Early bird Fringe tickets now on sale

One of the biggest UK ska bands from its heyday in the late seventies and early eighties, The Selecter,  launches this year’s Llangollen Fringe music programme on Thursday July 14.

The band were regularly at the top of the charts with songs such as Too Much Pressure, On My Radio and Three Minute Hero.

Organisers reckon they are certain to get the Fringe off to a great start for this year’s  12-day festival. 

Jah Wobble is also confirmed to play on Saturday July 16. In his early days he joined forces with John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols.

Early Bird Fringe tickets are now on sale from the beginning of March until Easter and will allow entry into all evening concerts during the festival.

The ticket also includes a journey on the Orange Blossom Special, a chartered train on the Llangollen Steam Railway with a country and western theme and entry to the Fringe’s own acoustic festival, Fringe Acoustica. 

More details of this year’s programme will appear on the website, www.llangollenfringe.co.uk.

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are being sold online at £70 from today until the end of March.

This is a big saving on the full ticket price for each individual event.

Attending just four of the 14 events will already see you making savings on the entry price, according to festival organisers. 

County to increase parking charges from April 1

Denbighshire County Council is informing residents of an increase in parking charges in its pay and display car parks – the first to be  introduced in over seven years.

The new charges are being introduced from April 1, and the details are:

Short stay car parks

	Current		New
Up to 30 mins	10p	Up to 30 mins	30p
Up to 1 hr	50p	Up to 1 hr	£1
Up to 4 hrs	£1	Up to 3 hrs	£2
Over 4 hrs	£7	Over 3 hrs	£7

Long Stay car parks

	Current		New
Up to 30 mins	10p	Up to 30 mins	30p
Up to 1 hr	50p	Up to 1 hr	£1
Up to 4 hrs	£1	Up to 3 hrs	£1.50
Over 4 hrs	£3.50	Over 3 hrs	£3.50

The cost of daily parking and parking permits will remain the same.

Further details of the new pricing system and any local variations will be posted on pay and display machines over the coming days and will also appear on the council’s website: www.denbighshire.gov.uk from April 1.

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, said: “In Denbighshire, we have been proud of the fact that we have not increased car parking charges for over seven years. However, the economic climate has changed and we have needed to look at car parking charges like every other area of the council’s work.

“We still believe the slight increases provides good value for money, with our charging regime similar to those in other counties in North Wales and actually remains cheaper than others.

“The charges will create a greater price difference between short stay and long stay car parks, which should result in a greater turnover of spaces in short stay car parks. This, in turn, should assist local businesses in our town centres and continue to encourage local shoppers and visitors to park in our car parks."

Dog microchipping deadline approaches

Denbighshire County Council is reminding residents in the county about new rules regarding microchipping dogs which come into effect on April 6.

From that date it will be compulsory for all dogs over eight weeks old in Wales to be microchipped and have their owners’ details registered on an approved database.

Dog owners are responsible for ensuring that the information on the database is up to date. If they haven’t already had their dog microchipped, or if the details are not on the database, they must do so before April 6.

Each microchip has a unique reference number which the owner must register on one of the authorised databases along with their own contact details. This help reunite owners with lost or stolen pets and should also protect the welfare of dogs by promoting responsible ownership and breeding and help in the control of dangerous dogs.

* To arrange for your dog to be microchipped and to receive more information about microchipping, dog owners should speak to their vet.

 

Tory leader opens facelifted tea rooms

* From left to right: Cihan Oguz, Maria Florin, Paul Davies,

Ahmet Guven, Andrew RT Davies, Mehmet Ilik,

Simon Baynes and Meliksah Logoglu.

Andrew RT Davies AM, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, opened the newly refurbished Cottage Tea Rooms in Castle Street, Llangollen on Saturday morning.

He was accompanied by Simon Baynes, Welsh Conservative Assembly Candidate for Clwyd South, and met Ahmet Guven and Mehmet Ilik, who run the business which is also a bistro, and their team.

Simon Baynes said: “I know the team at the Cottage Tea Rooms very well and have watched them build up and invest in their business, culminating in this extensive refurbishment. You always get a very warm welcome from Ahmet and Mehmet and their team who work very hard, opening the Cottage Tea Rooms seven days a week. They are very popular with local residents and visitors alike.”  

Andrew RT Davies, who was in town for the Welsh Conservative conference at the Pavilion, said:

"It was a great pleasure for me to open the newly refurbished Cottage Tea Rooms in the centre of Llangollen. I was really impressed by the high quality of the refurbishment - and by the delicious Welsh cakes! It was very good to chat with Ahmet and Mehmet and all their team and hear more about their ambitious plans for expanding the business further in the future. I wish them every success.

"Small businesses are the lifeblood of the Welsh economy. Welsh Conservatives would lead the most small business friendly government ever - supporting ventures like the Cottage Tea Rooms, which clearly play a key role in attracting visitors to the beautiful town of Llangollen and the constituency of Clwyd South.

"By abolishing business rates for all small businesses, and ensuring all Government policies are small-business proofed, we can lease new life into local economies, create more jobs and back more businesses like the Cottage Tea Rooms." 

Welsh Office Minister at tourism seminar

Simon Baynes, Welsh Conservative Assembly Candidate for Clwyd South, is inviting people to join a roundtable meeting on tourism, food and drink with the Welsh Office Minister Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on Thursday March 17 at 12 noon in the Denbigh Suite at the Hand Hotel, Bridge Street, Llangollen.

Mr Baynes says the meeting will last for just over an hour.

Lord Nick Bourne is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales where his responsibilities include tourism, heritage and culture, environment and rural affairs.

He was previously the Leader of the Opposition and of the Welsh Conservatives in the Welsh Assembly.

Mr Baynes said: "He knows Llangollen and our part of Wales very well and you can see more about him via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/people/lord-bourne-of-aberystwyth

"If you would like to attend, please contact me on baynes@bodfach.com, or 07880 786573 and I will reserve you a place at the meeting."

MP says yōkoso to Japanese visitors

Susan Elan Jones MP welcomed a group of young Japanese business people to her Clwyd South constituency as they stopped off to visit Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

The group were on a familiarisation trip to Britain to visit different destinations and meet with around 300 businesses at a flagship business event.

The Clwyd South Labour MP, who worked in Japan after leaving university, said: "I once worked in Japan so I was particularly delighted to meet with a group of young business visitors from that country.

"I am so pleased that the group got to see our wonderful World Heritage Site, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

"The visitors asked many different questions, but one that seemed to be of great interest was our membership of the EU. I suppose that isn't surprising when you think of how many jobs and how much business investment in our country is dependent on our being in the EU." 

Timothy Jenkins, Senior Tourism Affairs Executive of Visit Britain, who organised the visit said: "I am delighted that Susan Elan Jones MP was able to meet with the group of Japanese travel traders who came to North Wales. The group were very impressed and grateful that Susan welcomed them to Wales in Japanese." 

* Susan Elan Jones MP with young Japanese business visitors near Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

Residents prepare to monitor speeding motorists

* A volunteer using a hand-held

speed camera.

Llangollen residents are preparing to get speeding motorists in their sights.

A group of four people from the town, including local county councillor Stuart Davies, recently attended the first meeting of the Llangollen Speedwatch group and were given the statutory training in hand-held speed devices.

Cllr Davies said: "We identified the areas of concern, both school roads - Brook Street to Pengwern and Dinbren Road by Dinas Bran, near the health centre, the A5 by the Wild Pheasant, Abbey Road and Pentrefelin.

"We are only allowed to operate in 20, 30 and 40 mph areas as it's too dangerous otherwise, according to the trainer who will now risk assess the designated areas to make sure they are safe for us to operate.

"Then away we go speed monitoring. If we identify speeders, their details are passed to the police, they then receive warning letters, two strikes and then get a ticket.

"The two strikes can be anywhere in North Wales."