the city of Agra – home of the iconic Taj Mahal - through the rural state of Rajasthan in north-west India to the capital, Jaipur.

Along the way Lousia and her fellow cyclists will have to contend with pothole-strewn roads and soaring temperatures.

In his first e-mail report from India, Louisa (pictured right) says: “Up at 5 this morning to transfer from Agra to the village where we started.

“We set off at about 9.30am. The scenes as we cycled along were amazing.

“We went through rural communities where people were visibly very poor, living in single room dwellings alongside their animals.

“People gathered by the roadside as we passed by shouting greetings in English and the local language.

“It was a strange feeling...as if we were somehow celebrities. Ninety women on bikes must have made for quite a sight though.

“What struck me was how [happy] people were. Clearly they didn't have much but everyone smiled at you.

“The roads weren't too bad and the terrain was fairly flat. Temp was about 30 today.

“We are at a camp tonight in tents. Currently sitting having a beer and discussing the day with my companions.

“More tomorrow signal permitting.”

Louisa  

To maintain their tight schedule the group, ranging in age from their twenties to sixties, will need to average around 40 miles a day.

The route followed will be far removed from the usual tourist trails and will be both on and off road.

In advance of her trip to the sub-continent Louisa has been raising the cash necessary to guarantee her a place on the ride.

Thanks to strong support from family, friends and work colleagues she managed to burst through the £2,800 qualifying barrier some months ago and pledges are still coming in.

She also plans to made a personal contribution of £500 towards her fundraising total, which will be distributed between Breast Cancer Care, Jo’ Cervical Cancer Trust and Ovarian Cancer Action.

+ To make a contribution towards Louisa’s challenge go to http://www.justgiving.com/louisa-jones2012/eurl.axd/5805f2ef88f5e749aa33e11e94dbaeb7 

Letter to llanblogger over Sainsbury's plan

Your High Street:

Sainsbury's have got their planning permission to build an out of town store on the print works site. Both supporters and objectors and the developer accepted that the new store would do harm to our existing small businesses in the high street. The only debate was, how much harm? Everyone, including Sainsbury supporters agreed that if permission was to be granted, then conditions should be applied to ensure that our existing traders did not get put out of business by a retail giant like Sainsbury.

Well, we now know what conditions have been imposed, and because of ambiguous wording in the conditions, despite all the noble words of those who spoke up in defence of our existing businesses, we find that Sainsbury can have its own in-house butcher, and its own delicatessen. Oh, and by the way; they have submitted another planning application to try to get permission for a cafe; which they failed to get first time around.

I have two questions. Who neglected their duty in failing to ensure that the resolution of the planning committee was not translated into conditions that would properly protect the traders in our town centre? Perhaps they would care to respond  to explain why at a time when every high street in Britain is under threat, they have chosen not to to use established planning policies to protect ours?

Phil Jones

Tyn Dwr

 

Ysgol Dinas Bran group enjoys a trip to Catalonia

* The Dinas Bran group who travelled to Catalonia.

A group of 32 pupils from Years 10, 11 and 12, accompanied by Mrs Jones, Mrs De Court, Mr Evans and Mr Prescott, recently set out on a 28 hour bus journey bound for Catalonia in north eastern Spain.

After an early evening ferry to Calais, followed by an overnight journey through France, the tired group arrived at the 4* Hotel Top Calella Palace, one hour ahead of schedule, the following day. 

Following check in and familiarisation with the hotel, pupils then had three hours free time to explore the resort of Calella.  

Staff were able to find a traditional tapas bar to enjoy some of the local delicacies whilst pupils managed to locate the local Burger King to sample dishes of a more North American nature. 

Friday’s excursion took the group to the Port Aventura Theme Park in Salou, home of both Europe’s highest roller coaster (Shambhala) and also the fastest (Furius Baco).  

Whilst the daredevils amongst the group knew precisely where to head, the less adventurous were nonetheless also well catered for and a fantastic day was had by all. 

Saturday’s itinerary to Barcelona was jam packed and there was much to get through during the long day.  

It included three hours free time around the famous La Rambla area to shop, eat and take in the world famous street performers, a whistle stop walk around the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, a visit to the Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona, and an evening visit to the Magic Fountains in Plaça Espanya, where several pupils in the group managed to get slightly wetter than they had perhaps anticipated.

Whilst staff thought that the frenetic nature of the day may have taken its toll on pupils’ energy levels, such assumptions were soon quashed when the evening disco at the hotel began, with an extremely large Dinas Brân contingent dancing along to tunes both old and new. 

On Sunday morning, after another early start, the group was soon on the road once more back to Spain’s second city.  

Following a quick visit to the Olympic Stadium en route, the morning was spent in Poble Espanyol, a huge estate with areas representing the different regions of Spain. 

Shopping was the principle focus of the morning before the group headed into the city for further free time in Barcelona.  

Late afternoon the group made their final stop of the tour in Parc Guell - an Andoni Gaudi inspired park in the hills overlooking the city. 

Following dinner the group was taken to the local pub to play pool and also to indulge in

a spot of karaoke.  

Following a later start on Monday, pupils were given three hours free time to do some last minute shopping and to visit the beach ahead of the long journey home which began at three in the afternoon.

After an overnight coach ride through France and an earlier than expected ferry crossing, the Dinas Brân group arrived safely back at the Pavilion car park at 4.30 Tuesday evening.

AM calls for Hillsborough-style abuse probe

A Hillsborough-style inquiry should be held to get at the real truth about institutionalised abuse in Great Britain.

That was the suggestion from Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates during a TV interview earlier today (Sunday).

Mr Skates (pictured right) was one of three AMs who took part in a discussion about the fallout from allegations of abuse at the former Bryn Estyn children’s home in Wrexham, which eventually led to the resignation of BBC director general George Entwistle on Saturday evening.

Asked for his opinion on the week’s unfolding story Mr Skates, himself a former journalist, said he feared what had happened at the BBC in the wake of false accusations against a prominent Conservative figure on the Newsnight programme might lead to “more timid” journalism but added it was essential that journalists treated witnesses to child abuse with much more care in the future.

He also said he thought it was important that two inquiries into child abuse ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron earlier in the week should go ahead as it was essential that the truth be discovered.

As the local member for the area around Bryn Estyn, Mr Skates was asked by the presenter what local reaction to the week’s events had been.

He said feelings had been “running incredibly high” and that local people simply wanted the truth to come out.

Going further, he called for a Hillsborough-style review into the whole question of “institutionalised abuse” in the country.

Mr Skates also spoke of his work with the colleagues in the Labour-led Welsh Government to ensure that the rights of young people in care went beyond the ages of 18 or 21.