County gives reasons for bottle bank removal

* The recycling area now minus the bottle bank.

Denbighshire County Council has been explaining the reasoning behind the removal of the bottle bank from the Market street car park which was highlighted by llanblogger recently.

A council spokesperson said: "Our request to reduce the number of bottle banks was because the site was uneconomical due to the very low volumes.

"Before countywide kerbside recycling, the contractor was getting 7-8 tonnes of glass from the site every month, it has now dropped to a less than 1 tonne per month.

"Our request for the contractor to remove banks meant that instead of coming to the site every 5-6 weeks, he would have to attend at least twice as often and collect a fraction of the volume every time.

"It's just not viable for them to do this, particularly given Denbighshire is on the fringe of the operating area.

"The last remaining issue is whether the council could pay the contractor a premium to attend. Our estimate is that it would probably cost in the region of £100 per tonne to retain the service in Llangollen as we wanted it and that is an unjustifiable rate.

"If householders (the only people who should use the bottle banks) instead put their glass bottles with their fortnightly recycling collection at home it will actually generate more revenues (£20 per tonne) for the council and deliver greater value to the taxpayer.

"Several local authorities in England are currently removing all their recycling banks because reduced volumes have made them more expensive to operate than their household collections.

"In Denbighshire, all the plastic bottle and can recycling banks were removed three years ago because the costs became excessive given that household collections were offered everywhere."

* If you have any views on the removal of the bottle bank, please send them by email to llanblogger@gmail.com

Old hospital could be sold to housing association

* The former Cottage Hospital could be sold to a housing association,

according to the health board.

The former Llangollen Cottage Hospital looks set to be sold to a housing association.

In view of speculation about its fate, llanblogger submitted a Freedom of Information request to its owners, the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, asking what plans it had for the 137-year-old building on Abbey Road, which has been empty since the hospital closed last March.

We also sought details of the asking price if the building was offered for sale on the open market.

In its a reply, the board says: “Local health boards in Wales are required to act in accordance with a protocol established by the Welsh Government where it is determined whether surplus land can be used to implement the Welsh Government’s objectives for the delivery of affordable housing in Wales. 

“The health board is therefore currently considering the sale of Llangollen Hospital to a local housing association.”

The reply adds: “We anticipate that the sale to the housing association will proceed. 

“However, should the property be offered for sale on the open market we would in the first instance seek advice from local agents in respect of an asking price.”

There are no details about which housing association the board is in negotiations with.

The hospital now lies empty, boarded up and surrounded by security fencing after it was closed almost a year ago despite an intense local campaign to save it from closure.

Its death knell was sounded after the health board revealed plans to build a new £5.5 million health centre on the site of the old River Lodge on the A539.  

This scheme was given the go-ahead by Denbighshire’s planning committee last week.

The replacement facility means the axe will also fall on the existing Llangollen Health Centre in Regent Street.

The health board said recently that it would follow the same process for disposal of this building – a former primary school – as the hospital, first exploring the possibility of using the site for housing and then offering it for sale if this is not feasible.  

Eat a hearty breakfast to support charity

Fancy eating a hearty breakfast to kick start your metabolism and help raise funds for a good cause at the same time?

 

Then why not join the Inner Wheel for The Big Breakfast on Wednesday, February 26 at The Community Hall, Regent Street, Llangollen, from 9 - 10.30am.

All proceeds are in aid of Cancer Research.

There will be a knitted garments stall, raffle and bring & buy.

Tickets are £6 per person.
 

Skates urges people on to the ice to try curling

* Ken Skates, right, in his curling days.

 

A WELSH Assembly Member who is a former champion curler is urging more people to take up the sport after the success of Team GB at the Winter Olympics in Russia.

Great Britain’s men won a silver medal at the Sochi Games last Friday to add to the bronze won by the women’s team earlier in the week.

And Clwyd South AM Ken Skates, who won a First Province of Wales Premier League title when he played for the Mid Wales Marauders, said he hoped more people would try their hand at the ‘fantastic’ sport as a result.

“Curling is a fantastic sport and I’d certainly recommend it to anyone who has had their appetite for something new whetted by the success of our British teams at the Winter Olympics,” he said.

“It requires a lot of discipline, persistence and patience, but it’s also great fun. The Welsh Curling Association is based in Deeside and there are several teams across North East Wales. There are also a number of curling taster sessions planned next months for people who are interested in taking it up – go and give it a try!”

The taster sessions at Deeside Leisure Centre, Queensferry, are from 5pm-9pm on March 3, March 10 and March 17. The fees are £5 for adults (21 and over) and £3 for juniors, and no equipment is needed. 

Denbighshire makes its views clear on council merger

Councillors in Denbighshire have met to discuss their response to the initial recommendations of the Williams Report.

The Commission on Public Service Governance and Delivery has recommended that Denbighshire County Council merges with Conwy County Borough Council

Councillors in Denbighshire agreed the following:

* Denbighshire would not pursue a voluntary merger option

* The council notes that enforced mergers will not happen before the next Welsh Government Elections in 2016, which realistically means that mergers are off the agenda for at least the next four to five years.

* It is urging the Welsh Government to respond positively and urgently to the report's recommendations on improving leadership and performance and simplifying funding arrangements in the public sector.

* Until any proposal for the future is agreed, the Council will concentrate its efforts on delivering its ambitious Corporate Plan and manage the cuts while maintaining priority services for residents.

Councillor Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of Denbighshire, said: "The Council has had time to consider carefully its response to the recommendations included in the report.

"The council has made its views known in the past that the public sector should concentrate its efforts on improving leadership, culture and performance rather than divert its attention to large scale reorganisation of public services. That view has not changed and whilst we will make our feelings known to the Welsh Government, only time will tell what the outcome will be."

Dr Mohammed Mehmet, Chief Executive of Denbighshire, said: "We have taken the decision not to merge voluntarily as we don't believe that large scale voluntary collaborations have worked in the past and there is no confidence that they will work in the future.

"There is a lot of uncertainty around whether these proposals will actually happen and if they will, when will the changes be implemented.  Such uncertainty is not good for the public sector and the time and effort involved in preparing for merger that may or may not happen would be much better directed to delivering our priorities.

"Our efforts continue to be focussed on providing the best services possible for the people of Denbighshire."

Go Compare man to sing alongside Bryn Terfel in Llan

* Incomparable ... top tenor Wynne Evans who'll be starring

in Sweeney Todd with Bryn Terfel at Llangollen International

Musical Eisteddfod.

Top tenor Wynne Evans has landed an incomparable new role - singing alongside opera superstar Bryn Terfel in Llangollen.

Wynne  – best known as the waiter who belts out catchy jingles in the Go Compare TV ads – will be starring with the bass baritone in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street at this summer’s Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

 

But first Wynne faces a mad dash from Covent Garden where he'll be performing in the Richard Strauss opera, Ariadne auf Naxos, the night before at the Royal Opera House.

 

He'll be joining Bryn and an all-Welsh cast in an English language production of the Sondheim classic on the opening night of the Llangollen Eisteddfod on Monday, July 7, that's being sponsored by the Pendine Park care organisation.

 

According to Wynne, 42, Llangollen is one of his favourite places on the planet.

He explained: “Llangollen is a very special place and one of the most special places on earth for a week.

 

“I performed in a headline concert there a couple of years ago and also presenting BBC 2’s coverage of the festival for the last two years.

“Llangollen is a wonderful place to return to especially as I’m going to be performing with my old mate Bryn Terfel.

“I’m playing the role of Pirelli, Sweeney Todd’s arch rival who is slain by the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Luckily, Bryn and I are good friends or I might just take it personally!

“We both attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, although he was a few years ahead of me. So we have been good friends having know each other for a long time."

Wynne, who was born in Carmarthen, was an established opera star long before he was picked to play Gio Compario for the Go Compare TV ads and has performed at many of the world’s top venues including the Royal Albert Hall.

The TV exposure, he says, has been a bonus when it comes to concert ticket sales.
He added: “It’s amazing really. Six years ago I was relatively unknown until of course Gio Compario came along. It doesn’t bother me though, I know I was a successful opera singer before he came along and I will continue performing in the future.

“I think about the attention I get as my being an ambassador for Wales actually. I have just been over to Dublin for the rugby international, I was working for a TV station, and, as usual, I got lots and lots of ‘Go Compare’ shouts from across the street.

“However, I feel quite honoured really. I know some artists and performers who get quite precious and don’t want to perform the very song that made them famous. I can never understand that, it just doesn’t make sense to me.

"People expect you to perform what they know you best for. What’s the point in disappointing people?

“I know a lot of people come along to concerts or opera performances I’m in as a direct result of seeing those TV ads so I am happy to celebrate that.

“And I’m filming a few more ads in the near future so you can expect to see Gio Compario back on your TV screens quite soon!”

Sweeney Todd was the perfect introduction for anybody who hasn't seen live opera before.
He said: “It’s superb. Fast moving and menacing it's got a bit of everything including murder and intrigue and the music is just sensational."

This year’s Eisteddfod will also feature concerts by Dutch jazz sensation Caro Emerald and veteran British rockers Status Quo as well as a world premiere of a new work, Adiemus Colores, by top composer Karl Jenkins.

 

He will conduct his Latin American themed work with American tenor Noah Stewart, Venezuelan trumpeter Pacho Flores and Latvian accordion player Ksenija Sidorova to the accompaniment of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod Orchestra.

 

The Friday night concert, Spirit of Unity, will feature the Cape Town Opera, Africa’s premiere opera company, famed for their "vibrant vocalism and high-octane stage performances".

 

Appearing with them will be Wales’ representative in Cardiff Singer of the World, Gary Griffiths, the Wales Millennium Centre Only Kidz Aloud Chorus under the baton of celebrity conductor Tim Rhys Evans and British Sinfonietta, one of the UK's leading independent professional orchestras.

 

The Choir of the World competition for the Pavarotti Trophy on the Saturday night is the blue riband event of the week-long festival which will close with a Sunday night concert by Status Quo.

 

To book tickets and for more details on the 2014 festival go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk

Local youngsters shoot monuments film

* Valle Crucis Abbey.

 

Denbighshire schoolchildren will be the stars on the red carpet in an upcoming premiere of their films on Welsh heritage sites at the Llangollen International Pavilion.

Inspired by Welsh heritage sites at Rug Chapel and the Valle Crucis Abbey, the pupils will showcase the results of their hard work in creating films based on the monuments under Cadw guardianship.

The schoolchildren from Ysgol Caer Drewyn in Corwen and Ysgol Bryn Collen in Llangollen will showcase their work to friends and family in a launch on March 6.

 

Valle Crucis Abbey was visited by Ysgol Bryn Collen’s year 4 class.

 

The pupils spent the day exploring the site and its surroundings, including the ninth century Eliseg’s Pillar which stands on a Bronze Age burial mound just 500 metres from the abbey. After tours from the Cadw custodian and archaeologists, the pupils worked on creating their interpretation of the historical area in film.

 

Pupils from year 5 at Ysgol Caer Drewyn visited the Rug Chapel site and connected with its past through a series of poems they had written. A digital film was then created at the school which showcases the stunning historical site with the pupils poetry read out over the images.

 

The project, led by Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, had utilised  the pupil’s skills in communication, team working and literacy, applying the Curriculum Cymreig to learn about music, languages, geography and art as well as history. The children have been working with award winning company Big Heritage to create the films.

 

Dean Paton, at the Big Heritage company said: “Big Heritage exist to create new ways for people to engage with their shared past, so we were really pleased to work with Cadw to help local schoolchildren to explore the stories of two amazing local places".

 

"Valle Crucis gave us an opportunity to tell stories of a whole landscape, whilst Rug Chapel focused on the tiniest of details that caught the imagination. The project has helped the local schools to appreciate their past, and the films leave a wonderful creative legacy for others to enjoy."