Twenty Club auditions planned

The Twenty Club has sent details of auditions it is holding for its forthcoming production of Seaon's Greetings by Alan Ayckbourn.

These will be held at Llangollen Town Hall next Tuesday, July 29, starting at 7.30pm.

The play is the second production that Natalie Evans will have directed for the club, following her successful debut with The Glass Menagerie in last year, pictured below.

Bin it to win it

Kingdom Security, working in conjunction with Denbighshire County Council, is offering people the chance for people to be entered into a regular prize draw to win a £50 high street voucher for anyone who is seen disposing of their litter responsibly or picking up after their dog.

If an environmental enforcement officer sees someone disposing of litter in a bin or picking up after their dog, they will be commended personally for their action and also given a postcard and asked to complete their details and send it in to the Council to be included in the monthly prize draw.

The prize is funded by Kingdom and the Council is co-ordinating the draw and providing the administration and postcards.

Denbighshire contracted Kingdom to carry out environmental enforcement patrols across the county in October 2012 and since then, officers have issued 4,466 fixed penalty notices and their work has attracted widespread praise for cleaning up Denbighshire's streets, which is one of Denbighshire's Corporate Priorities.

Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, Councillor David Smith, said: "Issues of dog fouling and littering have repeatedly come out in our resident's survey as one of the main things that bothers people greatly and this is why we made 'clean and tidy streets' as one of our Corporate Priorities.  We contracted Kingdom Security to carry out environmental enforcement and have been running a widespread campaign since last February to educate people and change behaviour.

"We know the vast majority of people do dispose of litter properly and pick up after their dogs and we are seeing improvements across the county but we feel it is important that we also acknowledge those who do the right thing and ensure they are also recognised for their public spirit."

Steven Gillespie, of the Environmental Protection Division for Kingdom Security, said: "The Bin it to Win it scheme has been hugely successful in four other counties, so we thought we’d launch it here in Denbighshire. It allows Kingdom, in partnership with Denbighshire County Council, to demonstrate our commitment to acknowledging and rewarding members of the community who display environmental awareness."

Swing along to Llan Railway this weekend

Llangollen Railway is heading back to the swinging decade this Saturday and Sunday.

That’s when the heritage railway will be staging it fifth 1960's weekend.

And just to get you in the mood, event organiser Tez Pickthall has sent these two pictures showing some of the fun at the event in previous years and Llan Railway as it actually was in the 60s.

The locomotives 80072 and 3802 should be in steam over the weekend.

Class 26 D5310 will work three trips each day and two railcars - expected to be the Class 109 and Class 127 – will complete the line-up.

Some railcar services will run to Bonwm.

Free vintage bus rides will be on offer between Llangollen and Carrog, using two vehicles from the North West Museum of Transport, calling at Berwyn and Glyndyfrdwy en route.

The railway’s popular vintage vehicle rally will be staged in the field behind Glyndyfrdwy station.

Dr Beeching's real ale bar can be enjoyed on Llangollen station throughout the weekend.

The bar will have seven draught local real ales for you to try, along with bottled lagers, wines and soft drinks.

Real ale is available at £2.50 a pint. Not quite 1960s prices but still a bargain.

Retro-themed trade stands can be found at Llangollen station, including Craftevan, with a range of original Mini and VW camper-themed gifts along with some superb vintage clothes.

Saturday night will see live music on Llangollen station - resident stars Matt and Sophie will be joined by Elvis to entertain you from around 7.30pm.

Isherwood promotes regional rail links

 

* Mark Isherwood AM, left, with Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP.

 

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood AM has met with the UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP to support proposals for better North Wales rail connectivity.

 

At the meeting Mr Isherwood also discussed the business case for North Wales rail electrification and welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement of £10.4 million for the Halton Curve rail line to improve links between North Wales and Liverpool, Cheshire and Warrington.

 

Mr Isherwood said: “It was a very productive meeting. Improvements to routes between north east Wales, Liverpool and Manchester are critical in connecting businesses and individuals to markets and job opportunities and I welcomed the fact that the UK Government recognises this and is investing money accordingly.

 

“The former UK Government failed to electrify a single centimetre of track in Wales and only electrified nine miles of track across the UK in 13 years, whilst, by contrast, the UK Coalition Government has delivered the biggest investment in public transport in Wales since Victorian times.

 

“However it is disappointing that the Welsh Government Transport Minister, Edwina Hart AM, doesn’t give the same importance to improving the transport network in North Wales, with projects such as the redoubling of the line between Wrexham and Saltney having been reduced and funding redirected to the South. The Minister may be happy with the decision she made, ruling out extra capacity to run future trains for the north-west of England and ignoring the impact of the new prison in Wrexham, but North Wales is not.”

 

County relaunches dog fouling campaign

Denbighshire County Council is re-launching its campaign to tackle dog fouling in the county.

Over the past year, the council has been running a high profile campaign to warn people of the dangers of dog fouling and to encourage more people to report hot spots and provide information on those individuals who continue to act anti-socially by allowing their dogs to foul in public.

The campaign involved banners being placed in hot spots areas, lamp-post advertising, publicity in the media and messages being distributed on social media.

During 2013/14 the number of complaints received was 586. There were 255 complaints in 2010/11, 325 in 11/12 and 424 in 12/13.

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Lead Member for Public Realm, said: "We are attributing the rise in the number of complaints down to the fact that people are more aware of the dangers of dog fouling and how people can report problems.

"We've had a positive response to our campaign to date. We have done a lot of work around educating people through a poster campaign and through sending out some strong messages through the media about the steps the Council will take against the individuals who continue flout the law. However, there is only so much the Council can do to catch those responsible and we are reliant on information from the public.  By working together, we can all make a difference.

Emlyn Jones, Denbighshire's Public Protection Manager, said: "Residents in Denbighshire have told us that dog fouling is one of the biggest issues that worry them and we have been contacted by concerned members of the public who want to work with us to tackle the problem.

"The problem is no worse here in Denbighshire than any other area, but we want to be proactive in our approach through making people aware of the dangers posed to health, as well as effects on local communities.

"We hope that the minority of people who allow their dogs to foul in public change their behaviour and make Denbighshire a cleaner and safer place to live."

Meeting planned over bank closure proposal

Clwyd South’s Labour MP and AM are ready for talks with bank bosses over the proposed closure of NatWest in Rhos.

Susan Elan Jones and Ken Skates will meet Royal Bank of Scotland representatives at the village branch on Friday, August 1, in a bid to get the company to rethink its ‘disastrous’ plan to shut it a month later.

MP Ms Jones said: “I wrote to RBS to express my concerns immediately after they informed us of this awful decision, and I am going to use the opportunity to sit down with the bank’s hierarchy and tell them exactly what I think of it.

“This decision does not appear to have taken into account the hundreds of my constituents who rely on this branch and who will struggle without the face-to-face service they have come to expect from the company.

“The bank has also failed to give satisfactory answers about what services would be available at local Post Offices, so we will be asking for clarification on that.”

Rhos Community Council and local county councillors have also written to RBS opposing the move, said Ms Jones.

Assembly Member Mr Skates added: “This is yet another example of a large multinational company putting pounds before people and turning its back on its loyal customers, just as we have seen HSBC do in Cefn Mawr and Llangollen.

“The branch has served thousands of individuals, families and businesses over many years, but there was not even token consultation with the public before this disastrous decision was announced. Sadly, I am not convinced the half-services RBS is offering as alternatives will make up for what is being lost either.

“Susan, myself, the local community council and county councillors will again urge RBS to reconsider its decision immediately, and will do all we can to retain the best banking services possible for the  people of Rhos.”

Old Armoury opens its doors on Sunday

* The Old Armoury is open to the public on Sunday.

LLANGOLLEN’S historic Old Armoury will be throwing open its doors to the public this Sunday, July 27.

Sue Hargreaves bought the empty and rundown building, dating back to 1834, two years ago and since embarked on an extensive renovation programme which has seen her introduce displays giving a flavour of its past uses as a lock-up jail and a police station.

It comprises the lock-up, the armoury shop and the old town hall/drill hall above.

Sue has now gifted the ownership of the building, which stands between Hill Street and the A5, to the Armoury Conservation Trust which has pledged to ensure that the lock-up and old town hall will be restored in a way that respects their status as heritage assets to the town.   

The trust will now seek external funding for future development of the building and also make sure that it is used only for the public and community benefit, as an accessible heritage site and venue for educational, artistic and community purposes.

Trust member Rachel Morris said: “The Armoury Conservation Trust is extremely grateful for all the letters of support it has received from local people and organisations, in preparation for an application for funding to help restore the building. 

“By way of thanks, and for people who are interested in seeing and learning more about this historic building and its journey, an open day with light refreshments is being held there from 2.30pm on Sunday.

“A new display about crime and policing can be viewed, as well as the plans for the building's development. All of the people of Llangollen and their friends are welcome.”

When Sue Hargreaves acquired it, the building was in a poor condition and volunteers from Llangollen’s Tidy Town Team stepped in to clear it up and strip it back to basics.

Sue then decided to recreate, as faithfully as possible, the building’s earliest days as a lock-up and police station.

By September 2012 the building was ready to be shown off to the public during Denbighshire’s Open Doors history event when it attracted 300 visitors on just two afternoons.

Old Armoury facts

·   The building was designed by the county architect for Denbighshire and is the only known building in Llangollen constructed from limestone.

·    Its first “keeper” was a David Davies who lived in Chapel Street.

·   In 1871 the building was sold to local solicitor Charles Richards, with the purchase price apparently being less than the original cost of construction. In 1879 it became a base for the 9^th Denbighshire Rifle Volunteers, which is why the drill hall was built above both the former lock-up/police station and the adjacent shop. It was at this time it became known as the armoury.