County's urgent message for parents about schooling changes

* Ysgol Dinas Bran.

Denbighshire County Council is informing parents and guardians that school hubs, created to provide childcare for criticial workers and vulnerable children during the coronavirus crisis, will close on Friday, June 19. 

But it says those youngsters will be able to access the childcare in the normal school they are enrolled at as of Monday, June 22.

The council advises that parents and guardians will not need to re-register for the service, as the local authority will forward the information to each school about those children who are already on the childcare register.     

The schools will then liaise directly with families about the childcare arrangements at the individual locations.

If the current hub building happens to be the child’s usual school, they will return to the same location from Monday, June 22.

The council says the reason for the change is to prepare the hub school buildings to re-open their doors when the new arrangements for schools comes into effect at the end of the month. 

Parents are asked to note that whilst all concerned are working very hard to put the necessary arrangements in place and share necessary information, arrangements may change  and they will be kept fully informed.

Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Cabinet Lead Member for Education, Children’s Services and Public Engagement, said: “The hubs were set up to provide childcare for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. 

“I would like to thank all the staff involved in working at the hub schools over recent weeks for providing such a valuable service at a really crucial time. This has allowed parents/ guardians to carry out their critical roles in the fight against covid-19.

“As our focus turns to the preparation for schools to re-open across the county later this month, the children attending the hubs will be asked to relocate to their usual schools from June 22 where the childcare provision will continue. We would like to thank parents and guardians for their co-operation in advance."

Work to start on major A55 junction

Work to improve junction 19 of the A55, to make it safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, will begin today (Wednesday), says the Welsh Government.

The junction, known as the Black Cat roundabout, is a busy intersection where the A470 meets the A55 near Llandudno Junction.  The work will include widening the junction, the construction of safer crossings for pedestrians and cyclists, the installation of traffic signals at key locations and an upgrade from the current street lighting to an energy-efficient LED alternative. The routes for cyclists and pedestrians will also link with the current path on the A470 to encourage active travel in the area.  Traffic signals will help manage congestion on the off slips, reducing the length of queues and the traffic speed to improve safety on the roundabout. The work would originally have been carried out after the summer embargo. But traffic levels on the A55 are almost half their normal level as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, providing a window to complete the work earlier than intended with minimal disruption to the public.  Construction workers will follow strict social distancing at all times. Transport and North Wales Minister Ken Skates said: “This is an important scheme on a very busy junction where two of our major roads meet. The scheme will encourage walking and cycling by making the junction safer. Traffic speeds will also be lowered as a result of the improvements, helping reduce the number of accidents. “This is the first of our pinch point schemes to go ahead and it will deliver a real difference to all forms of transport once completed.” The first phase of works is scheduled to begin on June 17 and will continue until the end of September, depending on weather conditions, but every effort will be made to finish ahead of schedule if possible, says the Welsh Government. If the coronavirus restrictions are eased and traffic increases, the contractors will modify their way of working to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. Works which are likely to cause more disruption have been prioritised to take place during the first phase  while traffic levels remain lower than usual. The works will require the narrowing of the lane on the junction 19 circulatory and there will be a single lane closure on the A55 eastbound and westbound off slip in addition to the installation of discrete areas of traffic management as the project progresses to accommodate some installation works. Work will be carried out during extended daytime shifts.

MP backs community power generation schemes Bill

Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes (pictured) has signed up to support the Local Electricity Bill in Parliament.

The Bill seeks to enable small, community-scale generators to become local electricity suppliers and sell their energy directly to local people.

Currently, a community that generates its own energy - for example, a housing estate with solar panels – cannot sell the energy they generate directly to local people, but must sell it to a utility which then sells it on to customers. 

The Local Electricity Bill would give small-scale suppliers the right to sell their energy directly to local people and make it financially viable to do so.

Simon Baynes said: “Corwen is a good example of a community that would benefit in terms of additional income. They are already at the forefront, having launched their own renewable energy project pooling power from a local hydro scheme and domestic solar panels.

“I think this Bill has real potential to boost renewable energy projects, like we see in Corwen, and provide more environmentally-friendly, potentially cheaper energy for people in communities across Clwyd South.”

Denbighshire Leisure supports Welsh Mountain Zoo

Denbighshire Leisure Ltd is helping to raise funds for the Welsh Mountain Zoo during the pandemic by giving Ninja TAG games with every donation to the official zoo recovery fund.

The Welsh Mountain Zoo, National Zoo of Wales in Colwyn Bay, faces an uncertain future if it can’t keep vital funds coming in during the pandemic.

As well as sharing the same North Wales Coast as the Welsh Mountain Zoo, SC2 and Ninja TAG in Rhyl is also part of the North Wales TenTop Attractions group. 

Ninja TAG in SC2 Rhyl, is giving free offers to every person who donates £20 or more to the official recovery fund and the attraction hopes that working together they can get through this uncertain time.

Jim Jones CEO of North Wales Tourism said: “It’s heart-warming to see this level of support between attraction businesses in North Wales. Great initiative from Denbighshire Leisure Ltd, and proof that when we work together everybody benefits.”

Marcia Azevedo Moreira, Marketing & Sales Manager, at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, said: “We are extremely grateful that Denbighshire Leisure Ltd, one of our partners in the North Wales TopTen Attractions group, are supporting us during this difficult time. 

"It is incredible to see another popular attraction in the area putting something together that will help us push our plight further whilst giving our wonderful supporters a little treat that they can enjoy once restrictions have been lifted. On behalf of us all here at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, and of course all of the animals, we thanks Denbighshire Leisure Ltd and SC2 Rhyl for their support.”

Ninja TAG is an adrenaline fuelled obstacle course within SC2 Rhyl on the promenade. Players of the game must hit electronic targets throughout the course to gain points and beat the clock and their friends.

Suitable for the whole family, Ninja TAG is the first in Wales with Junior Ninja TAG being the first of its kind created.

Jamie Groves, Managing Director of Denbighshire Leisure Ltd said: “We are living in difficult times and North Wales attractions need to support each other to get through. We firmly believe that ‘together we will beat this’. We have said from the inception of SC2 Rhyl that we want to encourage tourists to come to North Wales and stay in the region, we’re partners not competitors with other attractions, so it only seemed right to help our local zoo during this difficult time.”

Libraries prepare to go live with order and collect service

Libraries across Denbighshire will be offering an order and collect service for books from today (Monday) as part of on-going efforts to re-introduce elements of the service in the county.

The Home Library Service is also being re-introduced at the same time and library staff will be contacting customers of that service to offer them a new delivery.

Library members can order books using the online catalogue, using the Order and Collect order form on the Council’s website https ://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/order-and-collect-library-books or phoning their local library. 

Staff at libraries will select up to 10 books according to the customer’s preferences and contact the customer to arrange an appointment to come and collect them.

Customers can ask a friend to collect on their behalf, and home delivery will be available for people who are shielding and do not have the means to collect the books.  

People may also use their appointment to return books to libraries. Those customers wishing only to return their books should contact the library to arrange an appointment.

All books currently on loan and new loans will be automatically renewed and no late fines will be incurred. The range of stock will be limited to what is available in Denbighshire and until new stock arrives from suppliers.

Councillor Tony Thomas, Cabinet Lead Member for Housing and Communities, said: “We are delighted to be re-introducing an element of the library service, providing access to the wealth of books we have on offer.

“The safety of our staff and customers is the priority and our libraries are following Welsh Government guidance on how to handle library books, to help protect people’s safety and well-being.  All books will be quarantined for 72 hours when they are returned.

“Customers are reminded that when collecting, returning, or receiving books at a library or at  home, they must follow the social distancing guidance set out by the Welsh Government. Library buildings remain closed to the public at the moment."

* Full details of the new Order and Collect service are available on the Council’s website https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/order-and-collect-library-books

Young 'Uns performers pay tribute to their friend Janette Williams

* The film pays tribute to the Operatic Society's Janette Williams.

Talented young singers from Llangollen Operatic Society’s junior section have put together a moving tribute to one of the leading figures from their group who died recently.

Janette Williams was one of a number of adult members of the society who have worked with the Young ‘Uns over many years, performing various roles to make sure their annual productions are a success. Her speciality was costumes.

* Shea Ferron performs in and edited the film.

Janette’s funeral is due to take place later today and to mark the sad occasion seven members of the Young ‘Uns have created a video tribute which has just been posted on YouTube.

The 25-minute film features a medley of some of their favourite songs from recent shows and includes contributions from Shea Ferron, who also edited the video, Celyn Orton Jones, Aled Morris, Sophie Roberts, Heledd Edwards, Ethan Le-Cheminant and Grace Roberts.

There are also pictures of Jan on her own and with other members of the society taken over the years.

* Celyn Orton Jones also sings on the video.

A pre-amble to the film written by 17-year-old Shea says: “On behalf of the Llangollen Operatic Society’s Young ‘Uns section, I have been busy these past few days in editing a video to pay tribute to the late Janette Williams who was a huge member of our family.

“Today (15/06/20), Jan’s family and close friends say goodbye to her and sadly due to the current circumstances, we all cannot be there.

“This video is a medley of our favourite songs as our way of saying goodbye and paying tribute to Jan.”

Shea has been asked to perform at Jan's funeral later today at Pentrebychan Crematorium. 

He will sing Green Green Grass of Home and Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

To watch the video, go to: https://youtu.be/1l9dIqLM4yw

Father Lee streams his hymns and music hall songs session

* Father Lee at the vicarage piano for the hymns and music hall songs session.

Llangollen vicar Father Lee Taylor held the first in a series of musical sessions streamed live on Facebook yesterday evening in which he mixed hymns with numbers from the days of music hall, of which he is a major fan.

A number of people contacted him in advance to sponsor both types of song, with the money going towards church funds.

Father Lee explained that finances for the four local churches he runs,including St Collen's, had been hard hit by the lockdown which means that congregations are unable to attend.

This had meant, he said, that a total of 21 weddings had been cancelled so far and he gave shout-outs to a number of couples affected.

* A raffle staged by Cat Meade, co-ordinator of the Lllangollen Coronaviris Group, on Saturday evening raised £635 for facilities for the children soon to return to Ysgol Bryn Collen.

Thirteen valuable prizes were donated by local businesses.