Clwyd South political duo have designs on new logo

 

* Susan Elan Jones MP and Ken Skates AM.

 

A political duo are giving their constituents the chance to design a logo that distils the spirit of their constituency

 

Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates and Member of Parliament Susan Elan Jones have launched a competition open to all residents of their constituency to design a logo for use on all official correspondence.

 

The competition is open to all individuals and organisations in the Clwyd South constituency and the winning design will feature on all letters, emails, and information publications issued by the pair while they are in office.

 

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates said: “This is an opportunity for our constituents to help us create a logo for our constituency that gives a powerful sense of what the Clwyd South constituency is and what it represents.

 

“Entries can be in any medium – whether that’s a picture, a photograph or a digital image – and we’re excited to see the creativity that comes from our constituents.”

 

Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones said: "We’re very lucky to represent such a diverse constituency that includes the rural areas of Llandrillo and Corwen and extends along the Dee Valley, through Llangollen to the Shropshire border and into the more populous areas of Ruabon, Rhosllannerchrugog, Coedpoeth and Brymbo.

 

“We’re looking for a design that encompasses everything this area represents – our history and heritage as well as the future and potential for the area.”

 

Entries should be sent to the office of Ken Skates AM, Unit 19, The Malthouse Business Centre, Regent Street, Llangollen, LL20 8HS and electronic submissions can be emailed to Ken.Skates@Wales.gov.uk. All entries should be received by Wednesday, July 31.

 

To check whether you live in the Clwyd South constituency, enter your postcode into the search engine at http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/ or telephone Ken Skates’ constituency office on 01978 869058.

Mayor presents 20 Civic Awards

* Civic Awards recipients with the Mayor, Cllr John Haddy, far left.

Twenty individuals and organisations from Llangollen were presented with Civic Awards during a special ceremony at the Mayor's Charity Concert at the Town Hall on Saturday.

The Mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy, made presentations to:

Llangollen Railway, Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Llangollen Christmas Festival and Llangollen Food Festival for services to the local economy.

Llangollen Rotary Dial a Ride, Llangollen Community Project and Llangollen Tidy Town Team for services to the community.

Llangollen and District Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society, Llangollen Fringe, Llangollen Silver Band, Llangollen Twenty Club Amateur Players and Llangollen Pantomime Group for services to culture.

Individual award winners were: Lynda Wood (Llangollen Youth Football), Sharon Jones (Young Farmers), Stella Bond (music), Albert Hammonds (music), Gill Thomas (the community, Sgt Paul Hughes (Llangollen policing), Margaret Pierce-Jenkins (Llangollen News), David Davies (Tidy Town Coordinator).

Latest roadworks ...

Latest local roadworks notified by Denbighshire County Council are:

Birch Hill, Llangollen, until September 20, road closure to allow water works by Welsh Water.

A542 Horseshoe Pass, Lllangollen, until May 24, temporary traffic lights to allow sign erection.

Llangollen Community Garden is a growing success

* Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones, left, helps community gardener Sam Rex-Edwards with the planting.

* Warren Davies cultivates one of the growing areas watched by fellow group members and an open day visitor. 

A green-fingered bunch who have turned an overgrown plot into a thriving garden proudly showed off their handiwork to the public yesterday (Saturday).

A constant stream of people turned up to see the job done by members of Llangollen Community Garden on a site of around half an acre close to Plas Newydd.

Once the kitchen garden of a nearby grand house, the area has been leased by the group from Denbighshire County Council since late last summer.

Since then, the 25-strong organisation, which was originally set up with the help of Friends of the Earth, has spent months transforming the site from a wilderness of overgrown trees and weeds into a carefully cultivated garden.

The land is on two tiers, with the higher section being used to grow flowers and the lower part being turned over to vegetables.

According to Catherine Vesey, who has helped co-ordinate the project, the first crop of onions, potatoes, broad beans and peas should be ready for picking in a few weeks’ time.

She said that, throughout Saturday, more than 20 people had visited the garden open day, including Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones.

“She turned up in her wellies and stayed for a couple of hours to help us with some planting,” added Catherine.

“She also pledged her support for The Bee Cause, which we are promoting. This aims to persuade the UK Government to back measures to protect bees which are currently under threat.” 

Garden sessions are held every weekend and on selected weekday evenings, with group members taking it turns to help with the work.

More details of the Community Garden can be found online at www.llangollengarden.co.uk, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LlangollenCommunityGarden or by text/calling 07525 016503.

Railway stages its teddy bears' picnic

Llangollen Railway is hosting a teddy bears' picnic tomorrow (Sunday).

The poster below gives details of what visitors can expect ...

Search begins for county's sporting champions

Denbighshire is on the lookout for the county's top sporting stars for this year's Community Sports Awards.

This follows on from an extremely successful 2012 event, when three out of the nine Denbighshire Community Sport Award finalists went on to win national awards in Cardiff.

Nominees must live in Denbighshire, or be affiliated to a Denbighshire club relevant to their nomination and have achieved their success in the last 12 months up to the application closing date - Friday July 19th 2013.

A council spokesperson said: "Over the last month many sporting seasons have come to an end and as a result, we can now reflect on the sporting year.

"Clubs have been holding their presentation evenings, where players are awarded for different accomplishments during the year.

"The sporting season is also beginning for other sports such as tennis and cricket and we look forward to seeing what their season brings forward. We would like clubs to forward the names of players they wish to nominate for an award." 

Categories include Sports performer, Junior Sports performer, Coach of the year, Team of the year, Volunteer of the year, Disability Sport Award, Young Inspiration Award, Lifetime achievement Award and, after feedback from last year's event, a new award has been added to the list which is the ‘Sport in School award’.

An individual or team will also be chosen from all the previous category winners for their outstanding achievements/contribution to sport and will represent Denbighshire for the next year as a Community Sport Ambassador 2013.

For information on the criteria of each category, to look at pictures and the winners list from last years event, or to make an online nomination for this years event, then please visit www.denbighshireleisure.co.uk/sportawards.html

One of the highlights of last year's event was a double scoop for Aaron Evans, who has Cerebral Palsy.  Aaron won the Disability Sport Award and has also been Denbighshire’s Community Sport Ambassador for 2012.

He then also went on to win Sport Wales young coach of the year award in recognition of his voluntary work visiting primary schools throughout Denbighshire.

In this role he shared his experiences as a past disability footballer and captain for Everton FC and Wales, and introduced youngsters to new Paralympic sports.  Aaron has also now become a mentor for the Denbighshire Young Ambassador scheme in 2013.

He said: "To have been recruited as a volunteer with Denbighshire Leisure staff has been an amazing experience, to be able to give something back to my local community and to broaden people’s horizon about disability sport has been fantastic, and it was an honour to be recognised for my achievements.”

Denbighshire Leisure service staff are also looking for suitable organisations that would like to link to their brand to the community sport awards as a category sponsor and a ‘sponsorship package’ can be sent for more information.

For more information on the awards and details on how to nominate or sponsor next year's event please contact Matt Hilliker on 07798742290 or matthew.hilliker@denbighshire.gov.uk or visit www.denbighshireleisure.co.uk.

Inspector gives the nod to county's planning blueprint

Another milestone has been reached in the history of the Denbighshire Local Development Plan  (LDP) - with the Inspector's report deeming the document to be 'sound'.

The Local Development Plan allocates land to meet the needs of the County for uses such as housing, including affordable housing, employment, retail and leisure as well as providing protection for our high quality environment and landscape.

Councillors in Denbighshire will discuss the LDP at a Full Council meeting taking place on 4 June.

The Local Development Plan makes provision for 7,500 new homes over the 15 year period 2006 – 2021.  

The council successfully argued that this was the appropriate level of growth for the county in the face of pressure from Welsh Government and the building industry that the figure should be significantly higher.  

Of the 7,500 new homes over 1,400 have already been built and a further 1,750 have planning permission.  The Inspector identified through the examination that additional sites should be put forward to ensure the remaining housing supply could be met.  

The council put forward 21 additional sites which the Inspector has included in the final Plan along with another four sites not put forward by the council.  

All sites included in the final Local Development Plan have been submitted by landowners during the preparation process and consulted upon.

The Key Strategic Site at Bodelwyddan forms an important part of the Local Development Plan strategy and will provide 1,715 new homes, 26 hectares of employment land as well as a new primary school, community facilities and open space.  

There are also significant development sites located in Rhyl, Meliden, Rhuddlan, St Asaph, Denbigh, Ruthin and Corwen.  Smaller development sites to meet local needs have also been allocated across the county.

A new settlement tier for hamlets has been introduced which will allow limited affordable housing development in very rural areas for people with a local connection to the area. 

Affordable housing provision will be required on all sites of 3 or more homes starting at 10% and rising progressively to 30% as house prices rise in the future.  

All permissions for conversions of rural buildings, infill developments and exceptions sites outside of development boundaries will only be permitted as affordable homes to meet local needs.

The re-use of brown field land is promoted through the Plan, along with the regeneration of Rhyl.  A zone protecting and promoting tourism uses has been allocated along the coast and appropriate, sustainable tourism initiatives are encouraged throughout the county.  

In order to protect and enhance the landscape, the redevelopment of caravan parks to reduce density and improve landscaping is encouraged. The development of new static caravan sites will however not be permitted.

The St Asaph business park will continue to provide high quality employment land to boost the local economy along with policies to encourage appropriate employment development in the County’s towns and more rural areas.  Retail development will be concentrated in town centres to assist in regeneration and ensure they remain vibrant and able to meet the needs of the people of Denbighshire now and in the future.

Open spaces are protected; including land on the Park View Estate in Rhyl that has been a key ambition of the local population for many years; and policies are included to ensure that new developments include open space.  

Areas of high landscape value are protected from inappropriate development including the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB, the Area of Outstanding Beauty around Cynwyd and Llandrillo and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site.
Once adopted, the Local Development Plan will be monitored on an annual basis to ensure that the policies are delivering the desired outcomes, and meeting the agreed targets.  

Copies of the Inspectors Report can be found on Denbighshire County Council's website  (www.denbighshire.gov.uk) and at all council libraries, one stop shops and Bodelwyddan Community Centre.  

If the LDP were to be ratified by councillors on 4 June, copies of the full Plan would be available at the same locations.