County promises to monitor Castle Street potholes

* A number of potholes on the bridge have now been given attention.

The county said the pothole situation on Castle Street is to be kept under review after it carried out repairs to some of the cavities in the roadway.

llanblogger recently highlighted the number of deep holes along Llangollen's main street by sending a series of pictures of some of the worst ones to the county council.

As a result a council spokesperson said an officer would be sent to inspect the holes to see if they were a safety hazard.

On Monday of this week llanblogger revealed how a number of the deepest holes had been filled in - sparking a flurry of comments about the quality of the repairs.

On Tuesday workmen were back to give attention to the remaining holes.

Possibly the deepest of all the holes on the bridge has now been filled along with a number of others further along the street.

A council spokesperson said yesterday: “Work has been carried out to make some repairs on Castle Street and we will continue to monitor the condition of the highway for any further safety works needed.”

llanblogger will also keep the situation under review.

Health centre's vaccinations latest

Llangollen Health Centre has just put out its latest message about Covid vaccinations on social media.

It says: "Our team have been doing a sterling job contacting all our patients who are in the next two priority groups for the Covid vaccine - those aged 70 - 79 and those on the official shielding list.

"We have over 1,300 patients in these groups and so far we have contacted 969 patients. Thanks to the team for working so hard on this over the past few days.

"If you are in one of these priority groups but have not yet been contacted please be patient - we will get to you over the next couple of days."

Prime Minister encourages public to clap for Captain Sir Tom tonight

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has encouraged members of the public to clap for Captain Sir Tom Moore at 6pm this evening (Wednesday), according to the BBC.

The 100-year-old, who raised almost £33m for NHS charities by walking laps of his garden, died with coronavirus in Bedford Hospital on Tuesday.

Mr Johnson said the clap would also be for "all those health workers for whom he raised money".

He added Capt Sir Tom's life was "a long life lived well".

Call for parking areas to be closed to stop Covid rule breaking

* The Panorama near Llangollen.

A Llangollen resident is asking the area's two county councillors to consider temporarily closing parking areas in a local beaut spots to prevent their use by lockdown rule-breakers.

On Tuesday llanblogger highlighted the story about Clwyd West Senedd Member Darren Millar and two Denbighshire County Councillors, Martyn Holland and Huw Williams, who were asking for lay-bys on the main A494 to be temporarily closed.

They were concerned that people are parking in them to access nearby fields to go walking and sledging during lockdown, despite Welsh Government Covid rules stating that people should not travel for exercise.

A concerned local resident has now written to Llangollen county councillors Graham Timms and Melvyn Mile asking them to consider similar measures in this area.

In his email to them, he says: "Having read the article in llanblogger, I just want to let you know of an issue up on the Panorama. 

"I was up there yesterday afternoon on my mountain bike, exercising from home back to home in accordance with the current Welsh Covid Regulations. 

"I was disappointed therefore to see cars parked in informal parking spaces as you go from by the castle along as far the junctions at the top of Garth. 

"Some people are clearly breaching the regulations and disregarding public safety in relation to the pandemic which is very regrettable. I saw about nine vehicles including a chap who was getting a drone out of the boot of his car to fly in this beautiful location.

"You therefore might like to consider asking for these lay-bys to be closed similarly to the request of your fellow councillors in Denbighshire. 

"I would also mention that there was considerable rubbish dumped in the parking space as you come up the hill from the Sun Trevor, turn right and the informal parking area is on the left at the top of a rise."

Town Council by-election could be held on March 18

* Llangollen Town Hall, base of the town council.

If the vacancy is contested, a by-election for the seat of former Cllr George Hughes on Llangollen Town Council will be held on Thursday, March 18. 

Mr Hughes resigned from the council last October.

In Wales, any by-election scheduled to take place after March 16, 2020, or was due to a vacancy that occurred during the pandemic, could not take place before March 2021.

Any person wishing to stand as a candidate at the by-election should contact the Returning Officer at Denbighshire County Council on 01824 706114 or 706118, or email elections@denbighshire.gov.uk to obtain nomination papers.

Completed nomination papers must be presented in person by appointment with the Returning Officer or her Deputy at County Hall, Ruthin no later than 4pm Friday, February 19.

Roadworks planned for Regent Street this week

Latest local roadworks notification from one.network is: 

Regent Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire 04 February — 04 February   Delays likely - Traffic control (Stop/Go boards)   Works location: The Grapes, Regent Street, Llangollen   Works description: Cherry picker Permit   Responsibility for works: Welsh Government   Current status: Planned work about to start   Works reference: PD510212110734619

Coronavirus update from Welsh Government

 

Latest coronavirus update from the Welsh Government (dated yesterday) is:

• Health Minister Vaughan Gething has made a statement to the Senedd about progress vaccinating people against Covid
• https://record.assembly.wales/Plenary/11176#A64236
• Latest facts and figures: https://gov.wales/covid-19-vaccination-programme-weekly-update-2-february-2021

 

• Updated guidance: Problems paying your rent during the pandemic: https://gov.wales/problems-paying-your-rent-during-coronavirus-pandemic
• Updated guidance: Visits to care homes: https://gov.wales/visits-care-homes-guidance

Coronavirus in numbers

• The latest figures published by Public Health Wales today show there have been 614 newly reported cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 193,526 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Wales since the start of the pandemic.
• Sadly, there were seven deaths reported by Public Health Wales today. The total number of deaths reported by Public Health Wales is 4,782.
• These figures are updated daily at: https://public.tableau.com/profile/public.health.wales.health.protection#!/vizhome/RapidCOVID-19virology-Public/Headlinesummary

• The number of people who have received a Covid vaccine in Wales is being published every weekday by Public Health Wales.
• The latest figures show 439,640 people have received their first dose
• And 1,066 people have received two doses of the vaccine
• https://public.tableau.com/profile/public.health.wales.health.protection#!/vizhome/RapidCOVID-19virology-Public/Headlinesummary

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today published statistics on provisional weekly deaths, including deaths involving Covid-19, for the week ending 22 January.

• The cumulative number of deaths involving Covid-19 in Welsh residents up to 22 January was 6,473.
• Of the deaths registered in the week ending 22 January 2021, there were provisionally 447 involving Covid-19. This was 42% of all deaths and 20 fewer than the previous week. This was the third highest number of deaths involving Covid registered in a week since the pandemic began.
• For the period 29 February 2020 to 22 January 2021, there were a total of 5,130 excess deaths (17%) above the five-year average.
• https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/latest 

What to do if you have symptoms of coronavirus

• The symptoms of coronavirus are a high temperature, a new, continuous cough and a loss or change in smell or taste.
• If you have symptoms of coronavirus, however mild, you must self-isolate at home for 10 days from when your symptoms started.
• Guidance about self-isolating: https://gov.wales/self-isolation-stay-home-guidance-households-possible-coronavirus
• Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
• You should arrange to have a test to see if you have coronavirus once you are self-isolating. You can book a test at https://gov.wales/apply-coronavirus-covid-19-test
• You should continue to isolate while waiting for a test result.
• Got a question about what to do if you’ve got coronavirus? Visit https://gov.wales/self-isolation-stay-home-guidance-households-possible-coronavirus 

Where to find the latest information

• Information about the new national measures in place in Wales is available at: https://gov.wales/alert-level-4

• Public Health Wales provides a daily update about the number of cases of coronavirus in Wales. It is available at: https://covid19-phwstatement.nhs.wales/
• Information about coronavirus is available on the Welsh Government’s website at https://gov.wales/coronavirus and https://llyw.cymru/coronafeirws
• Questions about Covid-19 vaccines? Visit: https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/immunisation-and-vaccines/covid-19-vaccination-information/ and https://gov.wales/vaccine-coronavirus
• Information about support for businesses is available at the Business Wales website https://businesswales.gov.wales/coronavirus-advice/
• The Welsh Government holds a regular media briefing about coronavirus. These are on-the-record, on-camera and supported by a BSL interpreter. These are held at 12.15pm and live-streamed on our @WelshGovernment Twitter channel.