KLS has latest Buy Local Day on Friday

Keep Llangollen Special has organised in latest Buy Local Day for this Friday, May 9.

The aim is to support Llangollen’s local traders and celebrate quality, personal service and value for money.

 

AM calls for action to protect community pubs

 

 

* North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood and Welsh

Conservative Leader Andrew RT Davies at the recent North Wales  launch of the ‘Save your Local Pub’ campaign.

 

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has sent a letter to the Minister for Housing and Regeneration Carl Sargeant AM calling for the Welsh Government to take action to protect valued community pubs from closure.

 

Mr Isherwood, contacted the Minister after receiving a letter from constituents who are members of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, who would like  the Welsh Government to uses its power under the UK Localism Act 2011 to enact the Community Right to Bid for Assets of Community Value in Wales, which would help prevent further pub closures in Wales. Mr Isherwood has also previously spoken in favour of this in the Assembly.

 

New powers introduced under the Localism Act have given communities in England the opportunity to help protect valued community facilities such as pubs by listing them as Assets of Community Value (ACVs).

 

Listing pubs as ACVs prevents their sale behind the back of local people and allows communities to delay any sale by up to six months while they investigate options for saving the pub. Many of the 350 pubs listed as ACVs in England have brought together people from a variety of backgrounds to campaign on behalf of saving their local pub. ACV status can also be used as a material consideration in planning decisions.

 

Mr Isherwood said: “As the CAMRA members state ‘pubs play a critical role in the Welsh community; supporting over 34,000 full and part-time jobs, supporting local food and drink production, and providing a regulated environment to enjoy alcohol responsibly.

 

"However community pubs in Wales are in crisis with three closing every week, often without the local community having a say. Without added protection for pubs in Wales, they will continue to close at an alarming rate.’

 

Mr Isherwood added: “The Welsh Assembly Government has the power to enact the Community Right to Bid for Assets of Community Value in Wales, which would help protect our valued community pubs from closure.

 

“I strongly support the introduction of the Community Right to Bid in Wales and I am therefore calling on the Minister to give this matter his urgent attention and confirm the Welsh Government's intended course of action.”

Tourism businesses invited to forum event

Tourism-related businesses in Denbighshire are being invited to attend a forum which looks at developing the visitor offer across the county.

The Denbighshire Tourism Forum has been arranged on Thursday 12 June 2014 at Ruthin Castle where delegates can discuss Denbighshire's Destination Management Plan, growing tourism in Denbighshire, learn a few customer service techniques and discover Denbighshire's newest digital tourism product.  

Councillor Huw Jones, Cabinet Lead Member with responsibility for tourism, said:"This is an ideal opportunity for businesses and individuals to get together and share ideas as to how we can get more people to discover what Denbighshire has to offer."

If you would like to attend the Denbighshire Tourism Forum, please  e-mail: dcc_tourism@denbighshire.gov.uk or ring 01824 706223.  Registration is from 10am, the Forum starts at 10.30am with lunch and networking at 1pm.

This project has received funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

County council wants your views on priorities

Denbighshire County Council is focussing on delivering its priorities and would like to hear your views about some of its proposed activities for the year ahead.

Each council in Wales is expected to produce an improvement plan and Denbighshire’s five year Corporate Plan was agreed in 2012.

Every year, the council announces its planned projects for the year ahead, to support the delivery of its priorities.

The priorities are:
·        Developing the local economy
·        Improving performance in education and in the quality of school buildings
·        Improving roads
·        Vulnerable people are protected and are able to live as independently as possible.
Ensuring access to good quality housing
·        Modernising the Council to deliver efficiencies and improve services for customers.

The full document with the Council’s planned activities can be viewed on Denbighshire’s website: www.denbighshire.gov.uk/consultations

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding these projects, you can contact the Council by e - mailing corporate.improvement@denbighshire.gov.uk or by phone:  01824 706161.

The closing date is 12pm on May 12.

What the forthcoming Euro election is all about

Check out the BBC's guide to this month's Euro elections.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-27068444?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Llangollen Railway fronts tourism brochure

* The new brochure featuring Carrog Station.

The front cover of the 2014 tourism brochure for North East Wales features a dramatic view of the Dee Valley as seen from Carrog station with a steam train departing.

The view encompasses the splendid scenery of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the valley of the River Dee with the availability of the heritage railway to provide easy enjoyment of it from the comfort of a traditional train journey.

In addition to this prime illustration, there is a whole page promotion given to the Llangollen Railway acknowledging its position as a major tourist attraction in the region which includes Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.

As the only operating standard gauge heritage railway in the whole of North Wales, the Llangollen Railway provides a range of travel opportunities and activities for visitors to the region to explore the delights of the Dee Valley.

These will soon be enhanced when the railway's extension to Corwen opens later in the summer of 2014.

George Jones, for Llangollen Railway, said: "We are delighted that the front cover of the new brochure features the railway at Carrog within its setting of the dramatic Welsh scenery. The scenic view from the train as it runs between Llangollen and Carrog continually attracts praise from visitors who experience the journey and acknowledge the claim that the Llangollen Railway is among the best in Britain for its setting."

With a print run of 60,000 it will be distributed widely to key markets in the Midlands and North West – underlying the accessibility of the area to visitors. The brochure will also be distributed via advertising campaigns, promotion at exhibitions and by direct mail as well as via media and public relations visits.

Councillor Huw Jones, Lead Member for promoting Denbighshire, said: "This is a fantastic marketing tool, to encourage more visitors to the area; with so much to see and do is such a small area, it shows that Denbighshire is an ideal location for the family market as well as for the more specialist walkers and heritage enthusiasts.”

This brochure is available from all UK Tourist Information Centres and also the Exhibition Coach at Llangollen Station.

It can also be downloaded from www.northeastwales.co.uk or contact Denbighshire’s Tourism, Marketing and Communications Department on 01824 706072 for a copy.

Llan women involved in Dylan performance project

Two Llangollen women are taking part in an event which is part of the Dylan Thomas 100^th birthday celebrations and will be streamed live on the internet next week.

Lleisiau is a Wales-wide sonic/performance arts project, which celebrates the way the population of Wales uses its voice in a variety of unsung ways.

 

Performances will happen in Cardiff from May 8-10 and start at 7.30pm.

 

From the newspaper seller, to the town crier, a shepherd, a rag and bone man, a singer of alawon gwerin, a rapper, an auctioneer, performers have been recruited from across Wales by open audition, chosen for their distinctive use of voice in their daily lives, in Welsh, English or other languages spoken in Wales.

 

The result is an informal and experimental evening of live and pre-recorded entertainment.

 

Among those taking part are Rachel Morris and Francesca Simmons, a creative violinist, from Llangollen.

 

Rachel said: “It’s being live-streamed on the internet. I'll be reading a piece I wrote about the role of voice in personal identity and 'fitting in', and Francesca will be playing a saw, I believe!”

 

* See more at: http://www.chapter.org/lleisiau#sthash.WYwFLRKp.dpuf