Major changes take place on Llangollen Railway board

Major changes have taken place on the board of Llangollen Railway, which is currently closed for the second time due to government coronavirus restrictions.

A press release issued by Llangollen Railway Trust Ltd in the name of director Bob Gordon says: "The Llangollen Railway regrets to announce the resignation of the chairman Liz McGuinness from the board of LRT (Llangollen Railway Trust) and LR (Llangollen Railway) plc.

"Her fellow elected directors Hugh Shipton and Quentin McGuinness and two co-opted members, Robin Matthews and Rhys Williams, have also resigned.

"The sole remaining elected director is Bob Gordon who is presently endeavouring to co-opt new directors for both boards to be in place within the next few days pending the forthcoming AGM.

"The resignations arise from major differences of opinion with the Board’s heritage policy as being applied to the Corwen project.

"Bob Gordon immediately set about reassuring the Corwen project team regarding support for completing the new station as planned with work to start on the building of the platform, waiting room and toilets.

"He said, 'The need is to get the station finished and ready to receive passengers during 2021 with appropriate shelter to hand on the platform. This aim is dependent on this winter’s weather and, of course, any continuing impact of Covid 19 on the volunteer workforce.'

"Supporting these comments, the Railway’s President, Bill Shakespeare MBE, said, 'I am full of admiration for the way in which the Corwen Project team have tackled the creation of the new station and feel they should be allowed to continue the completion of the project with the building of the waiting room.

"We need to overcome this current difficulty and continue the progress towards an opening through to Corwen as soon as resources allow.

"I have always thought that Llangollen Railway is a broad church and can accommodate all shades of opinion.”

Llangollen Railway spokesman George Jones said: "Co-opted members have now formed a new board which has had its first meeting. 

"The board members have experience and long-term commitment to Llangollen Railway."

Abbey Dingle Care Home to hold coffee morning for Macmillan

* Abbey Dingle residents Wynn Hughes and Esther Whittall with some of the raffle prizes.

Abbey Dingle Care Home in Llangollen is holding a coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support tomorrow (Friday) at 3pm.

Due to Covid restrictions they cannot invite anyone from outside the home to join them but you can take part by making a donation and staff will purchase a raffle ticket on your behalf.

Home owner Carol Mascarenhas said: "We have a lovely Christmas pamper hamper with prosecco, two Christmas wine glasses, pomegranate and fig toiletries, a Christmas box of Toffifee, a stag cushion and a red fleece throw, all in a decorated Christmas box.

"Families have donated prizes and we say a big thank you for this. We are very sorry they are unable to join us. Thank you for your support.

"All our residents are looking forward to having a lovely afternoon and supporting such a good cause. There will be home made cakes , a bric a brac stall and the raffle. Teas and coffees of course.

Traffic plan is "waste of money" claims opponents' spokesperson

Castle Street traders continue to be angry that plans to ban all "pop-and-shop" parking and deliveries unloading are to go ahead later this month.

That's the claim of former Chamber of  Tourism and Trade chairman David Davies acting as a spokesperson for those opposed the moves.

The plans approved by Denbighshire County Council (DCC) are part of a package of changes designed to allow for more active travel  - walking and cycling - and Covid-19 social distancing of two metres between people.

They will be applied using temporary traffic orders within weeks.

Mr Davies said: "The plans were put out to public consultation for only two weeks in July and attracted just 91 respondents.   

"According to DCC, this included 25 businesses in Castle Street who objected to the plan and 66 other responses from local residents and visitors of whom 59 were in favour of the plans.

"Census figures suggest around 4,000 people are in the Llangollen, Llantysilio and Berwyn area who could be described as local, out of which 91 responded to the survey - that's  2.3%. Of those 91 some 65% (59 persons) voted in favour.

"Continuing the maths -  those in favour of the plans were 65% of 2.3% which is only 1.5% of the total local population.     

"Thus 98.5% did not respond or objected, yet DCC still plans to go ahead with their scheme. How such a decision can therefore be promoted as a 'huge thumbs up' to the plan remains an unanswered question."

He added: "It seems unbelievable that DCC is misusing and wasting taxpayers' money closing Castle Street to pop-and-shoppers when they and government are trying to encourage buy local shopping.

"Traders are concerned that the plans, 'by coincidence,' are the same as one of the main objectives of the 2020 Group to permanently ban all parking in Castle Street.

"With a number of questions to DCC still outstanding and their refusal to respond, an objection has been lodged with DCC for the scrutiny panel to review the decision.

"This must take full account of the traders; objections, trading conditions, current footfall and the true level of response from the local population.   

"I am also calling on DCC to publish details of the planned footpath, cycle-way and road widths to meet social distancing and road traffic requirements."

New name board is a sign of the good times for Corwen station project

Llangollen Railway's Corwen station project has received a new name board (pictured) on the eastern end of the platform.

The substantial piece of joinery was lifted into position by volunteers after it was delivered to the site.

Sponsored by rilway enthusiasts' group the Foxcote Manor Society the double-sided name board was constructed by Llangollen Railway member Graham Hoyland[

As a traditional form of station running-on board, it will announce to train passengers their arrival at Corwen and can now be seen as a prominent fixture on the platform, adding to the heritage features already in place.

It can be readily appreciated by walkers across Corwen Common and its erection was a big boost for the project volunteers.

Running-in boards are no longer a feature of stations on the national rail network having been superseded these days by on-train announcements. 

A similar board was unveiled in the Corwen town car park back in December 2011 as a statement of the railway’s intention to return to the adjacent embankment.

It has taken rather longer than originally envisaged, but that board remains in-situ as a local feature announcing to road users where they have arrived.

Traffic changes in town centre to start this month, says council

* Social distancing work on the town centre will goa head in 

mid-October, according to the county council.

The county council says it will implement its plans to allow better social distancing in Llangollen town centre by the middle of this month.

The Active Travel schemes approved for this town and other in Denbighshire were given the go-head by county councillors at the end of August.

But there had been speculation about a hold-up as work has not yet started in Llangollen.

However, in answer to a question from llanblogger about this, a spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: “The proposed scheme is scheduled to go ahead as planned with works commencing on site in mid-October.”

Locally, the work will mean: 

* The creation of more space for social distancing by widening the pavements along Castle Street and on Abbey Road at the junction with Castle Street by the removal of parking and the use of ‘lane defenders’ to create safe areas for pedestrians and cyclists.

*  Creating a ‘one-way’ street on the first section of Market Street as it leaves Market Street. The one-way section would only allow traffic to enter Market Street from Castle Street. Vehicles wishing to enter Castle Street from Market Street will follow the route via East Street and Parade Street.   

*  The closure of the link road between Hall Street and Berwyn Street (A5)

*     Reversing the direction of flow of vehicles on Church Street

*   Support cafes, pubs and restaurants to introduce outside seating

The council has said that the changes will be made by a temporary traffic order for up to 18 months and that their effect  be closely monitored as they are introduced.

Detailing the plan in August, Lllangollen county councillor Graham Timms said: "The results of the formal consultation showed huge support for the introduction of these measures. 

"It has been clear to residents over the last few weeks that social distancing in the town has been almost impossible to achieve. 

"The narrow pavements and the huge increase in the number of visitors since the lockdown ended has created a very difficult situation. Many residents have avoided the town centre because they do not feel safe on crowded streets in the middle of the day.

“Both Cllr Melvyn Mile (the other local county councillor) and I were strongly in favour of the introduction of these measures. We believe that they are essential to enable residents and visitors to feel safe in the town centre.

“Denbighshire’s formal consultation through the County Conversation website gave a huge ‘thumbs-up’ for the proposals with nearly 83% of those that responded ‘strongly agreeing’ and a further 12% ‘somewhat agreeing’ with the proposals. Only 5% of the replies were negative."

He added: “The reversal of the one-way traffic flow on Church Street should result in a significant change in the number of vehicles using this route as a 'short cut', particularly at the times just before and just after the school day. This will lead to a much safer route to school for children and their parents who walk and cycle to and from school along this very narrow road.

“The closure of the road between Berwyn Street and Hall Street that passes between Stan’s garage and the M’eating Place will help to make this area safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

“Some businesses expressed their concerns over the loss of ‘pop and shop’ parking and the lack of loading bays by signing a ‘template’ letter which was sent to the council separately. I believe that it is important to address these important concerns.

"The ‘loading bay’ issue has been addressed by providing a bay on the Market Street and Castle Street junction. On the provision of short stay parking, Mel Mile and I have been pressing the council to give free parking in all car parks for 30 minutes to allow ‘pop and shop’ visits for those on the outskirts of the town. 

"The county responded with two hours free parking in East Street Car Park. Other towns in Denbighshire will also get a similar concessions. 

"We don’t think that this meets the needs of Llangollen and so we will continue to press the case for a ‘free half-hour’ in all our car parks to encourage local shopping in the town centre.

“It is vitally important that local residents and businesses pull together to create a town centre that is vibrant and safe for everyone in these very difficult times."

But there was opposition to the plan from the former chair of Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism, David Davies, who claimed banning parking in Castle Street is a waste of money and will have a “negative, deadening effect” on the town centre.

He said: “Castle Street businesses are angered to see that the county council is proceed with the traffic order banning all parking and deliveries in the street on the pretence of Covid-19 social distancing and active travel reasons.

“Twenty-eight businesses - 80% of all operating businesses in the street - individually signed letters of objection to DCC."  

Sportage is fast but at the cost of fuel economy

* Above and below: the Kia Sportage. 

Kia Sportage road test

For months I have been praising the economy of small petrol engines. Well, I hit a brick wall with the Kia Sportage.

Kia has been developing new engines to meet the latest emission demands and, like many other manufacturers, has built a small engine with a lot of power but in this case not much in the way of economy.

To be fair this is the more powerful 174bhp version of the 1.6 litre which, with the help of a twin scroll turbocharger, shoots Sportage to sixty in well under nine seconds yet it only averaged 30mpg. 

To add a little context to the debate the big Skoda Superb featured a few weeks ago averaged way over 50mpg with a 1.5 litre engine and is less than half a second behind the Kia in a sprint.

Okay, a saloon is going to be better on fuel than an SUV but by that much? Even if you drop down to the turbo-free 1.6 the official average is only 35mpg.

Interestingly a motoring writer friend who switched from diesel to the turbo 1.6 said he would never trade the loss of economy for the sparkling performance of his new Sportage and I know what he means because this is one quick motor with plenty of punch at low revs, able to pull away in top at just over 1000rpm. Impressive.

That said I came down to earth with an even bigger bump when I towed my caravan to Devon and averaged 19.4mpg. Not a problem if you have deep pockets may be but having to top up after just 200 miles is still a pain. Imagine a drive to the south of France.

The 1.6 litre diesel is a better option for economy but its towing capacity is limited unlike the all wheel drive petrol turbo which can pull just about any size van with its 1900kg limit while the towball can take a useful 100kg.

Economy aside I found Sportage pretty much the ideal tow car. As an SUV it sits high so there are no worries about jockey wheels smashing against speed humps which can happen with low riding saloons or hatchbacks, and with the back seats down there is ample room for everything you do not want to store in the weight restricted caravan, it easily swallowed two adult bikes and a lot more.

It towed my four berth caravan with ease and the trailer stability assist which counters snaking in high winds is reassuring. It also reduces sway when overtaking long artics on the motorway, a far more regular occurrence.

I would certainly go for the seven speed auto over the six speed manual which is a notchy change and too easy to stall because of its sharp clutch and throttle, all very embarrassing for someone who has had enough experience of balancing clutch and accelerator on countless cars!

Sportage took off with the third generation in 2010 and has been like a wild fire ever since outselling some big rivals and topping Kia's sales charts until last year when it lost out to the growing Ceed family.

The seven year warranty is a big draw but there is a lot more to Sportage. Build quality is as good as any in its class and scores well on spec right from entry level. Level 3, tested here, is really well off with panoramic sunroof, heated steering wheel, leather seats, power adjusted for driver and passenger, and heated not just in the front but the two outer back seats as well.

The 8in touchscreen controls navigation, radio, Bluetooth, smartphone connectivity and other lesser functions and, unusually, there are four decks of switches. The quick keys on the top row are a great benefit while the heating and other aids are clearly marked and easy to reach.

I found a few relatively insignificant additions particularly useful like the extending front sunvisors, two 12-volt sockets and USB port in the front and more for back seat passengers while front wiper de-icer will be welcome on frosty mornings.

Sportage gained a few centimetres in length in its last upgrade so there is no shortage of legroom particularly in the back. And while we are at the back of the car the designers would do well to include sidewall levers should the back seats need to be dropped while loading the boot.

Need to know

Sportage 3 AWD

£28,555 (starts £21,010)

1.6 T-GDI 174bhp

0-62mph 9.2secs; 126mph

32.1mpg combined

201g/km. 1st road tax £1,305 then £150pa

Insurance group 20

Boot 491-1480 litres

New app helps locate waste-beating businesses

Shoppers in Llangollen, Ruthin and Mold are being encouraged to say goodbye to pointless packaging as award-winning campaign Refill expands.

The Refill campaign has already saved 100 million pieces of plastic from our oceans to become the world’s first dedicated app to help people find locations to reuse and refill.

The app is now available to help people in Llangollen, Ruthin and Mold to live with less plastic by making it easier to eat, drink and shop packaging-free.

Morrisons, LUSH, Costa and some local businesses are amongst the brands signed up to the campaign.

Since October 1 people in the three areas are able to use the free app to find out where to refill their coffee cup, water bottle or lunchbox, shop for groceries and top up their cleaning products and toiletries packaging-free.

The app will also highlight where discounts might be available to reward customers for reducing their single-use packaging. 

This means that businesses in Wales who offer reuse or packaging-free options can use the app as a free marketing platform to drive footfall and increase sales.

In Wales, thanks to Welsh Government funding. there are already more than 1,600 Refill Stations offering drinking water. 

The Welsh Government has a long-standing aim for a zerowaste Wales by 2050, and is consulting on restricting the sale of some single-use plasticsfrom 2021. 

It is hoped that the Refill app could make a big contribution to driving the necessary behaviour change to deliver this, making re-use and refilling the new social norm.

* Consumers looking for businesses who offer refills, reduce packaging and support zero waste initiatives, should download the app at https://refill.org.uk/get-the-refill-app/.