Minister quizzed over North Wales prison

With those against a prison being built in North Wales claiming it would not create economic benefits, an Assembly Member has called for the Welsh Government to establish the facts.

North Wales Regional AM and Shadow Minister for North Wales, Mark Isherwood, raised the matter with the Minister for Business this week.

He said: "Although it is reported that a prison in north Wales could create 1,000 jobs, and the Wrexham Business Professionals group, for example, said that it could bring much-needed social and economic benefits to the region, opponents -and there are always opponents to everything - claim that many of the jobs would be imported from prisons elsewhere, and that factories on the Wrexham industrial estate, if it went there, would be driven away. What discussions can you or will you have with the UK Government to establish the true costs and benefits so that, in ensuring public engagement, we are dealing with the facts, the real benefits, and the true economic gain."

The Minister told Mr Isherwood that there are plenty of sites in north Wales that are suitable for the development of a prison and assured him that no businesses would have to vacate their sites to accommodate it.

Speaking in the Chamber Mr Isherwood also questioned the First Minister over the prison proposals, asking what role the Welsh Government is playing in assessing the feasibility of proposed North Wales sites, particularly given that, in 2009, the Caernarfon site was cancelled on the basis that it was no longer considered feasible for the proposed provision.

The First Minister said the Welsh Government are working with the Ministry Of Justice in terms of what sites it is looking to identify.

He said: "It is important that a site in the north of Wales is identified as a site for a prison. As part of that work, examining the potential sites will be important to ensure that the prison goes ahead."

North Wales Police begins recruiting Specials

North Wales Police has announced that the recruiting window for Special Constables is now open.

From today (Friday 8^th February) applications for the role of Special Constable are being accepted until Monday 25^th February.

The role of the Special Constable is to assist and support the regular force in meeting local policing needs. They are an important part of the police service and have a vital role to play in the future of policing.

Special Constables undertake valuable work and form a vital link between the regular force and the local community. Special Constables are volunteers, from all walks of life, who want to do something positive for their communities.

With North Wales Police you would be expected to carry out a variety of tasks. Duties could include assisting regulars on patrol, crime prevention work and community liaison projects.

Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Pritchard said: “We are really keen to encourage local people to get involved with policing their local community.

“Special Constables undertake valuable policing work within communities, but it is not only the locality that benefits from the work of officers. It is a two way process. Individuals joining can develop a whole range of skills including communication, self-confidence, teamwork and initiative. Joining the Specials also opens up a world of opportunity for personal and professional advancement. What’s more, the community also benefits from an increased police presence.”

He added: “We are an equal opportunities employer and are totally committed to the principles of equality and diversity. We welcome applications from all sections of the community. Indeed, to ensure our service is fully representative of the communities it serves we welcome applications from under represented groups, particularly fluent Welsh speakers.”

Special Constableswork alongside regular officers, and are expected to commit at least four hours service a week. They are given training and a uniform, and have all the powers and authority of regular officers.

Watchdog responds to row over health services

A watchdog body has given a measured response to claims that health chiefs have “jumped the gun” by making changes to some local services - including those at Llangollen Cottage Hospoital - earlier than expected.    

However, the Community Health Council concedes the changes made some people disappointed and even angry.

llanblogger reported on Tuesday that minor injuries services are to be withdrawn from Llangollen Cottage Hospital over the next two weeks 

The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) also revealed that, since Monday of this week, the hospital has been accepting no new admissions and that its staff are being re-deployed to other units.  

The Abbey Road hospital  is earmarked for closure as part of a major shake-up of health services approved by the board last month.  

But the two moves have come as a surprise blow to campaigners fighting to retain health services in Llangollen who thought they would have longer before the changes went into effect – at least until they had been fully considered by patients’ watchdog body, the Community Health Council (CHC), which has until March 1 to decide on whether to formally object to the change proposals.  

A spokesperson for campaign group Keep Llangollen Health Services (KLHS) said the moves made a “mockery” of the consultation process. 

BCUHB said the moves had been made because “There is a risk that other services could become more difficult to operate safely as staff start to look at alternative roles and opportunities within the Health Board.”  

Now, in its own response to the developments, the Community Health Council has issued a statement which says:  “Representatives of the CHC were at the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board meeting on Friday 18th January to hear its decisions about proposals to change some health services in North Wales.  

“The Health Board has changed some of its plans in response to what the CHC and others said during the consultation – and we are very pleased about that.” 

It goes on: “A special meeting of the CHC’s Executive Committee was held on the 28th January 2013. This meeting was convened to give CHC members the opportunity to raise any further representations following the health board’s decisions on service changes.  

“The CHC is aware that the health board has now decided to implement some of the changes to services and that in some cases these changes have been undertaken on the grounds of patient safety.  

“Under the Guidance for Engagement for and Consultation on changes to health services, the health board can legally effect service changes and is not obliged to wait for the CHC’s final response on other issues.  

“The CHC has had many calls from people who are very disappointed - indeed angry that the board has turned its face against arguments made against some of its plans.  

“Our job now is to talk through the health board’s final decisions and the CHC is responsible for assessing the proposals in a detailed and consistent way.  

“If the CHC refers any of the decisions to the Minister, we will be called to explain to an independent panel exactly why we think they are not in the interest of local people or the health service. This is why the CHC has matched every proposal to the criteria it set out several months ago. And we will do the same for this final set of decisions. 

“We have until the 1st March 2013 to complete this work and decide whether we should lodge any formal objections.”

New plan to promote town as events venue

* Llangollen and the pavilion are to be newly promoted as events venues.

A blueprint for freshly promoting Llangollen as an events and conference venue will be unveiled during a special showcase session at the end of March.

That was the message from Llangollen Pavilion’s venue director, Bicki Shenton-Morris, as she spoke to members of the town’s Chamber of Trade and Tourism at their meeting at the Hand Hotel on Monday evening.

She outlined to them a new strategy by Denbighshire County Council to improve promotion of the whole town as an event destination and the pavilion for larger events.  

This will home in on the area’s strengths, such as its beautiful landscape, heritage and tradition, ease of access, value for money, and range of outdoor activities and special experiences. 

It is believed the area is capable of attracting a wide range of events. 

These include meetings and conferences such as those relating to heritage, transport, music and the arts, exhibitions and trade shows and outdoor events like mountain biking, walking and canoeing. 

However, Ms Shenton-Morris said that the town’s lack of a major hotel - larger than those already in Llangollen – put it at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting the larger-scale conferences.  

The new strategy forsees closer working between potential event venues and local attractions. 

Ms Shenton-Morris explained this could mean that if a Thomas the Tank Engine event was being held at Llangollen Railway, a toy train fair might be arranged at the pavilion. 

She said there could also be more co-ordination when it came to transport links, such as promoting the ease of accessibility between Ruabon railway station and Llangollen. 

To boost the new strategy there will be a new website, possibility with links to local B&Bs, guest houses and hotels, and new promotional leaflets and brochures are also being produced. 

The whole strategy is due to be outlined to events arrangers and other decision makers at a launch event to be held at the end of March.  

·        Last month llanblogger carried a story in which Llangollen resident Alan Found expressed concern that the pavilion was being under used. 

He pointed to official county council figures which revealed that from April 2011 to 2012 the pavilion projected a loss (or subsidy) of £183,611 and for 2012 to 2013 a loss (or subsidy) of £159,611.  

Mr Founds said: “Surely this facility should be a major contributor to the economy not a burden. Every weekend of the year should see the Pavilion full and buzzing, providing jobs and making a major contribution to the Llangollen economy through hotel room, restaurant and shopping sales.” 

At the time, a county council spokesman responded that the pavilion’s programme “continues to grow and develop”.

Top North Wales cop welcomes new dog measures

A top North Wales police officer is backing the Government's new compulsory micropchipping of all dogs.

The new measure comes in on April 6, 2016, along with the extension of laws on dog attacks to cover private property.

North Wales' Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Pritchard, (pictured below right) who is Association of Chief Police Officers lead for dangerous dogs, said: “It is in society’s interest to tackle the problem of dangerous dogs and irresponsible ownership and the Government’s announcement will greatly improve this area and enhance public safety.

“This is not only due to the serious physical harm and intimidation that occurs but also the effect it has on our communities.

“The extension of the law to cover dog attacks on private property is essential to protect members of the public who have legitimate access to premises such as postal workers, nurses, midwives and others. It also offers greater protection to the wider public, including children and other vulnerable members of our communities.

“The police service spends several million pounds on long term kennelling, which is a significant drain on police resources and can have a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of the animal.

 

"Under the new measures, police will now be able to decide if the retention of a dog is necessary whilst court proceedings are being conducted under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

 

"This decision will be made by individual police forces who will take into consideration the requirement to maintain public safety, secure and preserve evidence, and act in the interests of the animal and its owner.

“Compulsory microchipping will assist in tackling the environmental and welfare issues of stray dogs, by assisting local authorities and the charitable sector to re-unite dogs with their owners expeditiously when lost or stolen.

“We note the Welsh Government is in the consultation phase on its dog control proposals and we are also in discussion with the Ministers’ officials.”

Banners on the A5 aim to promote the town

* Promotional banners will be fitted to lampposts down the A5 near

 the lights by the chamber. 

Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism is to spend £2,000 on installing promotional banners in the town centre. 

However, half of this sum will be come from Denbighshire County Council. 

The chamber believes it will help boost tourism to the town if promotional banners are fixed to lampposts along the main A5 route through Llangollen and in the shopping  thoroughfare of Castle Street. 

After checking out the cost, chair John Palmer reported back to members at their meeting in the Hand Hotel on Monday night that 20 banners will cost about £2,000 to produce and hang from poles fitted to lampposts.  

They will bear a welcome message to potential tourists and the chamber gave the go-ahead for a designer to come up with ideas for how they will actually look. 

A representative of the county council at the meeting said Denbighshire would contribute £1,000 towards the cost of the exercise. 

John Palmer said: “People have said the town is looking a little tired, so this will brighten it up a bit.”

Cautious welcome for road casualty figures

Clwyd South Assembly member Ken Skates has given a cautious welcome to new statistics which show that the number of casualties on North Wales roads has fallen over the last year.

Data released by the Welsh Government shows that casualties resulting from personal injury road accidents in North Wales has fallen 8% over the last year and by 47% since the mid 1990s.

However, the AM said the figures needed to be treated carefully as the number of casualties has risen in the third quarter of 2012.

He called for a renewed focus on road safety and said important blackspots still needed to be tackled in North Wales.

Mr Skates said: “The figures show a reduction in the numbers of casualties on North Wales roads over the last year and a substantial reduction since the 1990s. This is welcome and shows the messages about road safety are starting to get through.

“However, we do need to keep a strong focus on road safety and bring down the numbers of people who are still being injured and killed each year on roads in this part of the country.

“Unfortunately in North Wales we still have some major problem areas. For example we have seen too many tragic deaths in the last decade on ‘B’ roads which attract a high number of bikers, and we continue to see fatalities along the A55.

“We also need to do more work to tackle particular accident blackspots, such as along sections of the A483. These will require further investment and infrastructure changes over the next few years.

“The Transport Minister Carl Sargeant has proposed ambitious targets for casualty reduction as part of a new approach to road safety until 2020, such as a 65% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured on our roads.

“Having made progress we must continue to work towards reducing the numbers of casualties on our roads. Local Government road safety budgets must be given better protection in these times of austerity if we are to continue to cut the numbers of people injured and killed on North Wales roads.”