New town mayor installed - one councillor stepping down

Llangollen has a new mayor in the shape of Cllr Bob Lube.

The official transfer of the office from Cllr Jon Haddy took place at the annual meeting of the Town Council on Tuesday night.

Cllr Lube (pictured below left) told Cllr Haddy as he stepped down: “Thank you for the sterling work you have done during your term of office and I hope I can continue at the same level.”

Cllr Haddy was then presented with the traditional previous mayor’s medal before taking his place on the benches.

Cllr Mike Adams was unanimously voted in as deputy mayor.

Cllr Phil Thane becomes chair of the planning committee for the municipal year ahead and Cllr Adams will chair the general purposes committee.

Later, during the normal monthly council meeting, Cllr Tim Palmer (pictured below right) who was elected last year, announced that he is standing down from the council and that this meeting would be his last.

He told members that he and his family were moving to the United States where he would be taking up a new job.

Town clerk Gareth Thomas said the vacant position on the council would now be advertised.

Cllr Palmer said: “I would like to thank everyone for their patience, counsel and good humour during my time on the council. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself.”

The mayor told him: “On behalf of the council I would like to thank you for 12 months of service and wish you all the best for the future.”  

More focus needed on supporting older people, says Skates

Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates met with the Older People’s Commissioner Sarah Rochira on Wednesday to discuss the future of services for older people living in his constituency.

 

The AM said plans needed to put in place now to support the regions ageing population to avoid putting intolerable strain on council budgets in future years. 

 

He said more focus needed to be put on supporting older people to live independently in their own homes to prevent situations escalating into crisis.

 

He welcomed the proposed Older People’s Commissioning Strategy in Wrexham which outlines plans for older people’s services in Wrexham over the next five years.

 

Mr Skates said: “Our local population is getting older and in future years there is inevitably going to be an even bigger demand for care and support services to help older people live their lives in a dignified and enjoyable way.

 

“One only need look at Wrexham Council’s own figures to see the growing requests for care services.  Of the 475 care packages currently being delivered for a period of 12 months or more by the Council, 54% have seen an increase in the number of hours delivered.

 

“At the same time we are moving into a period of much tighter financial resources and even tighter council budgets.  If we are to avoid our care system collapsing in future years it is vital we use the funding we do have set aside for older peoples services to care for our older people in a much more efficient and streamlined way.

 

“I met with the Older People’s Commissioner to discuss some of the issues facing older people in areas like Wrexham so we can ensure the structure of services works for the big challenges ahead.

 

“I welcome Wrexham Council’s proposed new Older People’s Commissioning Strategy which will shape care for older people over the next five years.  It recognises we need to support more of our older people in their own homes rather than letting them get into a crisis situation where they need more expensive and more traumatic interventions, such as a move into a care home or local hospital, at a later stage.

 

“Wrexham currently enables 81% of the older people it supports to continue living independently within their own homes, so this is a good basis from which to start from.

 

“We need to see services such as domiciliary care delivered in a more personal way as well as an even greater focus on reablement to enable people who use care services to remain independent within their own homes for as long as possible.

 

“There are big challenges ahead for our ageing population, but ones we can address if we plan effectively.”

 

Ken Skates is part of the National Assembly’s Health and Social Care Committee scrutinising the Social Services and Wellbeing Bill currently making its way through the Assemb

Town council briefed on county issues affecting Llangollen

Councillor Stuart Davies, one of Llangollen’s representatives on Denbighshire County Council, gave a run-down on recent matters affecting the local area last night’s Town Council meeting.

Invited to speak by the new Mayor, Cllr Bob Lube, he began with an update on the plan to create a day nursery for local youngsters in a new building at Ysgol Bryn Collen.

This, he said, would be somewhere safe where mums could drop off their children in a morning and pick them up in the afternoon.

Cllr Davies explained that, with his support, a community interest company had been formed to run the new facility whose members were now working on the details of funding for it.

He said that Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates had also been asked for his support.

On the issue of the future use of the former county council refuse tip on the A539, Cllr Davies said a study was being made of this and a number of possible uses had already been suggested.

These included one proposal by Friends of the Earth to turn it into some form of tourist attraction using the nearby railway and others to use it for football or rugby pitches.

Cllr Davies was questioned by Cllr Mike Pugh on what the county was doing about the “dangerous” state of the old brewery opposite Dobson & Crowther on the A5.

Cllr Pugh said that in March a large quantity of snow had fallen from the roof of the building badly damaging a vehicle being driven along the A5.

He asked Cllr Davies if he could pursue the issue with the county council.

Cllr Davies agreed to do this and explained that about six months ago the county had held a meeting about the number of derelict buildings in the town, including the old brewery.

At that meeting, he said, it had been suggested that the owners of these buildings should be ordered to do something about the properties.

Cllr Lube said another building that was giving cause for concern was the former Jobcentre in Castle Street.

Cllr Davies said this had been another of the buildings discussed at the meeting and added: “The owner won’t engage with us but  is on our radar, it is on our system.”

Questioned by Cllr Jane Palombella about the addition to the county’s Local Development Plan as a possible site for housing of an area in front of Fron Bache in Llangollen, Cllr Davies said he was opposed to this and that he would try to get it turned down and referred to the appropriate Welsh Government Minister.

AM hits out over new truancy penalties

North Wales Assembly Member Aled Roberts, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Education, has described yesterday's announcement that fixed penalty notices will be issued to parents whose children are regularly absent from school, as counter-productive.

The Minister's decision has been based on the results of a consultation carried out between November 2012 and February 2013.

Mr Roberts said: "I believe this is a disproportionate response to a problem which requires a far more creative response than a fining system.

"Evidence shows that children from poorer backgrounds are more likely to play truant and achieve poorer educational outcomes. I am concerned that fining parents of truant pupils will cause them even more economic hardship and will do nothing to address the problems of their child missing vital school hours.

"It is also crucial that we consider the reasons why children are often absent from school.

"There were just 53 responses to this consultation, including only 12 of the 22 Welsh local authorities, along with 16 schools/headteachers and 12 parents/carers. Of those 53, only just over half - 55% - agreed with the penalty notice option.

"Fixed penalty fines can never replace targeted intervention and effective engagement with pupils and parents.

"Whilst parents must take responsibility for their children's behaviour and fulfil their obligation to ensure they attend school, a community-wide approach involving parents, police and local welfare officers would be much more effective than theses punitive measures being implemented by the Education Minister.

"This is yet another attempt at a quick fix by the Minister which is unlikely to be of any benefit to the families concerned."

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.