Has Peugeot finally found a big saloon winner?

Steve Rogers gives his verdict on the new Peugeot 508.

IT'S bold and beautiful so is this the car that can crack the saloon car market for Peugeot?

Not that many of us are buying big saloons any more, and those that do tend to go up market for Audis, BMWs, Mercs and Jags.

Peugeot and large saloons have never gone down well here but the French company has a strong tradition - 405, 505, 607, even the outgoing 508 were all decent cars but the Brits have a thing about big French cars and drive past the showrooms. Renault and Citroen have already thrown in the towel so credit to Peugeot for trying again.

Although new 508 looks like a saloon it is actually a hatchback and that has helped the designers create that sweeping ever-so-low roofline which has thrown up a minor glitch but we will come to that later.

I liked the shape of the old model but up against this it does look a bit dull. There are lots of eye catching features, a sexy front, streak style daylight driving lights, coupe look roofline and a full width reflective strip along the tailgate.

Inside has been totally revamped with Peugeot's signature i-Cockpit layout. It is very much 21st century stuff with a 12.3 inch digital binnacle, interchangeable for layout and colour along with a central 10 inch touchscreen.

This switch-free zone came in for a lot of stick from the likes of me when it was first used in the 308 because it was all touch control and very irritating. Peugeot took the criticism and did a quick redesign for the next model creating 'piano key' toggle switches that not only solved the problem but added a stunning design feature to the dashboard.

If this is still all too baffling tune into to voice control and speak your commands for radio, navigation, mobile phone and heating controls.

Just about every car company is going down the digital route so we are going to have to live with it. On the plus side it brings so much more to car travel particularly for people with smart or i-phones, which is almost everyone.

The Peugeot is not as big as the Vauxhall Insignia, its rival and new partner, but passenger space is pretty good and there will be no complaints about legroom, even for six footers although taller folk will have something to say about the poor back seat headroom. Even my five foot nothing sister-in-law commented on how close her head was to the roof, and that's the penalty for the low roofline mentioned earlier.

But the switch to a hatchback is a success with more boot space and a wider opening for easy loading.

Even with switchable suspension settings the ride on my GT model is always firm but that is just a warning rather than a complaint. This car is set up to cope with aggressive driving and has far more grip than the average driver is ever going to need let alone use.

Peugeot has one of the strongest engine line ups and the 1.6 litre petrol under the bonnet here is the best. How they have managed to muster 225bhp is beyond me but the reward is razor sharp response right across the rev range. It reminded me of the stunning performance from the two litre 405 Mi-16 a quarter of a century ago.

Far be it from me to encourage anyone to exploit the GTs performance but should a driver get too eager there are so many safety features it is almost like driving in a protective bubble although the night vision view for the driver is a step too far for me. I want to be concentrating on the road not glancing down at a screen to see what's going on.

Is there anything that needs to be improved? The rear view camera definition is poor by today's standards and if proof is needed jump into a Volvo and see the difference.

Peugeot has done all it can to convince customers 508 is a worthy rival to the dominant German trio throwing down the gauntlet with a car full of presence, quality, performance and technology.

If Peugeot can't do it with this cracker it never will.

Fast facts

508 GT 8speed auto

£35,975 (starts £25,000)

1.6 litre; 225bhp

0-62mph 7.3secs; 155mph

49.6mpg combined

This test: 33-39mpg

131g/km. 1st road tax £205

Insurance group 34

Cyber crime bus to stop off in Llangollen

The importance of cyber security and the threats posed to businesses and individuals will be highlighted when a specially equipped cyber information bus visits Llangollen next week.

Funded by the Welsh Government and managed by Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) for Southern Wales along with the North West ROCU, the bus travelling throughout Wales during March.

It will be on the Market Street car park in Llangollen between 10am and 1pm on Monday March 11.

The aim of the tour is to raise awareness of cyber security for individuals, groups and businesses, delivering key messaging in line with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the UK National Cyber Security Strategy.

The bus will be staffed by bilingual Police Cyber Protect Officers and other cyber security experts as well as partners such as Get Safe Online & the National Cyber Security Centre. The operating hours will be between midday and 8.00pm to allow for those unable to attend during working hours.

Statistics recently published by Action Fraud reveal that more than £190,000 a day are lost in the UK by victims of cyber-crime. More than a third of victims in that period fell prey to the hacking of social media and email accounts.

Action Fraud also say that £34.6m was reported to be stolen from victims between April and September 2018, a 24% increase on the previous six months.

The City of London Police, which runs Action Fraud, has warned people to keep separate passwords for online accounts.

Figures show that 13,357 people in the UK reported cyber-crimes over six months and over 5,000 of those people were hacked via their social media and email accounts, costing victims £14.8m.

Detective Constable Symon Kendall of Tarian said: “We aim to utilise the bus to speak to anyone who is interested in upskilling themselves and we can demonstrate scams and hacks.

“We will also be staging separate events in nearby premises for both business and the public where more formal cyber protect presentations and business cyber resilience table top exercises will take place.

“It is estimated that the vulnerability to cybercrime can be reduced by up to 80% by taking five key steps in increasing cyber security. We recognise that the majority of campaigns rely on social media and website information and the majority of cyber security events are attended by those with an interest in cyber security. As such we are not reaching the general public and small businesses. This project is designed to go some way towards remedying this.

“We know that nationally there is considerable under reporting of cybercrime and this affects our ability to combat the threat and by promoting Action Fraud as the National Fraud and Cybercrime Reporting Centre we will raise awareness of the services available.

“The overarching goal is to incorporate cyber safety and resilience into the national psyche which will in turn make Wales a more cyber resilient nation where it is safer to do business online.”

* For more details, go to:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/free-cyber-security-advice-for-businesses-tickets-55959544504

MP to present new charity Bill in Parliament

Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones, who co-chairs  the All Party Parliament Group for Charities and Volunteering , will today present the Charity Trustees (Time Off for Duties) Bill to Parliament.

The 10 Minute Rule Bill seeks to amend the Employment Rights Act 1996 to give charity trustees the right to time off work for the purposes of carrying out the duties of that office and for connected purposes.

Ms Jones (pictured) who worked for charities for 15 years before becoming an MP, will say in her speech: “The Charity Trustees (Time Off for Duties) Bill has two clear purposes. The first is to value our existing charity trustees by giving them an improved status in law. The second is to provide the sort of support that might encourage a greater number of people from a wider diversity of backgrounds to take on this important but unpaid civic duty."

Speaking about her Bill, the MP said: “Charity trustees do hugely important work in our communities and I think it’s high time they were treated the same as school governors, councillors, magistrates and others when it comes to being able to have a modest amount of unpaid time off to fulfil their duties.

"I am delighted that MPs from Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem parties are co-sponsoring this Bill and that it has won the support of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), the Small Charities Coalition and the Wales Council for Voluntary Action."

£10,000 needed to finish final stretch of railway

After 45 years of building a railway line between two Denbighshire towns, volunteers at Llangollen Railway say they need £10,000 to finish the last stretch.

Ten miles (16km) of the heritage line has been rebuilt between Llangollen and Corwen, with a platform created at the end.

For the full story on the BBC website go to: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47410158

Town's Royal Navy Association branch to close

Llangollen branch of the Royal Navy Association (RNA) is to close.

The branch was started many years ago by Bill Hallam at the Wynnstay - now the Three Eagles - and enjoyed by many with memories of the sea.

Spokesperson Trefor Williams said: "Sadly, membership numbers have gradually declined.

"The nearest RNA branches are at Wrexham and Oswestry, which continue to thrive."

He added: "There will be a small ceremony at the war memorial at 11am on Thursday, March 21 in St Collen' Church where the standard will be laid up.

"Many thanks to all that have supported the branch. Thanks too must go to RAFA Club which has played host to our meetings in recent years."

Crooks' confiscated cash to boost crimebusters

* Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones with Assistant Chief Constable Neill Anderson. 

People across North Wales are being urged to vote for their favourite crime fighting schemes - using money seized from criminals.

The successful groups stand to win £2,500 each from a pot of money set up by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones.

There is a total of more than £60,000 up for grabs with two groups from each county set to be rewarded.

In addition, two groups that work in three or more counties will each receive a grant of £5,000  and, thanks to additional funding from the police and crime commissioner, there will be two new grants of £10,000.

The only condition is that the successful groups have to pledge to run projects to tackle anti-social behaviour and combat crime and disorder.

The Your Community, Your Choice’ scheme was launched by  Mr Jones and Assistant Chief Constable Neill Anderson  in partnership with the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT).

It is being jointly funded by money recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act, using cash confiscated from offenders, and the Commissioner’s Fund.

A shortlist of applicants for the Your Community Your Choice cash has been chosen by a special panel and the public decide which groups to support with a vote via the websites of  North Wales Police and the commissioner, as well as a dedicated email address.  The voting is open until midnight on March 15.

Mr Jones said: "It's very appropriate that this scheme takes money away from the crooks and gives it to the people to improve the quality of life in their communities by helping them to combat crime and disorder or anti-social behaviour.

"The money is going  where it’s going to make a difference in reducing crime and in improving the quality of the communities which suffer the crime."

The message was reinforced by Assistant Chief Neill Anderson who said: "It is a very good thing for community groups to be able to access pots of money in order to be able to reduce crime and disorder within their communities and improve the quality of life for the community in their area.

"It sends a really positive message that money taken from the pockets of criminals is being recycled. This is turning bad money into good money that's being used for a constructive purpose.

"We really value our relationships with the public and we recognise that we can’t reduce crime and disorder on our own.  It’s a partnership and a joint effort with other agencies but absolutely crucial and critically is the public themselves.

"The public often are the ones who know what the things are that will work best in their area and for them to be able to bid into a pot of money is a really positive thing."

According to PACT project manager Dave Evans, it was also a very democratic process because the public will be able to decide who gets the money.

Mr Evans said: "One of the real pluses of the scheme is that ultimately it’s the public who has the voice and who will say which projects will go forward and are worthy of this important money.

"And very appropriately, one of the conditions is that the people who apply for this money have to be doing something that combats anti-social behaviour or addresses crime and disorder in some way.

"The aims Your Community, Your Choice scheme also coincide with the objectives of the Commissioner's Police and Crime Plan so it creates a virtuous circle."

For more information on how to vote ring 01745 588516 or go to www.northwales-pcc.gov.uk or www.north-wales.police.uk

Chair gives more details about 2020 proposals

Early indications are that implementing a package of radical changes to traffic and parking in Llangollen town centre will cost between £2m and £2.5m.

That’s the view of local county councillor Graham Timms who chairs the committee which is masterminding the Llangollen 2020 project.

The draft feasibility study, which runs to 79 pages, has been prepared with data crunched by consultants Arcadis and feedback gleaned from public consultation exercises last year.

Cllr Timms recently updated town councillors on the project and has given a further insight to llanblogger.

2020 aims to develop options for a safer and pedestrian-friendly town centre with streamlined traffic flow and come up with options to ease the parking situation.

Main proposals in the report for further consideration are:

+ The closure of Market Street to traffic coming in and out of Castle Street

+ The creation of a mini roundabout at the junction of Castle Street and the A539

+ Short stay parking spaces removed from Castle Street and replaced with goods only loading bays

+ The narrowing of Castle Street

+ Long stay permits no longer able to be used on Market Street car park at certain times

+ No new junction at Market Street/A5/Hall Street

+ Summer park and ride scheme ruled out

+ Ysgol Dinas Bran car park to be used during August by local businesses and staff

+ The Pavilion car park to be used by coaches between dropping off and picking up passengers in town centre 

The report says: “There is a significant opportunity to improve the public realm and the environment for pedestrians within Llangollen, through making the town centre and in particular Castle Street more pedestrian friendly and taking steps to reduce the dominance of the vehicular traffic …

“Following the appraisal of options, it is considered that closure of Market Street at the junction with Castle Street is explored in greater detail.  

“Market Street would be closed to vehicular traffic entering and exiting onto/from Castle Street. At present the movement of vehicles into and out of Market Street causes conflict, which in turn impacts on the movement of traffic on Castle Street in both directions. This is particularly the case when coaches are entering and exiting Castle Street at the same time.

“A modification to the Market Street/ A5/ Hall Street junction layout has been considered however, as the junction is observed to operate within capacity in both the base year 2018 and the design year 2023 and it is not considered that orthodox roundabouts would be viable due to cross-section constraints, hence no junctions modifications are proposed at this location at this stage.”

On Castle Street the report says: “It is proposed that the existing short stay - 30 minute waiting time with no return within 30 minutes - spaces would be removed with the loss of approximately 13 spaces.”  

It adds: “These car parking spaces are in prime location adjacent to the majority of shops and services. However, from our engagement days with members of public during the first round of consultation, these car parking spaces were seen by some to offer an excellent facility whilst others said they had difficulty finding a free space and cars accessing and egressing the spaces had a negative impact on the flow of traffic along Castle Street.  

“It is acknowledged that the loss of these spaces has an adverse impact on some users, however a range of complementary measures are proposed to minimise the impact on the local community and business.  

“It is proposed that the on-street parking bays would be replaced with Goods Only Loading Bays.  

“Goods Only bays would enable only goods vehicles collecting and delivering materials to be able to use the bays, which could then be enforced by DCC’s Enforcement Officers. 

“It is proposed that two bays measuring 2.5m wide by 12m long would be implemented in similar locations to the existing parking bays. The purpose of providing the dedicated bays is to minimise the disruption deliveries have on the town centre and improve deliveries/ collections to/from shops and businesses.” 

The report suggests two narrow vehicle lanes of uniform width along the entire length of Castle Street.  

It says: “Denbighshire County Council have confirmed they are happy in principle with narrowing the width of Castle Street to 5.5m. The provision of narrow lanes and a median strip has the potential to reduce vehicle speeds, this would further be enhanced by the implementation of two raised pedestrian crossings. 

“A wider crossing point would be provided in front of the Town Hall, as from our on-site observations is considered to be a desire line for pedestrians to cross Castle Street in this location.
Additionally, a second crossing point on Castle Street is proposed part way between the Market Street and the A5.” 

It adds: “A mini-roundabout is proposed at the A539/ Castle Street/ A542 junction. This has the potential to improve the junction capacity, reduce vehicle delay and queuing. It is envisaged that this would be a paved mini-roundabout, designed and delivered to be in keeping with public realm improvements delivered across the town centre.” 

Later, the report says: “As the on-street short-stay car parking spaces along Castle Street are proposed to be removed, several existing on-street parking spaces on Oak Street and Bridge Street are proposed to be designated disabled parking bays, in order to ensure there is availability of parking for those that need it within close proximity of Castle Street.”  

The report goes on: “The option to develop a park and ride scheme during the summer months has been considered as part of this study, however at this stage it is considered that such an option would not be financially viable, but this does not mean that at another point in the future this option should not be considered again.”  

Arcadis consulted Ysgol Dinas Bran on the possibility of using its car park during the month of August, and the report says: “In principle the school is content for the school car park to be used during the month the school is closed (August). It is proposed that this car park could provide additional spaces for local business and their staff to use, thus freeing up the council operated and maintained car parks within the town centre for visitors.” 

On the Market Street car park, the report proposes its redesignation as short-stay. 

It says: “This would enable a higher turnover of car parking spaces through the removal of vehicles that are parked for long periods of time, thus enabling a greater number of vehicles to use and benefit from the centrally based car park.  

“This would however mean that the use of the long stay permits would no longer be able to be used in this car park and thus workers who wish to use this car park, would have to park in the other long stay car parks in the town. 

“It is recommended that detailed discussions are had with DCC officers to consider whether it would be possible for the designation of Market Street to be seasonal, i.e. it is considered a long stay car park during the winter months when visitors numbers are lower and demand for spaces is lower and a short stay car park in the summer months when there is greater demand for car parking spaces.

“As the short stay car parking spaces are proposed to be removed from Castle Street, further consideration could be given to provide users of the Market Street car park with 30 minutes free parking, as not to discourage those shoppers who would have otherwise used the spaces on Castle Street from visiting the town.”

The Arcadis study also proposes that the number of coach spaces at the Market Street car park is reduced, in order to provide about 30 more spaces for both tourists and local people.

Another suggestion is that the Pavilion car park could be used for coaches to wait between dropping and picking up passengers at the Market Street car park.

The report says: “It is acknowledged that this would increase the number of coach movements within the town centre, as coaches have to travel to and from the Pavilion.  However, it is hoped the provision of extra car parking spaces in the Market Street car park and the other measures proposed to increase the turnover of spaces would reduce the number of cars searching for spaces within the town centre.”

Cllr Timms said: “Now the final report has been published the 2020 committee is exploring options for funding. These include the Welsh Government, Visit Wales, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB) and Denbighshire County Council.

“Early indications are that the implementation of proposals in the report will cost between £2m and £2.5m.”

Cllr Timms estimates the plan could be implemented by the end of 2020 or during 2021.

He added: “I am confident it is going to happen. That’s because we’ve got a really good case which fits in with what the county council is planning to do across Denbighshire.

“More work now needs to be done on the parking aspect of 2020.”

·         To see the full report, go to: . https://cadwynclwyd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/1.-Llangollen-2020-Project-Feasibility-Study-Report_FINAL-with-appendices.pdf There is a hard copy in Llangollen Library.