Waste sites to re-open tomorrow - but it's bookings only

Denbighshire County Council has announced that its household waste recycling centres will re-open tomorrow, Thursday May 28. with a bookings only system for people to dispose of essential household waste.

It says demand at the recycling centres at Lon Parcwr (Ruthin), Colomendy Industrial Estate (Denbigh) and Marsh Road (Rhyl)  will be very high, therefore it has introduced a booking in system, to keep queuing traffic at a reasonable level and in order to comply with social distancing measures.  

People can book a slot online: www.denbighshire.gov.uk/recycling or if people are having difficulty, they should contact the Council. The system is live now.

Drivers will need to bring their booking reference number and proof of residency.  Anyone turning up without an appointment will not be allowed on site.

The “pop-up” Household Waste Recycling Centres services in Corwen and Llangollen are still suspended until further notice.   

This is because the council says it is not able to ensure that social distancing would be maintained, and it is therefore not safe to open these.

The council is advising visitors to the recycling centres of the following:

• People must not visit the Recycling Centre if they or anyone they are living with is in self-isolation or showing COVID-19 symptoms.
• No twin axle trailers will be allowed entry (Car-derived vans/4x4s and single axle trailers will be able to enter).  People may only bring their household waste in a works vehicle if they already have a permit to do so.The Council are processing requests for new permits as usual.  Please do not make a booking until you have a valid permit.
• Please segregate waste before coming to site to speed up the visit.
• The number of vehicles on-site will be restricted and where possible vehicles should only include the driver as only one person will be allowed to unload their vehicles. People must remain in their car whilst queuing.
• Social distancing measures must be adhered to at all times by both staff and visitors.
• Black bag waste should only contain non-recyclable waste.  DCC are collecting food, cans, plastics, paper, card and glass at the kerbside so residents should use these collections for these materials.  We will not accept black bag waste that contains food and recyclables.
• The sites will be very busy and you should expect to queue to access the site. The booking system will reduce waiting times but you should still expect queues.  At our two smaller sites in Denbigh and Ruthin, waiting time will increase by approximately 20 further minutes if the skips become full and need emptying as no site users are allowed on the site during this operation.
• A new traffic management system will be in place but if the queues spill out onto a busy road  and cause a hazard, people may be asked to move on.  The Council has done what it can to mitigate this with the booking in system, but it is reliant on the public to adhere to the 20 minute slots and not turn up without prior booking.
• Please treat our staff and fellow customers with respect and consideration during this challenging period.  Any incident/abuse of site staff or other users will not be tolerated, will result in you not being able to book in to visit again and may involve police intervention.

The opening hours for the sites will be:

Ruthin : Monday – Thursday 10am-6pm; Closed Friday; Sat & Sun 9am – 5pm

Denbigh: Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri – 10am – 6pm; Closed Thursday; Sat & Sun 9am – 5pm

Rhyl : Monday – Sunday 10am – 6pm

Councillor Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment, said: “Our teams have been working hard during these unprecedented times to keep as many of our services as possible operating, including recycling, food and waste collections. 

“We recognise that the closure of the recycling centres will have caused disruption and we thank residents for their patience and understanding.  We were following the national guidelines which did not consider journeys to the recycling centres as a reasonable excuse to leave home, so we took the decision to close the sites.  That position has now changed and we have been involved in discussions nationally to re-open the sites as quickly as possible.

“We are expecting a very high demand for use of the sites and it has been decided to use a booking system to reduce traffic congestion and to protect the safety of people using the site or working there.  The position will be under constant review and we will advise residents if anything changes.

“What we would ask is for people to follow the rules and we can work together to try and reintroduce the service as smoothly as possible."

Ambulance staff assaulted after asking patients to wear masks

* Claire Roche, the Trust’s Executive Director of Quality and Nursing, in her video message to patients.

The Welsh Ambulance Service is asking some of its patients to wear a surgical mask to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Crews are now attending every call across Wales in protective equipment, which includes masks, visors, aprons and coveralls, in addition to their standard gloves.

Some patients are also being asked to wear a surgical mask as a precautionary measure to halt the spread of the virus, especially those who exhibit symptoms.

But a growing number of patients have become aggressive when being asked to comply, the Trust has reported.

A small number of colleagues have also been the victim of physical assault.

Claire Roche, the Trust’s Executive Director of Quality and Nursing, said: “At this time, our crews will attend all incidents with personal protective equipment.

“What you may not be aware of is that they may also ask you, the patient, to put on a surgical mask.

“The reason they do this is to not only protect you but also for the protection of the people around you.

“If we do ask you to put on a mask, please do not be alarmed and follow the instructions of our staff.

“We understand how distressing this situation may be and we also understand that putting on a mask while having shortness of breath may seem counter-intuitive but it is the right thing to do.

“Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, our staff have reported a growing number of instances in which patients have been aggressive and have even been the subject of an assault after asking a patient to put on a mask.

“Assaulting our staff is never acceptable, no matter the circumstances.”

In a video message shared to the Trust’s Facebook and Twitter, Claire added: “We are here to help, never to harm.

“We ask all of you, the people of Wales, to please continue to trust our staff and to comply with the instructions we may give you.”

Click here to watch Claire’s video message.

Councillors continue to campaign for Saturday waste service return

Llangollen’s two county councillors will continue to put pressure on Denbighshire to re-open the Saturday morning waste recycling service at the Pavilion car park.

That was the assurance from one of them, Cllr Graham Timms (pictured), as he gave a briefing to the town council’s online meeting last night about how the county council is coping with the Covid-19 crisis.

He said: “The Saturday service is not going ahead. The big problem is that it’s not a permanent site.

“Denbighshire had hoped to re-open its recycling sites today but there’s been nothing on the internet.

“When they do re-open the county council will require people to have appointments to go.

“In Wrexham one site was closed down by the police because people get annoyed when they are in queues.”

He added: “We are looking at ways at getting the Pavilion car park site open and Cllr Melvyn Mile and I continue to put pressure on the council. It’s a 30-mile trip to take things to Ruthin.”

Earlier in his update Cllr Timms had spoken about his concern that only about 65% of businesses in Llangollen had applied for coronavirus business grants from the county council.

“Whether this is because they didn’t require them or they didn’t know about them, I don’t know,” he explained.

“Council officers are now just about at the end of paying out the grants and will now start contacting people by phone and mail to see that they are aware of the grants.

“I was amazed only about 65% of local businesses had applied while in the rest of the county it was 75%.”        

County to bring back enforcement from Monday

Denbighshire County Council will start reintroducing environmental and civil enforcement operations next Monday, June 1.

The council’s enforcement activity, which includes fines for dog fouling and littering, as well as on street parking enforcement, was suspended when lockdown restrictions were introduced on March 23.

Enforcement operations will be reintroduced gradually from June 1.

Environmental enforcement is undertaken on behalf of the council by District Enforcement and the company will carry out a full risk assessment for their staff and will be operating within social distancing guidelines and standard operating procedures.

Patrols will initially take place in areas the council has received recent complaints.

The council’s on-street parking enforcement will also be reintroduced to ensure the safe movement of traffic with risk assessments carried out with officers who will be operating within social distancing guidelines.

Cllr Mark Young, Denbighshire County Council’s Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection and Safer Communities, said: “I would like to reassure residents that the safety of the public and staff is of paramount importance when reintroducing these services.

“These enforcement activities will restart gradually and the council will react to changes to lockdown measures to ensure a gradual transition back to full service.

“The Council would like to thank residents for their patience during this time.”

Support group sends out latest update

* Foodshare is looking for donations.

Cat Meade, co-ordinator of the Llangollen Coronavirus Support Group, has posted her latest update on Facebook.

In it she says: "Hope you are all keeping well and have now had your updated leaflets, lots of calls of thanks, Big Thank you to all volunteers who helped deliver.

"All shops on the list still delivering to your door with the added takeaways, for those days you don't fancy cooking.

"Dee Valley Produce are able to deliver fresh fruit and veg, along with bread, milk, dairy and some plants for garden 6 days a week.

"Zero Food Waste and Food Share Llangollen are open Mon, Weds, Fri and Sun, 2 to 2.30pm collection, please call if unable to get out. This is to support everyone and stop food waste. It is not a Foodbank, please use if needed or can help reduce food waste. They are also open to donations of food during these times at their base in Pengwern.

"We have a need for Adult reading books or alternative hobby such as stitching, paint by numbers etc for our elder community, If you can donate any such items please get in touch.

"Once again Llangollen is doing a great job of keeping safe, please use all services availble to you to keep you safe."

Town council makes history with first online meeting

* Last night's council meeting was held not at the town hall as usual but via video conferencing. 

Llangollen Town Council made history last night by holding its first ever online meeting.

Nine councillors plus the town clerk and five observers from the general public, all in their own homes, tuned into the video conferencing platform gotomeeting to take part in the hour-long virtual gathering being held via the internet instead of at the town hall due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

In an agenda which was shorter than usual they dealt with issues ranging from the usual financial reports to a question about how the Covid crisis was affecting the town council itself.

Town  mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy, began by reading out a letter from Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes congratulating the council for the “fantastic” work it was doing to support the local community through the uncertain times of lockdown.

Mr Baynes said in his letter to the town clerk that he had been particularly impressed by the work done by the council to mark the 75^th anniversary of VE Day earlier this month.

And he added: “We should all be extremely proud of you.”

Llangollen resident John Palmer, who was at the meeting as an observer, exercised his right to make a personal statement at the start of the meeting.

He said that given the present uncertain times for local businesses the town council should carry out a survey to discover how they were coping and if they had been able to access available grants to help them through the lockdown.

The mayor replied he was sure the council would discuss this at some time in the future and, if it was unable to deal with it, pass it on to the proper agency.

Cllr Austin Cheminais asked how lockdown was likely to affect the council’s financial reserves.

Town clerk Gareth Thomas said he would be bringing a full report about this to the next council meeting.

However, he said the council had already lost all bookings of the town hall and suggested it was likely to be some time before lettings would be back to any form of normality given the requirement for social distancing.

Cllr Melvyn Mile asked if the town council had been able to get any form of grant assistance from the Welsh Government but the town clerk replied that as the council was financed from the public purse it could not go to the public purse for any form of relief.

Members then went through a small number of planning applications before County Councillor Graham Timms, who was there as one of the observers, gave a report on how Denbighshire was coping with the coronavirus crisis.

The only slight technical issues during the online meeting were with the muting and un-muting of microphones but these were swiftly resolved.

Barring any changes to the current lockdown restrictions the council will meet again online on the third Tuesday of June.       

  

New website aims to help businesses through the lockdown

* The Denbighshire page of the new business hub website.

A North Wales entrepreneur is inviting Llangollen businesses to get involved in his new online hub aimed at helping them trade through the Covid-19 lockdown.

Founder Aled Canter says that as Data House Wales prepares to launch in nearby Wrexham 20 businesses have so far signed up to the free service.

Aled says the website will help North Wales residents identify which retailers are still open - anything from food producers to shops and fast food outlets.

The company believes it will also help raise awareness of smaller businesses in the area, bringing them to the attention of the local community, as well as helping individuals who are shielding or in self-isolation get food and other necessities delivered to their homes.

Aled said: “We hope the hub can supply local goods to the people of North Wales and help people through the COVID-19 crisis. 

"We are always looking for more businesses to join and get them listed on the website. It is currently free for anyone to use from a local consumer to business owner.

"I would like to have loads of businesses from Llangollen joining us, which could help everyone."

He added: "We would like to thank Business Wales and Nick Palmer for helping us get this off the ground. 

"The future plan is to help out the local high streets in Wales by listing them on the website and thereby allowing people to see who is open in the local area and potentially use them by booking a service like a haircut or ordering and then picking up a coffee!"

* Businesses who would like to see their business advertised or listed in the region where they trade should go to www.datahousewales.com to learn more.