Dream Oz trip is prize for eisteddfod competition

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has partnered with one of the world’s biggest cultural festivals to offer musical theatre hopefuls the chance of winning the trip of a lifetime. 

The winner of the 2017 International Voice of Musical Theatre competition will be awarded an international medal, £1,500 and a trip to Australia’s Gold Coast to perform in The Musicale – the Gold Coast annual Eisteddfod’s showcase of rising musical theatre talent.

* Last year's winner Gareth Elis.

The 2017 winner will follow in the footsteps of Carmarthenshire singer and actor, Gareth Elis, who took the title of Voice of Musical Theatre 2016 and performed as a soloist in 2016’s Gold Coast Musicale. 

The Musicale follows seven weeks of competition featuring over 70,000 singers and dancers, most of them under 20, and including 350 bands and orchestras, 175 choirs, almost 1500 dance groups and over 3,000 solo dancers. 

Llangollen eisteddfod musical director, Eilir Owen Griffiths, said: “To be able to offer this incredible opportunity to a rising star of musical theatre for the second year running is wonderful, especially as we celebrate our 70th anniversary and the Gold Coast Eisteddfod marks 36 years of festivals. 

“Following the Gold Coast Eisteddfod’s visit to Llangollen in 2015 and International Eisteddfod winner, Gareth Elis’s performance at The Musicale last October, we have discovered such synergy between our two festivals. 

“The passion for music, performance and nurturing young talent is apparent both in North Wales and in Australia. The International Eisteddfod has always been about forging international links and friendships and we’re hugely grateful to the people at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod for this wonderful offer.   
  
“Our flourishing relationship will ensure that the Voice of Musical Theatre competition, which was introduced in 2015, will grow in popularity and attract singers from all over the world, adding to our already strong hand of prestigious solo competitions.” 

Judith Ferber, the Gold Coast Eisteddfod’s General Manager, said: “We are extremely excited to see the talent that the 2017 International Voice of Musical Theatre competition will reveal.  

“Working with an event that shares our ideals of friendship, passion for music and performance and allows us to open doors for new and exciting soloists is a pleasure and an honour. 

“We are also proud to be forging international links and raising global awareness of the Gold Coast Eisteddfod at its talented performers and competitors. We look forward to welcoming 2017’s winner to our Eisteddfod Musicale Concert on Sunday, October 15.” 

* Entries for the competition will close on Friday March 3.

Hopefuls can apply on the Eisteddfod competitors website http://eisteddfodcompetitions.co.uk/. 

For the preliminary round competitors are required to perform two contrasting musical theatre songs within eight minutes, with all music sung in the original language.

For the final, competitors will be required to submit a contrasting programme of up to 10 minutes of music.

Welsh business rate changes explained

llanblogger reader Mike Edwards points out that while there has been a certain amount of hysterical reaction to the revaluation of business rates - mainly in the South of England - a useful article from In Brief, the National Assembly research service blog, clarifies he situation in Wales.

The link to the article is: https://assemblyinbrief.wordpress.com/

* Mike also points out details of a Wrexham business event: https://wales.business-events.org.uk/en/events/winning-and-keeping-customers/

Cost of new house sparks call for more council homes

Denbighshire should re-start building council houses to answer local demand.

This was the call from Cllr Arwel Roberts, Plaid Cymru group leader on the county council, after a new housing development in Llangollen saw its first house go up for sale at £390,000. 

The development of 90 houses on Vicarage Road has been a bone of contention in Llangollen for several years.

The development was given the go ahead late last year but, even though many councillors and campaigners called for a greater number of affordable housing, the amount of homes deemed “affordable” was limited to 10%.

The first plot of land is Plot 1, a five bedroom detached family home, and has been put on the market for £390,000.

Cllr Roberts (pictured) said: “We have consistently called for more affordable housing not only in Llangollen but throughout Denbighshire.

"We don’t want to stop development, but we would like to see development that is sensitive to the local community, and which meets demand instead of creating a demand.

“Rightmove notes that the vast majority of houses bought in Llangollen last year were terraced houses, and the average price was £128,000.

"Furthermore the average weekly household income for the Llangollen area is £500 a week. As a consequence it’s clear that there is little local demand for such expensive executive homes.

"There are families in Llangollen crying out for affordable family homes, but they are being priced out of the market.

“We spoke up to increase the number of affordable homes, but were frustrated by the council’s inability to do this.

"This is why we are saying that Denbighshire Council should start building council houses once again. The council is here to serve the people and they are demanding good-quality affordable housing. We should respect that and look at what we as a council can do.”

Chamber is looking for Llan legends

* The Chamber of Trade is looking for Llan legends such as the annual eisteddfod.

Llangollen Chamber of Trade is asking local businesses and residents to become involved with the  Year of Legends 2017, a Visit Wales project. 

The main focus will be on culture and heritage, encompassing landscapes, sport and adventure, food and drink and enterprise.  

Llangollen is a legendary town with many stories to tell and the chamber is putting together lists including festivals, people, places and landscape.

As a town, Llangollen is especially legendary for festivals with over 20, from Faeries to Fringe and from the renowned International Eisteddfod to Hamper Llangollen. 

Ian Lebbon, vice chairman said: “We would welcome suggestions and involvement with this project as the Year of Legends is both a celebration and an opportunity to attract more visitors to our town. 

"Do you have a special story, photograph, film footage or memory of a legendary person or event, if so we would like to hear from you.

"Or maybe you would like to help plan specific events such as maps, information and events to promote legendary walks around Llangollen, legendary food experiences giving visitors a chance to sample the best local produce, storytelling sessions, local legends linked with our festivals,leaflets and short films for our website, pop up, exclusive events and activities in your community or in an amazing location.
 
"This is a great idea to provide focus on our town, bringing together a wide range of events and activities under the Year of Legends theme."
 
* If you would like to become involved or contribute to this project, please contact the chamber of Trade at  LlanCTandT@hotmail.co.uk, or drop off your contributions at the Town Hall Office.

If you would like to speak to someone about the project then contact chamber secretary, Ian Parry, on 01978 449365 or 07785 541445.

Twitter @LlangollenCTT @DiscoverDenbs 
http://www.visitwales.com/latest-news/2016/december/year-of-legends-2017

Direct debit scheme for garden waste launched

Denbighshire County Council has launched a Direct Debit payment option for its subscription garden waste collection service.

Whether renewing an existing subscription, or registering for the first time, residents can now opt to pay by a single annual direct debit payment, as well as via the  internet, telephone or face to face payment methods.

The launch of the direct debit payment option means the council can offer its lowest subscription rates to residents who cannot, or prefer not to, use the internet.

The annual cost of a fortnightly garden waste collection service remains £22 (or £34 for the enhanced service) for those who subscribe using the internet.

The cost for residents who choose to pay over the telephone or at a Council One Stop Shop remains £24 (or £36).

Direct debit mandate forms are being sent out to residents with all subscription renewal reminders sent by post.

Residents who receive renewal emails can obtain a mandate form by contacting Denbighshire’s Customer Service Centre, from Council One Stop Shops or by sending an email to gardenwaste@denbighshire.gov.uk or gwastraffgardd@sirddinbych.gov.uk.

Councillor David Smith, Lead Member for Highways & Environment, said: “Denbighshire County Council is committed to keeping the cost of the garden waste service as low as possible. The efficiency of the direct debit process allows us to offer our lowest prices to even more residents. For many it will also remove the worry of having to remember to renew their subscription every year.”

Notes on Payment Options & Rates

Direct Debit/Internet Costs: -

·         STANDARD SERVICE £22.00 per year (26 collections of 1 x 140 litre bin)

·         ENHANCED SERVICE £34.00 per year (26 collections of 2 x 140 litre bins)

https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/cy/preswyliwr/biniau-ac-ailgylchu/gwastraff-gardd.aspx

https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/resident/bins-and-recycling/garden-waste.aspx

Telephone/Face to Face Costs: -

·         STANDARD SERVICE £24.00 per year (26 collections of 1 x 140 litre bin)

·         ENHANCED SERVICE £36.00 per year (26 collections of 2 x 140 litre bins)

Customer Service Centre: Cymraeg :01824 706100, English: 01824 706101

North Wales police officers to have body-worn cameras

* Superintendent Sacha Hatchett  and Arfon Jones,

Police and Crime Commissioner, with PC Luke Fox.

Every front line police officer in North Wales will soon be wearing chest mounted video cameras.

North Wales Police have taken just delivery of 301 extra body worn video kits and 50 docking stations and they're being rolled out across the region.

They have been paid for by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones, a former police inspector, who has invested £163,000 in the technology.

Mr Jones is fulfilling a promise he made in his manifesto before he was elected with a large majority last May.

Body worn video, which captures evidence of crimes as they happen, was first
introduced in North Wales in 2015, with 120 kits being deployed across
the region which meant a third of response officers had access to the cameras.

The arrival of the additional devices means the force will be the first in Wales to give the crime-fighting technology to all its police officers and police community support officers while on front line duty, including members of the specialist firearms and rural crime teams.

One area where the high-tech equipment has already proved particularly useful is in the aftermath of an incident of domestic violence where evidence of any
injuries and damage can be gathered along with the behaviour and demeanour
of the aggressor and the victim.

It's expected that the extra kits will result in a 12 per cent increase in the number of successful prosecutions in domestic abuse cases, a surge in the number of guilty pleas generally and a reduction in the number of complaints against officers.

Mr Jones said: "I promised in my manifesto that I would supply all front line officers with body worn video and today’s the day. I’m very, very happy that we’ve found the money to be able to do this.

"It’s going to help victims of crime, help us arrest more offenders and improve the quality of life of vulnerable people.

"It's been shown that the introduction of body worn video equipment improves the success rate in domestic violence cases by 12 per cent. That's massive.

"I look forward to seeing more and more offenders appearing in court and less survivors having to put up with a poor quality of life.

"I would expect there to be more guilty pleas and that’s a good thing.  It avoids survivors of domestic violence having to give evidence in court.  It saves money and it’s obviously better for the perpetrator because the earlier they plead guilty, the more reasonable the sentence will be for them.

"Body worn video is making North Wales a safer place. It's good for everybody except for the criminals."

Chief Superintendent Sacha Hatchett, Head of Local Policing Services, said: "We're absolutely delighted the Commissioner has invested in this new kit.

"The results for body-worn video nationally speak for themselves.

"When police officers are using body-worn video they are showing what’s happening in reality - the evidence is incontrovertible.

"Officers are being really innovative. They’re used for anti-social behaviour patrols, they’re used on the night-time economy, so you can actually see if there is affray or fighting taking place, what that actually looks like, what that actually means at that time.

"They're being used when officers go to road traffic accidents and they’re using them when they serve warrants.

"There is a sound evidence-base for us having body-worn video, and it’s supporting my officers on the front line who do a very difficult job well and they are very professional in what they do, so anything to support them gets my support.

"We’re still analysing the data but we are finding that complaints against officers have gone down, people making vexatious complaints have reduced."

PC Matt Jones is a big fan of body worn video.

He said; "It’s made a big difference. When we attend various scenes, for example a road accident, our priorities would be casualties and things like that. We can use our body-worn video on whilst we’re dealing with casualties.

"The equipment also makes people less likely to want to be abusive, threatening or violent because they know they’re being recorded on camera, It nips problems in the bud."

The introduction of the equipment has been masterminded by the force's Chief Information Officer, Ian Davies.

He said: “It can make a massive difference in all areas of policing including domestic related crime and success rates for convictions are going from 70 per cent to 82 per cent. It's fantastic news for the victims and that's the important thing."

The new technology also has the enthusiastic backing of the North Wales branch of the Police Federation.

Secretary Richard Eccles said: "The introduction of extra cameras by the PCC and the notable reduction in public complaints are very much welcomed.

Officers are increasingly keen to utilise the cameras to deter assaults and abuse from those who blight our communities in North Wales.

"Hopefully, as we put more evidence before the courts showing exactly how officers are treated by a criminal minority we will see increased sanctions and increased public confidence."

Two charities receive Christmas bonuses from Llan

* Alyson Winn, community co-ordinator for Wales Air Ambulance, picks up the cheque for £740 raised at the Santa Christmas events from town crier Austin Cheminais.

* The cheque for £1,000 is handed over to Alyson Winn of Wales Air Ambulance by Austin Cheminais watched by fellow festival committee members, from left, Sandy Attenburrow, town clerk Gareth Thomas, George Hughes and Ian Parry.

* Colin Burman, chair of Llangollen Canal Boat Trust, receives the cheque for £500 from Austin Cheminais watched by, from left, Rhodri Thomas, Penri Thomas and Ian Parry.    

Two charities picked up a Christmas bonus from the people of Llangollen at the Town Hall this morning (Thursday).

As a result of the town's successful Llangollen Christmas Festival back in November members of the organising committee handed over donations from the proceeds to Wales Air Ambulance, which received £1,000, and the Canal Boat Trust which was given £500.

Wales Air Ambulance received a further £740 from Town Crier Austin "Chem" Cheminais, which came from various Santa events he arranged around Christmas time including quizzes, an auction and the Rotary sleigh ride through the area.

Chem, who also chairs the Christmas Festival Committee, said: "We normally just support Wales Air Ambulance but this year to acknowledge the significant contribution made by Gill Thomas to the Festival and the grotto before her untimely death last year we decided to make a donation to the Canal Boat Trust which was very dear to her.

"I'm delighted that Gill's two sons, Rhodri and Penri came along to receive the cheque."

He added: "We were overwhelmed by support for last year's festival, which attracted over 2,000 people to the town during the course of the day.

"Santa also arranged a programme of fundraising events in the run-up to Christmas and he passes on his thanks to everyone who supported them in aid of such a good cause."