Tories to stage spring conference in Llan

ANOTHER political party has announced it will be staging a major conference in Llangollen this year.

Plaid Cymru has already said it will be holding its big annual gathering at the town’s Pavilion in October and now the Welsh Conservatives have announced they will be using the same venue for their spring conference in April.

A Welsh Conservative spokesman said: “Our conference will be taking place from Friday 11^th to Saturday 12^th April.

“Our line-up of speakers and events is currently being finalised, but will include Andrew RT Davies AM,  Rt Hon David Jones MP, Kay Swinburne MEP and a number of our senior MPs and Assembly Members. 

“We will be setting out our campaign for the 2014 European elections to return Kay Swinburne, who topped the poll in the 2009 European elections, to the European Parliament in Brussels.”

Plaid Cymru leaders have said they see their conference in Llangollen, on the weekend of October 24 and 25, as a landmark occasion as it will be the last major gathering of supporters before the 2015 General Election.

It is also regarded as significant because it will be held just weeks after the referendum on Scottish independence.

An official statement from Plaid Cyrmu said: “The party are looking forward to returning to Llangollen, following many successful conferences there in the past. 

“The venue is an ideal one for our conference, with great facilities at the pavilion, ample accommodation nearby for our delegates and the backdrop of the beautiful landscape of the Llangollen area.”

A spokesman for Llangollen Chamber of Trade  & Tourism said: “We are delighted to hear that the Welsh Conservative Party is to hold its spring conference this year in Llangollen.

“This will provide a great opportunity to boost the economy of the town and showcase the outstanding beauty and attractions of the area. Hopefully, it will also demonstrate what a good venue the Pavilion is for other conferences in future.” 

For details of the Welsh Conservative conference see: http://www.welshconservatives.com/events/welsh-conservative-party-conference

For stall bookings at the Plaid Cymru conference, contact Gwenno George at: gwennogeorge@plaidcymru.org

Campaigners slam Plas Madoc closure decision

The save Plas Madoc Leisure Centre Campaign has condemned the council's decision to close Plas Madoc within six weeks.

Darrell Wright, for the campaign, said: "The executive board had an opportunity to give the community trust a lifeline until October the 1st, but they blew it. The additional cost would have been £144,000 and still they refused.

"Our concern as a community campaign is that closing the doors on April 28th will make it virtually impossible for a community enterprise to make the centre a success from the outset.

"Reasonable pleas for the council to provide some help in the short term were ignored, as we're warnings that children would now go to swim in the river with all the additional dangers.

"These councillors, with one honourable exceptIon, should hang their heads in shame for their lack of vision and ambition for our area. Why are they more willing to listen to discredited consultants and officers than the people and also an independent surveyor, whose survey of the building revealed only minor works was needed?"

 

The campaign committee has pledged to continue the fight and says it will consider all possible options before Thursday's public meeting at the Air Products club.

 

* Martin Crumpton, chair of Keep Llangollen Special, has commented on the Plas Madoc decision.

 

He said: "The first day a building is ‘mothballed’ is when entropy takes control and decay sets in. The disappearance of electricity, of humans to monitor and effect running repairs, guarantees than that the next £50,000+ consultancy will have all the justification Wrexham wishes to have to condemn the building, and thus another valuable community asset is converted to cash.

 

"The first tile that drops and smashes because the grouting has dried, condemns every tile. Consultants will see to that. Vandals will ensure every window needs replacing, bugs and vermin will arrive with the drug addicts and squatters. Before the fire engines arrive, goods stolen from the sheltered housing opposite will barely make it to the nearest auction house (or pub, as most people call them).

 

"By October 1st, it will be barely fit enough for safe demolition.

 

"No, there isn’t a chance of Plas Madoc being run by a Social Enterprise. It takes around eighteen months to get one up and running. But surely Wrexham’s doughty councillors know this? Those who do, neglected to mention this. Those who don’t, listened to those who do but asked no questions.

 

"As the ripples from this inept, unwarranted and ill-advised closure spread out, we in Llangollen can only shake our heads sadly. We’ve seen it all before. So many times. To this day, the sham consultations, the freelancing in office, the box-ticking, the self-guided consultancies who just happen to be affiliated with the construction industry, those we elected treating planning law as optional extras – they still reign over us, usually with crocodile tears, but mostly with our money.

 

"We haven’t said goodbye to Plas Madoc yet, but the odds were stacked against us from even before the beginning."

Fate of Plas Madoc leisure centre decided

Plas Madoc leisure centre is set to close in seven weeks despite pleas to keep it open as long as possible, the Daily Post website is reporting.

Wrexham council’s executive board this afternoon voted to close the centre on April 28.

It will then be mothballed until October 1 to give a community trust time to take it over.

For the full story see: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/plas-madoc-leisure-centre-close-6802572

Nigel strides out to help disabled youngsters

 

* Nigel Redfern.

An IT manager will embark on his tenth annual charity walk on April 6 to help a college that has been providing vocational training for young people with disabilities since 1927.

Nigel Redfern,  who works across the Llangollen, Oswestry and Wrexham offices of law firm GHP Legal, has taken part in The Derwen College annual sponsored ten mile walk every year since visiting the garden centre there with his family in 2004 and seeing the dedication of college staff to improving the students’ quality of life.

Over the last 40 years the college, which is near Oswestry, has substantially extended the range of services it provides to meet the needs of its students who have learning difficulties and other disabilities. The annual sponsored walk is just one way of raising the money to do this.

Appealing to colleagues, family and friends for sponsorship, Nigel, said:  “Derwen College does a fantastic job in nurturing, developing and challenging the youngsters who go there, in order to improve their life skills and help them get jobs and live independently.

"I feel proud to be able to help them in this small way and I would encourage other local people to do help as well, perhaps even consider taking part in the walk themselves. 

“Anyone wishing to pledge sponsorship for my walk can do so by emailing their name, address, postcode and the amount they are sponsoring, to nigel.redfern@ghplegal.co.uk. Unless people tell me otherwise I will claim gift aid on the amounts sponsored and collect the monies in after the event.”

Fire on hillside above the town

llanblogger took this picture of what appeared to be a large gorse fire on the hillside just west of the town earlier this afternoon (Monday).

The large plume of smoke drifting away rom the blaze eventually died down later in the afternoon.

Llangollen Fire Station has since confirmed this is controlled burning until 6.30pm today.

UPDATE ...

Llangollen Fire tweeted later this evening:

Llangollen Fire ‏@Llangollenfire 9m

At 17:07 Our two appliance's were called to a mountain fire in the Llantysilio. Chirk and Wrexham 1st also assigned. Hrjx3 and beaters used.

County prepares to welcome Queen's Baton relay

The countdown has begun for the Queen’s Baton Relay to visit Wales at the end of May, with Denbighshire County Council preparing to welcome this prestigious event to the county.
The Queen’s Baton Relay which will be visiting the county on Friday, May 30, with the official route due to be announced in the coming weeks. Today (Monday), the baton bearers for the various stages have been announced.
A programme of activities are being arranged to coincide with the event. Details will be announced in the coming weeks.
Councillor Huw Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Leisure said: “The fact that the baton bearers have been confirmed is great news and we are a step closer to welcoming the Baton Relay to Denbighshire and to Wales.

“It’s great that local athletes and those with connections with the county are to be given an opportunity to be part of this major event and will hopefully inspire a new generation of children and young people to see the benefits of sport and leisure activities in general”.

Jamie Groves, Head of Communications, Marketing and Leisure for Denbighshire, said: “We have a team of staff working tirelessly to welcome the Baton Relay into the county and to arrange activities to coincide with this historic event.

“It is also a great platform for the county to show the rest of Wales and beyond that Denbighshire is a great place, not only to live and visit, but also to host major events of national significance.”

Chris Jenkins, CEO of the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales, explains; “The Queen’s Baton Relay is a chance for the whole nation to get behind the team of athletes set to compete for Wales at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games just two months later, and it really is an invitation to join us on our journey.”

“By linking athletes and coaches from past and present back to the communities they came from through the QBR, we hope that it will inspire the next generation to believe that anything is possible, and that one day they could be a Commonwealth champion bringing their medals home.”

The Queen’s Baton Relay begins in Wales on Saturday 24^th May 2014 and will spend seven days visiting a mixture of close knit community events, large multi-sport bonanzas and iconic landmarks before it heads across the border to England on Friday 30^th May.

For more detail on the route that the baton will take please visit www.teamwales.co.uk/queens-baton-relay-2014/ 

Group raises questions about hall's future

 

 

 

* Interior pictures of Tyn Dwr Hall courtesy of Lawray Architects.

A Llangollen community group has asked Denbighshire County Council for assurances about the future of historic Tyn Dwr Hall in the town.

As llanblogger revealed last week, the 1860s building and former youth hostel is being closed as an outdoor centre by the University of Central Lancashire which has used it for that purpose since 2009 following a £2 million refurbishment.

The Keep Llangollen Special (KLS) group has now written to Mark Dixon, the county’s strategic regeneration manager, putting a number of questions about the hall.

KLS chair Martin Crumpton says in an email to him: “Undoubtedly you’re aware that Tyn Dwr Hall, Llangollen, will likely fall victim to cuts by UCLAN, despite its award-winning refurbishment in 2009.

“Its intrinsic value, and its part in the community make it unthinkable to leave it and its grounds to fall derelict, as was Denbigh Hospital. Given the consequences of that sorry episode, avoiding a similar situation is paramount to all of us.

“On behalf of our community group, Keep Llangollen Special, we would like to ask: Can UCLAN’s shortfall be made up for it to continue; are there viable alternatives, either public or private, which would maintain the house, outbuildings, grounds and jobs; can KLS be involved? Our intention is to be supportive.”

The company’s website shows that as lead architect on the refurbishment, Lawray Architects developed designs to convert the building into three-star accommodation, which reflected the brief not only to provide an educational facility for students, but to allow the building to hold commercial conferences and team building events.

The development includes bedrooms, teaching rooms and lecture facilities, IT suites, dining and relaxation areas and ancillary storage buildings to hold outdoor equipment.

The project received the Llangollen Civic Society Award ‘for the sympathetic restoration and renovation of a Victorian building’ and the North Wales LABC Building Excellence award, County Winner for the ‘Best Commercial Development less than £1million’.

See: http://www.lawray-architects.co.uk/projects/heritage/tyn-dwr-hall/