Skates: Why I'm backing Drakeford for leader

Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates sets out the reasons why he will be supporting Mark Drakeford in the forthcoming election for a new Welsh Labour leader and First Minister

* Ken Skates AM, left with Mark Drakeford AM outside Chirk Health Centre.

The same concern about politics has been expressed to me repeatedly these past two years: that the world has gone crazy and nowhere appears stable.

With the proliferation of fake news, the rise of dangerously populist politicians and with divisive issues such as Brexit constantly looming over us, it's no wonder so many people feel insecure. That people feel dismayed and dejected, that the world feels unsafe and even unfamiliar.

That, allied to the way social media allows the most vocal – and often the most extreme views – to be heard over the less hysterical majority and you could easily believe we now occupy a space in which calm, considered reflection and conviction politics have been abandoned.

This makes it so important for us to elect leaders that can remain steady in a storm, who have inbuilt moral compasses rather than populist calculators, who have a proven track record of applying principles rather than a history of riding bandwagons.

In a world that Trump, Farage and Boris Johnson are turning angrily against itself, we need principled, internationalist and intelligent leaders to come to the fore and offer the shining light of hope. And we can start right here in Wales by electing Mark Drakeford as Welsh Labour leader and First Minister.

I’m backing Mark because I know what he stands for. A politician who is steered by principles. Mark is the person who can best help us navigate through the mess of Brexit and he is the person who can unite, reach out and enthuse people to work together, rather than against each other.

Mark also gets the North Wales issue. Whether real or perceived, there is a feeling across North Wales that the region has fared less well than other parts of the country in recent times, that the North feels detached from centres of power in Cardiff and London. 

In my discussions with Mark, he is fully aware of the need to address regional inequalities and disengagement. And he is also acutely aware to the threat of ongoing austerity to the wellbeing and welfare of people in the communities I serve. Welfare reform, insecure employment and the financial pressures faced by families and councils will not go away until austerity ends. Which means we need a leader who is determined to protect the most vulnerable, someone who wants wealth and good health for all.

I'm backing Mark Drakeford because of his principles, his character and his priorities. And I'm hoping many more Labour members will join the campaign to elect Mark this autumn.

Council promotes voice for young people

Denbighshire Youth and Education services are urging young people to make sure their voices are heard by registering as an election candidate or to vote in the first ever Welsh Youth Parliament Election.

Young people in Wales aged from 11 up to 18 years are eligible to stand for election or to vote

Sixty members will make up Welsh Youth Parliament and it will empower young people to identify and raise awareness of the issues that matter to them.

Denbighshire is urging young people to sign up to vote or as a candidate for the inaugural Welsh Youth Parliament election.

In the week beginning the September 17 Denbighshire Youth Services are holding a registration to vote week, at all youth centres across the county.

Staff will be on hand to support you through the process.

If you are interested in becoming part of the Welsh Youth Parliament then go along on September 24 to the Hwb in Denbigh where the council will support you to complete your candidate application. For more information, email: youth.service@denbighshire.gov.uk.

The Welsh Youth Parliament will provide a voice for young people to raise awareness and debate the issues that matter to them. Working with the National Assembly for Wales, these issues can then be brought before the people with the power to make changes happen.

There will be 60 Welsh Youth Parliament Members. Forty of these will be elected via First Past the Post through an electronic voting system in each of the 40 electoral constituencies in Wales. Twenty will be returned by partner organisations to ensure the representation of diverse groups of young people.

All young people in Wales, between the ages of 11 and up to 18, can take part by registering to vote in the online election which will be in November 2018.

Register to vote: 28/05/2018 – 16/11/2018

Apply to be part of the Welsh Youth Parliament: 03/09/2018 – 30/09/2018

Elections: 05/11/2018 – 25/11/2018

Welsh Youth Parliament announced: December 2018

The first meeting of the Welsh Youth Parliament will be held in February 2019.

The National Assembly Commission agreed to establish a youth parliament in September 2017 following an extensive consultation with more than 5,000 young people around Wales. 

The National Assembly has also worked closely with a steering group of youth organisations providing expert guidance and, critically, views from the point of view of young people which contributed to the shaping of the new Welsh Youth Parliament.

* More information is available on the Welsh Youth Parliament website:  www.youthparliament.wales.

Invites go out to hydro-electric power scheme

* South Denbighshire Community Partnership launch of Energy Local Corwen at Canolfan Ni, Corwen, (front, L/R) Sally Lloyd Davies and Margaret Sutherland, of SDCP; Silas Jones, Cadwyn Clwyd; and Tom Taylor, Director, Speed of Thought Ltd.

Home owners in the Corwen area are being invited to sign up to a community project to take advantage of the energy generated by the town’s very own hydro-electric power plant which started generating last year.

It could be worth over £300 a year to some households in savings and provide the community with up to £2,000 a year to spend on local good causes.

Energy Local Corwen is being run by the South Denbighshire Community Partnership who are keen to sign up 37 households in the first step to making the Edeyrnion area one of the ‘greenest’ in Wales.

SDCP Chief Officer Margaret Sutherland said: “We want to make people aware of what an innovative and exciting project this is and how it could put Corwen at the forefront of the green revolution in Wales.

“We are expecting a lot of interest because people could make really substantial savings from our very own hydro-power scheme and that money can be spent locally while at the same time surplus cash from the power generation will be channeled into community projects and we are saving the planet as well.

“We would expect to be over-subscribed and it will be on a first come, first served basis but those who miss out this time will go onto a waiting list and with another, bigger hydro-power scheme in the pipeline at Bonwm. Near Corwen, they shouldn’t have to wait too long.”

Residents of Corwen and the surrounding villages of Glyndyfrdwy, Llidiart y Parc, Carrog, Cynwyd, Gwyddelwern, Bryn SM and Bryneglwys should be eligible to sign up with Energy Local Corwen.

The scheme is being run by Tom Taylor, of Speed of Thought Ltd, and he said: “A similar scheme in Bethesda has had studies done showing that people who sign up can expect savings of between ten and 30 per cent.

“That could amount to up to £300 a year for a household which is a significant amount of money and because renewable energy is ‘green’ there is a social responsibility element to the project as well.

“Our role is to create a template for how this can work for future schemes and developing the co-operative that will be made up of the households which sign up and they will play a part in its running alongside the directors of the Corwen Hydro Project.”

The electricity generated at the turbine house in the town centre is driven by the Nant y Pigyn and Nant Cawrddu streams which plunge 500 feet from a reservoir high above Corwen to generate 55 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to supply up to 40 homes a year.

Over its 40-year lifespan of receiving government feed-in tariffs it is estimated that the project will generate £1.2 million with £120,000 going directly to community benefit for local organisations and good causes.

The scheme is publicly owned and it is also payback time for them after an issue of £1 shares raised £318,000, over half of them bought locally, to fund the project which was developed by rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd.

The agency provided a £12,000 feasibility study through its LEADER fund as part of the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020, which is financed by the Welsh Government and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

LEADER is a fund for rural areas in Wales to explore innovative new approaches and experimental technologies to tackle poverty, create jobs and drive sustainable economic development.

Silas Jones, Project Officer with rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd who piloted the Corwen Hydro Project, said: “This is a really exciting and groundbreaking project which will become a model for others to follow and which we can also follow ourselves as Corwen develops into a hub of renewable energy.

“It is ideally placed for water power with the Bonwm project to go ahead and to provide even more energy and major wind power developments also taking place in the Clocaenog Forest as well as smaller schemes nearby.”

* For more information on the Energy Local Corwen project and South Denbighshire Community Partnership go to http://www.canolfan-ni.org/ and to https://www.facebook.com/SouthDenbighshireCommunityPartnership/ and for more on Cadwyn Clwyd go to http://cadwynclwyd.co.uk/

Operatic to host meet and greet evening

Llangollen Operatic Society will be launching their 2018-2019 season with a Meet and Greet on Tuesday September 11 at 7.30pm in the studio, off Castle Street.

There will be introductions from the production team - producer Helen Belton, artistic director Alison Ravenscroft, assistant director Chrissie Ashworth and musical director Leigh Mason.

There will also be a chance to find out more about the 2019 show, Fiddler on the Roof, including dates of auditions, details of characters and ways in which society members and newcomers to the society can take part.

There will also be a chance to sing through some of the chorus numbers later in the evening.

Refreshments will be available.

The following week, Tuesday September 18, social secretary Tracey Kempster Jones and committee member Nia Pickering will host a quiz and social evening. Again newcomers are welcome.

Producer Helen Belton said: "New members are always welcome to the society, whether you see yourself treading the boards or helping in the many ways available offstage. 

"The production team will be looking for principals to audition for Fiddler on the Roof as well as chorus members. Men are particularly welcome.

"Contact us through our Facebook page, Llangollen Operatic Society, phone the membership secretary Alison on  07887 595015‬ or simply turn up to the studio on a Tuesday evening at 7.30pm." 

County has volunteering roles available

Are you interested in volunteering in Strategic Leisure or Youth Services?

Denbighshire County Council currently has opportunities due to our current volunteers gaining employment or fulltime training.

There are opportunities within Community Arts, GP referral, Community Sport, the Youth Service and D of E (Duke of Edinburgh Award) across Denbighshire.

If you are interested in any of these areas, or feel you have a certain skill set to offer and would like to volunteer then you are invited along to one of the council's drop in sessions to find out more.

All volunteers are offered free relevant training, including Certificate in Youth Work, Sports Leaders, Safeguarding, First Aid and D of E Leaders.

A DBS check will be completed and ongoing support in the role will be provided.

The council says it is particularly keen to offer more volunteering opportunities to Welsh speakers.

The opportunities gained through volunteering in Strategic Leisure and the Youth Service have  previously led to paid employment for the leisure, children, young peoples and social care related job opportunities and can widen skills and experience.

The drop-in sessions will take place at the following locations:

Tuesday 18^th September, 5-6.30pm at the Oaktree Centre, Ffordlas Road, Rhyl, LL18 2DY

Thursday 20th September, 5-6.30pm at Caledfryn, Smithfield Road, Denbigh, LL16 3RJ

* For more information, contact Sian Bennett, Health and Wellbeing Manager 01824 712710 sian.bennett@denbighshire.gov.uk

Easycoach pulls out of bus services, says story

The Leader is reporting that budget bus operator Easycoach has pulled out of providing services in the Wrexham area just two months after it was launched.

The story says that those impacted include services from Wrexham to Oswestry, Barker’s Lane, Wrexham Industrial Estate and Cefn Mawr, as well as one running from Llanarmon DC to Llangollen.

For the full story, see: http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/16598443.bus-operator-easycoach-pulls-out-of-wrexham-after-only-two-months/

Three Eagles chooses hometown executive chef

* Adam Gaunt-Evans is executive chef at The Three Eagles.

A man with an international culinary reputation has been chosen as executive chef at Llangollen’s new Three Eagles Restaurant and Bar.

Adam Gaunt-Evans, who is returning to his hometown to take up the prestige appointment, come with over 20 years of culinary experience, having cooked in some of the world’s most exclusive venues spanning three continents and seven countries. 

The Three Eagles owner Matt Jones said: “To be able to announce Adam as our executive chef makes me extremely excited.

“His skills coupled with the experience he brings with him from his time in top class kitchens around the world makes him an ideal acquisition for what we are looking to achieve at The Three Eagles.”

After finding his love for cooking at the age of 14 Adam went on to train at London’s five-star Dorchester Hotel and continued on to the Michelin-starred Green House in Mayfair as well as working alongside the acclaimed chef Bjorn Van der Horst.

Adam continued his success operating top restaurant kitchens across a host of exotic countries and in his first international role worked as a senior chef at the Burj al Arab, the iconic Dubai landmark regarded as the world’s first seven-star hotel.

His skills later took him to further luxury resorts in the Maldives, Thailand and Australia, where he worked in a seafood restaurant headed by celebrity chef Peter Kuruvita.

Adam joins The Three Eagles following his latest overseas venture which saw him head-hunted for the role of executive chef at Sri-Lanka’s five-star Galle Face Hotel.

Here he oversaw the successful re-opening of the hotel’s group of six restaurants following a 30m dollar restoration and refurbishment. 

Adam says The Three Eagles will be the ideal venue for guests to experience menus that will reflect the rich cultural diversity of Llangollen, home to the world’s first International Eisteddfod.

“The Three Eagles is going to offer a new dining experience to the town and surrounding areas,” said Adam.

“I am working closely with owners Matt and Vicky and operations director Tracey to create exciting menus ranging from leisurely brunches and the perfect traditional Sunday lunch to a full evening a la carte experience. Our sophisticated bar will provide an exciting venue to enjoy perfectly mixed drinks with convivial sharing dishes.”

He added: “Wherever I have been in the world, Llangollen has always been my home. North Wales has some of the best natural produce available and I’m very excited to be working again with Welsh suppliers, farmers and producers, championing seasonal produce and really showcasing the quality of our region.”

The Three Eagles will include a cocktail bar with a restaurant featuring signature dishes such as seared native scallop with curried pumpkin, parmesan and vanilla butter, as well as sticky Welsh beef short rib in stout with champ potatoes, charred leeks and crispy garlic. 

“We have already begun recruiting a very strong senior team,” revealed Adam. “But we look forward to welcoming applications as we create new opportunities for local people aspiring to work in the hospitality industry. There has never been a better time to join - our internal training program and future expansion will provide exciting opportunities for our employees.” 

The Three Eagles is the latest venture by Llangollen-based entrepreneur-couple Matt and Vicky Jones and will be the first feature under the One Hundred knights hospitality brand, whose mission is to “redefine travel experiences and dining out trends within the region, with an exciting collection of restaurants, bars and leisure venues”.

* To find out more about The Three Eagles, Llangollen go to www.thethreeeagles.co.uk