Happy New Year from llanblogger!

Railway's gala event is a big hit

Amongst the varied trains operating the frequent service in rain and sunshine this weekend at Lllangollen Railway the star attraction was the 13.15 departure when two locomotives took the train up the hill to Berwyn.

Seen from the A5 vantage points, engines No.5199 and 2807 restart the train from Berwyn station heading for Carrog yesterday (Sunday).

The gala event proved a hit with many rail fans and family groups looking for some entertainment during the festive break.

Last day of Mince Pie Specials is today (Monday) before the railway closes until February 10.

County lands award for young people's project

* Winners are announced by Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford at an awards ceremony.

Denbighshire County Council is celebrating after its TRAC 11-24 project was recognised with two awards.

TRAC 11-24 is a Denbighshire County Council led project that runs across the six counties in North Wales, with the regional team being based in Denbighshire.

The project supports young people aged 11-24 disengaging with education and at risk of becoming NEET (not in Education, Employment or Training).

The aim is to reduce the number of young people aged 11-24 at highest risk of becoming NEET in North Wales, through a range of interventions that will compliment but not duplicate mainstream services.

Denbighshire County Council works with local authorities Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Flintshire and Wrexham and Grwp Llandrillo Menai, Coleg Cambria and Careers Wales as joint beneficiaries and each has a delivery team which has a variety of supportive roles in each team: office staff, support mentors, counsellors, family liaison officers, engagement workers, youth workers.

The project was recognised at an awards ceremony at the European Structural and Investment Funds Annual Information Event 2017 in the Liberty Stadium in Swansea.

The first award ‘ESF Projects: Best individual achievement (aged 11-24 years)’ was won by Elliw Griffiths, a project participant from the Gwynedd County, whose life has been transformed with the help and support of the project and the second ‘Outstanding Project Winners: ESF’ was won by the TRAC 11-24 Project, accepted by Regional Project Manager Sian Morgan (Denbighshire County Council).

Restaurants invited to join food challenge

Who doesn’t enjoy Fish and chips?

Well, January will be a great time to get out to a local restaurant and enjoy the classic dish served up by our region's great chefs.

For the third year running, the tourism partnership of Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham will be holding their annual food challenge, this year supporting Visit Wales’s 2018 Year of the Sea marketing theme.

The challenge aims to raise awareness of the great food scene in North East Wales, and helps boost numbers in what is a generally quieter time in the food calendar.

Eateries are encouraged to enter either a ‘Fish and Chips with a twist’ dish, or a locally sourced Surf & Turf dish (with the meat being locally sourced).

The Sea Food challenge will be running between 15^th January and 11^th February 2018, with the dishes advertised on the restaurant’s specials boards.

Dishes from all three counties will be judged by a panel of mystery shoppers, and the three highest scoring dishes invited to a cook off at the end of February.

Restaurants who wish to be involved can find out more on the North East Wales Facebook page, or by contacting tourism@wrexham.gov.uk. There will be a launch event on 10^th January, after which the list of entrants will be published.

Snow falls on Lllangollen

Snow falling steadily in Llangollen since around 7.30 this morning (Friday) had by 9am left a covering over the town and surrounding hills.

The forecast is for the snow to turn to light rain later in the morning and the temperature to hover around the 5C mark for the rest of the day.

Railway's mid-winter event

Llangollen Railway will offer a 45 minute train service from 0930 on Saturday with a mix of steam, diesel and railcar trains to provide family fun for a mid winter event when not much else is happening.

A railway spokesperson said: “Our end of year gala finale will soon be with us on 30^th and 31^st Dec.

"A mixture of Steam, Diesel and Railcars will be thrown into the mix to produce an intense timetable for all to enjoy.

"Whether it be a Crack Express or a Trundling Goods, a Small Tank engine or a Burbling Diesel, we will have it all for you. All stations will be open along the line to enable you to alight from your journey and sample the wonderful delights which all our Tea Rooms have to offer.

"So jump aboard when we wave the flag and blow the whistle and set off into a Winter Wonderland along the picturesque Dee valley”

The timetable is at:

http://llangollen-railway.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Public-Timetable-WW-v1.pdf

Police boss says force faces £2.1m funding cut

A police boss has accused the Government of trying to con the public with its claims of a £450 million boost to police funding – with the North Wales force facing a real terms cut of £2.1 million.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones (pictured) says the standstill budget imposed on forces across the country instead amounts to a three per cent cut because of inflation.

Mr Jones, a former police inspector himself, said that £270 million of the £450 million claimed increase was accounted for by the Government allowing forces across the country to levy higher precepts on Council Tax payers.

The remaining £180 million is accounted for by the Home Office increasing central allocations, or top-slicing, by approximately £130m to £945m the cash which supports programmes such as digital technology; armed officers; and bodies such as the Independent Police Complaints Commission and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary as well as an extra £50m for counter-terrorism.

According to Mr Jones, the latest financial blow comes on top of the 20 per cent North Wales Police has had axed from its budget since 2012.

He said: “The fact is that although we are not seeing our central funding cut as it has been for the past seven years, we aren’t seeing it increased either and at a time of inflation that amounts to a real terms cut.”

North Wales Police will see it central funding frozen at last year’s level of £71.7 million and Mr Jones added: “When you take into account inflation that means a £2.1 million real terms cut.

“This is the first year since 2010/11 that the government grant has not been cut and although the provisional settlement is not as bad as I feared it might be, it does not reflect that the force is now spending almost £30m per year less than if these cuts had not been imposed.

“I am also disappointed that although the government has approved an additional one per cent pay increase for our hard-working police officers, no additional funding is forthcoming to meet this cost.

“That means we now face hard decisions on whether to implement further cuts in order to fund the pay rise or to increase Council Tax by up to £12 per property which of course hits our hard-pressed constituents.

“At the same time we have to set priorities, identify emerging needs and ensure that North Wales Police is able to attract the highest calibre candidates.

“We live in challenging times and that is true of policing as well as other areas of society.

“The level of the precept is crucial to the effectiveness of the force in keeping North Wales a safe place to live, work and visit and setting it is one of my principal responsibilities.

“Policing budgets have been under pressure for a number of years and this will certainly continue to be the case with over £7 million in cuts to the budget due by 2020.

“I hold regular discussions with the Chief Constable about his plans and the level of budget he requires to implement those plans, in line with my own Police and Crime Plan and its priorities.”

“Those priorities include the concentrating resources on harm reduction in relation to the most vulnerable people, while at the same time there is increased reporting of domestic violence because of more sympathetic and improved responses to such complaints and the return of modern slavery to the agenda.2

Mr Jones added: “Policing is under great pressure from new demands being placed upon it – who would have thought that the majority of crime in North Wales is now being committed online rather than on the street.

“Despite these increased demands there remains uncertainty over what North Wales Police will receive in the years to come but the need to meet these spending challenges has to be balanced by the recognition that many people find it difficult to find even a small amount of additional money.”