llanblogger's exlusive look at Vicarage Road development

llanblogger exclusive

* A site plan of the development, with Willow Street on the left and the cemetery

in the middle top.

llanblogger has been given an exclusive insight into the £25 million new homes development planned for land off Vicarage Road in Llangollen.

Earlier this year Wrexham-based family building firm SG Estates acquired the 10-acre site from the Castlemead Group which secured planning permission for the scheme in late 2016.

Castlemead completed a small number of houses on a section of the site but not before it had run into a storm of criticism from a well-organised campaign group whose members objected to the wider development for the extra traffic it would create and the additional burden it would place on local services, such as schools.

There was particular concern about the timing of the construction of a new access road to the development, which opponents demanded should be finished before building work on the houses began.

However, Steve Griffin, managing director of SG Estates which bought the undeveloped section of the site from Castlemead last February, has given a pledge that the road, which will bring traffic up from the town centre, will be completed ahead of construction of the homes.

Mr Griffin said what his company now planned was the main body of the development and would include 95 units.

* The development site as it looks at the moment.

The extensive site stretches from Vicarage Road in the north towards Fron Bache in the south and from the cemetery and allotments and fields in front of them in the west to open fields in the east.  

Nine of the properties will be affordable homes, in either two-bedroom mews style or semis, the occupation of which will be overseen by a housing association yet to be decided.

Sixty per cent of the rest of the homes will be either two or three bedrooms with the remainder four or five bedroom units.

Prices of the properties will range from £150,000 to half a million pounds.

Mr Griffin said that overall his company is pumping £25 million into the development – it’s yet to be given a d name – which includes a contribution of £47,000 towards the affordable homes and, as agreed within the original planning permission, a contribution of £173,000 to local education which schools can spend as they see fit.

Eighty-five per cent of the properties in the development will qualify for the Welsh Government’s Help to Buy scheme, which means they can be secured with a deposit of just five per cent.

This, explained Mr Griffin, would mean that, for example, a £200,000 property could be obtained with a deposit of £10,000.

He said: “I believe this will be particularly attractive to first-time buyers and young families.”   

The landscaped site will feature four public open spaces with children’s play equipment and the main frontage is to be planted with oak trees.

First job, according to Mr Griffin, is to start work on the new access road within the next eight to 10 weeks.

The road will begin by branching off from Hall Street and lead into Willow Street which will be widened to 9.5 metres from its present 3.5 metres.

SG Estates has purchased parcels of land along the left hand side of Willow Street heading up from the town from both private owners and the local authority to enable the widening operation to take place and no properties are affected.

The new road heads on past the youth centre where the company will upgrade the car park and put in four extra parking spaces.

The road then branches off left on a new section across the adjacent field. It follows the line of Vicarage Road into the housing development before joining up with the existing new section of road outside the homes built by Castlemead.

The original and narrower Vicarage Road will become a cycle path and pedestrian walkway.

Mr Griffin revealed that the new road and the diversion of services into the development site is costing £1.4 million.

He assured that construction work on the new homes would only start after the access road is finished which he estimates will take about 12 weeks.

He is therefore aiming for building work to start around next February with the first batch of new homes being ready for occupation in the late summer of 2019. The entire development will take just over four years, he added.  

Before the road project starts he has promised full consultation with affected residents and their local council representatives.

Mr Griffin, whose background is in building, said: “This is a very exciting time for the company, which we started in 2004.

“We have ongoing developments in Pont Adam, Ruabon and The Pavilions, Gresford, but this will become our biggest site and the overall cost of £25 million represents a very big investment for us.

“Our watchword is quality and we regularly win quality awards from local authorities.

“The Llangollen development will be beautiful when it is finished and I believe it will add vibrancy and bring a fresh outlook to the town, which I love to visit.

“Possibly, when we move onto the site and take a closer look at density the number of units in the development could be reduced at the southern end towards Fron Bache.”               

Inner Wheel Club backs international peace

On September 21 the Inner Wheel Club of Llangollen, in conjunction with its counterparts worldwide, will be celebrating the United Nations International Day of Peace. 

The event, entitled The Right to Peace, takes its name from the 2018 theme and will take the form of a short programme of words and music. 

A Llangollen club spokesperson said that everyone is welcome to join them at St John’s Church in Abbey Road at 2pm on that Friday. Light refreshments will be provided.     

Work disrupts Parade Street traffic

There was some disruption to traffic in Parade Street this morning (Sunday) due to gas supply work by Wales & West Utilities.

MP slams tax cut reversal for self-employed

Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones has slammed the Conservative UK Government for scrapping the planned tax cut for 2.7m self-employed workers.

The Government was originally due to scrap Class 2 National Insurance contributions in April but the move had been delayed by a year and has now been completely abandoned.

Ms Jones (pictured) said: “We should be supporting people who are setting up businesses not penalising them. What a dreadful way to treat our local entrepreneurs, who work hard, create jobs and produce the wealth we need locally and nationally.”

Federation of Small Businesses Chairman Mike Cherry commented: "The self-employed community has been let down today, missing out on a promise to reduce their tax burden. 

"This raises serious questions once again about the government's commitment to supporting the self-employed.”


* The next joint advice surgeries for Susan Elan Jones MP and Ken Skates, Assembly Member for Clwyd South, are:

Friday, September 21: Canolfan Ni, London Road, Corwen (LL21 0DP)

Friday, October 26: George Edwards Hall, Well Street, Cefn Mawr (LL14 3AE)

Friday, November 30: Marchwiel Parish Hall, Piercy Avenue, Marchwiel (LL13 0RH)

Surgeries run from 3.30pm-5.30pm on a first-come, first-served basis, so constituents don’t need to book an appointment in advance.

Llangollen Artists' work goes on show at museum

Llangollen Artists unveiled their latest exhibition at the town's museum last night (Thursday) and llanblogger went along to record the event.

The exhibition runs until September 30 and the museum in Parade Street is open from 10am-5pm daily.

Llangollen Artists are a group of established, professional artists with a diverse range of techniques and styles.

They are Edward Bell, Simon Collinge, Dory, Mike Flory, Andrew Gale and Sue Hall.

They use a range of media including drawing, installation, mixed media, painting, photography, print making, sculpture and textiles to create a diverse range of work.

Andrew Gale will be showing with the group including his photo book WILD 

http://andrew-gale.com/blog/2017/10/06/wild-limited-edition-photobook/

Simon Collinge is showcasing his photo book Pentrefoelas - A jubilee wood 

http://www.memorybox.org.uk/Book_pages_1_-_18.html

* For more information of Llangollen Artists, go to: www.llangollenartists.wales  

* Artist Dory with some of his work on show at the exhibition.

* Guests at the launch evening.

Examples of work in the exhibition ...

County's tourism benefits continue to grow

The economic benefit of tourism in Denbighshire is continuing to grow.

The latest STEAM economic impact figures show that in 2017 tourism brought £490.35million into the local economy, an increase of 2.3 per cent on 2016, and of 70 per cent since 2007.

Last year tourism supported 6,231 jobs in Denbighshire, while 5.93m people visited the county, an increase of 25 per cent since 2007, for a total of 11.58m days.

The number of visitors to the coast increased to 3.16m, as did the number of visitor days spent (6.92m) and the number of staying visitors (900,000).

Cllr Hugh Evans OBE, leader of Denbighshire County Council, said: “The latest figures showing an increase in the overall economic benefit of tourism in Denbighshire are really encouraging, despite 2017 being a challenging year in terms of the weather.

“The county has so much to offer, a beautiful coastline, rural market towns, areas of outstanding natural beauty, a host of outdoor activities as well as a wealth of history and some fantastic local produce and shops.

“Particularly encouraging is the increase in coastal tourism. With the addition of two new hotels in Rhyl, the SC2 visitor attraction due to open next year, as well as the already established 1891 restaurant and the Nova in Prestatyn, we would expect these figures to continue to grow. This shows investment from the Council and the private sector is having a real impact on the economic prosperity of Denbighshire, which is a priority under our Corporate Plan.”

In total last year there were 1.5m staying visitors who contributed a total of £331.46m to the economy in 2017, a 50 per cent increase in staying visitors compared to 2007.

Dave Jones, who owns the four-star Plas Efenechtyd Cottage B&B, near Ruthin, said: “We have seen an increase in overseas visitors staying longer, especially from the Netherlands, Germany and the USA. This year bookings over the summer months have been strong.

“Most people arrive with an idea of what they want to see and do but without much knowledge of Welsh history, geography and politics, something I would like to see addressed.

“The latest figures are encouraging and we look forward to continuing to work with Denbighshire and other key partnerships like the Clwydian Range Tourism Group to create themed itineraries and create attractive packages that will appeal to a variety of visitors.”

Denbighshire County Council continues to support tourism via strong partnership working in North Wales to capitalise on the growing tourism market.

The Council also runs projects to upskill staff working in tourism related businesses to improve the visitor experience, creates new tourism leaflets and promotional films to reach wider audiences as well supporting key events and festivals such as Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

Funded education and childcare up for debate

The roll-out of funded education and childcare in Wales will come under the spotlight of Denbighshire councillors today (Thursday).

In 2017 the Welsh Government (WG) pledged to offer 30 hours a week of funded early education and childcare to eligible working parents of three and four year olds, for 48 weeks of the year by September 2020.

The government have confirmed that Denbighshire County Council can begin to deliver the Childcare Offer to families from April 2019 and have agreed to work with the council with the aim of making the offer available across the county at the same time, rather than on a phased ward by ward approach.

Children will be eligible to access the offer from the beginning of the term following their third birthday until the September following their fourth birthday.

Eligible children will be entitled to up to 20 free hours of childcare during term time in addition to the 10 hours already provided by the Foundation Phase. During the school holidays, when there is no early education, the offer will provide 30 hours a week of childcare for up to nine weeks.

Parents are able to choose any registered childcare setting that suits their personal and family circumstance, whether inside or outside of county, in agreement with the provider and the local authority.

At their meeting today members of the Communities Scrutiny Committee will be asked to endorse the proposed cross-county delivery plan with Flintshire County Council being the authority delivering the scheme on behalf of Denbighshire.

Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Cabinet Lead Member for Education, Children, Young People and the Welsh Language, said: “The aim of the Childcare Offer is to allow eligible parents to have more employment choices, increase their disposable income to help counteract poverty for those in low paid jobs and ensure that quality early education and childcare is provided to promote child development and school readiness.

“The Childcare Offer is not means tested and will be available to all working parents who reside permanently in Wales and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours at national living wage or national minimum wage.

"Denbighshire will have the role of ‘Engagement Authority’ with responsibility for promoting the offer to parents and childcare providers within the County, training staff to deal with enquiries on the Offer and providing Flintshire with information they require to process applications and administer the offer. Denbighshire will receive specific grant funding to deliver this function.

“We have already expressed concern that Denbighshire was not included in the last round of the roll-out of the scheme and have held constructive talks with the Welsh Government to ensure that Denbighshire families are not disadvantaged by the offer. The matter will now go before the Scrutiny Committee for further discussion."