The funeral of NHS mega-fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore is taking place tomorrow (Saturday).
The exact time has not been released but at twelve noon, to mark the occasion, a single bell will be tolled one hundred times at St Collen's and at churches throughout Wales and England.
New legislation has been passed in the Senedd to give tenants more protection, stability and security in their homes.
The Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill will also bring greater clarity on landlord and tenant responsibilities, helping to avoid disagreements and difficulties.
The changes mean that from spring 2022, rental contracts in Wales
will change so that:
Housing and Local Government Minister Julie James said: "This law will make renting a home in Wales fair, simple and efficient, and it will directly affect the lives of the one in three people who rent a home in Wales.
“Thanks to our efforts, tenants will have greater peace of mind
when renting. Everyone has the right to feel secure in their own home and to be
able to plan for the future.
“There will also be clear benefits for landlords. Clearer and easier to understand contracts will reduce disputes and legal costs and the new regime will provide a better way for landlords to deal with abandoned properties.”
The county council is inviting feedback on where people would like to see improvements to walking and cycling in Llangollen.
This is one of the towns in Denbighshire selected by the Welsh Government to take part in a exercise being run by the council in partnership with Sustrans Cymru as part of the government’s Active Travel Network Map consultation (ATNM).
The ATNM is a plan of routes the council will use to inform where improvements to walking and cycling should be made within the county and it will help to make journeys on foot or by bike across Denbighshire easier and safer for everyone, particularly those who don’t currently walk or cycle often and people who use mobility aids.
Cllr Brian
Jones, the council’s Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment,
said: “Active travel helps reduce carbon and improve air quality along with
improving health and wellbeing, so this is an excellent opportunity for
Denbighshire residents to tell us what they would like to see included on our
future Active Travel Network Map.
“In order to
design a network that works for everyone, we would like to get the views of as
many people as possible, particularly those who don’t currently walk or cycle
as this will help make sure the routes built for walking and cycling work for
the whole community.”
* For further
information on how to provide feedback go to the Active Travel page at https://denbighshire.commonplace.is/?lang=en-GB
The man in charge of the project has given a progress report on work to create a pocket park close to a main road into Llangollen.
The facility is being built on the former council refuse tip at Wenffrwd off the A539.
First phase of the work involves the development of a small car park and new access road which was due to be finished early this year.
Next phase means the development of trails around the site and possibly onto the canal.
There is also an aim to create a link back to Llangollen Health Centre along part of the old railway line.
Giving an update, David Shiel, area manager for the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is overseeing the project, said: "Works are proceeding well at Wenffrwd – the car park and new access road are now more or less complete.
"We are currently working on new trails around the site which include some lovely wooded areas with fantastic views across the River Dee and along valley from the old railway line.
"We would hope to have these works complete in the next few weeks so that the site can be open for Easter – should Covid-19 restrictions allow."
He added: "GH James from North Wales have been the main contractors and have done a brilliant job over the last few months despite the challenges of snow, floods and Covid lockdown.
"The AONB Ranger team have also been working really hard to manage and make safe the woodland areas, clear the pathways and improve wildlife habitats.
"Links back to Llangollen and a possible link to the canal will be the next phases of works which we would hope to take forward later this year."
A story in the Oswestry and Border Counties Advertizer says the Welsh Government will take big cat sightings seriously and investigate them after a spate of encounters in North Wales, including Llangollen, in recent months.
Last month, the Advertizer's sister-paper, the Denbighshire Free Press, reported a sighting of a big cat near Valle Crucis Abbey when a man described seeing a mystery animal stalking the edge of a field near the abbey.
* To see the latest story, go to: https://www.bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk/news/19109194.welsh-government-will-investigate-big-cat-sightings/
Health Minister Vaughan Gething (pictured) has today announced expanded testing and faster vaccine delivery to help Wales re-open safely.
He confirmed Wales will aim to offer the
vaccine to all eligible adults by 31 July and will publish an update to the
national vaccination strategy on Friday.
Workplace and community testing will also be
expanded.
The scheme for workplaces to carry out testing
and set up their own test sites is now being extended to public and private
organisations with more than 50 employees.
Mr Gething said: “Our vaccine and testing
programmes are key to safely re-opening up our society and economy.
"Our vaccine programme continues at pace and on
Friday I’m publishing a revised vaccine strategy with detail on how we will,
subject to supply, offer every eligible adult in Wales the first dose of the
vaccine by the end of July.
"Workplaces with more than 50 employees will now
be eligible for support to regularly test their workforce, helping reduce the
spread of the virus and allow them to operate safely.
"We have already set out our revised plans for the careful and cautious re-opening of Wales’ society and economy. The measures announced today will play an important part in achieving that as safely and quickly as possible.”
The revised vaccine strategy will provide more
details on current and forthcoming priorities, including – subject to vaccine
supply – the bringing forward of target dates for key milestones
The support available to workplaces in Wales to
introduce a testing scheme includes the provision of rapid lateral flow
devices, training, access to an online testing portal and clinical standard
operating procedures and guidelines.
The community testing programme will use
Lateral Flow Devices. Everyone who attends will be given a test using the
devices, which can turnaround results within 20 -30 minutes. Anyone who tests
positive via a LFD test will be asked to return home so they can self-isolate
immediately and arrangements will be made for a follow-up PCR test.
Although community testing will initially be
available in three local authorities, further discussions are taking place with
partners in North Wales and it could be rolled-out more widely based on local
circumstance and need identified.
A plan to tackle climate and ecological change has been approved by Denbighshire County Council.
In 2019 the council declared a climate change and ecological emergency which included a
commitment to make the authority net carbon zero by 2030, enhance biodiversity
across the county and produce a clear plan to guide the work.
The council’s
Climate and Ecological Change Strategy, which covers the years 2021/22 – 2029/30, sets out how the authority aims to become Net Carbon Zero and Ecologically Positive
by 2030.
The strategy
includes targets to reduce the council’s carbon emissions from a range of
sources, including a 50 per cent reduction from the energy and water used in council owned buildings, as well as targets to increase the amount of carbon
absorbed by the land the council owns at the same time as creating more diverse
habitats for plants and wildlife.
The work has
been guided by the Climate Change and Ecological Emergency Working Group, set
up as part of the emergency declaration, and is made up of two representatives
from each political party represented in the council and the two Lead Members
for climate and ecological change.
Llangollen councillor Graham Timms, the council’s Climate Change and Ecological Emergency Working Group Chair, said: “I’m delighted the strategy has been approved by full council.
"The
strategy sets out what we mean by the goals net carbon zero and ecologically
positive council, how the council is currently performing on both, what we hope
2030 will look like for the council having achieved our goals and the changes
and actions we hope to deliver over the next nine years.”
Cllr Brian
Jones, the council’s Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment,
said: “This is another positive step for the Council in its work to protect the
environment and reduce our carbon footprint.
“We have
already achieved a lot, we have reduced carbon emissions from our buildings and
fleet by 15 per cent since 2017, the Council now only uses renewable
electricity for its own buildings after switching to a renewable only energy
provider for its schools, leisure centres, libraries, council offices and
depots and we are over halfway to reaching our target of planting 18,000 trees
by 2022.”
* You can read the strategy online at www.denbighshire.gov.uk/climate-change
