Demo greets Plaid leader's community garden visit

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood had an unexpected reception when she visited Llangollen Community Garden yesterday (Saturday) morning.

Last week, garden supporters received the news that Denbighshire County Council has decided not to sell off the plot for housing development.

* The posters in Cllr Timms' car windows.

Ms Wood, who was in the area attending the party’s spring conference at the Pavilion, had been invited along to show her support for the project and to speak to members of the community who work on it.

But parked on the road outside the garden was the car of local Labour councillor Graham Timms displaying posters which bore the message, “Don’t  play politics with Llangollen Community Garden. I didn’t.”  

Explaining the reason behind the demonstration, Cllr Timms said: “After six months of hard work to keep the community garden open I was  delighted when the county council finally decided to keep ownership of the site they occupied.

“The garden has proved that it can bring people and communities together.

“Throughout the whole campaign I kept party politics out of the fight for the garden. I never used the small victories in council committees as a victory for Labour. It was a victory for the wellbeing of Llangollen.

“In early March, I made my final speech of a series in Denbighshire County Council’s Assets Committee that agreed to save the garden. 

“It was a great feeling to know that the garden’s future was safe and that the people who had worked so hard would have a long term future on the site.

“I am furious that two weeks after the garden has been given a secure future Plaid Cymru’s leader Leanne Wood arrives to use the garden’s campaign success for party political advantage.

“Whilst I’m delighted that Plaid Cymru have chosen Llangollen for their Spring Conference, I do not welcome their cynical attempt to claim credit for something they plainly have not done.”

He added: “Leanne Wood managed to squeeze past into the garden and spoke to a number of people involved with it.

“I interrupted her TV interview to explain that party politics shouldn't be involved and put my point of view over.”

Plaid Cymru county councillor Mabon ap Gwynfor said: "Plaid Cymru were holding their spring conference in Llangollen and as such Leanne took the opportunity to visit businesses and projects in the area.

"On Saturday she visited the community garden in Llangollen. Leanne wrote a booklet, Greenprint For The Valleys, which discussed how communities should get together to develop projects which were community focussed, environmentally beneficial and sustainable.

"The Llangollen Community Garden Project is exactly the kind of thing that Leanne has been championing.

"The garden was threatened recently and Cllr Times, to his credit, did a lot to assist them.

"Leanne visited to learn from the garden - sharing best practice is essential. But also to congratulate them on their successful campaign.

"As a councillor in Denbighshire I'm certainly inspired by the garden, and am looking at ways to emulate them.

"They're an example to follow and should be celebrated as such. It's a shame that the visit was misconstrued by Graham. Personally I looking forward to continuing to work with Graham on DCC in order to achieve our common goal of improving the lives of people living in Denbighshire."

* Leanne Wood (centre) meets members of the community garden group.

Town Council replies to social media comments

In response to various matters being debated on social media, Llangollen Town Council has issued the following statement on its own Facebook page:

"The Town Council would like to correct several inaccuracies which have been posted on Facebook regarding Town Council expenditure.

"Members of the Town Council are not supplied with mobile phones or tablets. Members are however able to claim allowances for expenses incurred in pursuant of their duties.

"These allowances are determined by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales which is responsible for determining the allowances payable to elected members of principal councils, national park authorities, fire and rescue authorities, and community and town councils in Wales.

"The decision to retire the old Chain of Office, which dates form 1974, was following an assessment by Thomas Fattorini, Designer-Makers and Artist-Craftsmen, who have for over 100 years designed and manufactured pendants, chains of office and fine regalia such as maces, staffs and various civic gifts for parish, town, city and district councils, associations, and universities.

"The Chain was deemed beyond economic repair with broken clasps, the loss of gilding and the complete obliteration of some names due to wear and tear. Continued use of the old Chain of Office would have caused further damage and the potential loss of elements through further wear and tear.

"The cost of the replacement was borne out of Town Council reserves."

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).