More traveller sites needed in North Wales, says council chief

The BBC North East Wales news website is reporting today (Sunday) that a leading councillor has said more official sites for Gypsies and travellers are needed in North Wales.

Bernie Attridge, deputy leader of Flintshire council, said 95% of legal sites are in his county and Wrexham.

And he claimed a lack of facilities elsewhere was leading to problems with illegal settlements and accused the local authorities of "burying their heads".

Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd and Anglesey are said to be looking into the issue.

See the full story at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22397277

AM raises questions on A55/A483 junction improvements

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has questioned the Economy Minister over improvement works to the A55/A483  junction serving Wrexham.

 

The plans involve reducing congestion and journey times by widening the A55 eastbound exit slip road and parts of the circulatory carriageway as well as installing traffic signals to the A483 southbound approach.

 

The programme of works is set to cost £8,000,000 and is due to start – and finish – in 2014.

 

Mr Isherwood welcomes the works, but is concerned the 2006 evaluation report that recommended the improvements made no reference to floods or flooding within it.

 

Questioning the Economy Minister on the matter in the Assembly this week he said:  “Last October, the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, announced the plans for the scheme focused on the junction with the A483.

 

"That junction serves Wrexham, therefore, clearly, you as Minister are very entitled to have a view on this.

 

"However, the 2006 evaluation report that recommended those improvements to reduce congestion and journey times has no reference to floods or flooding within it.

 

"Therefore, I would be grateful if you could ensure that the UK Minister is made aware of that and perhaps give advice on what further information on flooding, if any, they might have received.”

The Minister agreed to take up the matter “via my officials.”

10,000 youngsters still unprotected against measles

More than 10 000 children and young people under the age of 18 in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area, which includes Llangollen, are still unprotected from measles, according to Public Health Wales.

 

Children aged between 10 and 18 are now being targeted in a schools immunisation campaign, as this has been the commonest hit age group in the current Swansea epidemic area.

 

Over 7000 children in North Wales in this age group are currently unprotected against measles. Since the beginning of November, 1,257 people in the area have come forward catch up vaccinations. Of these, only 605 were aged between 10 and 18.

 

There have now been 1,039 cases of measles in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, Hywel Dda and Powys health board areas – an increase of 28 since Tuesday – and 85 people have been hospitalised. Across the whole of Wales the total is 1,170.  There have been 58 notified cases in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area this year, of these; four have been confirmed by laboratory testing 

 

Andrew Jones, Director of Public Health for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “The simple, safe and effective way to stop measles is to have two MMR jabs.

 

“The number vaccinated in the last month has been very encouraging.

 

“But there is still much to do and those in the 10 to18 year age group are a particular concern. Young people of this age are most likely to have missed the MMR jabs when they were young. They are most vulnerable to measles and we need to see a better response to the catch-up now being offered by the NHS.

 

“Vaccination sessions are continuing in schools across the area and I urge pupils and their parents to take advantage of these.  The dates & consent forms can be found on www.bcu.wales.nhs.uk. Should parents have missed their schools session they are being encouraged to contact their GP to arrange vaccination

 

“We have seen that measles can be potentially fatal and no one should be complacent about its severity. 

 

“Those not vaccinated are more likely to catch measles, which is highly infectious. It is just a matter of time before a child is left with serious and permanent complications such as eye disorders, deafness or brain damage, or dies.”

 

North Wales is not within the current epidemic area. At present, the advice to parents of children aged under ten in North Wales is that they should ensure that their children receive their MMR vaccination in accordance with the normal schedule, with the first dose given between 12-13 months old and the second dose at 3 years and four months old, but there is no need to bring these dates forward.   

 

If children have not received the MMR vaccine by these dates they should contact their GP to arrange immunisation.

 

Adults who were born before 1970 are presumed to have immunity and do not need the MMR. Those born between 1970 and 1995 when the MMR was introduced are not currently being called for vaccination but if they plan to travel to the epidemic area in South Wales they are advised to contact their GP surgery for further advice.  Health staff who are in direct patient contact, and especially those who work with children are now being offered the MMR vaccine.

 

The MMR vaccine is recommended by the World Health Organization, UK Department of Health and Public Health Wales as the most effective and safe way to protect children against measles 

 

To prevent the spread of the illness, Public Health Wales has issued the following advice:

 

• If your child is unvaccinated make immediate arrangements with your GP for them to receive the MMR jab. This is even more important if your child has had contact with someone with measles.
• If your child is unwell and you suspect it is measles you should contact your GP. Your child should not attend school or nursery for four days after the rash starts.
• Telephone your GP surgery to inform them you or your child has a rash illness before attending, so that arrangements can be made in advance for minimising contact with other vulnerable patients.
• Avoid going to A&E unless you are seriously ill, and if you do attend, telephone ahead to let them know you or your child may have measles.
• Avoid contact with pregnant women, people with weak immune systems and babies who are too young to be vaccinated, as they are more vulnerable to infection and there are very few treatments available to help them if they do catch measles.
• If any family members are pregnant, receiving chemotherapy, or aged under one, it is vital to ensure that all other family members are up to date with their MMR vaccination.     
• Maternity wards, midwives and health visitors are being asked to share information with parents to encourage them to check the vaccination status of all children in the family to avoid further household spread amongst vulnerable groups.

 

Further information on measles, including a link to a video testimony from a mother whose three year old unvaccinated daughter contracted measles, is available at: http://www.publichealthwales.org/measles

 

The latest data on the measles outbreak – including cases by health board area, vaccination uptake data and numbers of unvaccinated children in Wales – can be found at: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/888/page/66389

Website urges more to tuck into school meals

A new website encouraging a greater take-up of school meals in Denbighshire has gone live.

The website: www.denbighshireschoolmeals.co.uk includes menus for individual schools, details of special promotions, details on the cashless payment systems in high schools, policy on buying ingredients, free school meals, frequently asked questions and a regular newsletter.

There is also an educational game section where children can play whilst learning about nutrition and making healthy choices.
 
Ian Kemp, Denbighshire's Catering Manager, said: "This is a great opportunity to raise the profile of school meals in Denbighshire and provide Pupils, parents and guardians with a one stop shop where their questions can be answered at the touch of a button.

"In Denbighshire, we provide plenty of options for healthy school meals and we know that eating a proper lunch has positive benefits for children's concentration in the classroom. We hope the website gives parents and guardians some food for thought and encourages them to look at the tasty options available on our menus."

There will also be a link on the site to the County Council's job vacancy page. 

Llangollen Railway steams into a busy May

* Loco no 80072, British Railways Standard class 4 tank engine, which has recently returned to Lllangollen after a spell out on hireat other railways. It will be a main player on trains at Llangollen this summer season.

 

May will be another busy month at Llangollen Railway.

This weekend, train services will run at hourly intervals from the station, starting at 10.15, and continue until 4pm. 

Saturday will feature steam and diesel locomotives and Sunday and Monday will see two steam locos running - the British Railways Standard Tank 80072 and Great Western freight 3802. 

Next special event on the heritage railway is the Teddy Bears Picnic on Sunday, May 19. 

Saturday, May 11 sees the latest in the railway’s popular series of murder mysteries.

Car rally passes through town this weekend

* Cars from the 1970s and 1980s such as these will take part in the rally.

MORE than 70 drivers in a prestigious motoring event will make a brief stop in Llangollen early on Sunday morning.

Competitors in the famous Border 100 Road Rally – some from as far away as Jersey and the Isle of Man - will have a re-fuelling halt in the town at around 1.30am.

The two-day event, which was voted the best road rally in the UK in 2007, begins at Llanfyllin in Powys on Saturday and the Llangollen fuel stop comes at roughly the half-way point of the route, which takes in areas of Powys and Denbighshire before finishing 100 miles later at Meiford in Powys.

The 75 entries include cars from the 1970s to the present day such as VW Golfs, Ford Escorts, Renaults and Subarus.

Clerk of the course Iwan Jones said: “The cars won’t be in Llangollen for very long. It will just be a fuelling halt, which is known as a ‘splash and dash’ in rallying.”

The event’s organisers have gone to great pains to assure Llangollen residents to ensure that no unnecessary disturbance is caused as the rally passes through.

They recently dropped off letters to a number of local homes saying that all checkpoints will be manned by efficient marshals and placed where possible far enough away from dwellings so as not to allow excessive noise to be created.

The letter adds: “The competitors will be notified that any undue nuisance created by them during the event will mean their instant disqualification.” 

Latest local roadworks

Denbighshire County Council has given details of the following roadworks in the area:

Abbey Road, Llangollen, temporary lights on May 17 to allow pole renewal by ScottishPower.

Birch Hill, Llangollen, road closure from May 8-September 20 to allow water works by Welsh Water.