Latest snow update from county council

* A snow blower in action on a minor county road.

Snow update 27 March as at 3.45pm

Work to clear the snow is continuing today and good progress is now being made on the smaller roads but many of these are blocked from hedge to hedge.
 
In some areas though, drifts are still reforming over roads that have been cleared and so access is with 4x4s only - it is still a constantly shifting picture at the moment. Every available resource is being used and 30 highways crews and contractors will be working into the Easter weekend to continue the clearance work.

Teams of staff have been deployed to clear the town centres at Llangollen and Corwen in time for the Easter weekend and good progress is being made here too.

There are concerns however, that there is a large amount of snow on the roofs that could come down at any minute posing a risk to anyone underneath so extra care is needed in these areas (some sections of the streets have been cordoned off to protect the public). There is also a risk to fittings such as guttering.
The council is reminding people with any immediate and urgent welfare issues to contact Denbighshire's Customer Service Centre on 01824 706100 (Welsh) or 01824 706101 (English).

The council has have been receiving help from other organisations such as British Red Cross to assist people who are still snowbound. 

Council announces Easter recycling plans

Denbighshire County Council is reminding householders today that recycling and refuse collections will take place on the usual day over Easter.

Collection teams will be out working as normal on both the Good Friday and Easter Monday bank holidays.  In addition, the three manned Recycling Parks at Denbigh, Rhyl and Ruthin will be open throughout the Easter weekend.

With the clocks going forward on the night of Sunday 31^st March, the Recycling Parks will switch to the extended summer opening hours from Easter Monday (more details at denbighshire.gov.uk/recycling). 

The recent heavy snowfalls have affected recycling and refuse services to many residents, particularly those in the south of Denbighshire.

The council says it wishes to apologise for any inconvenience and assures householders that it is attempting to make collections wherever it is safe to do so.  With Denbighshire unlikely to see a rise in temperatures before the Easter weekend there is still a risk of disruption to services over Easter, according to the council.

However, where collections are missed due to snow the council says it will collect additional recycling or refuse if it is set out on the next due collection date.

AM praises search and rescue team members

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has praised North East Wales Search and  Rescue Team (NEWSAR) for their “incredible commitment’ during the recent heavy snow fall in North Wales.

 

Over the weekend, NEWSAR was called to a remote farm on the Horseshoe Pass above Llangollen to rescue an elderly couple who has collapsed from carbon monoxide poisoning after by fumes from their emergency generator came into the house.   

 

Mr Isherwood, who met NEWSAR’s Deputy Team Leader, Chris Griffiths, at their base on the Kingswood Outdoor Education Centre at Loggerheads, near Mold, on Tuesday,  said the way in which the volunteer team has dealt with the increased number of call outs due to the heavy snow fall is extremely commendable.

 

He said: "North East Wales Search and Rescue are owed a particular debt of gratitude for their incredible commitment and for the long hours they have worked during this period of heavy snow fall. Although they normally receive about 60-70 requests for their services each year, they have received some 20 calls over the last weekend alone. This is all the more incredible given that they are all volunteers and that almost all their funding comes from their own fundraising efforts.”

 

NEWSAR covers an area of 1,126 square miles (2,918 square kilometres) comprising the counties of Flintshire, Denbighshire, Wrexham and parts of Conwy , Powys, Wirral and Cheshire . The team also responds to calls from West Mercia Police in Shropshire and Cheshire Police in Cheshire.

Mountain rescue teams are on standby 24/7, 365 days a year, whatever the conditions, with fast response times helping those in difficult to access areas.

 

Mr Isherwood added: “The teams in North Wales, North East Wales Search and Rescue and Ogwen Mountain Rescue,  have been pushing the boundaries of mountain rescue for a long time, supporting the Emergency Service response at incidents such as the recent heavy snow falls, the St Asaph floods and the search for April Jones in Machynlleth. However, teams across Wales share just £13,000 Welsh Government funding, which is only £1,000 per team, which contrasts with the £312,000  Scottish Government funding for the teams there, equivalent to £11,500 each.”     

 

Horseshoe Pass rescue drama

The Leader is reporting today how rescue workers battled for hours to reach an elderly couple who had been poisoned by carbon monoxide at their remote farm on the Horseshoe Pass.

See the full story at http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/121172/couple-poisoned-in-farm-snow-drift.aspx  

Railway battles to be open in time for Friday

 

 

* The scene at Llangollen station on Tuesday as work got underway to clear the station driveway of snow.

Heavy snow fall in the Dee Valley has presented the Llangollen Railway with a major challenge to be back in operation by Good Friday.

 

The snowfall last Friday and Saturday caused train services to be suspended over the weekend and no trains have been able to run so far this week when daily train services were scheduled for the school holiday period.

 

With platforms and the railway track piled high with snow in places the need to begin clearance work is being tackled by full time railway staff and volunteers starting at Llangollen station.

 

George Jones, for Llangollen Railway, said: "With no thaw in sight the need is for spade work to clear the public access to stations and platforms, as well as to clear the points and lineside mechanical equipment to allow trains to operate.

 

"The depth of the snow in places has not been seen for many years and it will require a tremendous effort to reopen the line in time for Easter.

 

"If we do succeed in running steam trains along the line to Carrog it is likely visitors to the Railway will have a momentous trip into a winter wonderland where near alpine conditions exist in this part of North Wales."

Marvellous readers' pictures

Another reader, Susan Stokes, has just posted this fabulous picture on our Facebook page, and it's so good we're including it on our main blogsite.

Reader Kathy Davies has sent a selection of pictures showing Llangollen in the big freeze.

But one of them isn't a scene from the latest artic spell and dates back all the way to 1982.

Snapped on January 28 of that year, it shows Castle Street under a layer of snow which doesn't look far off the depth it reached last weekend.

We thank Kathy very much for sending them in.

If you have any pictures to share with readers please send them in to llanblogger@gmail.com

* Castle Street under snow in January 1982.

* An icy River Dee.

* Fallen trees blocking Pen-y-Maes.

* Cars buried in the Hermitage.

* Grapes Hill on Saturday.
 

Latest weather updates

* Council staff clear the snow from Castle Street on Tuesday afternoon.

 

 

Latest update from the county council:

Highways teams, contractors and individuals have been working round the clock but are now reporting significant progress in clearing the large number of roads which have been impassable since the heavy snowfall last week.
At it's peak, huge swathes of county were covered in several feet of snow and clearance efforts were particularly hampered by extreme and treacherous weather conditions. A strong breeze saw roads becoming blocked again by drifting snow no sooner than they were cleared. Efforts on some major roads, like the A5, were further hampered by a number of fallen trees and abandoned cars.

Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, Councillor David Smith, said: "This was an exceptional weather event and our highways staff were telling us they'd never seen conditions like this.
"Our priority was to clear the major roads and gritting routes first of all, which is now more or less complete.

"In the meantime, we have also been mapping the large amount of minor roads and country lanes, some of which are blocked hedge to hedge with snow, and we are now increasingly able to turn our attention to these and good progress is being made on clearing these today."
Staff have also been deployed to clear the town centres in Llangollen and Corwen in time for the Easter weekend and we are making good progress."

Earlier ...


* Bache Mill Road, Llangollen is closed.

A tree has fallen and is putting strain on considerable sized branches that may also come away and create a serious safety hazard.

* The heavy lifters have been in town this afternoon.

Teams of county council workers were using bulldozers and other heavy vehicles to shift piles of compacted snow from roads in the towns centre, including Castle Street, Market Street and Regent Street.

* A meeting due to be held tonight by the campaign group Keep Llangollen Health Services to discuss tactics in the wake of the closure of the cottage hospital has been cancelled due to the weather.

 

The meeting was to have taken place at the Hand Hotel at 7pm.

 

But organiser Mabon Ap Gwynfor said: "Unfortunately, due to the unseasonal snow we have cancelled tonight's meeting at the Hand Hotel.

 

"We'll reorganise it and contact you with the information as soon as possible."