Cash available for open spaces and play areas

Funding totalling £209,000 is available to improve open spaces and play areas in Denbighshire.

The county council’s Open Spaces Commuted Sums is now open to communities across the county.

A commuted sum is a payment from developers to a local authority when it is not appropriate to provide the required outdoor open space during a development.

The funds are held specifically for the enhancement of open spaces and play areas, and are used in the same area as the development.

The fund is open to town or community councils, community or voluntary groups.

* Closing date for funding applications is Friday, January 31, 2020 and for details visit www.denbighshire.gov.uk/commuted-sums

Road safety spot checks outside schools

A clampdown on anti-social parking outside schools will take place in Denbighshire next week.

As part of Road Safety Week, which runs from November 18 and 24, council officers will be carrying out spot checks at schools and informing motorists about road safety.

Police Community Support Officers and Civil Enforcement Officers will also be attending schools to deter parents from parking on zig-zags and double yellow lines.

Emlyn Jones, Denbighshire County Council’s Head of Planning and Public Protection Services, said: “Anti-social driving and parking around the county’s schools puts children’s lives in danger. 

"We are urging parents to observe the highway code and facilitate the safeguarding of our children. Parking on pavements and zig zags forces children to walk on roads which are busy and congested during these hours.

“Congestion around schools also makes it difficult for children to be seen when crossing the road. Anti-social parking is selfish and dangerous and it is endangering the lives of our children.

“We are urging parents to consider their options and think about walking or cycling to school with their children.”

The council has also launched the Park Safe Walk Safe competition. 

The competition was rolled out to all the primary schools in Denbighshire through their Junior Road Safety Officers, the winning design will be made into a poster and distributed to all the schools in Denbighshire, with the winner receiving a £50 Halfords voucher.

A number of banners have also been produced and will be displayed outside a number of Denbighshire schools to promote this initiative,  Project Zig  Zag.

A worthy contender in the prestige SUV arena

* The DS7 Crossback above and below.

DS7 Crossback road test by Steve Rogers

Goddess. What a wonderful name for a car, particularly one that lit up the motoring world.

That was the incomparable Citroen DS of 1955, the car that changed the face of motoring with its ground breaking design and technology. 

In French DS, or rather Déesse, means goddess, a nugget of information imparted by my wife who speaks the lingo.

Fitting then that Peugeot Citroen should choose DS to front its luxury marque and DS7 Crossback is its first completely new model, as opposed to DS3,4 and 5 which were rebadged Citroens before the brand was launched last year.

That is why there are not too many DS7s around ... yet. It takes a while to establish a new luxury brand, look how long it has taken Lexus to get a decent foothold, and DS7 is up against Audi, BMW, Mercedes, all of whom have established, prestige SUVs.

Yes, DS7 is an SUV when you might have thought a luxury saloon would be the way to go given the DS heritage. But this was a smart move by the brains at Peugeot Citroen who figured, correctly as it turned out, that SUVs were the future.

So how is DS7 Crossback fairing in this difficult old world? At just under 4.6m it sits between an Audi Q3 and Q5 and is a smidgen longer than Volkswagen's Tiguan.

The target market is the luxury end so a lot of time and money has gone into creating something special. Special enough to turn people's heads away from the mighty German trio.

And DS has the perfect setting to model its 'special' car. Paris. So the stylists homed in on the glass pyramid at the Louvre and the Rue de Rivoli, the most fashionable street in Paris for inspiration.

Let's move on from the car's body shape, which is a bit flat, and concentrate on the chic styling. The LED light clusters are just exquisite. Up front are three individual ice cube style modules while the diamond design strip at the rear is even more spectacular. That is the first introduction to the diamond theme (remember the Louvre's glass pyramid) which runs riot in the cabin.

There are four interior styles, or inspirations as they are called, and my test car was Rivoli. This is French chic in full flow with a variety of classy materials and attention to detail. Here diamonds are DS7's best friend, diamond shaped dials, screen graphics and grey diamond quilted leather upholstery.

Elsewhere crystal effect switches lodged between the front seats conclude the eye candy show. It sounds over the top but as a visual spectacle it works and more stunning than anything the German SUVs can offer.

A 12 inch touchscreen dominates the dashboard from where you can access just about every function. A row of touch sensitive switches give quick access but it is all a bit challenging for the driver. Voice control is available but didn't always respond to commands.

Ahead of the driver is a 12.3in digital instrument cluster, interchangeable of course, with a full width navigation map among the features.

This is a comfortable five seater and will easily accommodate three adults in the back where head and legroom is ample. It is also well off for storage space with good sized door bins and a huge box between the front seats.

As with most French cars ride comfort is key so don't expect DS7 to have the pure driving dynamics of a similar Audi or BMW. Yet there is a decent compromise here with three drive modes, and on the more expensive models a sensor in the windscreen which can spot poor road surfaces and adapt the suspension to give the smoothest ride.

My test car came with the turbocharged 1.6 litre petrol, a feisty number mated to an eight speed automatic box, but not the best option for big economy. Best I could manage was 33mpg overall so look to the diesel or even the hybrid for better results.

DS has made a pretty good fist of its first bespoke model although one thing that needs sorting is the poor definition of the rear camera, a problem that goes across the board with all Peugeot and Citroen models.

Make no mistake DS7 is a worthy contender in the prestige SUV arena and the interior styling is ahead of any of its German rivals. It is also very good value for money with a long spec list.

The elephant in the room for me is its cousin, the Peugeot 3008 which shares many components. It is better looking, has an equally impressive cabin although it falls below the level of quality, and is cheaper. So it is still my favourite SUV.

Key facts

DS7 Crossback Prestige

£41,085

1.6 litre turbo; 225bhp

0-62mph 8.3secs; 145mph

36.2-40.4mpg combined

125-130g/km. 1st road tax £170

Boot 618 litres

Insurance group 29

County warns over scam emails

Trading standards officers in Denbighshire are warning residents and businesses to be on their guard against scam emails alerting the receiver to a compensation payment as a result of a scam.

Whilst the council says it is only aware of one case in Denbighshire, there have been recent examples in other parts of the country.

Emlyn Jones, Head of Denbighshire’s  Planning and Public Protection, said “This is a timely moment to remind residents that they should be very wary of anybody who cold calls.  Whether over the phone, personally at the door or even by email, we urge people to be cautious.

“Our advice is to be suspicious of any unsolicited email and do not click on any links in any emails you do not know the origin of or are not expecting."  

Trading Standards is asking people to be wary if

•            The email asks you to confirm personal information

•            The web and email addresses do not look genuine

•            It has poor spelling, grammar and presentation

•            There’s a suspicious attachment

•            It’s urging you to act now or make some sort of response.

* Anyone who thinks they have been scammed, or knows someone who has fallen victim to a scam, are encouraged to report it through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06, for the Welsh language or 03454 04 05 05, or report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or www.actionfraud.police.uk

Flu clinic at the health centre tomorrow

LLANGOLLEN HEALTH CENTRE

FLU CLINIC

For patients aged 65 and over or those aged under 65 who have received a letter telling them they are eligible

**************************************

Saturday 16^th November

8.30AM – 12.30PM

*****************************************

This is a walk-in clinic –

no appointment necessary

www.llangollenhealth.com

Ysgol y Gwernant renews its green credentials

* Children at Ysgol y Gwernant with their Platinum Flag certificate.

Pupils at Ysgol y Gwernant  have proven their green credentials after being awarded a top eco award.

The school has renewed the prestigious Platinum Flag Award for the second time as part of the environmental education programme Eco-Schools.

Eco-Schools is an international programme run in Wales by environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy and funded by the Welsh Government. Over 90% of schools in Wales are registered on the programme.

The programme inspires and empowers pupils to be leaders of change in their community, helping them learn about sustainable living and global citizenship while giving them the information and support they need to make changes that will benefit their school, local environment and wider community, such as reducing waste, energy consumption, transport, biodiversity, healthy living and litter issues.

As part of their Eco-Schools Platinum assessment, Ysgol Y Gwernant promoted recycling, completed litter picks within the community, reduced the use of plastic within the school and encouraged it within local shops in town.

They also monitored taps, computer screens and lighting daily to reduce energy and water within the school, held regular gardening clubs and community gardening, promoted eco themes in the whole school assemblies throughout the year and much more. 

Catrin Hughes, Education Officer for Keep Wales Tidy said: “The Platinum Flag is a very impressive achievement and highlights the enthusiasm and commitment that Ysgol y Gwernant has towards sustainable development. 

"The dedication of the Eco-Committee over many years has been inspirational. I’d like to congratulate and thank all of the pupils and staff involved for their hard work.”

Sion Corn slides into Christmas Festival on skis

* Sion Corn heads for the festival on skis via Plas Newydd. 

Siorn Corn – the Welsh Santa Claus – has been checking out the quickest way to reach Llangollen when it stages its annual Christmas Festival on Saturday November 30.

Thousands of seasonal revellers are expected to come flocking to the Denbighshire tourist spot for the big event.

And as Sion Corn will be starring in the traditional parade and wants to make sure he’s there in good time on the day he’s been trying out various modes of travel.

First up was a pair of skis and he reckons they might do the trick.

He said: “It was a bit tough checking them out when there was no snow but I did find a suitable slope in the beautiful surroundings of Plas Newydd, home of the Ladies of Llangollen, which gave me some idea of what it would be like coming in from Lapland on the day.

“The holly berries that have appeared on the trees helped provide a festive atmosphere.”

Over the next few weeks Sion Corn will be trying out a few more ways of getting to Llangollen on time.    

Kicking off at 1pm with the famous parade, which sees Sion Corn being escorted into town over the historic bridge by a colourful cavalcade of entertainers and local groups, the event features children’s fairground rides, food stalls, choirs, craft stalls, circus acts and face painting.

There will also be a chance for youngsters to visit Sion Corn in his glorious grotto and put in their early requests from what they’d like to see him bring them on Christmas morning. 

During the afternoon visitors can look forward to an eclectic mix of musical entertainment from local groups on two outdoor stages and other on-street entertainment.

The fun-packed day rounds off at 5pm with the ceremonial switching on of Llangollen’s legendary Christmas lights and a firework extravaganza. 

Llangollen Christmas Festival is organised by a group of dedicated community volunteers. It costs over £4,000 to stage each year and is self-funding.

The festival aims to provide a free family-orientated event in the safety of the town centre with surplus funds being donated to Wales Air Ambulance and local community groups.

Over the last couple of years the police have estimated that the spectacular event draws over 2,000 people into town during the course of the afternoon.

For the third year the festival has teamed up with Light Up Local Food, a project aimed at promoting Llangollen-based food and drink producers.

Chairman of the festival committee Austin ‘Chem’ Cheminais, who is also the local town crier and a member of the town council, said: “With the help of the community we manage, each year, to raise just about enough to fund the event and give a little to charity.

“Last year’s festival was particularly successful thanks to the good weather and the feedback from those attending was very positive.

“The ‘market’ feel to the event provided by Light UP Local Food was particularly commented upon and helped to attract visitors from much further afield.

“Once again we’re expecting a bumper crowd to come along and help us to give a great early start to Christmas.” 

Festival organisers have also arranged for free parking throughout the day at local car parks.