Stop-off points for Queen's Baton Relay announced

With only a month to go, the excitement is building in Denbighshire ahead of the Queen's Baton Relay's visit to the county on Friday, May 30.

A host of events are being arranged throughout the day to welcome the Baton to Denbighshire, only one of a handful of counties selected throughout the whole of Wales.

The baton relay routes and associated events are:

Rhyl Harbour  (9am-4pm)
The baton is welcomed into Denbighshire during the official opening of Rhyl Harbour.  At the beginning of the event, families will be able to enjoy a festival of colour and activities, including face painting, a treasure trail, bouncy castle, food, demonstrations from rescue services, kite surfing, watersports on Marine Lake and so much more.  For further details visit www.loverhyl.co.uk .  The baton  will be present between 9am and 9.30am

Rhyl Harbour to marsh tracks baton relay (9.30am-10.00am) Six local baton bearers, Michael Kitchin, Nathan Montgomery, Callum Perrin, Jamie Turley, James Morgan, and Tracey Jones will carry the baton between the two Rhyl events. Starting from the harbour at 9.30am, around Marine Lake to promote water sport activities, over the railway footbridge and along the countryside services path at Glan Morfa and into the Marsh tracks cycling centre on Marsh Road.

Marsh Tracks, Rhyl,  (10am-4pm) Free BMX and Road cycling bike hire and coaching, mountain bike track open as usual. Street games activities such as  football, rugby, ultimate frisbee, athletics, dance and more! Test your power against Team GB cyclists scores on the watt bikes leader board and recuperate with FREE drinks supplied by Asda (until stocks last) and food available to buy on- site from the taste academy, Rhyl. The baton will be there between 10am and 11am.

Moel Famau (12 noon – 4pm) The baton arrives on horseback, walking groups will relay the baton to the peak of Moel Famau, come and join in and see the views across the Clwydian Range whilst listening to a live band performance at the summit too! Fell runners will take the baton back down. The baton will be there between 1pm and 3pm.

Ruthin Family FUN day, Cae Ddol (12-5pm) An afternoon on activities for the whole family. Come down to Cae Ddol and join in and watch the battle of the bands, local sport fixtures, bouncy castles, face painting and sporting taster sessions from local clubs such as rugby league, netball, athletics, football, fun fitness boot camps, tennis, golf and bowls.  The baton will be there between 3.30pm and 4.30pm.

Coed Llandegla Forest (9am – 8pm), Oneplanet Adventure site Fun open day for mountain bike enthusiasts, all mountain bike tracks open as normal. Go-Race events organised by Welsh Cycling throughout the day, test your power against Team GB cyclists scores on the watt bikes leader board. Live music and entertainment from 6pm for the official baton handover event. The baton is there between  5pm and 6pm.

Councillor Huw Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Leisure said: “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.”

Follow the tips for safer cycling

* The number of cyclists injured on the roads is on the increase.

The number of cyclists seriously injured has increased in recent years, faster than the increase in cyclists out on the roads.

* The number of cyclists killed increased by 10% from 107 in 2011 to 118 in 2012

* The number of cyclists reported to have been seriously injured increased by 4% from 3,085 in 2011 to 3,222 in 2012

* Pedal cyclist traffic levels are estimated to have risen by 1.2% over the same period

* Most (92%) of these accidents involve another vehicle

In a bid to make things safer for cyclists, the Government is running a campaign called Think!   

The campaign consists of a series of tips, developed to educate and remind drivers and cyclists about the correct way to drive and ride, and reduce the number of collisions on the road.

THINK! advice for when you're driving

* Look out for cyclists, especially when turning - make eye contact if possible so they know you’ve seen them.

* Use your indicators - signal your intentions so that cyclists can react.

* Give cyclists plenty of space when over taking them, leaving as much room as you would give a car. If there isn’t sufficient space to pass, hold back. Remember that cyclists may need to manoeuvre suddenly if the road is poor, it’s windy or if a car door is opened

* Always check for cyclists when you open your car door

* Advanced stop lines allow cyclists to get to the front and increase their visibility. You must stop at the first white line reached if the lights are amber or red and allow cyclists time and space to move off when the green signal shows

* Follow the Highway Code including ‘stop’ and ‘give way’ signs and traffic lights

THINK! advice for when you're cycling

* Ride positively, decisively and well clear of the kerb – look and signal to show drivers what you plan to do and make eye contact where possible so you know drivers have seen you

* Avoid riding up the inside of large vehicles, like lorries or buses, where you might not be seen

* Always use lights after dark or when visibility is poor

* Wearing light coloured or reflective clothing during the day and reflective clothing and/or accessories in the dark increases your visibility

* Follow the Highway Code including observing ‘stop’ and ‘give way’ signs and traffic lights

* THINK! recommends wearing a correctly fitted cycle helmet, which is securely fastened and conforms to current regulations.

Message for local councils at Llangollen conference

Public sector organisations in Wales should learn from each other - that was the message at a conference recently hosted by Denbighshire County Council in Llangollen.

Delegates from public sector organisations across Wales attended the Learning for Change conference at Llangollen Pavilion and heard from the council about Denbighshire's experiences of managing the challenges faced by the authority following a critical Estyn inspection report in 2007 and a Corporate Governance report in  2008.

The Council's Leader, Councillor Hugh Evans and Chief Executive, Dr Mohammed Mehmet spoke about the "dark days" and how the council worked on transforming its culture, communication, performance management and its scrutiny processes following the publication of both reports.

Keynote speaker at the event was Lesley Griffiths AM, Minister for Local Government who outlined the current challenges facing the public sector in Wales.

The other presenter was Steve Thomas, Chief Executive of the Welsh Local Government Association, who spoke about Denbighshire's experience and the national picture of the public sector in Wales.
Councillor Hugh Evans, said: "It was a good opportunity for us to share our journey of improvement, but to also learn from other organisations about the challenges they have faced and their approach to managing their reputations and making changes to their services.

"I became Leader of the council at the start of our journey in Denbighshire.  We were clear from day one that things needed to change and we have focussed on a change in culture, improved leadership and a focus on performance and self-evaluation. We now have mechanisms in place to improve services and to monitor progress through service challenges and our political scrutiny system."

Mohammed Mehmet said: "Wales is a small nation and we should be sharing best practice and learning from each other. This is even more important during times of change and uncertainty.  

"Denbighshire has certainly gone through significant change and has transformed its way of working over recent years. Regulators tell public sector organisations they should learn from each other- that message came across clearly at the conference. Now we need to make that vision a reality - for the greater good of the public sector in Wales."

The  Minister, Lesley Griffiths, said: “Since becoming the Minister for Local Government and Government Business, I have stressed the importance of sharing best practice  across  the  public sector. It is  a challenging time for  public services but it is also a time of opportunity to consider new ways of working and new approaches to delivering services.

“During my visits across all 22 Local Authorities last summer, I saw many examples of innovative services and was impressed by the vision underpinning them.

“The examples I saw involved Local Authorities working with partners and citizens to create new approaches focusing on prevention, quicker action and more tailored service delivery. They also involved good collaboration within organisations.

“Local Government is at the frontline of providing everyday services for our communities. Delivering the transformational change to sustain services and deliver better outcomes for people and communities. The conference provided the platform for us to learn from each other, share experiences and discuss best practice.

“I congratulate and thank Denbighshire County Council for arranging  this conference,  to enable shared learning on such a  large-scale.”

Meeting looks at Llan newspapers of the past

To launch the availability of "Tuesday Review" and "Broadsheet" on line,  [http://www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk/  and search for either Tuesday Review or Broadsheet,
there will be a joint meeting of Hanes - Llangollen Museum - and Llangollen Civic Society at the Hand Hotel Wednesday 30th April at 7:30pm.

Peter Jones will give a history of Llangollen Newspapers, from 4th November 1860 to the present day. 

He will also demonstrate how it is now possible to access those from 1868 - 1908 and 1915 - 1919 as well as the newly available 1947 - 1983. 

Janet Wakefield will then show instances of how the newspapers reflected the life of the times that the newspapers were written, by picking out some of the more characteristic pieces of the time. 

For those without access to the internet it should be possible to use facilities at the Library to access the newspapers. 

The museum also holds a collection of the papers from 1868 - 1944 on microfilm, and the digitised copies of Tuesday Review and Broadsheet. 

Hanes provided the bulk of the issues for digitisation, but Llangollen Museum and Llangollen Library were helpful in providing their collections, as were several people in Llangollen.

Llangollen Museum provided the A3 scanner, and the software was bought using a donation from Sara Pugh Jones's first cousin twice removed, in Bogota, Columbia.

Ken's been working on the railroad

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates got his hands dirty during a gruelling shift with a team of volunteers who are reinstating and extending a railway line.


The Labour Assembly Member (pictured right) rolled his sleeves up and got stuck into an afternoon stint with
the Llangollen Railway group in Corwen on Thursday afternoon (April 24).

He said: “It was great fun – I really enjoyed it. This is a fantastic heritage project and a
tremendous amount of work has gone into it so far, but it’s obviously a labour of love for the
volunteers. They’ve made astonishing progress.”

Mr Skates, who is based in Llangollen, spent the afternoon shifting ballasts and helping the
crew align quarter-tonne sleepers ahead of the planned opening of the Llangollen-Corwen.

He added: “It was hard work, but I don’t think I did a bad job keeping up with the volunteers
and I was glad to be able to help. The next step is to build and install a 100-metre platform and
access ramp leading off the embankment at Dwyrain Corwen East, but the laying of the track
was completed recently ahead of schedule so it’s now full steam ahead.

“I’d like to thank the team for having me along and wish them the best of luck – I’m sure their
wonderful vision will soon become a reality.”

Roadworks update

Latest update to roadworks in Llangollen from the county council includes:

Fron Bache, from May 6-8, road closure to allow BT works.

200 flock to Plas Madoc photoshoot

* Kids in roller disco gear for the photoshoot at Plas Madoc.

More than 200 people turned out to show their support for a campaign to save under-threat Plas Madoc Leisure Centre.

Alison Roberts, a committee member of the recently formed Splash Community Trust, organised a photoshoot to help with marketing material as the charitable group bids to reopen the popular facility in Acrefair this summer.

 

The shoot was held to coincide with a half-term roller disco for children on Thursday – and Alison, who works in marketing, was thrilled with the turn-out.

 

She said: “It was fantastic. The roller disco event is hugely popular and there was in excess of 200 there despite many thinking the centre had already closed. We had a professional photographer come along and the shots will be used in future marketing material.

 

"Parents and children were happy to support so we’ve got some brilliant pictures to use to promote Plas Madoc while our work to reopen it continues.

 

“It was an event tinged with sadness as it marked the last one, and for children, parents and staff it was emotional to say farewell to this iconic activity at Plas Madoc.”

 

The Splash Community Trust is working to take over the running of the Plas Madoc from Wrexham Council and operate it as a community enterprise, with all profits ploughed back into the facility. But they face a major battle to generate the funds needed.

 

Alison added: “The centre has been really busy over Easter, so we’re confident that if we can reopen in time for the summer, when usage is always high, we will be able to get off to a great start.”

 

A third public meeting is expected to be held over the next few weeks. In the meantime, anyone with fundraising ideas is asked to email jennymiller08@hotmail.co.uk or call Jenny on 07921 659099.