Tory AM slams council merger plans

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has slammed Welsh Government plans to merge councils in Wales, stating that “Big is not always more beautiful, cost-effective or efficient”.    

A statement earlier this week by the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services on ‘Local Government’,  resurrected Welsh Government plans that could see Wales' 22 councils merged to as few as 10.

The proposals are Isle of Anglesey & Gwynedd; Conwy & Denbighshire; Flintshire & Wrexham; Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire & Carmarthenshire; Swansea & Neath Port Talbot; Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf & Merthyr Tydfil; Vale of Glamorgan & Cardiff; Newport & Caerphilly; Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent & Monmouthshire.

Responding to the Statement in the Chamber, Mr Isherwood (pictured), said:  “Well, we've heard much of your general thrust, including your acknowledgement that we need devolution of powers within Wales, which is precisely what the North Wales Economic Ambition Board is calling for in its Growth Bid. Could I suggest that an alternative model might be the collaborative regional approach developed in North Wales by the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, working together on strategy, prioritisation and, increasingly in the future, delivery, where we know the evidence from mergers in all the sectors is that big is not always more beautiful, cost-effective or efficient?”

Speaking outside the Chamber, Mr Isherwood added: “Last time they tried this, I was a member of the Assembly Committee which scrutinised what they were up to. The evidence we received showed that they were ignoring the analysis which local authorities must undertake to show that the benefits outweigh the costs before committing to any expenditure alone or with other authorities.

“It is scandalous that the Welsh Government considers that such financial discipline with public money should not apply to itself.  As the Welsh Local Government Association said “this announcement has caused disquiet and confusion” and “the proposals are yet to be fully costed and most academic analysis concludes that such reform programmes rarely deliver the savings or changes in performance that were hoped."

Students debate future of minority languages

* Students gather for the debate.

The future of minority languages across Europe was the subject of debate for  25 students from Europe during a week long stay in Denbighshire.
 
The visit to Llangollen,  hosted by Ysgol Dinas Bran as part of the Erasmus Project, was set up to understand the importance of minority languages across Europe.  
 
Ysgol Dinas Bran has been involved in the project for two years, with representatives having visited a number of European countries.  

This month it was the school’s turn to host a week-long visit for pupils from Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Scotland.
 
Students stayed with host families in the Dee Valley as part of the exchange visit.
 
Ifor Phillips, Head of Welsh at Ysgol Dinas Bran, said: “The school has been extremely fortunate to be involved in such an important project. Students from across Europe have been given opportunities to learn about the minority languages and to hear what steps are being taken to promote and protect their future.
 
“During the week, we offered the European students a real taste of Welsh Language and culture. They attended a Noson Lawen and a real life Welsh language gig. We have also shown them the sights of Llangollen and Denbighshire, as well as a visit to Snowdon and Llanberis.
 
“It has been an extremely worthwhile initiative and we have been delighted to promote the Welsh Language and culture through our activities during the week." 

UPDATE - Air ambulance lands on youth centre field

SEE UPDATE AT FOOT OF STORY ...

* The air ambulance, to the right, on the field beside the youth centre.

The Wales Air Ambulance landed in the field next to the youth centre in Willow Street earlier this evening.

It remained there for the best part of an hour before taking off again as darkness fell.

As yet llanblogger has been unable to discover the reason for it being in the area.

Outside the youth centre there was also a road ambulance and a police car.

There are unconfirmed reports of a road traffic collision having occurred on the A5 this evening and it is not known whether there may be any connection between this possibility and the appearance of the air ambulance. 

UPDATE ...

North Wales Police said this morning (Thursday) that the air ambulance was called in after a six-year-old local boy was involved in a collision on Regent Street at around 5.20pm yesterday.

He was taken to Alder Hey Hospital to receive treatment for serious injuries.

Police have not issued any appeal for witnesses.  

County launches "don't feed seagulls" campaign

A campaign is to get underway in Denbighshire in the coming weeks to try and reduce problems caused by seagulls.

Seagulls are a common cause of complaint for the council and are seen as something of a nuisance, predominantly in coastal communities, but also inland.

Now the council is looking at ways of tackling the issue and says it will focus its efforts on encouraging residents and visitors not to feed seagulls, and working with food providers to reduce food waste and ensure any food waste bins are covered adequately.

The campaign will run on the council’s social media accounts, on its website: www.denbighshire.gov.uk, in the local press and through working with local communities.

Councillor Tony Thomas, Cabinet Lead Member for Housing and the Environment, said: “We fully recognise that seagulls are part of life in all coastal communities. They have been present for many years and continue to thrive.

"However, we do get regular complaints from residents in coastal communities, as well as some of our towns inland about the dangers posed by seagulls, especially when they are attracted to food.

“There are limited options to the council as they are a protected species.  We have tried some scare tactics similar to the angry birds and netting/ bunting being provided in some areas and to a degree they have been successful.

“What we need is the public’s support. By not feeding the seagulls and making sure food waste is covered, we can greatly reduce the amount of opportunities for the seagulls to swoop on our town centres."

Para glider in hillside rescue drama - UPDATED

See update at foot of story ...

* In this picture by Phil Jones the para-glider can be seen just above

the treetops in the middle of the image. A rescue helicopter hovers nearby.

* Phil Jones's picture of a rescue helicopter at the scene of the incident. 

A rescue drama has been taking place on a hillside near Llangollen this afternoon (Tuesday).

An eye-witness has told llanblogger that an injured para-glider crash-landed high amongst the trees in the valley near the "two aerials".

Phil Jones said: "Police and coastguard helicopters have attended, but it would appear that the nature of the steep terrain also required the services of the local mountain rescue team, who have been in attendance."

UPDATE ....

On its Facebook site, North east Wales Search and Rescue, which was called out to the incident, says:

Team members were called by North Wales Police at 12:40 today to rescue a paraglider pilot trapped around 70 feet (20 metres) high in a tree near Llangollen. 

When we arrived several other agencies were on site as well. One of our team members used his professional tree climbing skills to get above the casualty so a rope system could be built to lower him gently to the ground. 

Fortunately he hadn't suffered any injuries in the crash and was able to walk away to his... car.
This was about as multi agency as it gets. 

The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust had a crew in attendance, North Wales Police officers were on scene, the Wales Air Ambulance had arrived and also North Wales Fire and Rescue Service / Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub Gogledd Cymru sent a crew. 

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency helicopter also had a look at winching the casualty but there was considerable danger of displacing the paraglider canopy due to the downdraft, potentially causing the casualty to fall. So in the end it was NEWSAR that provided the solution.

* NEWSAR's picture of the rescue in Llangollen

(the para-glider gave permission for its use).

Watch group sends out scam phone calls alert

Neighbourhood Watch has sent out a warning message about scam phone calls to its members in this area.

It says: "This alert is being circulated due to the amount of calls being received. Over the weekend there have been a number of calls to elderly persons in the Wrexham and Flintshire areas purporting to be from the HMRC (Tax office).

"The caller states that the aggrieved person owes them money. They then request that the elderly person buys ITunes vouchers to pay the outstanding bill. These ITunes vouchers can be purchased at supermarkets across the counties.

"Fortunately, some supermarket staff have thought that this was suspicious and have stopped the elderly person from going ahead with this fraud.

"Some persons have already been conned into sending over the details of the vouchers and enquiries are in hand to catch these people.
"This is a SCAM don't let these people get away with it.

"The Tax office will not phone people at home demanding money and expect a payment via ITunes.

"Please pass this on to your family and friends to ensure no one gets caught out with this scam.
Officers are visiting the local supermarkets to speak to the managers to make them aware."

If you need to reply regarding this message, click on this email address: watch@owlcymru.org

Libraries get creative

Libraries in Denbighshire are inviting local people to join in with the Get Creative Festival 2018 from March 17-25.

Get Creative Festival shines a light on all the great cultural activity that takes place right across the UK on a regular basis and encourages people to try their hand at something new and creative.

A range of activities have been arranged and there’s warm invitation to everyone to call in:

Llangollen Library

Today, Tuesday, March 20, 2.00pm

Crochet, decoupage, embroidery and tapestry and more with Llangollen Craft Group

Friday March 23 (all day)

Hand made wood carvings and wet felting with Roger and Julia, Oblivious Gnome Creations

Corwen Library

Friday, March 23, 9.30-2.00

Collage craft workshop with local artist Carys H Roberts and Felt Ball making