Campaign to prepare for social care changes

The six North Wales councils and the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board are supporting a campaign to inform residents across the region of significant changes to the way health and social care is provided in future.

The new Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 comes into effect on April 6 and represents a shift in focus for health and social care providers across the country.

In the face of challenges such as demographic changes, a growing demand for services and further cuts to budgets, the Act calls for smarter, more innovative approaches to delivering cost effective care of the highest possible standards.

Jenny Williams, Director of Social Care at Conwy Council, speaking on behalf of the partner agencies in North Wales, said: “The time for implementing the new Act is fast approaching and a lot of work is going on behind the scenes to prepare for this big change.

“The Act is very much a new way of working. It aims to make residents an equal partner in their care, with access available  to advice and information. Any assessments will clearly focus on the individual and what matters to them.

“It is really important for those who currently use health and social care services, their networks, carers and those potentially needing care that changes are on the way. They need to understand how their care and support will be affected.

“We want North Wales residents to be fully aware of the changes and to embrace the change. We will continue to provide information to residents and signpost them to websites, resident newsletters and other forms of communication over the coming weeks."

* All the latest information on the Act and the changes can be found on your local authority website or through Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s website.

Mike to run in triathlon for air ambulance

* Mike Edwards outside Chirk Leisure Centre with one of the Wales Air Ambulance mascots, Huw HEMS.



Mike Edwards of Llangollen is competing in the Chirk triathlon on April 17, raising funds for Wales Air Ambulance. 

The event starts and finishes at Chirk Leisure Centre and Mike is training at the leisure centre.

Mike, a long-term cyclist,  regularly hits the mountain bike trails at Coed Llandegla  and pounds the roads in the Wrexham and Llangollen areas.  

Following a heart attack five years ago Mike regained his fitness and took up the triathlon event. 

He is a keen supporter of  the air ambulance, being well aware of the value of a speedy response in his sport. 


* To sponsor Mike please contact him at Cittaslow Llangollen Twitter: @Mike262, @MikeBuyLocal(Buy Local Llangollen), Facebook: Michael Edwards : BuyLocalLlangollen, or LinkedIn: Michael Edwards and also on Google Hangout



Mike has so far raised £150 through Virgin Money Just Giving. To support him, follow the link:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action;jsessionid=zgS4DAybgD59Scs7pGQG4xgq.lgvappprod2:server-one?userUrl=MichaelEdwards262&faId=690831&isTeam=false

Low income familes could cut water bills, says AM

Many lower income households in North Wales could be eligible for savings of up to £250 on their water bills, says North Wales AM Mark Isherwood.

And he is urging local people to check whether they could benefit.

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has launched a special HelpU tariff for customers in households with a total annual income of no more than £15,000.

Mr Isherwood said: “Welsh Water says that many thousands of customers could benefit from HelpU - and some could see their annual water and sewerage bill cut by a half. People who qualify only have to get in touch with the company and they’ll be helped to make the switch to the HelpU tariff.

“This is an initiative that would benefit many in my constituency and I urge people to think about whether they qualify and, if so, to contact the company immediately. We know that for many the water bill exceeds five per cent of household income and so paying it can be a struggle.

“There are big savings available to those on low incomes. If you don’t qualify yourself, perhaps you know someone else who does. Please spread the word and pass on this valuable information to them.”

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water can be contacted online at www.dwrcymru.com or by calling 0800 052 0145.

60,000 customers already benefit from Dŵr Cymru’s social tariffs for water and sewerage bills. HelpU is the company’s only social tariff based solely on household income. It has been devised after consultation with the Welsh Government, the Consumer Council for Water, and Community Housing Cymru. 

Castle a popular tourist destination

A trip up to Castell Dinas Bran was a popular excursion for visitors to the town on this sunny Good Friday.

Here, one group enjoys a breather and the spectacular view after their climb to the summit.

Candidate meets mayor and other groups

Welsh Conservative candidate for Clwyd South, Simon Baynes (left), says he had a very good meeting recently at the Hand Hotel with the Mayor, Cllr Mike Adams, Fiona Maher of http://northwalesfaeryfestival.com/ and David Davies, Chairman of the Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism http://www.new.llangollen.org.uk

Mr Baynes added: "This discussion produced many good ideas and points to raise at the postponed meeting with Welsh Minister Lord Bourne which will be held in Llangollen soon."

Redevelopment of old tip site gets underway

WORK to prepare for the redevelopment of the former council refuse tip on the road into Llangollen has started.

One of the area’s county councillors, Stuart Davies, said Denbighshire’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) team had received a Heritage Lottery grant to help create a countryside training area on the Wenffryd site off the A539.

And he says he would also like to see the inclusion of extra car parking for visitors to the town along with cycle and footpaths linking the area with the nearby Llangollen Canal towpath and the World Heritage site at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and perhaps also a football pitch.

Cllr Davies (pictured) said: “The tip closed back in 2008 because of problems of safe access from the main A539, which is a very busy road.

“I’ve been trying for the past four years to get something done with the site and now, at last, things are happening.

“The main aim has been to create a safe access with good visibility and that is now being done as the job of clearing the area around the old tip get underway.

“The AONB people will then have a training facility for countryside maintenance, such as woodcraft, on the site.

“All this is very much a work in progress and I must stress that nothing has yet been agreed, but I’d also like to see extra car parking put in for visitors to the town and foot and cycle paths joining the area up with the nearby canal towpath and eventually the World Heritage site.

“My fellow Llangollen county councillor Rhys Hughes and I would also like to see a football pitch on the site and maybe also an area set aside for wild plants.”   

Local attractions join new gardens festival

* Blooming marvellous: Festival of Gardens organised by North Wales

Tourism at the Hidden Garden Plas Cadnant on Anglesey.

Pictured are Tony Russell, festival co-ordinator, Anthony Tavenor, owner of Plas Cadnant, and Shirley Foulkes, of North Wales Tourism.

Chirk Castle and Erddig are both taking part in a major new gardens festival being launched to attract green fingered tourists to North Wales and tap into a £5 billion market.

From Saturday May 28 until Sunday June 5, gardens which are the jewels in the crowns of Anglesey, Conwy, Gwynedd, Powys and Wrexham will throw open their gates to thousands of visitors during the first ever Festival of Gardens North Wales.

A packed programme of events, ranging from behind the scenes guided tours and gardening workshops to a visit by a vintage steam train will be staged at various gardens as the festival unfolds.

* Chirk Castle gardens are joining the festival.

With more than 20 million gardeners in Britain, the drive to bring the growing garden army to the region is being mounted by North Wales Tourism who believe the festival has huge potential.

The horticultural market is worth £5 billion annually – more than UK people spend on chocolate.

The festival will be officially opened at a ticket only event, with limited numbers, at the beautiful Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens in Anglesey by celebrity gardener and broadcaster Roy Lancaster CBE VNH.

North Wales Tourism managing director Jim Jones said: “North Wales has some of the most stunning gardens in the UK and this event is all about bringing them together and showing them off to as many people as possible.”   

More than 100 unique events are planned over the nine days of the festival at gardens taking part include musical concerts, historical re-enactments, gardening lectures, photographic workshops, art and sculpture exhibitions, children’s trails, garden inspired poetry and prose, plant sales and prize competitions.

The festival dates have been arranged to coincide with late-spring flowering displays, which will include rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias, tulips and flowering cherries, making this one of the best times of the year to visit the great gardens of North Wales.

Mr Jones added: “North Wales has some of the most stunning gardens in the whole of the UK, run by a diverse range of organisations including the National Trust and a variety of private owners, with whom we have been collaborating closely to organise this very special event.

“Our aim with the festival, which will be the largest and a most ambitious of its kind ever seen in the region, is to bring them all together under the banner of North Wales.

“The festival has been extensively marketed and we expect to attract thousands of visitors not just from around the gardens but also from a much wider area including other parts of Wales as well as the North West and Midlands of England.

“We have an exciting, fascinating and entertaining programme of events and activities lined up, which means that every morning, afternoon and evening there will be at least one special event happening in one or more of the gardens."

Co-ordinating the festival is North Wales based gardens expert Tony Russell, renowned as one of Britain’s leading experts on trees and shrubs who also makes regular appearances on the BBC’s Gardener’s Question Time and famously put the Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire on the international tourism map.

He said: “I do lots of work encouraging people to visit gardens across the UK and find that although lots of people are familiar with those in places like Cornwall or Kent, they don’t know too much about the ones in North Wales.

“They know about the region’s other attractions such as castles, steam railways, mountains and coastlines but not our gardens, which are some of the finest in the UK.

“With the festival our aim is to wave the flag for North Wales’s fantastic gardens.

“The thing about the gardens we are featuring is that they are all set in such a great landscape and because of the conditions we enjoy they contain varieties plants that can’t be found in lots of other areas of the UK.

“We’re blessed with the three things that make the difference – plenty of moisture due to the closeness of the coast, mild winters and acid soil.

“That means plants such as agapanthus, magnolias and camellias, which usually grow up in more exotic parts of the world like South Africa, flourish in North Wales.

“Gardens are also big business now, with 30 million day visits being made to gardens across the UK every year. And of the 30 million overseas visitors coming to Britain annually 11 million visit a garden.”

Delighted to be taking part in the festival is Anthony Tavernor, owner of Plas Cadnant in Menai Bridge, Angeley.

His famous walled garden took a severe battering from floods which hit the area last December, washing away a 200-year-old wall and rare plants.

But Mr Tavernor, who has been restoring the gardens for 20 years, said repair work was currently well in hand.

“Things are going full steam ahead and there are lots of things going on to get the gardens restored,” he explained.

“We’re giving our full support to the festival and are delighted to have the launch here on May 28.

“The aim is to establish North Wales are a place to visit a range of beautiful gardens and to show people that we have some of the best in the UK because of our good growing conditions.” 

Gardening legend Roy Lancaster, who will open the festival, said: “I’ve been visiting the gardens of North Wales for the past 60 years and they are definitely some of the most attractive in Britain.

“The festival is all about showing them off to a wider audience and I’m looking forward very much to the official opening, particularly as it’s at Plas Cadnant, which has had a phoenix-like resurrection after being damaged so badly by the terrible floods.

“From what I hear they’ve really worked wonders there and I can’t wait to see it.

“The festival is unique in North Wales and should therefore do very well, especially as it features so many wonderful gardens and will be offering a very wide range of attractions.

“Garden festivals generally are becoming extremely popular these days and I’m sure this one will help put North Wales even more firmly on the UK’s tourist map.”   

Taking part in the festival from the county of Wrexham are Chirk Castle and National Trust Erddig.

Gardens from the county of Gwynedd include Plas Brondanw at Penrhyndeudraeth, Crug Farm Plants near Caernarfon, Plas yn Rhiw in Pwllheli, Plan Tan y Blwch in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Caerau Uchaf Gardens in Bala, Portmeirion in Penrhyndeudraeth, Aber Arto Hall in Llanbedr, Penrhyn Castle in Llandegai and, via its website only, Nanharon in Pwllheli.

In the county of Anglesey are Plas Newydd in Llanfairpwll and Plas Cadnant in Menai Bridge.

Gardens from the county of Conwy involved are Bodnant at Tal y Cafn, Gwydir Castle at Llanrwst, the Welsh Mountain Zoo's gardens in Colwyn Bay and the Conwy Valley Maze at Dolgarog.

In the county of Powys there’s Gregynog at Newtown, the Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth, Powis Castle and The Dingle Garden near Welshpool.

* For more information go to www.gardensnorthwales.co.uk/events