Body discovered in local garden

The Daily Post website is reporting this afternoon that the body of an elderly woman has been found in a Llangollen garden following an overnight search involving the police helicopter.

See the full story at:
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/gwyneth-morris-elderly-womans-body-6639537

County council approves £8.5 million cuts

Denbighshire County Council has now approved cuts of £8.5 million to its budget for the next financial year.

See the full story at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-25904612

Railway plans trek to view new track

* A view from the site of the buffer stop looking east towards Carrog.

Llangollen Railway is inviting people to join a walk to view the extension of its track to Corwen on Saturday, February 1.  

 

Railway spokesman George Jones said: “Although the weather forecast for next weekend seems rather undecided, in the expectation there is no snow in the offering, an escorted walk is being arranged for a party to view progress on the track extension project as it nears the last half mile into what will be Dwyrain Corwen East.

 

“The party will get away from Carrog station at 11.45am, following the arrival of the first train of the season - a DMU service from Llangollen.

 

“The route will be via the riverside path, crossing the railway and going up on to the main A5 road then along the pavement to Bonwm where the new track comes into view.

 

“Continuing along t he A5, the track extension is visible as far as Over Bridge 28A, hence the trackbed clearance activity through to the outskirts of Corwen.

 

“From here the site of the platform is now evident with the footings in place and the progress with the flood relief scheme works.

 

“The walk will end at the car park from where a Route 5 bus ride back to Carrog is available at eight minutes past the hour, allowing perhaps for refreshment in the town. This is the option to see where the trains will run and terminate later in 2014.

 

“The distance of the walk is about 2.5 miles, duration with stops for viewing/information of perhaps 100 minutes.

 

“Stout footwear and weatherproof outdoor clothing essential, and yellow hi viz vests may be appropriate for some of the party to wear on the main road stretch where the pavement is narrow and requires single file progress. The footpath conditions may be boggy in parts.”

 

Those interested in joining the party are asked to advise their attendance by email to: llangollen.railway@btinternet.com for a final confirmation to be sent.

 

Work on the footings for the site of the phase 1 station at Corwen was completed on scheduled by the contractor last week.

 

Sixty-six concrete footings are now in place on the embankment.

 

The work now awaits the laying of base ballast and the track panels, after which it is expected that platform sections will be delivered by rail for erection on site.

Routine surgery to resume at North Wales hospitals

Routine surgery is being resumed at hospitals in North Wales after being postponed last week due to "increased pressure".

See the full story on the BBC website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25916942

County set to approve cuts of £8.5 million

According to the BBC today (Monday), Denbighshire County Council is set to approve budget cuts of £8.5 million.

For the full story see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-25904612

AM backs call to make fuel poverty key priority

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood is supporting calls for fuel poverty to be made a central priority of the Welsh Government’s Tackling Poverty Strategy.

 

Raising the matter in the Assembly Chamber with the Finance Minister this week, Mr Isherwood, Chair of the Assembly Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty and Shadow Minister for Communities and Housing, said:  “Given that the Welsh Government has decided to include fuel poverty within its Tackling Poverty Strategy in the Communities and Tackling Poverty portfolio, how do you respond to the statement in Consumer Futures’ draft work plan for 2014-15, that, ‘in Wales, we will seek to make sure fuel poverty is a central priority for the Welsh Government’s Tackling Poverty Strategy and commands sufficient resources to address the scale of the problem’?”

 

The Minister, Jane Hutt, said improving the energy efficiency of homes is the most direct way that Welsh Government can tackle fuel poverty and referred to the Welsh Government’s Arbed and NEST schemes.

 

However Mr Isherwood has stressed that these two schemes do not make a fuel strategy.

 

He said: “Uniquely amongst the UK nations, the Welsh Government  has scrapped its Fuel Poverty Advisory Group and rejected calls in the 2013 UK Fuel Poverty Monitor for its reinstatement.

 

Whereas the NEST and Arbed schemes are welcome, they alone do not make a fuel poverty strategy and I hope that the Welsh Government will heed Consumer Futures’ call.”

 

Pictures of groundworks going ahead at Cilmedw

Local man Simon Colllinge has let llanblogger have these panoramic pictures he has taken which clearly show a fleet of large earth-moving machines preparing the Climedw site off the A5 for the construction of a new factory for the Dobson & Crowther printworks.

Once the company has transferred its operations to the new building, work can begin on the Sainsbury's supermarket planned for Dobson & Crowther's current site adjacent to the river.