MP calls for independent monitoring of Kronospan

* Chirk residents at the MP's surgery last Saturday.

Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes has called for the independent monitoring of air quality and noise levels at the Kronospan factory in Chirk.

Mr Baynes held a walk-in surgery at the Parish Hall in Chirk last Saturday which was attended continuously by local residents from 9am – 5pm either in groups or individually. 

He says the main topic of discussion was the recent fire at Kronospan and people’s concerns about air quality and noise levels at the factory.

Mr Baynes said: “There is huge concern locally about the recent fire at Kronospan and how it started so it is vital that an open and transparent investigation is conducted into the causes of the fire and that the full findings of the report are made available to the public. 

"Residents of Chirk and the surrounding area also spoke on Saturday about their ongoing concerns about air quality and noise levels from the factory and these issues need to be addressed urgently by Kronospan by independent monitoring.

"I am working with Chirk Town Council and Wrexham Council and look forward to these matters being progressed with Kronospan.”

Welsh society to host St David's Day concert

Llangollen Welsh Society are hosting a St David's Day Concert at St Collen's Community Hall on Friday, February 28th at 7pm.

The concert features Lleisiau Ceiriog/Ceiriog Choir.

Tickets are £7 including a light buffet or £5 for members and are available from Elizabeth Benjamin or Eirwen Jones before February 26.

Eisteddfod to host dance workshop at Ty Pawb

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod will be hosting a free International Dance Day workshop for all ages and abilities at Wrexham’s Ty Pawb on Saturday February 1, from 11am-1pm.

NEW Dance, the community dance organisation, will be leading the workshop and will explore dance traditions from Spain, Greece, Russia and the UK.

The aim is to give a taster of the week-long International Eisteddfod and its mission of bringing peace and harmony through music and dance. 

Participants will have the opportunity to learn three or four dances in a fun session for all ages, from grandparents to children, and share their work at the end of the workshop in the People’s Square at Ty Pawb.

There will also be an opportunity to find out more about the International Eisteddfod’s concert programme, and the new dance and solo competitions for 2020.

* If you would like to join in the dance workshop reserve your place by booking your ticket through Eventbrite here.

Warning to petrol station staff about scam

North Wales Police are advising petrol station owners and employees following recent fraud offences. 

A petrol station on London Road, Valley was targeted over the weekend and a forecourt in the Wrexham is recently believed to also have been a victim.

Offender(s) are purporting to be area managers of franchises, and convincingly asking employees to send pump meter printouts to management via a mobile phone number. 

The offender(s) acting convincingly will then request for stock details, and request that the stock be transferred to other branches.  The callers are then utilising local taxi companies to transport the stock

Area Support Sergeant for Anglesey, Ian Roberts said “This is clearly a well organised scam that targeted a local business.  Financially, the loss is considerable to the victim and we are urging other retailers to be aware of any suspicious calls. 

I would encourage forecourt staff to challenge any suspicious calls, and if needed to call representatives back on authorised telephone numbers. 

“If persons attend forecourts and assert they are management, suitable identification checks should be carried out. 

“Additionally, taxi and courier companies should be aware if a request to transport goods from petrol stations is received.”

Anyone with  information please contact Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.

Advice on fraud prevention is also available via https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/business-protection

AM calls for inquiry into Kronospan fire

Plaid Cymru’s North Wales AM Llyr Gruffydd (pictured) has called for an independent inquiry into the fire at Kronospan in Chirk.

He said that safeguarding local residents’ health was paramount in order to move forward. 

And he called for permanent independent air-quality monitoring equipment to be located around the plant.

Mr Gruffydd said: “This latest fire is the most serious in a series of recent incidents at the plant. The plant's chairman Mike McKenna conceded in last Thursday’s town council meeting that there had been three separate fires within the past three years, all in different parts of the plant.

“Despite numerous fires and the concerns of local residents, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) only brought in mobile air quality monitoring equipment on January 15th and the town council heard that Formaldehyde had been detected in initial samples.

“This is very concerning given that initial reports stated that only virgin timber had been affected rather than any treated timber. Thermal imagine cameras designed to prevent overheating timber in the logyard clearly didn't work. Both these issues should be investigated independently.

 “Reports of children and a pregnant woman being hospitalised because of breathing difficulties are also very worrying and I would like clarity on that from the agencies involved."

He added: “The health and safety of local residents and workers at the plant is paramount. Providing real reassurance for the community would also be the best way to safeguard the hundreds of jobs at the plant and the impact the plant has on the local economy.

“NRW and Wrexham council are responsible for monitoring the plant and they, along with other agencies, confirmed that wood smoke alone can cause health problems. This is causing air pollution in the surrounding areas and rightly a cause of great concern for the health of vulnerable people, including children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems.

“It's important that both residents and workers are reassured after this incident. That's why we need a thorough and independent inquiry with community representation so that we can move forward. It's also vital that permanent air-quality monitoring is in place around the plant, not least because of the combination of large quantities of timber and chemicals on site.”

Mr Gruffydd said a petition calling for an independent inquiry had been set up at https://www.wrexhamplaid.cymru/kronospan_safety

Pensioners become victims of modern day slavery

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones with newly-appointed modern day slavery case worker, Kamille Fijalkowski.

A record number of victims of modern-day slavery and human trafficking are coming to light in North Wales - including pensioners in their 60s and 70s.

According to North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones, 2019 saw a 60 per cent increase in cases, from 63 to around 100, with the majority of cases involving children and young people being coerced into selling drugs by vicious County Lines gangmasters.

But older people are also being targeted by the organised crime gangs because they are vulnerable for a variety of reasons, including their age, loneliness or disability.

The news came during a meeting with the newly-appointed modern day slavery case worker, Kamille Fijalkowski.

Mr Jones made history in 2017 when he appointed the UK's first support officer dedicated to helping victims of modern-day slavery.

Ms Fijalkowski is the second person to hold the pioneering position funded by the commissioner and is based at the Victim Help Centre in St Asaph which serves the whole of North Wales.

The centre brings together the support services of North Wales Police, the Witness Care Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the former Victim Support organisation.

Each victim receives a response specifically tailored to their situation and the centre also employs specialists in mental health and hate crime.

Tackling the "insidious" issue of modern-day slavery and trafficking has been made a priority by Mr Jones, a former police officer, and is central to his Police and Crime Plan which is the blueprint for policing the region.

Ms Fijalkowski, 25, a philosophy graduate who previously worked for the Manchester-based homelessness charity Barnabus and the North Wales Women’s Centre in Rhyl, said modern day slavery and human trafficking was a growing problem.

She said: “The County Lines gangs from places Like Merseyside and Manchester often use violence to drive out local dealers.

“They will frequently target children and adults - often with mental health or addiction problems - to act as drug runners or move cash so they can stay under the radar of law enforcement.

“In other cases, the dealers will take over a local property, normally belonging to a vulnerable older person, and use it to operate their criminal activity from. This is known as cuckooing.

“People exploited in this way will quite often be exposed to physical, mental and sexual abuse, and in some instances will be trafficked to areas a long way from home as part of the network's drug dealing business.”

Detective Sergeant Richard Sidney, from North Wales Police’s modern-day slavery unit, said: “The fact that we are seeing such a big increase in cases is good news in the sense that we are identifying victims that we were previously unaware of.

“They are victims of a really horrible pernicious trade which has a massive impact on people who are really the most vulnerable people in our society.

“As well as those being coerced into selling drugs, other victims of modern slavery and human trafficking are forced to work for a pittance in car washes, nail bars, the hospitality industry.

“We are also seeing sexual exploitation and Operation Lenten resulted in convictions in relation to people who were moving young teenagers around, taking then to hotels, with the purpose of sexual exploitation.

“If the victims can manage to get themselves out of that cycle of exploitation, there is a 34 per cent chance that they’re going to get back into it, so it’s really important that we get some really good support for them to get them out of that cycle.

“The youngest we generally come across are in their early teens but that age can go right the way up to elderly people, depending on the individual’s vulnerability.

“The oldest reported victim of modern day slavery that we have come across was  a 73 year old man who was forced into  labour exploitation, while a 66 year old person was forced to store drugs having ended up in debt to the exploiter. 

“The gangs threaten people with violence to keep them in line, they threaten their family with violence, or cause damage to their property.

“There are a lot more victims out there, and part of our role is to raise that awareness with the public.

“Arfon Jones, the police and crime commissioner, has put this issue right up there in his priorities which is given us more power to our elbow to tackle it.”

Mr Jones, himself a former police inspector, said: “Modern slavery and human trafficking are appalling and callous crimes which reach right into our society here in North Wales which is why I have made it one of my priorities in my Police and Crime Plan which sets the strategy for policing the area.

“It is vital to increase public awareness of one of the most insidious crimes faced by society and we are working hard with our partners to expose and tackle this crime, protect its victims and bring offenders to justice.

“To do this we need the communities of North Wales to support us, to look out for evidence of it and to contact the police if you have concerns.”

* North Wales Police has further information on its modern slavery website at www.north-wales.police.uk/advice-and-support/stay-safe/modern-slavery.aspx.

If you suspect slavery is happening near you please report it to police on 101, anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or call the Modern Slavery Helpline on 0800 012 1700 or BAWSO on 08007318147. The victim help service is available from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 9am-5pm on Saturdays. It can be contacted by Freephone on 0300 3030159, by email at: northwales.helpcentre@victimsupport.org.uk, or via the websites www.victimhelpcentrenorthwales.org.uk or www.canolfangymorthiddioddefwyrgogleddcymru.org.uk

Council report gives details of Llangollen BID

The vote on whether Llangollen goes ahead with a Business Improvement District (BID) has been proposed for mid-March.

If eligible businesses decide to back the move it will start this summer and estimates are that it will raise £88,000 a year to boost town centre traders with a range of beneficial projects and a total of £440,000 over its five-year run.    

Details of the scheme are given in a report to be considered by the county council’s cabinet tomorrow (Tuesday).

It is proposed that all eligible businesses will pay a banded levy towards running the BID scheme if it is approved.

Smaller businesses with a rateable value of less than £2,500 and businesses that fall into the industrial, manufacturing, storage, and workshop sectors will be exempt from paying the levy as will the two schools, says the council report.

Members of the cabinet are specifically being asked if the council should vote “yes” to the BID on behalf of its own properties in Llangollen as it would be liable for the payment of the levy contribution on each of them.

The maximum possible levy cost to the council would be £9,980 a year and as schools are excluded then the cost would be £6,230 a year.

The council’s own well-being impact assessment says the BID proposal “contributes positively to the well-being of future generations, working with partner organisations and the business community to maximise positive effects and minimising negative effects where possible”.

The report to the cabinet says BIDs are a well-established model and over 300 have been established across the UK with the majority in town centres.

It adds: “A Business Improvement District gives local business the power to get together, decide what improvements they want to make within a geographically defined area and to raise funds to deliver these.

“For the BID to be established, two conditions must be met. Firstly, a majority of those voting have to vote ‘yes’ and secondly those who vote ‘yes’ have to represent more than 50% of the total rateable value of all votes cast.

“If both majorities are met then the BID can be established and all businesses within the defined boundary are liable to pay the levy irrespective of whether they voted “yes” or “no” at ballot.

“If established, a BID runs for a maximum of five years. Beyond that if the BID wishes to continue then a new proposal must be developed and another ballot held.”

The report goes on: “In June 2018 the council’s Economic & Business Development (EBD) Team were invited by a group of businesses in Llangollen to discuss the idea of a BID and the potential for a Welsh Government grant for BID exploration.

“A grant application was lodged and was successful in securing grant aid.”

Consultants Mosaic Partnership were appointed to work with business in Llangollen to undertake a study into the feasibility of establishing a BID and to develop a proposal to take to ballot.

A task group to oversee the project was formed and, according to the report, has since been undertaking consultation with businesses, market research and project planning to develop the BID Business Plan. This has involved face to face discussions, an online survey, presentations and consultation in the town centre.

The report says: “It is proposed that the BID ballot date  - the final day of the ballot - will be 19th March 2020. In advance of the ballot a final Business Plan will be sent to all eligible voters within the BID area as well as the Local Authority.

“It is the intention that, subject to a ‘yes’ vote at ballot, that the BID will commence in Summer 2020 and that its first term will run for 5 years.

“An incorporated Company Limited by Guarantee will be established to deliver the Business Plan/Proposals. It will be responsible for the delivery of the BID services and it will employ staff as appropriate to implement the BID Board’s programme on a day to day basis.”

Based on the proposed banded levy the estimated revenue for the Llangollen BID is £88,000 annually which is £440,000 over 5 years.

The council report poses the question of what risks there are to the BID process and if there is anything the council can do to reduce them.

It answers itself by saying: “Businesses could vote against the BID. To minimise this risk the Task Group are developing a robust business plan that has had engagement from businesses and demonstrates value for money to all potential levy payers.”