Corwen railway extension now half way there

* Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones on a visit to the project site at Corwen.

Volunteers working on the Llangollen Railway Trust’s major civil engineering project to build a new terminus at Corwen reckon they are just on half way to completion, with the prospect of trains running by early 2019.

Looking forward to progress in 2018 project leader Richard Dixon-Gough said: “By this time next year, we anticipate being in a position to infill the gap in the embankment which was created to provide Welsh Water with access to the Corwen Water Treatment plant.

"The building of a new access road from Green Lane into the plant allows the earlier route to be recovered.

"Subject to the on-going need for resources, manpower, materials and fiancé, we expect to be able to lay track from the existing rail head to connect up with the station loop line installation.

"Once the new terminal rail layout has been ballasted and tamped, and inspected to be fit for operation, we hope that trains will run into Corwen Central in the early part of 2019, although a date for a public opening cannot be announced at this time.”

As the new year begins the plan is to install the foundations for the water tower at the eastern end of the platform.  This will allow provision of the water supply from the borehole which was drilled in February 2017.

A pump house structure has been fabricated using mostly recycled materials and is now in place to secure the installation.

The building of the wall for platform 1 will follow and will involve excavating footings for 16 loads of concrete and the installation of 200 easi-blocs as the modern means of building a platform before the corbeling, or overhang, is built on top.

When complete  the area for the island platform and will require  some 10,000 tonnes of spoil to infill the base prior to paving the large area.

The installation of drainage and piping for water, sewage and cabling has already taken place, and the accessible ramp for wheelchair access is being built at the western end. 

By this time next year it is expected the  infilling the gap in the embankment will commence. This gap was created to provide Welsh Water with access to the Corwen Water Treatment plant.

The building of a new access road from Green Lane into the plant allows the earlier route to be recovered.

Subject to the on-going need for resources, manpower, materials and finance, the team will be laying track from the existing rail head to connect up with the station loop line installation.

Most of the work has been undertaken by the team of volunteers - average age 68 - aided by contractors when specific skills and equipment were required.

Estimated value of the volunteer hours put into the project last year exceeds £200k, without which it would be unaffordable.

Aside from grant aid provided by the Welsh Government’s European development fund for rural Wales, which is paying for 80% of the cost of the platform, the remainder of the cost is being raised through donations and share purchase in Llangollen Railway plc.

Since the railway's Big Push Corwen share appeal was launched last April nearly £100k has been raised but shares to a total of £250k remain available to support the completion of the Corwen project.

Commenting of the prospects for extended operations on the line, railway general manager Liz McGuinness said: “The prospect of trains running into the new station during 2019 means that the current, temporary platform at Dwyrain Corwen East, will remain in use for the 2018 season.

"However, we will call a halt to operations on the extension beyond Carrog as of October 2018 and the temporary platform will be dismantled as part of the engineering work needed to connect to the new station layout.

“The temporary station has served us well since it opened in 2014 but has always been recognised as operationally inconvenient and it lacks the immediacy of access to and from the town centre and car park.

"Terminating trains at a station central to the town, the bus interchange and the car park is key to opening up a new market segment to attract more passengers from North West Wales to Llangollen Railway, with important prospects for the town of Corwen to gain extra visitors."

Three key staff members leave canal team

* North Wales & Borders stalwarts Howard Griffiths, Wendy Capelle and Neville Preece.

One of the people who helped to run the Llangollen Canal has left the helm for the last time.

Howard Griffiths is one of three key members of staff to retire from the Canal & River Trust’s North Wales & Borders Waterway team who between them have notched up nearly a century of service to the canals.

Aged 59, he has stepped down as customer service supervisor for the Llangollen and Montgomery canals.

Based out of the Ellesmere office, he has lived all his life on the Montgomery Canal, mixing work and pleasure in a career spanning 39 years caring for his local waterways.

His father was also a canalman for 24 years and Howard has spent his entire life living in the same lock keeper’s cottage at Aston Locks, near Oswestry, where he was born, raised, married and brought up four daughters of his own.

Howard said it was the people – friends, colleagues, customers – who have helped to make his job extra special.

“All the teams I have worked with have been top notch. Our job involves the Llangollen Canal, which is one of the busiest waterways in the country, and the Montgomery – one of quietest and most peaceful, well-known for its nature.

“You get to know everyone and when the sun’s shining and everything is going well, it’s hard to beat it.”

His colleague Roger Birch now steps up to become supervisor.

Also retiring is waterway manager Wendy Capelle. Based in the Northwich office, she left after 18 years’ service just before her 60^th birthday on Christmas Day.

As a qualified management accountant, she initially joined British Waterways in the finance department, but for the last eight years has been at the helm of North Wales & Borders, leading a team of up to 60 staff looking after canals and navigations in Cheshire, Shropshire and North Wales.

She said: “I have loved working for the Trust. I’ve worked with some great people and I’ve appreciated all the opportunities I’ve been given in different roles.  The charity is doing some great work to improve the nation’s waterways and make them a special place to visit, and I will miss being part of the enthusiastic team making this happen.”

Experienced waterway manager David Baldacchino will take over from Wendy, with interim responsibility for North Wales & Borders from January 1.

Third staff member leaving is Neville Preece, 62), who will retire in early 2018.

Neville is the supervisor for the southern section of the Shropshire Union Canal, based out of Norbury. He first started working on the waterways 41 years ago as part of the dredging fleet on the River Weaver Navigation, which was then still used by commercial cargo vessels.

Over the years he has taken on a number of roles from length foreman and harbour master to a supervisor in Chester.

He recalls: “The waterways were very different when I first started work. Hundreds of coasters travelled along the River Weaver to ICI at Winnington, near Northwich, every year, carrying soda ash, chlorine, cement and raw talc. They then went via Marsh Lock into the Manchester Ship Canal and sailed to Scotland, Ireland and beyond.

“I love talking to people. Every day is different. It is the sort of job that if you like it, you’re here for the rest of your life.”

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).

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.”