Flooding delays re-opening of Plas Madoc Leisure Centre

* The mopping-up operation at Plas Madoc Leisure Centre.

Flooding caused by last night's heavy rain has delayed the re-opening of the Plas Madoc Leisure Centre following lockdown.
On its Facebook page earlier today it posted: "This morning we opened up to some devastating news that our Gym and a number of other areas in the building had flooded during last nights storm. "The area had been cleaned and made ready for reopening on Monday which is now no longer possible.
"We are now considering options for how we handle the clean up and reopening of this area and will update our users as we know more.
"The Pool will reopen as normal Monday (please book in advance)."

Section of canal closed by police incident

Due to a police incident the canal and towpath are currently closed between Bridges 36W and 38W.

The closure starts at Bridge 36W, Bryn-Ceirch Bridge and ends at Bridge 38W, Bryn-Howell Bridge.

In a statement on its website the Canal & River Trust says: "We will post an update as soon as we have any further information.

"For the latest information regarding Covid-19 and any restrictions or impact it may be having on our waterways please visit
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/safety-on-our-waterways/coronavirus"

Musician Leonie solves radio mystery voice teaser

* Leonie Kirby on the guitar.

A Llangollen musician was bang in tune with the mystery voice which listeners were asked to name in a national radio competition.

After correctly identifying the dulcet tones of Oscar-nominated British actress Helena Bonham Carter, Leonie Kirby ended up solving the riddle which has been baffling listeners to the Wynne Evans morning show on BBC Radio Wales for months.

Leonie was born and raised in Liverpool, where she studied singing at college and played percussion in the Merseyside Youth Orchestra in the 1970s, including playing The Rite of Spring under Sir Simon Rattle.

She taught as a primary school music specialist, and moved to Llangollen 30 years ago, where she stayed at home with her children, Dafydd, Bethan and Ifan.

Over the years Leonie has sung in many genres, as well as writing musicals and conducting choirs, including setting up the ladies’ singing group The Melodics in Llangollen.

Of her mystery voice triumph earlier this week she said: “I started listening to Radio Wales at the beginning of lockdown, when I was staying in Cardiff with my youngest and his wife, and I’ve been listening ever since.

“It was the same mystery voice from before lockdown, a long time!

“I thought it sounded like Helena Bonham Carter, but I’d got so used to hearing ‘wrong’ that I was fully expecting to be wrong too. So it was fab to guess right.

“Wynne was very mysterious after I gave my answer, and then played a snippet of music, but I couldn’t make it out over the phone, so I was none the wiser.

“It was only after that I heard it, it was the 1812 overture. Back to my cymbal clashing days!

“But Wynne was so lovely to chat with, so guessing correctly was just the icing on the cake.

“Hopefully, he’ll be back in Llangollen at the eisteddfod, when everything is up and running again.”

Leonie only came to writing and performing her own material, with the guitar, in 2013.

She plays at the folk club in The Ponsonby Arms and the open mic nights in The Sun, as well as being a regular on the eisteddfod outside stages.

She said: “This year has been so hard for anyone wanting to make and listen to live music. We’re lucky to have performance spaces online, but it’s not the same.

“I set up a group on Facebook at the beginning of lockdown, The Ponsonby Players, and we ‘meet’ twice a week and take turns to play songs. Anyone can request to join, to play and/or listen, we’re a lovely, friendly mob.”

School meals service to resume on September 3

Denbighshire County Council is re-launching its school meal catering service next month.

With pupils starting to return to school full-time from September 3, the catering service will resume.

During school closures the School Meals Service provided freshly prepared food for children of key workers and children deemed to be vulnerable while the Council also provided direct payments to those eligible for free school meals with money provided to parents or guardians instead of a school meal.

More than 3,500 children (1,900 families) were eligible for this scheme and these pupils will now return to being provided with free school meals and the last direct payment will be made on September 1.

Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Cabinet Lead Member for Education and Public Engagement, said: “We are pleased to be welcoming children back to our schools full time after what has been a difficult period during lockdown.

“With pupils back in school, we have re-started our school meals service which provides a healthy and nutritious meal to students every day.

“All meals are cooked fresh every day and are nutritionally balanced to improve learning and development and all schools cater for special or restricted dietary requirements. I would also like to reassure parents that the highest hygiene standards are being employed by staff in the catering service.”

The menu varies every day and more than 7,600 school meals are served to pupils in Denbighshire each day.

Cllr Hilditch-Roberts added: “We would like to remind parents who have been in receipt of a direct payment instead of a free school meal that the final payment will be made on September 1 and will cover the previous week. Children will then return to receiving their free school meals in the same way as before lockdown.

“I would like to pay tribute to the education, catering, benefit and finance teams for setting up and managing the direct payment system during this period, ensuring children in Denbighshire continued to have access a school meal equivalent during lockdown.”

Childcare providers grant launched by government

The Welsh Government has announced the launch of a Childcare Providers Grant. 

Part of a package of support for businesses across Wales affected by coronavirus, the new grant aims to provide dedicated support for the childcare sector in Wales.

In a written statement issued this morning the government says: "Since March many of our childcare providers have faced significant challenges as a consequence of the coronavirus.  

"To control the spread of the virus it was necessary to keep the numbers of children in attendance low. We recognise that this came at a cost.

"While the numbers of people using their services fell, providers still had bills to pay including staff salaries.  

"While many providers stayed open to care for the children of our critical workers and our more vulnerable children, and we are very grateful to them for doing so, others had to close.

"The Childcare Provider Grant will provide a much-needed financial lifeline to childcare providers who have not been able to access other government support packages, and help ensure that formal childcare places are available to parents as schools re-open in September.  This is an important part of ensuring there is sufficient capacity in the sector which is key to supporting working families. 

"The scheme is available to those settings which have been unable to access the other business support schemes offered by the UK and Welsh Governments and most providers will be eligible for a grant of £2,500. 

"Ensuring the availability of formal childcare places is instrumental to our recovery and we are pleased we are able to offer this vital lifeline to those in the sector who have fallen through the other support measures. 

"More than 95% of the early years workforce are women and any closures, with resulting job losses, would disproportionately affect women who provide a vital service to parents across Wales. 

"The loss of formal childcare places also disproportionately affected women, as mothers will be most likely to reduce their hours or leave employment.

"We are acutely aware of the challenges the childcare sector has faced and want to thank all childcare providers for their perseverance and professionalism during these difficult times. 

"Welsh Government recognises the important role childcare plays as part of the foundational economy and we are determined to support the sector as the economy reopens.

"Since 22 June, childcare providers have been able to care for more children and increase their operations or re-open fully. This scheme will help ensure more providers re-open as the schools re-open in September.

"The scheme will be a one-off grant to help providers meet the additional financial burdens they have faced since March, with many settings experiencing a reduction in income whilst continuing to meet costs such as rent, utilities and unmet wage costs.

"The scheme also aims to help make the childcare sector more resilient for the future by requiring unincorporated settings to register as a company limited by guarantee, a private limited company, a Community Interest Company or a Charitable Incorporated Organisation."

Applications for the scheme will open on 24 August and the scheme will close on 31 October 2020. The first payments will be made to providers in September via their local authority.

ORB team sees red to highlight their pandemic losses

* The OEB team lights up Llangollen's Royal International Pavilion. 

As a follow on from last month's Light It In Red campaign, the team from Llangollen's ORB Sound and Lighting Ltd were out again yesterday evening highlighting the struggle the Events Industry is still facing due to the pandemic.

Over the last four evenings they have visited 15 venues in which they were booked to work in this year before COVID-19 struck. 

Each venue was lit up in Emergency Red to try to highlight the worsening situation of their industry.

Since March Orb have lost 37 separate events which equates to over 100 days of work. 

Eleven of these events were festivals, nine were fundraising events for local charities and eight were projects involving talented youngsters.

To conclude their efforts in obtaining more support from the government, last evening they teamed up with all their local colleagues to light up the Royal international Pavilion in Llangollen.

* Here is a link to Orb's montage video of the other venues lit up https://youtu.be/ux0IjHaeBK8

Town Council seeks funds for mobile sharing shed scheme

Llangollen Town Council has led a three-town submission to the Welsh Government for funding to support a mobile Library of Things.

The idea is for an electric van that would travel between Llangollen, Mold and Ruthin offering households the chance to borrow rarely used household and garden equipment, rather than needing to buy it. 

The application for funding falls under the Circular Economy Strategy that was launched in Llangollen last year in recognition of the town’s commitments to a sustainable future through its Cittaslow status and Plastic Free Town award.

The Library of Things would contain items such as pressure washers, lawnmowers, electric drills, tents, strimmers, ladders, travel cots, a projector and more. 

It is also hoped it could include new technology items that would help promote a circular economy such as plastic recycling granulators and possibly a 3D printer so interested residents in the three towns can build expertise using such items.

If the Welsh Government funding is approved and matched funds are secured, the aim is for the project to help Llangollen households reduce spending on rarely-used items, try equipment for new hobbies or sports before purchase, and build valuable skills for the 21^st century economy. 

It also hopes to link with repair cafes operating or being developed in each town, loaning tools to trainee “fixperts” to help repair and reuse broken equipment.

The Library of Things idea was initially raised with the Town Council during the Cittaslow Networking events last year, attended by over 50 town groups, and is said to have seemed a good fit when the Welsh Government funding was announced. 

Making the library mobile and sharing it across the three towns is said to reduce overheads such as rent and rates, maximises items available and hopefully supports a growing network of “fixperts” across the region. 

The idea builds on a similar approach piloted in Devon and represents an opportunity for Llangollen to show further leadership in the Circular Economy by piloting the idea for Wales,p according to Councillor Robyn Lovelock, chair of the Cittaslow Committee of the Town Council.

She said:  “The project is clearly in line with our Cittaslow status, which aims for a more sustainable future, by reducing the need for people to buy items they could instead borrow, saving money and storage space in their homes – as well as reducing the environmental impact of making and transporting those items.”

Cllr Lovelock says she will work over the coming months with Llangollen Town Council and local community groups to submit matched funding applications to ensure the project can proceed if offered the capital funds by Welsh Government.

Warren Davies, co-ordinator of Friends of the Earth Llangollen, said: “The scheme will overcome some of the barriers faced by our group when looking to continue our very popular repair cafe events.

"The localbenefits to sharing and repairing are significant [with] increased resilience through skill sharing, less reliance on imported goods and financial savings through not needing to buy new items."

Heulwen Wright, chair of Friends of Pengwern, said: "The group would be happy to consider hosting the van at Pengwern Community Centre in the future.

"The idea could work well alongside our plans for a community workshop at the Pengwern Centre."

Tara Dumas, waste and recycling officer for Denbighshire County Council, said: “This is exactly the type of initiative that will help to reduce waste through increasing reuse-the first two steps in the waste hierarchy. 

"It will also support in getting people to think differently about their consumption and purchasing habits.

"Denbighshire County Council endorse the application and can confirm it is complementary with our current waste strategy goals and objectives.”

Llangollen Town Council will hear in October if it has been successful in its application. 

Cllr Lovelock said the cost to the town council hasn’t been decided yet as discussions are on-going with the county council and other town councils.

In the meantime, the Cittaslow Committee are asking for ideas of items people would like to see available for hire and also for people interested in donating items to get in touch.  

* Click hereto suggest an item for hire and contact CllrLovelock@LlangollenTownCouncil.gov.uk if you would like to discuss donating items.