Ride the heritage train during half-term

* Looking through the diesel railcar cab onto the line.

Llangollen Railway resumes train services tomorrow (Monday) in time for the schools half-term break giving familes the chance to visit the glorious Dee Valley. 

On weekdays, Monday to Friday, the timetable will provide an off-peak service with the heritage diesel railcars offering a journey alongside the River Dee, as an easy means of exploring the Welsh countryside.

Railway general manger, Liz McGuinness said: “Our heritage railcars may not be as glamorous as some of the exciting, new trains on the mainline network, but they do have some features modern trains don’t offer passengers. 

"On our diesel railcars you can sit behind the driver and see where the train is going, or sit in the rear and see where the train has been. 

"That way you soon find out the railway line is neither flat or straight as it climbs over the river and up the hill to Berwyn Tunnel."

She added: "The line twists and turns through the valley calling at our wayside stations with all the features of a traditional railway – restored station buildings, line-side signals, passing loops at signal boxes, a level crossing, bridges over and under the line and an impressive viaduct - as it follows the River Dee through the Welsh countryside.

“And all the seats line up with the windows to offer the best views of the Dee Valley as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, now recovering from a long winter with Spring just around the corner. 

"During the January close-down period our volunteers have been busy each weekend with a maintenance train out tackling the lineside vegetation where it had become overgrown. This has improved the view in the remote area past Deeside Halt where the railway runs through a great bowl in the landscape between the Berwyn Mountains in the south and the Llantysilio range in the north. A dramatic view well worth coming to see.

“And for the half-term period from February 17- 28 there is a special offer for families – the first child travels free with the second child at half-price when accompanied by an adult paying a full line fare. Just the thing to keep the children’s interest with a new adventure by train.”

For youngsters perhaps unused to modern train travel, a trip on the Llangollen Railway is an education in how grandparents used to travel before they had a car, when everyone went everywhere by train. 

This is a railway which has been put back in the landscape since it was closed and dismantled over fifty years ago, a testimony to much hard work by volunteers and supporters to restore the line.

At the weekends the train service will be operated by the traditional steam locomotive.

* See the timetable for details at: .llangollen-railway.co.uk

How has a BID been for Rhyl, asks llanblogger

Llangollen is due to vote on whether its town centre will become a Business Improvement District (BID) next month.

Llanblogger therefore thought it would be useful if we got the views from another part of Denbighshire which has already taken the BID plunge on how it is working out for them.  

We spoke at length to Abigail Pilling, manager of Rhyl BID, to ask her some key questions.

* Abigail Pilling, manager of Rhyl BID. 

A Business Improvement District (BID) is an arrangement whereby businesses and organisations in a defined location get together, decide what additional improvements they want to make in their area, how they are going to manage and deliver those improvements and what it will cost them.

This all goes into a business plan, which is voted on by all those businesses who would have to contribute and pay the BID levy.

In order for a BID to be established a ballot of eligible businesses in the BID area is held.

For the ballot to be successful over 50% of businesses that vote must vote in favour of the BID.

Of the businesses that vote those voting yes must represent a greater total rateable value that the ones that vote no. If these conditions are met the BID will be established. The levy will be mandatory for all eligible businesses in the BID area. 

On March 19th 200 Llangollen businesses will be balloted on whether they wish to be part of the local BID.

If the vote goes in favour of the scheme each business will be asked to pay a levy to help raise £88,000 a year, or a total of £440,000 over the five years it will last.

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

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.

Rhyl BID came into being after a ballot in November 2018 showed 66 of the 99 businesses who voted – or 67% - in favour.

A levy of 2% on the rateable value of the business premises in the BID area produced a pot of £1m to be spent on various projects.

One of its key achievements so far has been the launch of Rhyl Town Rangers last summer.

The team of two rangers spends 40 hours a week patrolling the BID area.

In their distinctive turquoise blue uniforms, they work as ambassadors as part of the wider community, interacting with Rhyl’s businesses, staff and residents, as well as providing guidance and advice to the public, and working closely with the police and other security personnel, reporting any anti-social behaviour through the radio link.

Throughout the consultation process Rhyl BID was advised by the Mosaic Partnership who have also been involved with Llangollen’s BID.

Abigail Pilling is manager of the not-for-profit company set up to run the BID.

She explained that the Rhyl BID area, which covers a T-shaped area running mainly along the sea front, was larger than that proposed for Llangollen, which covers 38 roads and 193 businesses in the town.

Rhyl BID includes 446 businesses, although this fluctuates slightly as members leave or join the patch.

She said: “In Llangollen you have got a much smaller area so that the amount of levy it would be bringing in would be less but I feel that because you have a smaller, concentrated area it would be easier for a BID company to do projects that would benefit everyone at the same time, which is a position I’m slightly envious of.

“In our BID area some may benefit from this project or that project but in Llangollen whatever project you’re doing would benefit everyone.”

Going on to outline a possible future project for Rhyl, Abigail explained: “At the moment businesses pay different rates for different things, like electricity, waste management and so, but because our BID is a collective it gives us a bit of negotiating power, so we’re looking at various companies and various models which could help us make sure our businesses are on the best rates for everything.”

In Llangollen there has been some criticism that businesses have not been adequately briefed about the proposed BID.

Abigail said that although the consultation process took place in Rhyl before she was appointed to her role, she did have an idea about of what took place.

“What I know is that Mosaic Partnership did engage. There was a team of people who were quite pro-BID and there were supporting members from the county council and Rhyl Town Council who did canvass the area before the vote,” she said.

“Being honest we did have some backlash and we did have some people saying ‘we don’t know about it.

“The majority, I think, knew about it. There was some level of ‘yeh, I’m really pro-BID and I’m going to go out and vote’, or ‘I’m really against the BID and I’m going to go out and vote’.

“The ones that are unhappy always shout the loudest, so it feels like, oh, so many people don’t know about the BID but I’d say this was a smaller percentage.

“The consultation process engaged with as many people as they could engage with.

“People engage when they know there’s something of interest to them and they engage less when they are either unsure or not that interested.

“I’d say that most people were either aware of it or had that ‘I’ll wait and see’ thing.”

Turning to the projects initiated by Rhyl BID, Abigail said: “Here in Rhyl we didn’t get to where we are overnight. It’s been 30 years coming and there’s a lot of pressure on the BID.

“When the BID’s been voted through and the levies are paid people want to see a splash. But what is nice about a BID as opposed to a county council is that it can afford to put its head down and ignore all the politicking and noise.

“So we’ve got lots of projects that are in the background but we will take our time to explore them in depth before we launch anything because, at the end of the day, it’s levy-payers money we are re-investing in the town, so we don’t have to say it would be politically favourable if we did this.”

She added: “One of the things we are looking at is seagulls, which is very controversial.

“It’s something that perhaps Denbighshire County Council may not have been able to tackle given its stance on seagulls, or given different political agendas or concerns.

“So if levy-payers decide this is as issue we will look at that independent of whatever the policy is at local authority level.”

And does she reckon that a BID would be good for Llangollen?

She said: “You’re lucky in Llangollen. There you are, quite poised as an area to take advantage of some of things that are on the agenda, from Tourism Wales, Visit Wales and that kind of niche experience they are trying to create.

“I think a BID shows very favourably that a business community is willing to come up with some thoughts and take some responsibility and ownership. When you have a BID you could be looking at things like can we get match-funding for our idea.”

If Llangollen decides to vote for a BID, Abigail offered to give help and advice to people from the company appointed to administer it based on her own experience of such a scheme.        

* Find out more about Rhyl BID at https://rhylbid.co.uk/

County urges caution in Storm Dennis

Denbighshire County Council is urging the public to be vigilant over the coming days as Storm Dennis approaches.

The Met Office is predicting very strong winds and heavy rain to affect the county on Saturday and Sunday, with the potential for some localised flooding and damage due to the wind strength.

Councillor Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Highways, Environment and Sustainable Travel, said: “Our teams worked hard last weekend in atrocious conditions to deal with flooding issues and keeping the county’s roads as clear as possible.  We are now facing the second major storm in a week and the yellow waring in place urges people to be vigilant.

“Our teams have been out and about during the week preparing for the storms and we have teams on stand-by to work with the other agencies to respond to any incidents that may happen in our county.p

“We would advise people to  an eye on weather forecasts and any advice issued through social media, online and in the press.  The Council will be providing updates through its own social media accounts and we are asking people to take extra care.

Anyone concerned about the risk  flooding should contact the Floodline on 0345 988 1188 to register for updates or follow them on the Natural Resources Wales website: www.naturalresources.wales  Updates will also appear on the Met Office’s website: www.metoffice.gov.uk

Denbighshire’s policy on sandbags can be found here: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/resident/parking-roads-and-travel/flooded-roads.aspx

Christmas Festival hands over £1,550 to air ambulance

* Christmas festival committee members hand over the £1,100 cheque. From left, helicopter pilot Paul Cakebread, critical care paramedic Greg Ambler, Austin Cheminais, Dr Ally Hogg and committee members John Palmer and Ian Parry.  

* The team receives the £450 cheque from Austin Cheminais.

Members of the committee behind the annual Llangollen Christmas Festival have handed over more than £1,500 in donations to the Wales Air Ambulance.

They went along to the ambulance base at Mid Wales Airport in Welshpool to meet paramedics, doctors and pilots manning the lifesaving helicopter which flies from there on missions across the country.

And they presented them with two cheques – one for £1,100 which was the proceeds of last year’s festival at the end of November and the other for £450, the cash collected by festival committee chair and Llangollen town councillor Austin Cheminais on his appearances with Santa during the festival season.

The group was then given a closer look at the banks of hi-tech medical equipment packed in the helicopter’s fuselage.

Wales Air Ambulance covers the whole of Wales every single day.

Each year its fleet of helicopters attend around 2,500 missions, covering countryside, towns and cities. This includes miles of Welsh coastline and mountain ranges.

Wales Air Ambulance prides itself that it can be there for anyone in Wales within 20 minutes and brings a mobile A&E direct to patients.

Its team of critical care consultants and practitioners has some of the most pioneering equipment and skills in the world, including blood products and techniques developed in the armed forces. This means that patients receive advanced care before they even reach hospital.

The air ambulance is funded by the people of Wales and relies entirely on the public’s support to help keep the helicopters flying.

The charity does not receive direct funding from the government and does not qualify for National Lottery funding.

It therefore needs to raise £6.5 million every year to operate the service, with each mission costing an average of £2,500.

Cllr Cheminais has raised many hundreds of pounds for the air ambulance over the past few years as a way of saying thank you for the way the Midlands helicopter zoomed in to airlift him to hospital back in 2010 after he was run over twice by a delivery van in the car park of the school in Walsall where he was then headmaster.

_{He said: “All our air ambulances do a fantastic job of and I am delighted that, once again, we have been able to support the charity with money raised at the Llangollen Christmas Festival.}

_{“It was also very interesting for our committee members to get a first-hand look at the Wales Air Ambulance and chat to crew members about their vital role during our visit to Welshpool.”}  

AM's call to bring back Llan's minor injuries unit and others

* The former Cottage Hospital whee the Minor Injuries Unit was based before its closure.

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to restore the Minor Injury Units (MIUs) they closed in North Wales seven years ago, including the one in Llangollen.                                                                                                                                                                              

Raising the matter with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething AM, in the Welsh Parliament yesterday, Mr Isherwood said those in power were wrong to ignore warnings at the time that closures would result in additional pressure on A&E departments and GP practices, as this is exactly what has happened, and urged the Minister to consider reinstating MIUs for the communities that lost them.

He said: “According to Betsi Cadwaladr's website, there are five Minor Injury Units identified, other than A&E units, across the North Wales regional constituency. Luckily for me, one of them is in Mold, but most people aren't so lucky.

“In accordance with Welsh Government policy, in 2013 Betsi Cadwaladr closed five others - Colwyn Bay, Ruthin, Llangollen, Flint and Chirk - despite local campaigns to retain them and despite repeated warnings that this would place extra pressure on our A&E departments and GP practices. Of course, this is exactly what's happened.

“What consideration are you giving to perhaps restoring Minor Injury Units to the communities that lost them or that are accessible to them in other communities nearby?”

The Health Minister said that “Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has established “a pan-health board group to assess the scope of minor injury services across North Wales to ensure standardisation and to reduce demand on busy emergency departments within north Wales”, but that there are many issues to consider including ensuring there are adequate staff for the units.  

Speaking after the Chamber exchange, Mr Isherwood said: “In early 2013 Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board announced that it was rushing through the closure of five Minor Injuries Units in North Wales. 

"We had repeatedly warned the Labour Welsh Government  that their NHS community bed cuts and Minor Injury Unit closures would add to pressure on A&E and GP services, but they ignored us and the chickens have now well and truly come home to roost."

Water company says 'sorry' for garden flooding

* A stills picture taken from Steve Griffin's video of water
entering one of the SG Estates properties last Sunday.

A water company has said it is “really sorry” for an incident last Sunday which led to the gardens of new homes on a Llangollen housing estate being flooded following heavy rain.

Hafren Dyfrdwy are constructing a reservoir close to the new estate being built off Vicarage Road.

The flooding problem was spotted by former county councillor and mayor Stuart Davies who on Monday emailed Denbighshire County Council officials to complain, sending a copy to llanblogger.

In it he said: “Yesterday I went for a look at the top end of the SG Estates site opposite the Welsh Water (Hafren Dyfrdwy) site in Vicarage Rd.

“Water was pouring off it, on to the road, some of it going in to the gardens of the three new big houses, some of it being deflected by the new kerbstones down the new road to Willow Hill.”

Steve Griffin, managing director of house-building firm SG Estates, says he went out to the site immediately after hearing of the problem and shot a video of the water pouring into one of the new houses.

Referring to the film, he told llanblogger: “This is what was flooding one of our purchasers’ homes on Sunday. It came from the HD (Hafren Dyfrdwy) site.

“SG staff (including myself) went to site at 8.30am on Sunday to alleviate the problem by manually constructing a temporary damn to stop the flood getting into the new home.

“I’ve sent three emails to managers at HD requesting a response to our predicament but no reply.”

A Hafren Dyfrdwy spokesperson said yesterday: “We’re really sorry to those who had their garden flooded with rain water on Vicarage Road over the weekend, after measures taken to control the surface water at our construction site failed.

“We’re working with the housing developers and those who were affected, and want to assure everyone that measures will be taken to prevent this from happening again. Again, we’re sorry for any issues caused.”

llanblogger understands from Mr Griffin that he has a site meeting today with the water company's site contractors.

Registration closed for climate emergency meeting

Registration for the public meeting on February 25 on how to tackle the climate and ecological emergency has closed.

Last year Denbighshire County Council declared a climate and ecological emergency which included a commitment to make the authority net carbon zero by 2030 at the latest and called on the Welsh and UK governments to provide assistance and resources to enable the council to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Members of the public who registered have now been sent confirmation of their place on email and will attend a meeting on February 25 at County Hall, Ruthin, between 6pm and 8pm.

This event is now full and only those who have registered and received this confirmation email will be able to attend the meeting.

For those who have not registered the meeting will be webcast live via the council’s website and questions can be submitted via https://countyconversation.denbighshire.gov.uk/project/510 or on the night via Twitter in English @DenbighshireCC or in Welsh @CyngorSDd using the hashtag #DCCClimate in English or #HinsawddCSDd in Welsh.