AM opens Llan's new health and fitness centre

* Clwyd South AM Ken Skates cuts the ribbon to open Verve in Market Street.

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates officially opened Verve, Llangollen's new health, fitness and wellbeing centre yesterday (Saturday) morning. 

Facilities at the Market Street centre include an exercise studio, rehab and personal training gym and three treatment rooms.  

Physiotherapist and pilates tutor Susan Wallace of Get Moving Keep Moving said: “We are delivering a number of group exercise classes, including pilates, yoga, MMA, exercise for the mature mover, Feldenkrais and children's yoga.  

“We are planning to add further traditional exercises classes. However as a physio with a fitness and personal training background I am keen to add specialist rehabilitation classes and, linking with the health centre, provide GP referral, falls prevention, back care etc.

“Our treatment rooms are bringing together a host of experienced therapists currently practising in Llangollen and include physiotherapy, chiropractic and acupuncture.  Our gym will be used for rehabilitation and also small group personal training.”  

Visitors to an open morning watched Mr Skates cut the ribbon to declare the new facility open.  

Chamber can help with business rate concerns

Llangollen Chamber of  Trade and Tourism says it can help local firms with business rate headaches.

Secretary Ian Parry said: "Many people cannot have failed to notice the issue regarding the revaluation of business rates and the potential serious impact a significant rise in rates will have on businesses.

"The chamber has been looking at the Valuation Office Agency’s website and has collated a great deal of information about the changes affecting many businesses in the town.

"We have urged our members to check their new valuations as soon as possible but some businesses don’t seem to be aware of the issue and may subsequently be shocked when they discover the impact the revaluation may have on their business.

"All are urged to look up the Valuation Office’s website or contact David Davies, our chair on 01978 860557, myself on 01978 449365.

"We can provide some help, advice and information to anyone who may need some assistance in trying to obtain the appropriate information. 

"The chamber also has professional contacts who may be able to provide assistance in dealing with anyone wishing to appeal against the new valuations.

"There is the possibility of arranging a presentation by one of these professionals on the whole process of business rates.

"Again, contact me if you feel you would like to appeal or would be interested in attending a presentation."

Llan company wins coveted gold service award

* Peter and Lesley Carol celebrate their gold Feefo win at the shop.

ProAdventure of Llangollen has won a Feefo Gold Service award, an independent seal of excellence that recognises businesses for delivering exceptional experiences rated by real customers.

Created by Feefo, Trusted Service is awarded to businesses that use Feefo to collect genuine ratings and reviews.

A badge of honour, this accreditation remains unique as all the awards are based purely on the interactions with verified customers.

This feedback has been collated by the Feefo review platform, with the accolades being awarded based upon performance.

ProAdventure met the criteria of collecting at least 50 reviews between January 1 and December 31 2016, and achieved a Feefo service rating of between 4.5 and 5.0. (Currently 277 Reviews with a 4.7 average for ProAdventure).

Boss Peter Carol said: “It’s a real honour to receive this award from Feefo. To be recognised for delivering exceptional experiences to our customers is a great achievement.

"We’ve been working hard to ensure our customers receive the best service possible, and being able to listen, understand and respond to their needs has enabled us to improve our offering in 2016. We’re looking forward to another successful year ahead."

ProAdventure has grown out of Peter Carol’s 30 years of experience of working in outdoor adventure training and holidays and Lesley Carol’s 30 years of customer service experience.

Peter is highly trained and qualified in leading and coaching in the outdoors, and ran an outdoor adventure activity business for 25 years.

Lesley Carol has spent all of her life adventuring. She has expeditioned in the UK and Chile and has qualified as a Canoe River Leader. She also trained as a Mountain Leader and Nordic Walking Coach and holds the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Andrew Mabbutt, CEO of Feefo, said: “We would like to offer our congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Feefo Trusted Service award. We are so proud that so many businesses are putting customer service first.” 

“We have been working closely with all our customers to build trust and transparency online, and ultimately helping shoppers buy with confidence and make better decisions.” 

Feefo is a ratings and reviews, and customer analytics platform. It collects genuine, purchase-verified reviews on behalf of over 3,000 businesses.

Feefo ensures that all feedback is authentic, by matching it to a legitimate transaction; we believe this is the best way to combat the rising issue of fake reviews.

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