Cash seized from criminals will help community groups

 

* From left, Winston Roddick, Police & Crime Commissioner,

with Richard Debicki, Assistant Chief Constable, and David Evans, the P.A.C.T project manager.

 

A new scheme is being launched to hit villains and help community groups across North Wales.

 

Money seized from criminals will be used to create a pot of money available to organisations which help tackle anti-social behaviour and combat crime and disorder.

 

Following a successful trial last year, the scheme is being set up by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Winston Roddick CB QC, North Wales Police and the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT).

 

A total of £42,000 will be up for grabs - with £3,000 apiece for two groups in each county and £6,000 available for a group that operates across North Wales.

 

The Your Community, Your Choice initiative - otherwise known as the Participatory Budgeting Scheme - is being partly funded by the money recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act, using cash confiscated from offenders with the rest coming from the Police Commissioner.

 

Community groups are being urged to apply between September 8 and October 10 using a form on the websites of the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner and North Wales Police.

 

A shortlist of applicants will be chosen by a special panel and from November 1 members of the public will decide which groups to support with a vote via the two websites and a dedicated email address.

 

Mr Roddick said: "This scheme is vitally important. It’s a first class scheme which brings the police and the community closer together.

 

"It gives an opportunity for the community to decide how they would like to see the funds we’ve extracted from criminals spent in their community.

 

"It also sends a very good message that crime does not pay and the ill-gotten gains of criminals are going back into the the communities from which the money was taken.

 

"This is an opportunity to provide support for some fantastic community organisations in every part of North Wales.

 

"We are inviting the groups to make their applications and explain, if they are successful, how they would spend the money.

 

"What they do will contribute to the Police and Crime Plan to reduce crime and disorder in the area and that is a really positive thing.

 

"Our aim is to make North Wales an even safer place to live, work and visit."

 

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Debicki was equally enthusiastic.

 

He said: “I think the value of a scheme like this is it allows members of the public and local organisations right in the heart of communities to bid into a fund and to be part of the solutions to crime and disorder in their area.

 

"The money is from the Police Commissioner’s fund as well as money which has been seized, and assets confiscated from the proceeds of crime.

 

"It's absolutely right and proper that the money taken out of the hands of criminals is put back into the community.

 

"The pilot last year was very successful and we are very happy to be a partner of the Police and Crime Commissioner in this initiative."

 

"This initiative should help to give the local community a great deal of confidence that the Police and the Commissioner are listening to their concerns.

 

"This is about the local community and local organisations working together and working with the police to put things in place at a local level in order to tackle the issues which matter to the public most.

 

PACT manager Dave Evans explained "The fund will be open for application by email using a standard application form that will be available on both the PCC’s website and North Wales Police’s website.

 

"We had some particularly high quality applications from the pilot round of the fund last year.

 

"Among the projects to benefit last year were the Llandudno Good Citizenship scheme, the Barmouth CCTV scheme and the Wrexham Street Pastors.

 

"This pre-notification period will hopefully give community groups the opportunity to develop their applications.

 

“Applicants have to be a properly constituted community group or a registered charity and the main criterion is that the project in question helps to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

 

“It gives us the opportunity to engage with a wide variety of community groups and also importantly gives our local neighbourhood policing teams the opportunity to engage with those groups and support them with those projects that they want to run.

 

"I would highly recommend that applicants considering putting in a bid liaise with their local neighbourhood policing team to discuss their bid and make sure that it is as comprehensive as possible."

 

The opening date is September 8 and completed applications must be returned via email to participatorybudgetfund@nthwales.pnn.police.uk by the closing date at 5pm on October 10. For more information ring 01745 588516.

£4 million earmarked for new ambulances

The Welsh Ambulance Service will get almost £4m for a major upgrade of its fleet of vehicles, Health Minister Mark Drakeford announced today.

 

The new funding will enable the service to buy 41 new vehicles, including emergency ambulances and specialist rapid response vehicles, to replace existing ambulance fleet.

 

The ambulance service currently has 736 vehicles covering an area of more than 8,000 square miles in Wales. The new vehicles will help contribute to a more reliable, better equipped, and more efficient emergency ambulance service.

The new ambulances will ensure patients are treated in the best clinical environments possible using the latest equipment. The new vehicles will reduce overall operating costs for the Welsh Ambulance Service as they will be more fuel efficient.

The latest ambulance service performance figures reveal the demands placed on the service with 35,570 emergency calls during June 2014. They also show that immediately life-threatening incidents, which needed an emergency ambulance response, have increased by 30% over the last five years.

The £3.833m investment for new fleet will allow the ambulance service to buy:

• 14 emergency ambulances;
• 15 large patient care service vehicles;
• four small patient care service vehicles;
• two health courier service vehicles; 
• six specialist vehicles.

Professor Drakeford said: “The demands placed on the ambulance service in Wales every day of the year are significant. The service receives tens of thousands of emergency calls every month and life-threatening incidents have risen by almost a third over the past five years.

“This is why we are continuing to invest in the ambulance fleet to make sure modern, reliable vehicles are available to respond to sick and injured patients. This new funding will help provide high-quality clinical services, improve the comfort and care to patients and offer a much better working environment for ambulance service staff.”

Heather Ransom, Head of Resource for the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: "The Trust welcomes the continued support from the Welsh Government for its vehicle replacement scheme. Not only will the new vehicles improve the comfort and safety of our patients but also the working conditions for our staff.

“Regularly replacing ageing vehicles ensures our fleet remains modern, reliable and fit for purpose. The investment will allow us to continue to improve the quality of our services for the people of Wales and enhance patient care."

Gardening club hosts successful open show

Llangollen and District Gardening Club hosted its 2014 Open Show at St Collen's last Saturday. ‏

Thirty people entered more than 130 classes. 

 

Organisers say they were delighted with this as they hadn't held a show for a number of years and knew that they would have to gradually build it up again.

 

David Bartley's entries in the vegetable and flower classes won him the trophies for the most points in the vegetable classes, most points in the vegetable and flower classes and most points in the show.

 

He also received a £20 voucher from Stans kindly donated to the person who won the most points in the show.

 

Jane Jones, who is on the gardening club committee, won the trophy for the most points in the flower classes.

 

Judith Barclay won the trophy for the most points in the cookery classes.

 

For the organisers, Linda Thane said: "We would like to thank the judges who did a splendid job, Dr Rhys Davies for presenting the trophies, the sponsors and the people who gave their time to

help with organising and running of the show.

 

"We were delighted that we had entries from people who had previously entered but especially pleased to receive entries from people who had never entered a competition before and they were surprised and encouraged when they won a 1st in their class."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skates becomes eisteddfod vice-president

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates said he was ‘proud and honoured’ after becoming vice-president of the world-famous Llangollen International Eisteddfod.

The Labour Assembly Member, who is based in Llangollen, was offered the official role by the chairman Gethin Davies this month in recognition of his continued support for the event.

Mr Skates (pictured left) said: “I have said previously that the Llangollen Eisteddfod is my favourite event of the year, and last month’s was the best I’ve been to.

"I was proud and honoured to be offered the role of vice-president, and I look forward to helping one of the region’s flagship events continue to go from strength to strength.

“The Eisteddfod is famous around the world for its celebration of different cultures, and promotes understanding and cohesion between international communities.

"It gives us another platform to show what Wales – and, in particular, Denbighshire – has to offer, and it’s something we should be immensely proud of.”

MP calls for meeting over A483/A55 roadworks

WREXHAM MP Ian Lucas has called for a meeting with the Highways Agency before major works on a crucial road for commuters - including many from Llangollen - begin in earnest. Preliminary work earlier in the month on the A483/ A55 interchange caused long delays for people approaching the junction, especially from the Wrexham direction. A number of his constituents have contacted Mr Lucas to raise concerns that little information was made available to drivers before the work began. With work on the junction – intended to help improve the traffic flow – slated to begin soon, Mr Lucas has asked to meet Highways bosses to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. He said: “It is noticeable that when there are problems on the A483, whether these are accidents or scheduled works, that delays make themselves felt for a long way along the road. That’s why I am so keen to ensure that the Highways Agency are clear about what they are planning and what effect the work may have. “I am aware that the work being undertaken is in England, but it is almost a textbook example of a cross-border project and it will clearly have an impact on my constituents travelling from and to Wrexham. “I have called for improvements to the A55 and A483 interchange for some time, and will keep a close eye on the work once it is completed. I think any fair minded person would expect some delays as work is carried out, but what is crucial is ensuring motorists know what to expect and are given information with enough time to help them to plan.”

Crowds enjoy sports club event

* Crowds at the fete enjoy the sunshine. 

A Bank Holiday weekend fundraising fete at Llangollen Sports Club's headquarters on Sunday afternoon proved a huge hit with the crowds.

Revellers flocked to the field to test their skills with a variety of games, including trying to throw a rugby ball through holes in a board.

There was also a bouncy castle and face painting to keep the youngsters happy plus a hog roast and other refreshments including a sweets stall.

A full programme of live entertainment was provided throughout the afternoon and early evening, including performances by live bands.

Providing the perfect rousing finish was the band Marblehead Johnson who laid on a string of Britpop hits which got the crowd up on their feet and begging for more.

*The band Marblehead Johnson were a big hit with their Britpop performance.

 

 

 

* Pat Vance came all the way from the south of England to be at the event.  

Man's body discovered in Llangollen area quarry

A body of a man has this morning (Sunday, August 24) been recovered from a disused quarry in the Llangollen area.

 

According to North Wales Police, the man, who at this time has not been formally identified but is believed to be from the Leicestershire area, was diving yesterday (Saturday, August 23) with two others at Aber Las, a disused quarry in the Nantyr area of Llangollen, when it is believed he got into difficulties.

 

The Ambulance Service alerted the police to the incident at 1.52pm on Saturday, August 23, after the alarm was raised by the man’s co-divers.

 

Temporary Chief Inspector Siobhan Edwards of North Wales Police said: “We along with the Mountain Rescue Teams (MRT) including Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation (OVMRO) and NEWSAR (North East Wales Search and Rescue) attended.

 

"The expertise of the North Wales Cave Rescue Organisation (NWCRO) was also used along with divers from the Cave Rescue Organisation who are based in North Yorkshire. The latter were transported to the scene by a Sea King helicopter from 202 Squadron RAF Search and Rescue.

 

“During the early hours of this morning (Sunday, August 24) the body of a man was recovered from the disused quarry.

 

“The next of kin have been informed.”

 

T/ Chief Insp Edwards added: “North Wales Police are not treating the death as suspicious at this time however officers will continue to undertake inquiries on behalf of the Coroner. A file will be submitted in due course.”

 

North Wales Police say they would like to thank all agencies and volunteers who assisted.

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