County wins funds to replace street lights

Denbighshire County Council has been successful in receiving government funding to replace the county’s street lights with a more modern and energy efficient technology.

The Council has successful applied for funding through Salix, a government funded initiative to fund a six year energy reduction programme, worth £280,760k a year.

To help reduce energy consumption, the council will:

• introduce a system for dimming and managing lights
• use white lights to replace existing equipment
• introduce more efficient electronic equipment
• introduce LED lighting schemes.

Steve Parker, Denbighshire's Head of Highways and Environmental Services, said: “The council’s street lighting electricity costs increased by over 10% during the 2014/15 financial year, which led to an increase of £35k on the current street lighting energy bill.

“The cost to run the lighting was £345,340 and with the certainty of increases in electricity tariffs this additional increase would have placed an additional burden on the street lighting budget.

“Any further increases in energy costs would have an adverse effect on the council’s ability to maintain existing lighting to its current standards. That is why we had to consider applying for a large investment, to ensure the sustainability of the service."

As well as financial savings, there are environmental benefits through reductions in carbon emissions.

Councillor Smith added: “There are currently 11,790 lighting units in Denbighshire, much of which is outdated and inefficient in comparison to modern technology currently available.

“Street lighting has a major impact on the environment, allowing use of areas after dark and reducing crime and fear of crime. The use of modern and recyclable street lighting equipment can provide options for reductions in energy use, thus reducing the authorities’ carbon footprint leading to a more sustainable future for the street lighting service."

To date the council has replaced the majority of its lanterns on principal roads with new efficient LED light sources. This has resulted in significant energy savings of over £100K per year.

Major bike event planned for Pavilion

Llangollen county councillor Stuart Davies has welcomed news that a major motorbike event is powering its way into the town this summer.

Hundreds of bikers will be heading to the International Pavilion for Bikefest 2015 on Saturday and Sunday, August 1 and 2.

It will feature competitions, classics, clubs, customs, demonstrations, displays, mega-prize raffle, trade stands on and off-road bikes, sporting VIPs and stunts.

Cllr Davies said: “As a lifelong biker myself I’m aware of the spending power of the biking fraternity.

“I remember the popularity of the previous bike shows held in Llangollen and hope Bikefest will be as successful as they were.

“Local businesses, both traders and accommodation providers, will do well from this event and it ties in with Denbighshire County Council’s tourism strategy. I wish it well.”

Cllr Davies says he has also met with the Chester Harley Owners Group who are returning again this year for their rally at the Pavilion.

“They made their first visit last year and enjoyed it so much that they have booked the Pavilion for the next few years,” he said.

“That’s good news for the local restaurants and accommodation providers. It’s also good news for the Pavilion which is providing a world class venue for events such as this.

“The Harley Owners’ Group are extending a welcome to the townspeople to visit their rally on site during the day to inspect their magnificent chromed machines.

“They would welcome the chance to meet with town residents and traders. There will be motorcycle merchandisers there and no charge to get on the field.

“I’d like to thank the team at the Pavilion who have worked so hard to attract such prestigious shows.”

* For more details of Bikefest go to: http://www.llanbikefest.co.uk and for the Harley event, see
http://www.devalegionhog.co.uk/www.devalegionhog.co.uk/Home.html

Llan Male Voice Choir on lookout for singers

* Llangollen Male Voice Choir's 2015 line-up. 

A CHOIR which has performed in the Royal Albert Hall and around the world is on the lookout for new members.

Llangollen Male Voice Choir -  Côr Meibion Llangollen – was formed 33 years ago and has since gone from strength to strength.

And it has just put out the call for new singers, especially tenors.

With just six men, the choir first tuned up back in 1982 in the home of one of its founder members, Leslie Wilson, who became long-term chairman. Current president is Ian Bluck.

First conductor was Peter Dennis Jones, whose dedication and inspiration made the choir what it is today and whose death in 2006 came as a great loss.

The choir has had several conductors over the years, with David Bird now in his second year at the helm.

There have also been a string of accompanists and currently in the role is Christopher Enston who took over from his mother, the late Alwen Enston, who had occupied it for 11 years.

Deputy conductors and accompanists are Owen Roberts and Ken Grain. 

Over the years the choir has travelled both in the UK, and also to Canada, France, Germany, Malta and especially to Holland, where they have exchanged several visits with their Dutch friends in Deventer and Friesland.

The choir enjoys taking part in joint concerts, and have been several times to the Royal Albert Hall in London with the massed Welsh choirs, and to the MEN Arena in Manchester three years ago.

They have also taken part in the TV programme Dechrae Canu, Dechrae Canmol at the Marble Church at Bodelwyydan , and have appeared on Songs of Praise.

The choir takes seriously its charity role, with the ladies raising money with raffles, CDs and stalls.

As well as appearing in various local venues to sing, the choir performs in churches and chapels, at weddings and birthdays, to raise money for their funds.

As the choir grew, it moved to The Hand Hotel, Llangollen.

Its secretary Lesley Willis said: “Over the years we have lost many members and it is difficult to replace them. But we have some very loyal members who travel long distances to be with the choir from places such as Formby, Tarporley, Congleton and a wide radius of Llangollen.

“In the early days practices were twice a week, but sadly, as numbers decreased, we have just one practice a week on a Friday evening, followed by a sing song in the bar afterwards - thus entertaining many visitors from far and wide who come to this busy little tourist town in the beautiful Vale of Llangollen, the home of The International Eisteddfod, held annually in July.”

Lesley added: “Our repertoire includes not only a wide variety of Welsh and English music, but other languages too.

“Our motto is Cyfeillgarwch drwy Gan - Friendship through Song - which is very apt because we have made friends throughout the world, some returning from afar to hear us, showing music has no barriers.

“We are always looking for new members, especially tenors at the moment, and anyone wishing to join us can come along The Hand Hotel on Fridays at 7.30pm.”

llanblogger takes a break

llanblogger is taking a short break and will be back in just over a week's time.

So see you then ...

Town councillor's General Election tip

Town councillor Phil Thane has asked llanblogger to publish the following piece related to the General Election:

Amid all the media frenzy and political point scoring it's often hard to find out who your election candidates really are. You may have a handful of glossy leaflets pushed through your letter box, but they are designed to push the party line not tell you anything about the person.

You may have watched the TV debates and come away wondering what it was all about when only the people in their constituencies can vote for them and no matter how much you like Nicola Sturgeon she isn't standing in Clwyd South. So where do you get a simple guide to who you can vote for?

The answer could be the Democracy Club website. The Democracy Club describes itself as,

'...a group of volunteers that aims to increase the quantity, quality and accessibility of information on election candidates, politicians and democratic processes...'

One of their ideas for improving the quality of information is to ask each candidate to post a simple CV. After all they are applying for a job and we are the interview panel. A CV is the minimum requirement for most job applications and follows a well know format. No spin, no party line, just the facts about who this person is and what they've done with their lives until now.

Clwyd South Candidates

You can see all the CVs submitted by our candidates here: http://bit.ly/1EsNU7y

Unless there's been a sudden rush, there's just one. When we first checked there were none at all so we clicked the button that sends a polite request to all the candidates in the constituency. Only one replied and only one uploaded his CV. You'll have to check to find out who it was, and maybe while you're there you could try reminding the others.

National Statistics

I spoke to Francis Irving one of the Democracy Club organiswers to see how Clwyd South compares with the national (UK) figures. So far only about 12% of candidates have uploaded a CV, so Clwyd South with one out of six is ahead of the curve. The breakdown by party is:

Liberal Democrats 115
Green Party 109
Labour Party 61
UK Independence Party (UKIP) 52
Conservative Party 38
Plaid Cymru 1

For more about Democracy Club go to www.democracyclub.org.uk

Nominations sought for county sports awards

NOMINATIONS are open for Denbighshire County Council's 2015 community sport awards.

Over the last three years since the awards were established the council has recognised over 30 individuals, teams, schools and clubs for their dedication to local community grass root sport in the county.    

There are also elite level athletes representing Wales and Team GB in their chosen sport from Denbighshire, which we have and will continue to recognise their achievements and success.

All of Denbighshire’s community sport award finalists will be forwarded to the newly formed Sport Wales and BBC Wales sport personality awards held nationally in Cardiff, where Denbighshire will be looking to add to the success of six finalists and five national winners over the past three years.
   
Nominees must live in the county or be affiliated to a Denbighshire club relevant to their nomination and achieved their success in the last 12 months up to the application closing date which is Friday July 24 2015.
   
This year's categories include Sports Performer, Junior Sports Performer, Coach of the Year, Team of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Disability Sport Award, Young Inspiration Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, and the ‘Sport in School award’.

An individual or team will also be chosen from all the previous category winners for their outstanding achievements/contributions to sport and will represent Denbighshire for the next year as Community Sport Ambassador 2015.
   
Jamie Groves, Head of Communications, Marketing and Leisure said: ”The Denbighshire Community Sport Awards have helped recognise and share some amazing stories of achievements by individuals and teams from Denbighshire over the last couple of years.
   
"Each year there are new nominations from various sport clubs and schools throughout the county, and last year the panel had a hard job picking just three finalists for each category from over 220 separate nominations.

"This proves to us that the quality of sport is very high, there are plenty of opportunities for people to return to playing sport or to try a new sport as a beginner too. This is all down to the unselfish army of volunteers within our community clubs, so lets recognise this and celebrate community sport in Denbighshire again this year.”
   
Denbighshire Leisure Services are also looking for suitable organisations that would like to link to their brand to the community sport awards as a category sponsor and a ‘sponsorship package’ can be sent for more information.

* For more information on the awards and details on how to nominate or sponsor this year's event please contact Matt Hilliker on 07798742290 or matthew.hilliker@denbighshire.gov.uk

Successful theatre tour returns To Llangollen

* Winona - the cast.

Earlier  this year, the Llangollen Twenty Club pledged to support the first ever tour of a new work by young Welsh playwright, Christoper T. Harris called Winona, presented by Abandoned Theatre Co.

The play was directed by long-time club member Natalie Evans and featured fellow members Ally Goodman and Andy Evans in the cast, along with Jack Shimmin as technical officer and Barry Evans on set design and props.

The tour was a success with acclaimed performances taking place in Liverpool, Aberystwyth and Cardiff, and the debut show drawing high praise from several critics in attendance.

One example was: "...a claustrophobic tale of almost Pinteresque proportions ... Sir Harold would surely have approved ... it's compelling stuff" – British Theatre Guide.

And another was: "... one twist followed by another ... enthralling to watch" - Merseysider Magazine

As a thank you to the Twenty Club for pledging its support, Winona will now be performed in Llangollen tomorrow, Tuesday April 28, at a special event at the Town Hall.

There will be no charge for tickets at this performance. Instead, Abandoned Theatre Co will accept
any donations from audience members on the night, with proceeds going towards covering the cost of the venue hire and future tours featuring members of the club.

Abandoned Theatre Co presents...

Winona

Llangollen Town Hall
Tuesday April 28
Doors 7pm/curtain pp 7:30pm
FREE ENTRY - Donations welcome

* The production is not suitable for children under 15 and contains strong language and adult themes.