Denbighshire County Council's powerful cabinet has given the go-ahead to
the £1.7 million plan to re-shape Llangollen town centre's road system.
Its unanimous approval subject to a number of important amendments at
this morning’s webcast meeting was greeted as a “historic day” for the town by
both local county councillor Graham Timms and cabinet chair, Cllr Hugh Evans,
who went on to describe Llangollen as “the jewel in the crown” of Denbighshire.
The 2020 scheme, as it was originally known, means the removal of
on-street parking from Castle Street and from the Abbey Road/Castle Street
junction to enable the adjacent pavements to be widened and reduce
parking-related congestion on Castle Street.
Other proposals include introducing a number of pedestrian dropped kerbs
along Castle Street and to reduce traffic speeds by raising the road surface at
some side road junctions as well as providing loading bays for businesses on
Castle Street, together with disabled parking spaces near to Castle
Street.
It is also proposed to make Market Street one-way in a westerly
direction between Castle Street and East Street.
The Castle Street improvement is part of a phased-approach to improve
parking and to improve walking and cycling routes in the town.
A recent three-week public consultation exercise resulted in a total of
507 questionnaire responses being received by the council.
The number of people who agreed with the various proposals generally
ranged from between 60% and 68%.
The number of people who disagreed with the various proposals generally
varied from between 25% and 36.
A total of 64% respondents said the project is generally a good idea,
with some of those saying the project could be improved further.
A total of 36% of respondents said that the project isn’t generally a
good idea.
As a result of the consultation a list of amendments was made to the
scheme which are:
1. Change the two proposed loading bays for Castle Street to general
loading bays. This is proposed in response to concerns raised by business
owners about them not being able to use their own vehicles to unload goods.
2. Consider placing time limit on Castle Street loading bay from 0930
until 6pm.
3. Change the proposed loading bay for Market Street to a general
loading bay.
4. Inset proposed Castle Street loading bays (this means that the
existing pavements won’t be widened where they are adjacent to the proposed
loading bays).
5. Withdraw the proposal to close Short Street.
6. Consider amendments to East Street/Parade Street 90 degree bend
Consider scope to improve the existing “pinch-point” issues that have been
reported.
7. Consider and, if possible, provide additional short stay parking on
Market Street one way section. One-way restriction may provide sufficient width
to provide 2 no. on-street parking spaces.
8. Undertake traffic assessment and consider options for re-routing of
HGV through traffic.
A further significant amendment came at the cabinet meeting when members
agreed to a suggestion from Cllr Tony Thomas that the pavement outside the town
hall be further recessed to allow the loading bay earmarked for this spot to
become a free, short-stay parking area for residents and businesses.
In doing this, Cllr Jones, lead member for waste, transport and the
environment, assured that the “town hall tree” nearby would be treated with “tender,
loving care”.
It was also agreed to explore to possibility of providing between 100
and 150 parking spaces on land east of Llangollen Health Centre.
Recommending the scheme’s approval Cllr Jones said that during the
consultation period he had walked the streets of the town centre and received a
number of positive comments about the proposals.
He added: “This is a big, important project and I really want to see it
happen. It has the support of the area’s MP and Senedd Member and we hope to
deliver it next year.”
Mike Jones, the traffic officer in charge of delivering the scheme, outlined
the issues it is meant to solve, including traffic congestion and the
difficulties faced by pedestrians in crossing Castle Street, particularly in
the busy spring and summer periods.
The scheme, he said, would “create a much more friendly pedestrian
environment” and provide loading bays for businesses in the area.
Traffic regulation orders for the scheme will go out next month with
work starting in September. With a six to seven month construction period, it
should be completed by March of next year, he explained.
Cllr Jones added: “We’ve worked with residents and we’ve listened to
businesses and, as a result, have put compromises in the scheme. However, I
realise not everyone is happy about it.”
He said that as this was an on-going project, phase two would look at a
weight restriction for HGVs and extra parking close to the health centre.
Local county councillor Melvyn Mile, who was observing the meeting, said
the consultation had shown two-thirds to one-third of people questioned in
favour of the scheme in general.
He added: “It would be a tragedy if this £1.7 million could not be spent
on Llangollen. It’s a long-standing complaint that the town doesn’t get any
investment from Denbighshire, so this is very welcome.”
The other local county councillor, Graham Timms, chair of the 2020
working group, said: “It was a locally-led initiative to tackle long-standing
traffic issues.
“We had to recognise the conflicting needs of specific groups but it
will be the biggest improvement in Llangollen in generations if this is
approved and a historic moment.”
A number of cabinet members expressed their support for the scheme.
And the chair, Cllr Hugh Evans, said: “We went out of our way to engage
and consult as widely as we could on this scheme.
“This level of investment is a historic day. Llangollen is the jewel in
the crown of Denbighshire and a lovely place to visit but we need to make it
better.”
Cabinet members voted unanimously to approve the scheme.
Later Llangollen town councillor Stuart Davies, who watched the cabinet
webcast, contacted llanblogger to say: “I welcome a number of concessions made,
including the loading bay outside the town hall being used for parking, the
multi-use of other loading bays on Castle Street and the re-opening of Short
Street.
“I also welcome the commitment to look at providing extra parking on
land east of the health centre.”
After the meeting, County Cllor Timms sent the following statement to llanblogger:
"Llangollen 2020 was initially a locally led initiative
to tackle the longstanding problem of how a small market town designed in the
days of the horse and cart can adapt to modern day demands of the active, and
the not so active traveller.
Cllr Graham Timms' further statement
"After the 2017 election as elected members we made it our
priority to work with the community to seriously tackle this problem, working
with the town council, the chamber of trade, Denbighshire County Council and
Welsh Government to search for solutions. The Llangollen 2020 group was set up
and terms of reference were agreed between partners.
"Over the last 4 years there has been an emphasis on
encouraging everyone to get involved in searching for solutions and agreeing a
way forward. The three major consultations on the scheme have identified areas
where there is a broad agreement and the final scheme before you today includes
these areas, but also recognises the conflicting needs of specific groups. As
Mike has demonstrated, the county has responded to the concerns of everyone who
participated.
"We had no budget and so we're delighted in 2011 when
£500,000 of a new Welsh Government Grant was agreed by the Denbighshire cabinet
to be allocated towards what is now a £1.75m project. If agreed today this will
be the biggest investment in Llangollen for generations and the quality of the
materials will also ensure that its effect is felt for generations to come. It
is a historic opportunity, demonstrating how an active community driven scheme,
funded by DCC and Welsh Government Grants can help to solve problems and create
a better place to live work and visit.
"Llangollen's problems will not be entirely solved by this
scheme and the report recognises the need to continue to work with the
community to find solutions to parking as the next priority. Thankfully, that
is likely to cost much less, but will be time consuming to find an adequate
solution.
"I'd like to thank all those who have been involved in
getting the scheme to this stage and finally I'd like to thank Robyn Lovelock
who has been instrumental in driving this project from the start and whose
dedication energy and ability has inspired us all.
"I would urge you as cabinet members to agree this proposal
to transform Llangollen into a place that we can all be proud of."
