AM praises work on Corwen station

* Mark Isherwood AM on his visit to Llangollen Railway’s Corwen Central Station.

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has applauded all those involved in a rail project which will boost the local economy after meeting with some of the volunteers and seeing their achievements first hand.

Mr Isherwood revisited Llangollen Railway’s Corwen Central Station site and was hugely impressed by the progress made.

He said: “The dedication and commitment of the team of volunteers who make this happen is incredible, and especially so when I understand that their average age on this site is 68.

“The notional value of the volunteer hours exceeds £200,000 this year, without which the project would be unaffordable. The goal is for this new rail terminus to become operational in 2019, subject to essential continued financial support, where approximately 75% of the project cost has to be raised through Llangollen Railway’s share issue, donations and appeals.”

The aim now is to maintain the temporary platform at Corwen East for another season to have it dismantled in October 2018 in the expectation of the final phase opening the following year.

Mr Isherwood added: “Llangollen Railway Trust is a glowing example of what North Wales has to offer. It already attracts thousands of visitors every year and is key to economic development in the Dee Valley.

"What is being achieved at Corwen can provide the town with a huge boost and, with the train arriving at the end of the line here, enable Llangollen Railway to be able to tap into a new segment of the North Wales Tourism market.

“I would like to thank all the volunteers involved in this project for their role in helping to grow the economy, create jobs and provide more security for people in North Wales.”

Musical event at Fron Community Centre

Campaigners battle to save rangers from axe

* Campaigners gather outside Ty Mawr Country Park. 

Campaigners opposing Wrexham Council’s plans to half its number of park rangers are being backed by their Assembly Member and MP.

Ken Skates and Susan Elan Jones have made urgent representations to the authority after fears were raised about the detrimental effect further cuts are likely to have at country parks in their constituency.

The council wants to cut the number of rangers it employees from six to three, which has prompted an angry backlash from residents.

Clwyd South AM Mr Skates said: “A number of constituents have contacted me about this – they’re extremely concerned.

"We desperately don’t want to see school activities cut and untidier parks, but that is the reality we’re facing if these plans go through.

“The rangers look after Wrexham’s 11 country parks seven days a week. This would have a huge impact on the way they are run and what they can offer.”

Derek Wright, county councillor for Cefn Mawr, says he has been inundated with calls from residents worried about the future of Ty Mawr Country Park in his ward, which was visited by nearly 47,000 people last year.

He said: “If the other 10 parks within the county borough area give half as much pleasure – not only to locals, but to visitors from miles around – as Ty Mawr does, they have got to be worth keeping in their present form, including staffing. Let us hope for a full consultation over these proposals.”

The Friends of Ty Mawr group fears its park will be disproportionately affected because of the animals kept there. The others affected in Clwyd South include Brynkinalt, Chirk; Nant Mill, Coedpoeth; Ponciau Banks and Stryt Las in Johnstown.

Cllr Wright added: “I would encourage anyone who’s concerned about their nearest park to contact their local councillor and make their feelings known.”

Ken Bathers, chairman of Cefn Community Council, said: “We know how much pressure Welsh councils are under because of the billions of pounds of cuts to Wales from the Tory Government at Westminster, but people won’t stand for this.

“The £100,000 saving is peanuts to the council’s budget, but they can find £4.5m for an arts hub which will lose £188,000 the first year, then a further 126,000 in the second and another £78,000 in the third. The money the council lost in legal fees over the old Groves School would have funded all 11 parks for the next 20 years!”

Clwyd South MP Ms Jones added: “We are continuing to see record tourism numbers coming to North Wales and our country parks are among the many fantastic things we have to offer. We have 11 in the borough which are the envy of many other areas, and we simply can’t let this happen. Ken and I will support our constituents all the way.”

Remembrance Festival to be held this Saturday

Railway in running for tourism award

Llangollen Railway (pictured) has been shortlisted for a major award.

The heritage organisation is one of the final four in the Best Attraction category of the Go North Wales Tourism Awards along with Bodnant Garden National Trust, Zip World and Llandudno Pier.

The winner will be announced at the presentation evening to be staged at Venue Cymru in Llandudno on Thursday November 16.   

This category is open to attractions which can demonstrate what they have done to enhance the visitor experience.

The awards, sponsored by Traveline Cymru and in partnership with Heart, celebrate and recognise excellence in the region’s hospitality and tourism sectors, as well as showcasing and celebrating the achievements, hard work and dedication of those working in the industry.

Awards are open to all tourism businesses and individuals in North Wales.

County has nuisance phone call blockers available

Denbighshire Trading Standards are looking for residents who could benefit from a blocker unit which aims to reduce the number of unknown callers they receive. 

As part of a national trial, the team has a limited number of units available to loan out to vulnerable residents in Denbighshire on a trial basis to see if this will help combat their nuisance caller problems. 

The results of the individual units will be shared nationally and will be discussed with the individual or other nominated person. 

The unit offers three different incoming call handling profiles to choose from. 

All the profiles allow calls from trusted callers to get through unimpeded – the difference is in the way they control unrecognised callers. 

You can change the profile whenever you want so that the blocker always gives the appropriate level of protection even if needs change. 

You can easily monitor and control the unit via your personal internet control panel.  This allows you to view a log of all of your incoming and outgoing calls, edit your trusted callers list and change your configuration settings. 

* If you know of someone who might benefit from this and would be interested in trialling a unit you can contact the team via tradingstandards@denbighshire.gov.uk or on 01824 706446. 

County firms "positive" about future says survey

Businesses in Denbighshire remain positive about the future, according to a recent survey.

Denbighshire County Council’s annual Business Survey had more than 470 responses, with the majority saying they are more confident about the future than ever before.

The annual survey feeds into the Council’s March for Business month, which offers a wide range of training, networking and advice sessions to the county’s traders, based on feedback in the survey.

Cllr Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of Denbighshire, said: “I’d like to thank the businesses that took the time to complete this survey.

“It is important we continue to listen to the needs of entrepreneurs in the county and offer help and support based on their needs. That way we can offer training and support to businesses that will be a real benefit to them in pursuit of growth.

“I’m pleased so many businesses feel confident moving forward. Denbighshire is here to support businesses and we have a wide-range of projects to help and support businesses within our Economic and Community Ambition Strategy.

“I’m particularly pleased with the feedback on training needs, which shows we have been ahead of the game with our digital skills focus over the past couple of years.”

Mike Horrocks, Denbighshire’s Economic & Business Development Team and Programme Manager said: “A total of 80 per cent of businesses who took part in our events last year said that they’d taken the all-important steps to act upon the advice, information or contacts that they’d gained.  It’s that action that makes a real difference to the local economy.”

The survey, conducted by the council’s Economic and Business Development team, found more than 70 per cent of respondents said their business is stronger than it was in 2016 while only 1 per cent said it was weaker.

More than a quarter expect to increase staff numbers, while 63 per cent are expecting sales to increase.

The survey also found more businesses have taken up broadband and superfast broadband in the last 12 months, recognising that a digital presence and the skills to exploit this are crucial to future business success.

Last year March for Business saw 400 attendees take advantage of 13 events across 10 locations with the benefit of access to 45 business experts.  The 2018 programme of events will be announced early in the new year.

* For more information contact econ.dev@denbighshire.gov.uk or telephone 01824 706896.

Please find a link to the following video which details March for Business 2017 in English and Welsh for use online