Bank boss addresses concerns over branch closures

* The HSBC branch in Llangollen which is earmarked for closure.

An HSBC boss says the bank will do all it can to help anyone left with problems following the closure of its branch in Llangollen.

The assurance comes in an email to North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood who contacted HSBC earlier this week to voice his concerns about the impact the closure of the branches at Llangollen, Conwy and Beaumaris will have on local communities.

The statement sent to Mr Isherwood by Rachel K Thomas, Regional DirectorRetail Banking & Wealth Management, South West & Wales, says:

Dear Mr Isherwood

Thank you for your email dated 12th November regarding the closure of our Conwy, Llangollen and Beaumaris branches.

I understand the concerns that you’ve raised but please let me assure you that the decision to close these branches has not been taken lightly. 

We have very carefully assessed the sustainability of these premises, including a full study of customer activity at the branch and an evaluation of the options available to us that might help to restore a healthy level of business.

Whilst we recognise the value of our services to our customers at these branches, HSBC has a commitment to managing our business sustainably, efficiently and cost effectively. As we referenced in our first letter, changing banking habits mean that our customers are increasingly using telephone and internet banking, and this has had a knock-on effect on
footfall within our branch network.

Occasionally, as is the case with Conwy, Llangollen and Beaumaris we will have to make a difficult decision to close a branch in order to reflect these changing banking patterns and to remain successful in the long term.

As mentioned in my earlier letter, we are very conscious of the impact a branch closure can have on the elderly and people with mobility issues and we are determined to do as much as possible to mitigate these effects. 

For this reason I would be grateful if you could make me aware of any individual cases of difficulty that are raised with you so that we can arrange for appropriate assistance. HSBC branch staff are identifying customers who have problems accessing banking facilities and providing them with advice and practical solutions where appropriate.  This includes roviding 1-1 appointments to discuss future banking needs and resolving issues

surrounding how these can best be achieved, talking through alternative ways of doing their banking and providing training on internet, phone banking and debit card use, including using the ATM for withdrawing cash.

In addition, from Spring this year all nine million HSBC and first direct customers have been able to use the Post Office for cash withdrawals, cash deposits, cheque deposits and balance enquiries.  For Conwy, Llangollen and Beaumaris branches there is a Post Office within half a mile.

We  are  also  proactively  contacting  our  business  customers to discuss alternative  solutions with them such as arranging for cash to be collected and  sent  straight  to  the  cash  centre  or setting-up with Chip and Pin facilities.

Although I recognise your disappointment with our decision, I would point out that we have invested in our branch network. For example, Menai Bridge branch and Wrexham branch were refurbished in 2011 to improve their facilities and we have also previously refurbished Llandudno Mostyn Street and Colwyn Bay.

If you would prefer to discuss any of these issues during a meeting, then please do not hesitate to contact me. Again, I am sorry that we have had to take this very difficult decision, but I hope that I have explained the reasons for the closures.

Rachel K Thomas
Regional Director
Retail Banking & Wealth Management, South West & Wales
HSBC BANK PLC.

Get an inside view of ambulance services

* Take a look around a Clinical Contact Centre.  

 

* Meet the Hazardous Area Response Team from Bridgend.

 

* A 360 degree look inside an emergency ambulance.

 

MOST people who find themselves in the back of an ambulance have usually acquired a serious illness or injury.

But now you can get an exclusive sneak peek around a vehicle from the comfort of your own home.

The Welsh Ambulance Service has developed an interactive virtual tour that helps people better understand the role of frontline crews and the life-saving equipment they use.

For the first time, visitors to the Trust’s website can also take a 360 degree look around a busy Clinical Contact Centre, where 999 calls are received and vehicles are dispatched, as well as the Area Ambulance Centre in Bridgend, where the revered Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) is based.

See the specialist kit worn at the scene of industrial accidents and natural disasters, as well as chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear and terrorist incidents, along with state-of-the-art vehicles used at major incidents.

Fiona Maclean, the Trust’s Community Involvement and Engagement Manager, said: “We want to demystify the Welsh Ambulance Service, and give the public a real insight into what we are about.

“We want to move away from the perception that we are simply a transport service, and encourage people to realise that actually we are a provider of high-quality healthcare comparable with the best.

“Our services are tailor-made for each community’s differing environmental and medical needs, from rapid response cars to emergency ambulances, to paramedics on the road and nurses in our Clinical Contact Centres.

“These tours prove just how clinically advanced we have become as a service.”

The tours were developed to coincide with NHS Wales’ Choose Well campaign, which encourages the public to re-think about what kind of medical attention they need when they are ill or injured.

For advice and treatment for non-emergencies and less serious conditions consider a visit to your local pharmacist, GP surgery, or call NHS Direct Wales on 0845 46 47.

The Trust is reminding people to only dial 999 in a medical emergency when it is obvious that you or another person has a serious or life-threatening illness or injury and needs time-critical help.

Visit www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk for free, confidential health advice 24/7, and www.choosewellwales.org.uk for more information on the Choose Well campaign.

Go to the ‘What Do We Do?’ section at

www.ambulance.wales.nhs.uk to access the virtual tours. 

Latest local roadworks

Denbighshire County Council has given details of the following local roadworks:

A539 Llangollen Road, Llangollen, temporary traffic lights on November 21 to allow overhead service works.

A5 from area boundary to Queen Street, temporary traffic lights to until November 22 to allow wall repairs.

A5 Berwyn Street, temporary traffic lights until December 16 to allow the laying of new cables.

Oak Street, Llangollen, temporary road closure on Saturday, November 30 to allow Christmas Festival.

Dolafon Villas, Abbey Road, Llangollen, temporary traffic lights from November 25-27 to allow kerbing works.

Santa swaps sleigh for raft to shoot the Dee rapids

* Santa and his crew brave the rapids of the River Dee

to promote Llangollen’s Christmas Festival.

Picture by courtesy of Obrien Photography UK.

* A hairy moment for Santa and one of his elves.

Picture by courtesy of Obrien Photography UK.

SANTA shot the rapids on a fast-flowing River Dee to make a spectacular early visit to Llangollen on Tuesday.

The grand old man braved the raging waters to paddle his raft a couple of miles down the raging river accompanied by a team of his trusty helpers.

Their intrepid waterborne trip came as a prelude to the town’s annual Christmas Festival, which takes place this year on Saturday, November 30.

The raft was loaned especially for the occasion by locally-based White Water Tubing and on board was Santa himself, who bore an uncanny resemblance to former Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism John Palmer, his chief elf, who looked a lot like current chamber chairman Davis Davies, and a couple of deputy Santas one of whom was a lookalike for Llangollen town crier Austin Cheminais.

Santa said: “As the prospect of snow is not very promising, making it difficult for Rudolph and the rest of the team to pull me, I was looking for alternative ways of getting into Llangollen. 

“With all the rain we have had these last few weeks the river looked like a good alternative, so White Water Tubing offered to take me and a couple of elves to see if it was possible.

“We decided to start from the Horseshoe Falls to get some practice before the dreaded Town Falls and eventually reached Riverside Park.

“The water crashed and boiled but we battled on through.

“It was super fun and certainly beats dashing through the snow in one horse open sleigh.”

The Christmas Festival, which is expected to attract at least 2,000 people, will feature a parade, street stalls, raffles, a grotto, an appearance by Llangollen Silver Band, carol singing and the ceremonial switch-on of the Christmas lights.

 

The big parade starts from Mill Street car park at 1pm and later Santa and his Welsh counterpart Siôn Corn will be on hand to meet young visitors in their grotto inside the Town Hall.

Entertainment will this year be centred on the steps of the library and tourist information centre as well as in the Royal Gardens just across the road.

The Royal Hotel had given special permission for the shop at the corner of its premises to be used for Punch and Judy shows and story-telling sessions for youngsters.

Around 20 shops and businesses in the town had agreed to join in a search-for-the-sheep competition in which people will be asked to locate the small woollen animals and give each one a name.

The lights will be switched on at 5pm followed by a firework display.

Best b-aaa none!

Members of Llangollen WI, pictured above, have been busy knitting the flock of woollen animals to be used in a search-for-the-sheep game which will be one of the features of this year's Christmas Festival on Saturday, November 30.

The sheep will be hidden on the premises of about 20 local shops and those joining in the game will have to hunt them down and give each of them names.

MP backs charter to stop pay day loans "rip off"

 

* Susan Elan Jones MP signs the charter.

 

Susan Elan Jones MP has backed the Charter to Stop the Payday Loan Rip-off and has called on local residents to do likewise.

 

The charter calls for tougher regulation of payday lenders and is supported by some of Britain’s biggest debt, consumer and anti-poverty organisations – including Which?, Citizens Advice, StepChange Debt Charity, Church Action on Poverty, and the Centre for Responsible Credit.

 

MPs from all parties and campaigners are urging the Financial Conduct Authority to back the Charter and introduce tougher regulation of payday lenders to stop millions of people being ripped-off. Members of the public can add their support at change.org/paydayloancharter 

 

Susan Elan Jones MP said: “Enough really is enough on this issue. It is totally wrong how in this country we let payday lenders  rip millions of pounds off people, trapping them in spirals of debt. We need proper regulation that sorts this out once and for all, or the misery will continue. 

"The Financial Conduct Authority’s proposals for regulation are a step in the right direction, but we need to go much further. Australia, many European countries and lots of US states have shown this can be done and it's high time we did it over here.

 

“I’d encourage every local resident who cares about this issue to call for tougher regulation of payday lenders by signing the Charter at change.org/paydayloancharter.”

 

The full text of the Charter to Stop the Payday Loan Rip-off reads:

We believe irresponsible payday lending and other high cost credit is damaging the health and wealth of our country. Payday lenders are exploiting millions of people across the UK, trapping them in spirals of debt, and the problem is getting worse.

 

Payday lenders are breaking promises they made in their own customer charter. Self-regulation has failed. We call for effective regulation of payday lenders and high cost credit, which is properly enforced, to:

·    * Stop them giving loans to people who can’t realistically afford to pay them back

 

·    * Stop them repeatedly rolling over loans and creating spiralling debt

 

·    * Stop hidden or excessive charges

 

·    * Stop them raiding borrowers’ bank accounts without their knowledge and leaving them in hardship

 

·    * Stop irresponsible advertising and instead provide clear and transparent information

 

·    * Require lenders to promote free and independent debt advice, and ensure they co-operate with other services to help people get out of debt.

 

* Those behind the charter say: "We also want action to support the growth of credit unions and other forms of more responsible lending; we want banks to increase the availability of credit to people on low and middle incomes: and we want new research on capping the total cost of credit undertaken now."

 

You can download a copy of Church Action on Poverty and the Centre for Responsible Credit’s joint report ‘Stopping the Payday Loan Rip-off’ at http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/drowningindebt/paydayloanreport/

International fishing festival comes to town

A MAJOR European competition early next month will reel scores of anglers from across Europe into Llangollen.

The town will be at the centre of the 2013 European Grayling Festival on the weekend of December 6-8.

The event will see the cream of grayling angers in almost 30 teams fishing the River Dee from Bala to Newbridge. 

Giving details of the festival to members of Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism at their meeting on Monday night, Huw Evans, of Llangollen Maelor Angling, said: “This is the 14^th year it has been run and there will be teams taking from all over the UK and the Continent.

“We are currently waiting to hear from Sky TV about there is a possibility of them filming it but, if they do, that would be a real feather in our cap.”

He added: “I don’t think people in the town appreciate we have an international gem in the Dee as far is fishing is concerned.

“Most of the anglers will be based at the Hand Hotel in the town and after that’s full they will filter into other local hotels.”

Ken Bathers, president of Llangollen Maelor Angling, said: “There are 27 teams competing from all over Europe.

“Teams include those from Polan, Belgium, France, Noreay, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ireland, the Isle of Man and from England and Wales.

“This is the 14^th year for the competition and is now recognised as the best river competition in Europe , all the anglers are  top class in Grayling fishing.

“The headquarters of the event is the Hand Hotel, Llangollen.”