Care homes should 'proceed with caution' as they re-open to visitors says leader

* Mary Wimbury, the chief executive of Care Forum Wales.

A social care leader says many care homes are in an “impossible position” after indoor visits by family and friends were given the go-ahead.

Mary Wimbury, the chief executive of Care Forum Wales, praised the Welsh Government for their cautious approach to the issue.

However, expectations were sky high after the easing of the rules that means that residents may be allowed one designated indoor visitor.

Ms Wimbury stressed that while indoor visits were being permitted again, beyond exceptional circumstances, care homes would need to undertake a rigorous risk assessment before judging visits could safely take place

Many care homes were “terrified" amid concerns a vaccine-resistant variant of the virus could appear at a time when health experts are convinced a third wave of the disease is inevitable.

Another problem that had emerged was the wildly fluctuating rate of second doses of the vaccine being given to people aged over 80, many of whom lived in care homes.

She said: “Whilst it is excellent news that we are now able to begin the process of reopening care homes to visitors, it will be a phased approach and it is imperative that we proceed with caution.

“It will not be like pressing a button and everybody returning immediately to the normality that existed before the pandemic struck.

“We are looking forward to welcoming some sort of normality in the weeks and months ahead.

“Quite rightly, the Welsh Government has said the decision about visiting will be left to individual care homes who will carry out careful risk assessments.

“As the Welsh Government  have said, in many cases it will be about preparing for the reintroduction of visiting rather than it happening straight away.

“Infection and community transmission rates still vary in different parts of Wales and the Kent variant and other mutant strains are a real cause for concern.

“What we don’t know is how effective the vaccine is against some of the newer variants of Covid, particularly with what’s going on in Brazil.

“Health experts are warning that the new strain that’s causing such devastation in Brazil could sweep across the world. It’s absolutely raging.

“As the First Minister pointed out, we are facing an inevitable third wave of coronavirus and we have to take great care to protect our residents and our staff.

“Clearly, we want to get people back together again but we need to get more data on the vaccinations.

“The rate at which people aged over 80 in Wales – many of whom are in care homes - are receiving their second doses of vaccine fluctuates wildly, depending on where you are in Wales -from 0.1 per cent in Pembrokeshire to 48.4 per cent in Torfaen.

“In North Wales, the lowest percentage of second doses for the over 80s is in Wrexham which stands at 1.4 per cent while the highest is Conwy at 21.4 per cent.

“The vaccine roll-out in Wales has hitherto been a real success story so these new figures are baffling and a cause for concern.

“Whilst the first dose will provide a good degree of immunity, it is important that people are able to have the second jab to provide better protection, particularly in the case of people aged over 80 who are more likely to be frail and therefore more vulnerable.

“We will be contacting Public Health Wales to ask for an explanation and an assurance that, if these figures are correct, there are not these extreme fluctuations in future so that the distribution is fairer and more even across Wales.

“The other factor is that care homes that have recorded positive cases during the routine weekly testing will be flagged as red and the whole home will be closed down for 20 days.

“They are often false positive results but they can still close you down for 20 days. That means no visiting.

“Anyone that thinks we’re out of the woods needs to think again because the resumption of indoor visiting must be done extremely carefully.

“We’re all doing our utmost to bring back some normality but everybody needs to understand the fluidity of the situation.

“If you have a 50-bed care home that’s full and potentially 50 relatives coming in, the home will not know if they’ve been vaccinated or who they have been mixing with.

“Everyone understand that we have come through the most hideous 12 months since the pandemic was declared and there is now light at the end of that very dark tunnel.

“Care Forum Wales wants to see family members and care home residents united again but we would certainly support care homes in adopting a cautious approach. Some of these care homes are in an impossible situation because they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

“In fairness though, the Welsh Government has been far more sensible than their counterparts across the border and they deserve a great deal of credit for their understanding and cautious approach. You can’t press a button and it’s all happy days.”

Tidy Town Team couple's special fencing project

* As part of a special project by Nick and Liz Dilley of Llangollen Tidy Town Team and Jamie Roberts of Ysgol Dinas Bran a length of traditional wattle fencing has been erected beside the footpath leading up to the castle near to the cadet hut.  

Candidates for North Wales police commissioner

llanblogger features two more candidates in next May's election for North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner.

* Andrew Dunbobbin.

Andrew Dunbobbin Labour candidate

A Flintshire county councillor, he says: "Having, lived, studied and worked in North Wales my whole life, I have a deep understanding of the challenges we all currently face in our communities.  

"There are some who I listen to saying that they feel left behind and their voices aren’t getting heard. I hear you and I want to make a positive difference in people’s lives. I want to be your voice and the bridge linking North Wales Police to our communities. 

"As a proactive county councillor for many years, and with the last six years being Armed Forces Champion,  I have used my vast experience to lead - and achieve - the Gold award of Governments’ Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) throughout a period of significant cuts and changes.

"Despite the many challenges, and by working closely with many Chief Officers and their teams, I have built a strong network across many public services. 

"I work constructively with others across the six Local Authorities of North Wales along with third sector and other voluntary/community groups. I have delivered in making our Armed Forces community of North Wales as an inspiration for others to follow.  This is also widely recognised as I’m elected as North Wales Armed Forces Strategic Group Vice-chair.  

"Whilst employed previously as a Social Innovation Outreach Worker, I was involved in developing and sustaining positive relationships with a wide range of local people including community leaders, council officers, local groups and third sector organisations.  I pride myself on engagement, listening and strategising. This has played a huge part in my successes to date. 

 

"My deeply-embedded partnership approach has always paid dividends for all parts of our community so that we all benefit.  I have solid knowledge and experience within Local Government, third sector and other public services – vital attributes needed as a Police Crime Commissioner. I am also an ambassador for the White Ribbon campaign. 

 

"I have five pledges which are outlined below:

 

1. To champion local neighbourhood policing - giving communities a real say in policing for their areas and increasing Police visibility. We all want to feel safe and secure. 

 

2. To adopt a ‘victim first’ approach to policing, putting victims of crime first and ensure that their rights are protected.  

 

3. Keep up our fight against violence against women and girls and all forms of domestic violence. As a White Ribbon Ambassador I promise to never commit, excuse or remain silent about male violence against women. 

 

4. Ensure North Wales Police is fully equipped to deal with the future of online threats, working with colleagues across Wales.

 

5. Ensuring a value for money in police budgets, and prioritising local policing teams. It is public money for public services."

* Ann Griffith.

Ann Griffith is the Plaid Cymru candidate.

Born in Wrexham, she spent her formative years in Barmouth.  

She trained as a mental health social worker and for 40 years has progressed her professional career to senior management, always focused on protecting the most vulnerable adults and children across north Wales. 

For over 10 years she was a Ministry of Justice Public Appointee working for the Court of Protection.

She has lived on Anglesey since 1984 where she raised her family. 

She served as county councillor, taking on challenging portfolios, Adult and Children Services and Planning and Chair of the Planning Committee. 

Ms Griffith says she honed her chairing and scrutiny skills which equipped her for the role as Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for north Wales.

If elected, she says she will consult widely with diverse communities to understand their crime concerns, on which her policing plan will be based. 

She adds that she will use her leadership skills to ensure good governance, essential to deliver an effective and efficient police service, and hold the Chief Constable to account. 

She promises to be innovative in preventing and reducing crime and work in collaboration with other key agencies to put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system.

German speed machine that gives almost 60mpg

BMW 3 Series 330e M Sport Touring road test by Steve Rogers

With the best will in the world economy and an M Sport BMW don't go hand in hand so why am I going to tell you about the German speed machine that gave me almost 60mpg?

No prizes for guessing that an electric motor has a lot to do with it. We are moving swiftly into a new motoring era and like all around BMW is doing its best to keep up, in this case building the first 3 Series plug-in hybrid mating a 68hp electric motor to a 2-litre petrol engine.

It means the car can be driven under purely electric power for up to 30 miles so if you were to take a 50 mile drive the hybrid could reach the official economy figure of 128mpg. 

Back to reality, my journey was a 200 mile round trip to the Midlands (work, of course) when I used up my electric quota and, according to the dashboard computer, managed 58.4mpg, not at all bad considering there was a lot of motorway cruising between 60 and 70mph.

Clearly the best way to get maximum economy is to keep the battery charged which takes around three and a half hours from a wall mounted charging box, or six hours plugged into a domestic socket. A word of caution. Put pedal to the metal in electric mode and the charge will be used up before you know it.

Given the M Sport's mouth watering performance, it has an extra 40hp for 10 seconds when you really need it, and superlative handling, it begs the question who benefits from buying an M Sport hybrid? The only answer I can come up with is the company car runner because the low emissions slash the annual tax bill.

Let's forget about the economy and assess if the new 3 Series Touring is a worthy buy. The sixth generation came out last year, probably unnoticed in the Covid catastrophe, but there are some points worth noting.

The new model has grown all round, most noticeably an extra 76mm in length adding a little more rear seat legroom, and extra boot space with a wider opening to help with loading larger items. Best of all the tailgate window opens so shopping bags can be quickly dropped in if space around the back is tight.

Not that it is anywhere near the league leaders (Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Passat) in fact the boot is only a tad bigger than a smaller Skoda Octavia, and the hybrid loses some space because of the battery pack stowed under the floor.

I keep coming back to the question: Who buys a 3 Series Touring for its space? Probably someone with a 3 Series saloon. And that person will be more than happy because it is in a class of its own when it comes to handling, says someone who is a huge fan of the Jaguar XE and Audi A4.

The all wheel drive M Sport gets stiffer suspension so don't expect a magic carpet ride, but it still does a damn fine job. You will hear the thud of a pothole but won't feel much because the shock is dissipated before it reaches the seat of your pants.

Driving position is spot on and the new seats have plenty of support keeping you planted while swishing through bends.

The dashboard has been reworked with state of the art graphics in a superbly crisp 12.3inch  digital driver's binnacle, a much larger head up display, and an equally sharp and easy to use screen in the centre console. This is touch screen although, thankfully, BMW has retained the rotary controller by the gear lever which is a safer and easier way of selecting the multitude of functions.

Voice control worked well too, but I would need more time to get my head around gesture control which was baffling.

No matter how impressive are the high tech communication and safety systems, of which there are a great many, the single most enjoyable feature of a 3 Series is getting behind the wheel and driving. Whether it is the exhilarating feeling gliding through bends or playing with the steering wheel mounted shifting panels for the 8 speed auto box, this is driving heaven.

Beemers aren't cheap but there is a reason for that - engineering excellence. The Touring starts at £35,505 but if you are prepared to spend bigger bucks then the plug-in hybrid becomes a no brainer given the combination of performance and the impressive economy.

Footnote: I agree with everyone who thinks BMW has spoilt the front of their cars by joining the famous kidney grilles together. Big mistake!

Fast facts

330e xDrive M Sport Touring

£44,265 (test car with extras £53,000)

2.0 litre petrol+electric motor; 252bhp

Electric range 32 miles

0-60mph 5.9secs; 140mph

128.8-156.9mpg

41g/km. First tax £10

Boot: 410-1420 litres (hybrid)

2020 group gives update on progress to date

* The start of the 2020 working group's Facebook-aired update film. The group's members, from top, are Town Cllr Austin Cheminais, County Cllrs Melvyn Mile and Graham Timms, and Town Cllr Robyn Lovelock. 

The group aiming to make major changes to traffic and parking in Llangollen is on the brink of confirming £2 million of investment for the town’s infrastructure, says its leader.

The news came from Llangollen county councillor Graham Timms, chair of the 2020 working group, in a video detailing its progress which was aired earlier this week on its own Facebook page.

Each of the group’s four members – two county and two town councillors – contributed to the hour-long film, gave their own appraisals of its performance since its formation four years ago.

Cllr Timms said they had gone online in person with the update because newspapers were “losing readers” and social media “often distorted healthy discussion”.

He began was saying: “We are on the brink of confirming £2 million in infrastructure for the town and we’ll find out in the next two weeks whether we have been successful.”

Fellow group member Roby Lovelock, a town councillor, said she got two messages from residents when the group was set up in 2017 – that it was “urgent and important to address the town’s long-standing problems around parking and congestion,” and that there was a feeling Llangollen had been missing out on opportunities from Denbighshire by being side-lined to towns further north in the county such as Rhyl.

The other Llangollen county councillor who is a member of the working group, Melvyn Mile, said it had received “incredible support and encouragement” from the leader of Denbighshire County Council and had drawn on the advice and expertise of its various departments including highways and road safety.

He said the Welsh Government’s highways officers had also been involved from the start, the area’s Assembly Member Ken Skates had also been supportive and the group had received a visit from Welsh Government Minister Hannah Blythyn.

The second town councillor in the group, Cllr Austin Cheminais, who is now the Llangollen Mayor, explained that when they realised they didn’t have sufficient expertise in traffic and highways to fully develop solutions to the problems, Llangollen Town Council had “contributed and secured” further European, Denbighshire County Council and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty funding to conduct a consultation and gather residents’ ideas.

He said: “A further consultation was held which was led by our consultants and the Lllangollen working team.

“Once we’d gathered your ideas we worked with the consultants to test them against what was allowed in law.”

County Cllr Timms came back to say: “Denbighshire County Council have almost completed the final drawings.”

* The picture of the town which  "broadly illustrates" the group's aims for Castle Street.

Putting a picture of a town centre up on screen, he added: “This a picture from another town which broadly illustrates the feel that we are trying to achieve on Castle Street.

“The paving colours will draw together the greys from the square and the sandstone of the town hall. Sadly, there won’t be enough rooms for quite as many trees as that [meaning the town in the picture] but we’re working on getting as many as we can.”

He said that, separately, the group would publish full details of the plan to be implemented from October 2021 but detailed the main changes the project would introduce which were:

* Wider pavements and a narrower carriageway to “maximise pavement space and slow traffic, improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists”.

* Raised crossing points across Castle Street junctions to “slow traffic and improve crossing safety, especially for those with disabilities and small children”.

* Keeping Market Street to one way up as far as the public toilets “after the Covid restrictions have finished in the town”.

* Installing loading bays on Castle Street and Market Street and marking out disabled parking bays on Oak Street and Bridge Street.

Cllr Cheminais returned to say: “Our consultants Arcadis have developed solutions based on your ideas, research and real-time traffic data. Further community consultations were held with more opportunities to feed into traffic surveys and meetings.

“There were more articles in local papers, Facebook Live sessions and more social media, all with the aim of refining ideas proposed.”

Cllr Mile said: “One of the key areas of feedback from these consultations was that the proposals didn’t go far enough to resolve the issues of the parking problems facing the town especially in the summer.

“So we’ve identified six groups with parking needs – town centre residents who don’t have designated parking spots, pop and shoppers, business owners and workers coming in for their jobs, disabled drivers, visitors by car in their thousands and visitors by bus.

“So it’s not going to be easy keeping everyone happy and discussions on this have been ongoing.

“This hasn’t been tried before and I know the reason why – it’s a nightmare!”

He added: “We tested the ideas at a public meeting, also with some discussion groups with people and businesses which would be affected by the proposals. We took on board some of their suggestions, for example loading bays on Castle Street.”

Cllr Lovelock said: “It’s all very well having these plans but where is the funding?

“This is something that the 2020 working group has taken on. We have met with numerous organisations looking for funding opportunities, given many presentations to those agencies.

“We’ve written and drafted grant applications and submitted them with the town council and submitted them with Denbighshire County Council.”

Cllr Timms returned to say: “The good news is that Denbighshire County Council has a project plan in place - a critical path for delivery as they call it - and we’re working hard to keep to it. And so far it’s on track even though we’ve had the coronavirus challenges this year.”

Cllr Mile added: “So, it might have taken a bit longer than we anticipated, However, this project may be called Llangollen 2020 but it’s very much a Denbighshire project.

“People say that we never get anything out of Denbighshire, that it all goes up to Rhyl. Well, that will change if we’re successful in these grant applications.

“We’ll have a lovely new town centre, safer for you the residents, safer for the thousands of visitors who come here and it’s an environment where our businesses can thrive.”        

* You can see the 2020 update at: https://www.facebook.com/llangollen2020/videos/370130353948136

More Denbighshire pupils will return to face-to-face learning

All Denbighshire primary school pupils and secondary school pupils in years 11 and 13 will return to school on Monday (March 15).

Before the Easter break the remaining secondary school year groups will have the opportunity to attend school and individual schools will communicate their arrangements with parents and carers. 

Denbighshire County Council is reminding parents and guardians to follow guidance around schools which includes not to mix while picking up and dropping off children at the school gates, to wear face coverings and to maintain social distancing.

Cllr Huw Hilditch-Roberts, the Council’s Lead Member for Education, Children's Services and Public Engagement, said: “More pupils retuning to face-to-face learning is good news for our young people. I would like to reassure parents and guardians that all necessary safety measures are in place in our schools.

“To keep schools open and ensure the safety of pupils, it is vital parents and guardians follow the rules and guidelines to stop the spread of coronavirus.

“This includes children not meeting up outside of school, even when children are in the same school bubble.

“Parents and guardians need to wear face coverings when picking up and dropping off their children at the school gates and are reminded not to catch up with other parents and to maintain social distancing rules.

“Children must also be kept off school if they are unwell, even if you are not sure if it is coronavirus, and you should book a coronavirus test if your child develops any of the symptoms, even if they are mild.

“It has been a very difficult period for pupils, staff and parents and it is important everyone follows these guidelines to protect our communities and to keep schools open.”

Donations flood in from across world for crisis-hit railway

* The appeal's Facebook page showing donations of over £34,000.

Almost £10,000 has been contributed by supporters worldwide since the announcement that Llangollen Railway had been plunged into a financial crisis at the start of this month. 

On March 1 the board of Llangollen Railway PLC asked its bank to call in receivers after became insolvent to the tune of about £350,000 and could not legally continue trading.

An update on the railway's unofficial Facebook page shows that nearly £10K has been contributed by concerned supporters worldwide.

Pledges of money have come from as far away as Australia and the USA.

A post on the page says: "Since our last post on Monday March 1 donations to the Full Steam Ahead Appeal have grown from £25,000 to £34,500 plus Gift Aid contributions. 

"Llangollen Railway Trust (LRT) would like to thank everyone who has commented, shared the post and donated to the Appeal. We are extremely grateful for your ongoing support.

"If you are in a position to make a donation please visit the link below, this provides full details of how you can continue to support us. 

"These include bank transfers, posting a cheque or making an online donation which can be for a one off amount or a set monthly figure. If you are unable to donate at this time a share to others you feel could support us would also be appreciated. https://llangollenrailway.enthuse.com/cf/covid-19-appeal

"Other money has been arriving by cheque and bank transfers to LRT."