Police thanked for targeting illegal off-roaders

North Wales Police have been thanked for taking steps to tackle illegal and irresponsible off-road drivers by a county councillor who has been urging action for many years.

Cllr Mabon ap Gwynfor (pictured), who represents the Llandrillo/Cynwyd ward, also thanked the police for heeding his advice to use drones to tackle the problem.

He said: "Illegal and irresponsible off roaders have been a scourge in this area for many years. 

"We regularly hear complaints of how grazing land and wildlife are damaged on the Berwyn Mountains by irresponsible off-roaders. In turn these give the majority of those who enjoy the past time responsibly a bad name.

"What these irresponsible drivers don't understand, or don't care for, is that their actions damage the countryside and people's livelihoods.

"These mountains and hills are difficult enough to scrape out a living, let alone having to spend more on fixing fences, posts, gates, walls and other things because of the actions of a few selfish people. They're also home to rare flaura, fauna and ground nesting birds. It's a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which should be respected."

Last year Cllr ap Gwynfor called on the police to use drones to help tackle the problem.

He said: "It's very difficult to police the activity given its nature. The irresponsible drivers can speed off in almost any direction especially in such a remote area like the Berwyns.

"This is why I called for the police to consider using drones. I'm glad to see that they are using this technology to assist them and that they had a successful operation over the weekend. 

"The police are called on to do a lot of work, and are under serious financial pressures, so they must be thanked for listening to our concerns and working with our communities to help tackle them.

"I'm also grateful to Arfon Jones, the Police and Crime Commissioner, for listening to us when he put the police budget together."

The Dee Valley Policing team updated their Facebook page saying:

@Northwalespolice conducted a joint operation on Saturday 17/02/18 targetting the ongoing off road related problems in Llangollen, Corwen, Llandrillo, Nantyr and also across to Llanarmon DC, Glyn Ceiriog and Chirk areas.

We had a number of resources dedicated to the operation including 14 officers, 2 4x4 patrol vehicles, 2 4x4 Roads Policing vehicles, 2 unmarked scrambler bikes, and 2 marked police vehicles. For this operation we also had use of the NWP Drone.

The operation was a massive success with 58 vehicles stopped, 16 Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme Tickets, 2 Traffic Offence Report Tickets and 1 vehicle seized for no insurance.

Dee Valley SNT (Safer Neighbourhood Team) would like to thank all of the officers and units involved in Saturdays operation!!! 

#deevalleysnt #llangollen #glyndyfrdwy #cynwyd #llandrillo #yousaidwedid#NWPRPU

MP looks into "disturbing" online abuse of disabled

Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones joined three other members of the House of Commons Petitions Committee to meet with disabled people to discuss their experience of online abuse.

The hearing is based on a well-supported public petition and will form part of an inquiry by the committee into the online abuse that disabled people have been subjected to.

People with a range of disabilities and experiences of abuse were invited to Parliament to talk about what it’s like to be disabled online, the challenges that disabled people face when reporting abuse, and what social media companies and the Government should be doing to tackle abuse. 

Ms Jones (pictured) said: "Some of the accounts given by disabled people were very disturbing.

"We really do need social media companies and the Government to do more to protect disabled people online. 

"I welcome the fact that the House of Commons Petitions Committee, disability charities and advocacy groups, and individual disabled people are bringing this very concerning form of online abuse to light."

Petitions Committee chair Helen Jones MP said: “We heard from disabled people themselves about the shocking abuse that they face when they go online.

"We know that it’s not always easy to talk about such difficult experiences, and we’re very grateful indeed to everyone who came to Parliament today to help us with our work.

"The petitions system was set up to help people to have their voices heard in Parliament, so it’s very important to us that the views of disabled people are at the heart of our inquiry."

Railway's half term train rides continue

* Boarding the train for Corwen.

In the second week of half term, 19-23 February, Llangollen Railway is operating the off-peak service with the diesel railcard.

Trains depart Llangollen at 1040,1300 & 1510 for the full ten mile run to Corwen.

The heritage Wickham railcar offers best all round views of the journey through the Dee Valley.

For those sitting at the front, the view from behind the driver shows how the line climbs and twists and turns all the way. If sitting at the back you get the "where we have been" view of the track.

The ideal way to see the countryside in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Special offer fares for child travelling with an adult. See details at: www.llangollen-waay.co.uk

* The view from the cab ...

Plas Newydd's water tower gets facelift

* llanblogger reader Mike Edwards took this picture of the old Water Tower at Plas Newydd which has been refurbished by the county council to help preserve the history of the beautiful Grade 2 Listed house and gardens originally the home of the Ladies of Llangollen.

Gales serves up victory in top food competition

* Gales chef Jack Hatley, second from right, receives the overall winner's prize. 

Three of the top eateries in North East Wales went head to head in the grand final of the Year of the Sea Food challenge – with Gales of Llangollen being crowned the overall winner.

Over the past month 12 eateries across Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire have put their best fin forward to showcase the best of local produce and hit the rather tricky ‘Year of the Sea’ brief.



The challenge took inspiration from the 2018 Welsh ‘Year of the Sea’, with the North East Wales Tourism and Marketing team inviting local eateries to create a dish that would celebrate the region’s amazing coastline, epic inland waterways and great local produce.

Each restaurant has been visited by a mystery diner, including food bloggers from South Wales, local press (such as Wrexham.com) and food writers, who had the very difficult task of tasting and scoring the dishes.

While Year of the Sea may seem a difficult challenge for a semi landlocked North East Wales, all the participating rose the challenge and offered their interpretations of the classic fish and chips with a twist or their surf and turf dishes.

Friday saw the three finalists – The Fat Boar Wrexham, Gales of Llangollen and the Royal Oak in Bangor on Dee – compete against each other in a live cook off at Hafod in Coleg Cambria.

Each restaurant faced tough critique from a panel of experts and top chefs, including Kevin Lynn – Machine House, Kerry Thatcher – Food Division Visit Wales, Chris Nelson – Artisan Street Food Chef, Alex Jones – Bank Wine Bar Wrexham, Caroline Dawson – Welsh Seafood Cluster Manager and Tracey Hughes – Porters Delicatessen Llangollen.

Speaking yesterday Joe Bickerton, Destination Manager at Wrexham Council, said the standard of competition this year had been excellent – with all three finalists scoring a whopping 59/60 in the mystery diner feedback.

First up was The Royal Oak, with their ‘Surf & Slurp’ – a dish billed as a ‘winter hearty dish that will warm you up from the inside’.

Providing a background on the dish, Lee Williams, general manager of the restaurant, explained it was made of locally sourced pork from Lewis’ farm shop and Menai Mussels which were freshly delivered.

The competition entry was also described as being a hit with customers, with between 60-70 dishes being served over the past month, all of which receiving positive. feedback.

Next up was Gales of Llangollen, who also offered their unique twist on surf and turf with sous vide Pen y Lan pork belly, saffron mash, American sauce, a smiling langoustine and a couple of lovely quails eggs.

Finally was another interpretation of the classic surf and turf, with the Fat Boar serving up an massive 18oz bone-in Celtic pride ribeye, giant crab claws, Perl las sauce. Crispy ‘spiralised’ Covent Garden potato, Anglesey salted roast tomato and Wrexham Lager battered onion rings.

After a lot of deliberation from the Judges, Gales of Llangollen was crowned the winner of the Year of the Sea Food Challenge – with judges describing their dish as having a ‘good use of local produce’ and the ‘visual wow factor’ – a vote that matched the verdict in room.

In what was a tough competition, the Fat Boar came in second and The Royal Oak third.

* The full list of entrants this year was:  Gales of Llangollen , Old Wives Tales, Corwen , Fat Boar, Mold , Druid Inn , Fat Boar, Wrexham , Lot 11, Wrexham , Croes Howell , Royal Oak Bangor on Dee , Lemon Tree, Wrexham , Holt Lodge , Hafod Restaurant, Coleg Cambria and The Alyn, Rossett 

County gets £1.2m to fill in potholes

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates has welcomed Welsh Government investment of almost £4m to improve the state of roads across North East Wales. 

Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services, Alun Davies, recently committed the cash to fixing potholes throughout the region.

The windfall includes £1.4m for Wrexham, which according to Welsh Government statistics has the worst roads in North Wales. 

In total an extra £7.9m will be spent in North Wales, which includes £1,427,33 for Wrexham; £1,204,380 for Denbighshire and £1,427,133 for Flintshire. 

Mr Skates, whose constituency includes Wrexham and Denbighshire, said: “Budgets remain extremely stretched because of the cruel and relentless Tory austerity agenda which has seen more than £1.4bn snatched from Wales by Westminster since 2010. 

“Within that context, I’m delighted that the Welsh Labour Government has secured this significant investment in North East Wales to help fix our roads. The winter has been very damaging for our road network and it’s important that it’s rectified quickly.” 

Mr Skates also welcomed ‘rapidly progressing’ plans to tackle congestion on the A483 and at Halton Roundabout near Chirk. Both will be addressed within three years. 

The latest tranche of Welsh Government funding for roads will be administered by local councils. Figures released in February 2017 showed Wrexham council’s roads were rated as the worst in North Wales – while neighbouring Flintshire’s were the best. 

Mr Davies said: “In my discussions with local government, they have been clear about the pressures on the road network and how in some parts of Wales the state of local roads is simply not up to a safe standard. I am really pleased to be able to make this funding available to support a comprehensive refurbishment programme and improve future resilience of the roads network.” 

Welsh Local Government Spokesman for Transport, Andrew Morgan, said: “We are grateful to Welsh Government for listening to our calls for further funding to maintain the highway network. Residents, businesses and tourists across Wales rely on our roads on a daily basis and so it is vital to ensure that they are in a good condition.” 

AM calls for new plan to tackle fuel poverty

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood, who chairs the Assembly Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency, has made fresh calls for a revised Fuel Poverty Strategy for Wales, emphasising that the existing Welsh Government strategy has not worked.    

A household in Wales is in fuel poverty if they spend 10% or more of their income on energy costs.

Speaking in the Assembly Mr Isherwood (pictured) expressed concern that in 2010 the Welsh Government set out its strategy to eradicate fuel poverty in Wales in all households by 2018, but less than 10 months away from the target date, the most recent statistics show that almost 300,000 households in Wales are living in fuel poverty, 23% of the total, unable to afford to adequately heat their home, or in crippling debt with their energy supplier. 

He said: “It is clear therefore that the Welsh Government Strategy has not worked.

“The objectives of the 2010 Fuel Poverty Strategy are still relevant – it is still vital that we reduce the impact of fuel poverty on households and work to eradicate fuel poverty, it is still vital that we create green jobs and business opportunities, and it is still vital that we reduce energy inefficiency in the domestic sector. 

“However, many of the mechanisms and measures contained within the 2010 Fuel Poverty Strategy are out of date or no longer applicable.

“Although the Nest and Arbed schemes are helping, these alone are not sufficient to tackle the problem. 

“The Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs’ announcement of £104 million investment over the next four years in increasing the energy efficiency of up to 25,000 low income households in Wales is welcomed. However, this will not eradicate fuel poverty by 2018.  This equates to an average of 6,250 homes a year - and if the schemes were to continue to assist similar numbers each year, it would take 48 years to eradicate fuel poverty in Wales.”

Mr Isherwood stated that the annual cost to the Welsh NHS for treating people who are made ill by living in a cold damp home is approximately £67 million.

He added: “With current demand on the Welsh NHS higher than ever before, more needs to be done to tackle cold homes.

“Eradicating fuel poverty will not only lead to a healthier population, but will also contribute to our decarbonisation targets. 

“What is needed now is a revised Fuel Poverty Strategy with ambitious targets and investment in order to eradicate fuel poverty in Wales as a social justice issue once and for all. As the Bevan and Joseph Rowntree Foundations told the Assembly’s Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee three  years ago “fuel poverty should have a higher profile in the Welsh Government’s tackling poverty action plan, because it is a fundamental human need to have a warm home. And as Age Cymru have said ‘the time is right for the Welsh Government to refresh its Fuel Poverty Strategy.”