KLS says "hang fire on cottage hospital's future"

* The traffic "pinch point" on the A539 approach to town.

A COMMUNITY group has asked Denbighshire County Council to hang fire on deciding the future of Llangollen’s former cottage hospital until the town’s planned new health centre is opened.

Martin Crumpton, chair of Keep Llangollen Special (KLS) recently wrote to Denbighshire planning chiefs voicing his organisation’s concern that should the cottage hospital be redeveloped while the proposed health centre fails to materialise, Llangollen would be “permanently and irrevocably be left with nothing, just the GP surgery which for years has been chronically short of space for its 9,000 registered patients.”

He also outlined KLS’s concerns about pedestrian access to the new health centre, planned for the site of the derelict River Lodge, off the A539.

He received a reply from Iolo McGregor, Corporate Improvement Officer, Business Improvement & Modernisation, which said: “In order to improve the pedestrian route to the proposed health centre, we have identified a couple of locations where pedestrians will be able to cross the road in order to avoid the section of Mill Street with no pavement.

“Each crossing point will consist of dropped kerbs, tactile paving and a ‘build-out’. A build-out is where the road is narrowed on one side by extending the pavement out to the centre line of the road thereby halving the distance that pedestrians will need to cross.

“Build-outs also force traffic from one direction to give way, thereby also creating a traffic calming effect, which will reduce speeds and thus further improve pedestrian safety.

“Additionally, should users not wish to walk, during the times when the new facility will be dealing with patients, there are currently four buses an hour operating between Llangollen town centre and the hospital site. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has agreed to provide shelters for passengers using the bus.”

Mr Crumpton was told by the planners that the future of the cottage hospital and the possibility of the health centre failing to go ahead were matters for the health board and not the county council.  

He has now written back to the council, saying: “The public consultation for planning application 03/2014/0472 (demolition of the cottage hospital) ends soon – June 3 - and we’ve only just been informed of the measures proposed to make access to the planned health centre build along Mill Street safe.

“Our evaluation of those measures casts doubt on the viability of the new primary health centre which, in turn, makes the need to retain the cottage hospital important and urgent, if not imperative.  

“We ask you to withhold the Decision Notice on PA 03/2014/0472 until the new health centre has been completed.

“If, having evaluated our concerns, your intention is to permit the redevelopment of the Riverside Lodge then we ask for a sensible, precautionary compromise - construct the traffic-calming measures first or at least simulate them with cones and temporary lights.

“This approach has the virtue of finding if a different approach is needed, or even if there is another solution.

“That stretch has been identified as unsafe and if our fears turn out to be unfounded they would have to have been constructed anyway, so there’s no additional cost involved.

“If the measures fail and have to be removed then the costs will only run into thousands rather than the millions at risk in building a health centre which patients can’t reach safely.”

The planning application for the old cottage hospital calls for redevelopment of the site by way of the demolition of existing buildings and the erection of six social housing units with associated access and parking provision.

KLS has a number of concerns about pedestrian access to the new health centre site, including:

·         Night-time visibility of the build-outs.

·         18-wheelers, emergency services and tourist coaches being unable to drive through a narrowed carriageway.

·         Deliveries of locomotives by wide flat-loader to Llangollen Railway becoming “impossible”. It says the railway shares this concern.

·         The proximity of Wern Road, the new pedestrian crossing and the northern end of Castle Street at the bridge to t.he beginning of the pinch-point on Mill Street means it would take no more than six queuing cars to gridlock Llangollen and might lead to the A5 also being blocked, fears KLS.

New team is turning tide of rural crime

* Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales, Winston Roddick,

with Sergeant Rob Taylor.

A special police taskforce is turning the tide of rural crime in North Wales - and "setting a benchmark" for the UK.

The dedicated team was set up six months ago by North Wales Police at the request of Police and Crime Commissioner Winston Roddick and it has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of countryside offences.

These include such diverse offences as livestock rustling, theft of farm machinery, badger digging and stealing rare birds eggs.

Since the North Wales Police Rural Crime Team was introduced the number of rural incidents has been recorded on a daily basis.

After peaking in October at 116, they have been dropping steadily with 72 in January, a fall of nearly 40 per cent.

Winston Roddick said: “During my campaign for the post of Police and Crime Commissioner I visited livestock markets and met farmers and members of the rural communities and without exception they pointed to how much crime was taking place in the countryside.

“These offences ran into millions of pounds and this reinforced the view expressed to me that we should dedicate more resources to combating rural crime.

“Even though the countryside is sparsely populated it contributes an enormous amount to the Welsh economy so it is entitled to effective policing and when I took that to the Chief Constable it was accepted immediately and acted upon immediately.

"Since then the Rural Crime Team has made an excellent start and they are setting a benchmark for the rest of the UK. Their work is attracting a great deal of interest from other forces.”

The team is headed by Sergeant Rob Taylor who has four full-time police constables distributed across North Wales and they are supported by a network of PCSOs and special constables.

Natural Resources Wales are partnering North Wales Police in the venture and it has been warmly welcomed by the rural community including the farming unions.

Sergeant Taylor said: “There wasn’t a dedicated crime team for the countryside although many years ago there used to be a farm liaison officer and a lot of farmers told me they regretted the loss of the position.

“But now we have a task force and the results speak for themselves and we have had very positive feedback nationally so that we are seen as a benchmark of best practice and have had other forces from England and Wales showing interest in what we do.

“We have a number of offences being dealt with by the courts including a string of stolen quad bikes, one of which we traced to Bolton and the theft of pheasant feeders near Bangor and we’re currently investigating badger baiting offences in the Holywell area while we also work with the RSPCA on cruelty cases.

“We use intelligence-led policing and make use of data which we analyse so that we put resources where they’re needed and when they’re needed.”

FUW Meirionnydd county executive officer Huw Jones said: “Investment in tackling rural crime is a great boost for the farming economy and has enhanced the safety of rural and isolated communities.

“Winston Roddick has consulted closely with the farming community and with us in the FUW, and we appreciate the close liaison.

“He has attended livestock markets such as Dolgellau on several occasions, attended FUW meetings and he has listened carefully to our views and taken our concerns on board.

“We congratulate Mr Roddick and his team on their successful strategy to tackle rural crime in North Wales and are hopeful that they will carry on keeping our rural communities safe.”

Sgt Taylor added: “The drop is encouraging, however these are very early days and there is still a lot of hard work ahead for the team and our partner agencies.

“This isn’t a solo effort and we rely so much on our farming unions for their support and also our colleagues at the NRW for their invaluable assistance.

“We have hit the ground running with the new team and we still have a long way to go, however we have a detailed structure and a plan to work to and we are optimistic that this will pay off and reduce crime in our rural communities and increase public confidence.”

North Wales Police’s Rural Crime Team officers can be contacted via the North Wales Police system by dialling 101 or by e-mailing direct to the team Ruralcrimeteam@north-wales.police.uk

Details of bus services changes from Sunday

Llangollen county councillor Stuart Davies has passed on details of bus service revisions affecting Llangollen from Sunday.

The information, from the county council, says:

"Some bus services in Corwen and Llangollen change on and from May 18th, principally owing to decisions by Wrexham County Borough Council to withdraw some of its bus subsidy.

"We have a new timetable book dated May 24th (to coincide with the majority of changes, outside Llangollen).

"Here in the meantime is a summary of the Corwen & Llangollen changes:

Service 5 Llangollen - Wrexham (Mondays to Fridays)

The 0740 Corwen to Llangollen section is withdrawn and this bus will commence from Llangollen at 0800. Corwen passengers may catch the X94 at 0735.

There are additional journeys at 0638 from Vauxhall Industrial Estate to Llangollen and at 0700 from Llangollen to Wrexham at 0700.

Service 5A Wrexham - Llangollen - Chirk (Sundays & Bank Holidays)

The section of route between Llangollen and Chirk is WITHDRAWN. It is replaced by a new Sunday/Bank Holiday timetable for the 5A/C that sees a broadly half-hourly service between Llangollen and Wrexham between 1000 and 1900. There are no services after 1900.

Service X5 Corwen - Ruthin/Denbigh

No change

Service 64 Llangollen to Llanarmon DC

Service revised from 10 to six departures per day Mondays to Saturdays

Service 91/95 Melin y Wig - Corwen - Llangollen/Wrexham

No change

X94 Barmouth - Corwen - Llangollen - Wrexham

No change

Service 97 Llangollen - Pengwern

No change following revision to service on and from April 28th.

98 Llangollen - Rhewl - Pentredŵr

No change

Legend's great-nephew to sing in Sweeney Todd

The great-nephew of one of Wales’s greatest singers is to sing with alongside operatic great Bryn Terfel at this summer’s Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

 

Thirty years ago Terfel was inspired and helped by the legendary Sir Geraint Evans and now Berwyn Pearce, 26, (pictured right) is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his great-uncle, Sir Geraint Evans and carve out a musical career.

 

His big break comes this July after being called in as a late replacement for one of the starring roles in Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the curtain-raiser to this year’s Eisteddfod in Llangollen on Monday, July 7.

 

Bryn Terfel heads a star-studded cast which also includes Carmarthen tenor Wynne Evans, Gio Compario of the Go Compare TV ads, and top soprano Shan Cothi.

 

And taking the role of the young sailor, Anthony Hope, who falls in love with Todd’s daughter, Johanna, is Berwyn, a Welsh-speaker from Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, home village of Sir Geraint, a miner’s son who died in 1992.

 

He was a star of the Royal Opera House and, like Bryn Terfel (pictured left), a bass-baritone who performed in the great opera houses of the world in roles such as Falstaff and Figaro.

 

Bryn Terfel, who sang at Sir Geraint’s memorial service, said: “He was an inspiration to young Welsh singers like me and he helped me when I first started out. It’s fantastic that I may now also be able to help Berwyn along the way as well and I’m really looking forward to it.”

 

It had looked a case of so near and yet so far for Berwym, a teacher at Cwmderwen Primary School, in Blackwood, in Gwent, who had been short-listed for the role of Anthony at auditions in Cardiff.

 

He reached the final auditions, attended by Bryn himself, but just missed out to another young tenor, Tom Hier, from Merthyr, who has had to drop out because of final year college commitments at the Guildford School of Acting.

 

Now he’s got his chance and he’s thrilled at the prospect: “I’m over the moon,” he said: “I’ve come off the bench and got my chance.

 

“I got down to the last two and didn’t get the part and that was worse than getting turned down in the first round but then I was told that the part was mine because Tom couldn’t make the main rehearsals.

 

“My family are absolutely thrilled, especially my mum (Jane Pearce) who is the daughter of Sir Geraint’s sister. She’s like all mums, she takes things harder than I do and she’s more excited when things go well.”

 

Berwyn, a graduate of the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, remembers visiting his famous great-uncle at his holiday home in Aberaeron before his death in 1992.

 

He said: “I remember him as an elderly man when we went to visit but I was very close to my Auntie Brenda, Uncle Geraint’s widow, and his family.

 

“I’m so chuffed for them really and one of the first people we rang was Uncle Huw, Geraint’s son and I’m hoping he’ll be coming to see me in the performance.

 

“The school where I teach have been great too. They’ve been checking on my progress and they’re delighted I’ve got this chance.

 

“It’s a brilliant opportunity. I played the part in college and I’d always wanted the chance to do it again because it’s one of the best musicals there is so it’s huge for me.”

 

He will be playing alongside Lauren Morris, from Solihull, as the star-crossed young lovers and he added: “She’s a lovely girl and it will be great to sing with her.

 

“That’s one of the great things about this business. You get to meet and work with so many different and talented people.

 

“It will be incredible to perform with Bryn Terfel, especially because of who my great-uncle was, but that won’t count for anything in the performance.”

 

Terfel himself chose the three young unknowns – 14-year-old Dewi Wykes, from Llangynhafal, near Ruthin, a pupil of Ysgol Brynhyfryd, will play urchin Tobias Ragg – for Sondheim’s acclaimed show which was first performed in 1979.

 

They were whittled down from over 80 hopefuls who took part in auditions at the Wales Millennium Centre, in Cardiff, and the Royal International Pavilion, in Llangollen

Terfel said: “It was a wonderful standard, the standard one would expect for Llangollen, and to have Sir Geraint’s great nephew there is a real bonus.

 

“It’s a one-off performance and I can’t wait. It will be a special day in Llangollen when we perform Sweeney.”

 

Alongside Bryn making the decision was Eisteddfod Musical Director Eilir Owen Griffiths who said: “Tom was obviously desperately disappointed but the main rehearsal coincided with his graduation production at the end of a three year course.

 

“But these things happen and it means a wonderful opportunity for Berwyn and that’s just the magic of the business where an understudy can step in and take the first steps to stardom.

 

“That’s one of our roles at the Eisteddfod, to provide chances for young talent to flourish and there can be no bigger opportunity than to sing alongside a legend like Bryn Terfel.

 

“It was so close between Tom and Berwyn for the part. Berwyn is a class act and a strong, strong contender who will bring a special performance to the role – he is a good looking young man with a real presence.”

 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Sondheim is set in 19^th century London and tells the story of the crazed barber who murders his clients and supplies the bodies to his accomplice, piemaker Mrs Lovett.

 

Sondheim’s multi-award winning classic was first performed on Broadway in 1979 and has since been a regular production across the world and on the big screen in 2007 when superstar Johnny Depp played Todd and Helena Bonham Carter was Mrs Lovett.

 

Bryn Terfel, who took the role in 2002 in Chicago, is fresh from a performance of it by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the Lincoln Center in New York in March when Oscar-winner Emma Thompson played Mrs Lovett.

 

He said: “That was a fair crack of the whip with lots of blood, playing this man driven by revenge.

 

“It was very impressive to have Stephen Sondheim there and telling you what he thought of the performance. It’s his favourite work and has been performed all over the world and made into a Hollywood blockbuster.

 

“It will be special doing it in Llangollen with Gareth Jones there conducting the Sinfonia Cymru and I can’t wait.”

 

It will be the first time he has performed on the International Eisteddfod stage since he opened the 2006 festival, his first appearance at Llangollen in a decade.

 

Sweeney Todd will be the curtain raiser to six tremendous days at Llangollen which begin on Tuesday, July 8, with this year’s concerts featuring Dutch jazz diva Caro Emerald, American tenor star Noah Stewart, a new work by composer Karl Jenkins, the Cape Town Opera, the Choir of the World competition on Saturday night and legendary British rockers Status Quo closing the event on Sunday night.

 

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

 

 

Man dies following Sunday's A5 collision

North Wales Police have confirmed that following a serious road traffic collision on the A5 between Corwen and Llangollen last Sunday 11^th May 2014 a 26 year old local man has, this afternoon (Wednesday) sadly passed away.

 

Senior Investigating Officer Sergeant Gwyndaf Jones of the Roads Policing Unit at St Asaph said: “Shortly after 1.20pm on Sunday 11^th May 2014 North Wales Police and other emergency services responded to the scene of a serious road traffic collision on the A5 between Corwen and Llangollen involving a white Peugeot van and a green VW Passat. 

 

"Sadly, the driver of the Peugeot, 26 year old Corwen man Ieuan Christopher Hearn, has passed away as a result of the injuries he sustained.  The driver of the Passat sustained minor injuries."

 

Speaking on behalf of the family Ieuan’s mother Philomena Hearn said: “Ieuan will be greatly missed by his family and friends and his loss will leave a huge hole in our lives.  We’d also like to add our sincere appreciation to Ambulance and hospital staff who did all they could to save his life and ask that we may be given time and privacy to try and come to terms with this terrible news."

 

Sergeant Jones added: “A full investigation is underway into the cause and we’d like to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and may have witnessed the collision to contact Police on 101 and quote reference RC14069696.”

Operatic stages a groovy Mikado

* The fab cast of the Mikado.

It’s the Mikado – but not as traditional Gilbert & Sullivan fans know it.

But don’t worry about that because it’s still brilliant.

With a setting that owes more to a classic episode of Top of the Pops than ancient Japan, Llangollen Operatic Society is currently staging an updated interpretation of the evergreen operetta planted firmly in the 1970s, complete with mini-skirts, flared trousers and dodgy hairstyles.

But although the backdrop has been changed the powerful music for which the piece is famous retains the same memorable clarity and quality as the esteemed original.

And, judging by the Wednesday opening night, Llangollen Operatic has rarely made such a beautiful noise, to steal an expression from that seventies song by Neil Diamond.

Every one of the cast gives it all they’ve got, whether singing solo, in close harmony or as a chorus. In fact, some of the chorus work is so powerful that at times you think it might blast you out of your Town Hall seat and right back to the Decade that Time Forgot.

Leading the charge is the professional tenor Christopher Diffey (pictured right) whom the Operatic has had the great good fortune to sign up for the lead role of Nanki-Poo.

He’s the young man who turns out to be much more than the wandering minstrel of his introductory song - in fact, the heir to the throne of  Japan.

His command of the part is total and his vocal contributions simply breathtaking.

But, that said, there’s no way his talents overshadow other members of the cast.

He’s matched note for note by Helen Belton who plays Nanki-Poo’s love interest, Yum Yum.

In strong support as Yum Yum’s two friends – together they make up those legendary Three Little Maids from School – are the magnificent Jo Potts and Karen Davies.        

Producing a fine performance balanced deftly between vocal brilliance and comic genius is Justine Bradey as Katisha, Nanki-Poo’s brassy would-be spouse who struts the stage like a scary Titipu Lily Savage.

The Mikado, whatever version, is notable for its comic characters and they don’t come much better than the fab foursome of Jim Allen as Pooh Bah, the man who holds just about every job in Titipu apart from street sweeper, Richard Mascarenhas as Koko, the Lord High Executioner, whose comic edge is as sharp as his samurai sword, Dave Short, a doddery delight as the Mikado himself, and Kieran Davie as the perfect Pish Tush.

And let’s not forget the members of the choruses – ladies and gents - who bind together the action by making some truly terrific sounds.  

The whole thing is a credit to director Chrissie Ashworth, her co-director/choreographer Pamela Williams and musical director Owen Roberts, who heads up the small but powerful ensemble of musicians.

As Koko might have said in his seventies way of putting things – the Mikado is just groovy, man!  

The show is also on tonight (Thursday), Friday and Saturday evening. Tickets, priced at £9 and £7.50 concessions, are available from Llangollen Tourist Information Centre in Castle Street (01978 860828), Jades Hair & Beauty in Oak Street and Stella Bond (01978 860441).

Mikado opens tonight at the Town Hall

Don't forget Llangollen Operatic Society's production of The Mikado opens tonight at the Town Hall ...