Mayor hosts annual town meeting

* The mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy, addresses the town meeting.

Llangollen Town Council has had a busy year during which it opened the new Centenary Square and embarked on a major project to properly repair the Town Hall.

That was the message from the Mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy, to members of the public who turned up to hear his annual progress report at the town hall last night (Thursday).

Cllr Haddy described the opening of the new square at the junction of Bridge Street and Castle Street during eisteddod week last July as a “grand success” and said that within an hour of the contractors moving out the new facility was already in use as a performance area for a group of visiting dancers from the eisteddfod.

He explained that the original plan for the square had included more seating along the back wall but this had been temporarily shelved when the council ran out of cash to complete it.

However, he said that with enough money now available the planned extra seating was expected to be added in the near future.

One of the outstanding uses of the square, he said, had been the poppy wall produced and erected by a dedicated band of volunteers led by Cllr Sheena Grindley to mark the centenary of the end of World War One last November.

This, said Cllr Haddy, had been a “sensation” and had brought people into the town specifically to see it.

Another milestone during the year, he explained, had been the formation by the Town Council of the Shape My Llangollen whose group of volunteers and town councillors was gathering the views of the community on what Llangollen people wanted to see in Denbighshire County Council’s next Local Development Plan.

The mayor also noted the achievement of Llangollen of officially becoming a plastic-free town and adopting a single-use plastic policy under the auspices of the council’s Cittaslow Committee.

During the year the council had assumed full ownership of the facelifted Chain Bridge after Llantysilio Community Council had relinquished its 50 per cent share of the tourist attraction on the River Dee.

The Town Council had also resumed its community grants scheme, which during the year had seen a dozen community groups each benefit from £500 cash awards.

The major project now being undertaken by the council, he said, was the restoration of the town hall to a proper state of repair.

The council took over ownership of the building from the county six years ago, paying just a £1 for it. However, a number of urgent maintenance issues were now presenting themselves.

Leaks from the roof and subsequent water ingress had recently cost many thousands of pounds to repair but further structural problems were now cropping up which needed attention, said Cllr Haddy.

That was why the council had budgeted to spend a further £35,000 on repairs over the next three years to cover repairs to the roof, the electrics and fire alarm.

To raise the necessary cash the mayor said it had been decided to raise the town council’s share of the council tax bill – known as the precept – by £15.71 for the forthcoming financial year.

“We all thought this way the best way forward,” he explained.

“We also did this to raise money to do Centenary Square. If we had borrowed the money for the town hall we’d have been playing financial chase-up.”

He added: “Here in Llangollen we do raise money, we do spend it and spend it wisely and so far the results have been quite good.”

When he threw open the floor to questions, it was pointed out by an audience member that Llangollen was set to introduce the highest council tax rise in Denbighshire at 26.6 per cent and asked why the town council couldn’t be “more honest” about how much people were having to pay in its announcements about the precept.

Cllr Haddy admitted the town was now the most expensive in the county but explained that other areas had a comparatively larger population from which to raise tax revenue.

He said: “We need the extra money to pay for the repairs to the town hall and we are not raising money for the fun of it. Once that job is complete the precept will fall back.”

He added that the town hall had been taken over from the county to preserve a major local asset which was heavily used by the local community and would therefore be a “massive loss” if it was not available.

The mayor dealt with further questions about:

* Who was responsible for cleaning Centenary Square – it is the town council.

* The empty shop which the council owns at the front of the town hall – it is due to be leased in the next few weeks

* The state of repair of Llangollen Bridge – replying a “it is a county council responsibility but as far as we know it is fit for purpose.”

llanblogger's Phil honoured for community service

* llanblogger's Phil Robinson receives his award from Mayor Jon Haddy.

The man who runs llanblogger, Phil Robinson, was among five individuals and groups who were presented with Mayor's Civic Awards for their service to the community at the start of last night's annual Llangollen town meeting.

Journalist Phil, who started the online free-to-use news blog almost seven years ago, was honoured along with David "Dai" Thomas, who was recognised for his long service as local Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal co-ordinator and the voice behind the intonation of names of the fallen at the annual Remembrance Service, and Lesley Richards of Courtyard Books who helps out with a large number of voluntary groups and organisations.

Also receiving awards were the Tidy Town Team, whose band of dedicated volunteers keep the town looking clean and well presented, and the Christmas Festival Committee whose members organise and run the annual event which brings thousands flocking to the town.   

* Dai Thomas is presented with his award.

 * Lesley Richards is honoured.

* Nick Dilley receives the award on behalf of the Tidy Town Team

* Ian Parry accepts the award on behalf the Christmas Festival Committee.

* All the award recipients line up with the mayor.

Willow weaving demonstrated at Pengwern by AONB

Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Beauty (AONB) staged a successful willow weaving morning at Pengwern Community Centre yesterday (Wednesday).

As part of the AONB's Nature for Health programme the ancient technique was demonstrated to an appreciative audience of around 20 people by expert Mandy Coates (pictured below) who then had a chance to try it out for themselves.

Police boss concerned over "lenient" paedophile sentences

* Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones. 

A police boss has written to the Attorney General expressing concern about “unduly lenient” sentences given to paedophiles after a man who hoarded 300,000 child abuse videos and pictures escaped jail.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones says it was “particularly alarming” that only a quarter of the people sentenced for making, distributing or publishing child sex abuse images in 2017 were sent to prison.

In the letter, Mr Jones referred to the case of James Moran, from Prestatyn, who stored the vile images on his computer hard drive.

They included children aged from six months to 17 years, and were kept in hidden files with names such as "more work".

He had used specialist software to conduct internet searches for terms like "jail bait gallery".

He had made 18,186 images and 99 movies - 220 of them of the most serious type, Category A.

A further 293,800 images and films had been found but because of the sheer number of them they had not been categorised.

After pleading guilty at Mold Crown Court last November, Mr Moran was given a 14-month suspended sentence, 60 days’ rehabilitation and 200 hours of community service.

Mr Jones wrote: “This was the latest case in a series of cases whereby defendants who’ve committed offences in contravention of the Protection of Children Act 1978 are given what’s perceived by members of the public to be unduly lenient sentences. 

“Given the seriousness of such offending behaviour, I agree that such sentences do appear lenient and I have real concerns about some of the sentences given to paedophiles.

“The fact that only a quarter of the 2,528 people sentenced for making, distributing or publishing child sex abuse images in 2017 were jailed is particularly alarming.

“Such offences are an abhorrence to our society and should be treated as so. The sentencing needs to be a deterrent. People need to realise that when they commit certain offences, the penalty will fit the crime.

“I fully understand that sentencing in respect of offences in contravention of the Protection of Children Act 1978 cannot currently be reviewed for being ‘unduly lenient’ since such offences aren’t included in the list of offences which can be reviewed.

“However, since sentencing for direct sexual assault can be challenged for being unduly lenient, and downloading and sharing images of child abuse is as damaging and insidious a crime as direct sexual assault, I believe that such offences should be on the list.    

“I further understand that you are considering adding further offences, including indecent images of children offences to the list of offences which can be reviewed under the unduly lenient process. I write this letter to express my support and would urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to include these offences in any such revised list.    

“Anyone who has been found guilty has the right to appeal against the severity of their sentence. In a civilised society, that is right and there is a procedure for it.

“However, the procedure for victims to appeal against the undue leniency of a sentence is incredibly perverse. The guidance is extremely ambiguous: “Only certain types of case can be reviewed, including…murder…rape…robbery…some child sex crimes and child cruelty…some serious fraud…some serious drug crimes…some terror-related offences”.

This ambiguity makes it hugely testing for the public which I represent to comprehend what can and cannot be appealed against.

“It is fundamentally unfair that victims do not have the same rights as the perpetrators.

“I understand that it is impossible to hand out custodial sentences for every crime and indeed it would be unjust to do so.

“However, I also understand that the punishment must fit the crime and there are an increasing number of indecent images offences that are not punished accordingly.”

Town's annual meeting tomorrow

Llangollen Town Council will hold its annual meeting at the Town Hall tomorrow (Thursday) evening.

Starting at 7pm, the format will be a short report from the Town Mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy, on achievements and future plans, followed by an opportunity for the public to ask questions and raise any issues of concern.

Funding available for business broadband

Welsh businesses are now eligible to apply for funding up to £5,500 of government funding towards getting Gigabit broadband installed on their premises.

The Welsh and UK governments have teamed up to help improve connectivity in some of the most rural parts of the country, while also making it cheaper for businesses to take advantage of speedier connections to better conduct business.

Although superfast broadband is available around most of Wales, this scheme would help boost connectivity in the remaining 5% of areas that currently don’t have such fast internet.

At present, Welsh firms can apply for funding of up to £2,500 for installation of Gigabit internet. But the Welsh government has now pledged to contribute an additional £3,000 for businesses of a certain size and up to £300 per residential property.

“This exclusive scheme for Welsh businesses and communities is a vital part of our modern Industrial Strategy and build a Britain that is fit for the future,” said UK Minister for Digital Margot James.

“Working with the Welsh Government, together we can make sure that everyone in Wales has the connectivity they need for the digital age.”

Overall, the Welsh and UK governments have put aside a pot of £200 million to support superfast broadband in Wales, with the mission to connect 733,000 Welsh homes and businesses that commercial broadband businesses had not included in their plans to provide faster broadband.

“This voucher scheme can provide a vital funding source for group connectivity projects, and could be of great benefit to communities currently without access,” said Deputy Minister for Economy Lee Waters.

“I’m pleased we’ve been able to work with the UK Government to provide an enhanced scheme for Wales, taking into account the particular challenges we face here with geography and the location of premises.”

From 2020, the government will roll out its Universal Service Obligation that makes superfast broadband a legal right for all homes and businesses in the UK.

I'll listen and consider people's needs before I vote, says MP

After MPs took the Brexit initiative in Parliament, llanblogger asked Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones (pictured below) what she was likely to do next. Here is her response ...

"I think what’s happened this week in Parliament is the inevitable consequence of Theresa May losing her majority at the General Election she decided to call in 2017. She could have then reached out across Parliament to gain a real consensus that brought people together. She chose not to do that and instead came back with a poor Deal that most MPs, Leavers and Remainers, could not accept. That was all made far worse when she refused to listen to other views and just kept running down the clock to a No Deal Brexit (something my party and I personally adamantly opposed in the General Election).

In terms of what happens next, we don’t yet know what the process will be. But my big concern is in bringing people from our area closer together and getting a solution that protects our economy and gives people, including young people, a real say.

I have had a large volume of letters and emails from constituents and they contain many different views. These range from electors who want a Hard No Deal Brexit (“even if it costs me my job”, in the words of one resident) to those who believe Article 50 should be revoked. Incredibly, at the time of writing this, 3,904 Clwyd South electors have signed the  petition on the Parliament website calling for Article 50’s revocation. Usually, such petitions get a couple of hundred signatures from our area. This one is on more than 26% of the vote the Tories got here in the General Election and well over the combined total of votes cast for the smaller parties of UKIP, the Lib Dems and Plaid. It’s an incredible figure.

It’s impossible for any one MP to reflect every local opinion. That’s why I think we need to be putting the question to the public by offering a binding, confirming vote on whether they want Theresa May’s deal. This is exactly what happened in Northern Ireland with the Good Friday Agreement - get an actual deal, ask the people and implement that without taking it back to Parliament. I think it’s what we need to do now too.

But if that doesn’t succeed on the numbers in Parliament, I think we also need to be open to voting for other options including customs union and single market membership. The last thing I think we need at the moment is MPs who are unwilling to listen and work with others. Tomorrow, I’ll be listening and co-operating and trying to put the needs of our area first when I consider how to vote."