* Castle Street before the lockdown.
One
of the area’s county councillors has given an insight into how Llangollen was
included in the list of Denbighshire towns to benefit from a £1 million funding
boost from the Welsh Government.
But
Graham Timms could give no specific details of the amount of money involved or how
it will be spent locally.
Llanblogger
revealed last week that Llangollen was to get a share of the cash earmarked by
the government for Denbighshire communities in the aftermath of the coronavirus
pandemic.
The
county is to get £981,000 through the Local Sustainable Transport Covid
Response Fund to provide improved access to town centres and schools for
pedestrians and cyclists and to facilitate social distancing in public spaces
and on public transport.
This
is seen as especially important as people return to town centres as
non-essential shops re-open.
The
lockdown period has seen increases in the numbers of people walking and cycling
and many of the measures proposed will further encourage people to choose these
modes of transport by providing measures such as wider pavements.
Funding
has been secured for projects in Llangollen, Rhyl, Ruthin and Denbigh, as well
as outside schools throughout the county.
Projects
include the reallocation of road space for pedestrians and cyclists by
introducing one-way systems and making spaces outside schools safer for social
distancing and reducing the number of car journeys outside schools.
Cllr
Timms, speaking as chair of the Llangollen 2020 group, said: “We are delighted
that Llangollen is one of the towns in Denbighshire that will receive funding
to help residents and visitors maintain social distancing in the town.
“As
soon as the Llangollen 2020 group heard the announcement by the Welsh
Government of possible funding we contacted the Denbighshire road safety team
to discuss what could be done to improve matters in Llangollen’s narrow
streets.
“We
discussed a range of suggestions with officers. The Denbighshire team then put
together a final grant submission for the whole of the county.
“It's great that Llangollen is
specifically mentioned in the Welsh Government announcement, alongside Rhyl,
Denbigh and Ruthin. This means that we will definitely get much needed safety
improvements in the town.
“We also asked the Denbighshire team
to look at making improvements to help pupils to walk or cycle to our schools
more safely after discussing the issue with Llangollen Friends of the Earth.
“Although the final details have not
yet been settled, we are hoping that something can also be done to make walking
and cycling to school safer for our children and young people as they begin to
return to their lessons.
“There will be detailed discussions
with local councillors and other organisations in the town to ensure that the
particularly difficult set of challenges that Llangollen's narrow streets pose
can be met.”
