Another big step taken in railway's Corwen project

* The engineers Shark van is used to spread the ballast stone on the track.

 

Yesterday (Thursday) saw another significant step in the project to extend Llangollen Railway all the way to Corwen.

Further ballasting was carried out through the new station area to reach the end of the line at the buffer stops above Green Lane.

The hopper wagons went through the west end points to drop stone in what is called a headshunt section and later the ballast plough on the engineer's Shark van was used to spread the stone. 

The Shark became the first rail vehicle to reach the buffer stop as shown in selection of photos taken by George Jones, the railway's publicity officer.

He said: "This is not the end of the ballasting operation, but it is a significant step in the Corwen project which will lead to the tamper being brought into pack and align the track within the station."

Have your final say on Llangollen's "people's plan"

Early next month the whole town will get the chance to have a say on the “people’s plan” for the future of Llangollen.

Shape My Llangollen (SML), the group of volunteers tasked with producing a Place Plan for the area on behalf of the Town Council, recently published its draft blueprint containing 90 suggestions for improving Llangollen and its quality of life and work over the next four years.

And during the first week of December members of the team will be showcasing their plan, entitled Caru (Love) Llangollen, and explaining what it means during the final phase of public consultation outside the Town Hall.

Everyone will have the chance to see it and – most importantly – be able  to give their feedback on its proposals before it goes back to the Town Council for final approval and adoption.

SML has been working for the past three years to produce a Place Plan for the town covering the years 2022-2026.

The group was given the task by the Town Council back in the summer of 2018 and, as part of what is thought to be the largest exercise of its type ever undertaken, has since carried out a series of public consultations  asking the people of Llangollen – residents, businesses and organisations – a number of key questions about their hopes and aspirations for the future development of their area. 

Questions including what they liked or disliked about the town and features they would like to see kept or changed were posed in face-to-face interviews at locations such as the health centre, local superstores and Centenary Square.

This exhaustive testing of grassroots opinion brought in over 1,700 replies and was reinforced by online consultations with major stakeholders in the town, ranging from the International Eisteddfod to the county council and from the Canal & River Authority to representatives of Castle Street shops.

Although the pandemic slowed up the project it never came to halt and in the latter stages, to make up for any lost time and with the aid of a small National Lottery grant, a firm of expert consultants was brought in to help bring the results of the consultation together in Caru Llangollen, the Draft Action Plan.

The views and opinions of the people of Llangollen form the core of the plan, which includes almost 90 separate action points in six sections of aims with headings including “A Community That Works Together Stays Together”, Our Younger Generation Will Be Able to Stay or Return to Live and Work in our Community”, “A Community That Supports a Vibrant Town Centre With Its Own Unique Identity” and “A Community That Provides Essential Services for Its Residents.”

The plan also lists those organisations, such as the town and county councils, responsible for taking the action points forward and gives a time scale for achievement.

The plan in draft form was unanimously approved by the Town Council last month.

And the final round of public consultation will take place outside the Town Hall on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, December 1, 2 and 3, between 10am and 3pm, and on Saturday December 4, from 10am-1pm.  

Following this exercise and armed with the public’s latest impressions on the draft, SML will then produce the final Action Plan ready for publication early in 2022. 

Phil Robinson, who chairs SML, said: “This final round of public consultation is extremely important as it will be the last chance for people to have their say on this vital and far-reaching vision of the town’s future development.

“As we have stressed all along, this is the people’s own plan, echoing the things they have told us about how they would like to see our town shaping up through the years ahead, so we are hoping as many people as possible can join us for the consultation process in December.

“I would once again like to thank all those who have assisted our work so far and taken part in our earlier rounds of consultation.

“Without you we could never have completed this rather daunting task the like of which has never before been seen in Llangollen.”      

* To look through the action plan, go to: https://pubhtml5.com/gaql/ahfd

Police highlight scam targeting the elderly

North Wales Police say they continue to see an increase in reports of scam text and Whatsapp messages targeting elderly parents. 

The messages claim to be from their adult children asking for money to be sent urgently for various reasons such as the need to pay a debt or bill. 

Victims are told that their child has a new mobile number and in some cases the scammers engage in text conversations for some time before asking for money making the messages appear legitimate.

An increasing number of residents have lost money because of this scam whilst believing they are helping their children. 

Through the Neighbourhood Alert network, police say that if you receive any unexpected message requesting money or vouchers you should make additional checks to confirm the request is genuine. 

They also suggest that people who have elderly parents should discuss this scam with them to ensure they do not become a victim. 

Railway now in healthy financial state, board told at AGM

* The trusty diesel railcar two-car set.

The new trust board of Llangollen Railway has issued a statement about their annual general meeting which was held yesterday (Tuesday).

This was the first AGM since the PLC trading arm was placed into administration, and therefore the first opportunity for the membership as a whole to discuss the outcome and quiz the new board in a lively Q&A session afterwards.

The main message was that the trust is now in a healthy financial state.

The statement says: "The 31st December 2020 accounts were presented. These show a small loss of £7,252 after write-offs of £220,000, mostly in connection with the PLC trading arm now in administration.  No further write-offs in that respect will be required.  

"The Trust is in a healthy financial state with a positive bank balance, no debt and minimal creditors.

"Phil Freeth, finance director, reported the up-to-date position showed the bank balance had increased significantly since thanks to a mixture of generous donations from supporters and the general public, grants, delays in rehiring staff, operating fewer steam trains, relying on DMU (Diesel Multiple Units) and diesel for midweek operations in particular, and passenger loadings had been about 10% above forecast. 

“'We would like to take the opportunity to again thank all our supporters and members of the public who have made generous donations and visited the railway since we reopened in July,'” said Phil.  We also wish to thank again the Welsh Assembly Government and Denbighshire County Council for their support, and the media without whose generous coverage and supportive stance our plight would not have reached so wide an audience.'

"The board was also able to announce that approximately £200,000 had been approved under South Clwyd’s Levelling Up fund application towards the cost of the canopy at Corwen. 

"Richard Dixon-Gough, project manager for the Corwen Station development, was delighted to say, 'This is the final piece in what has been a massive jigsaw. There are still a number of critical steps required before the station can open, and dozens of non-critical tasks to be done before the job can be considered complete.'

"To much applause, Richard thanked his team of volunteers, average age 68, who have progressed the works in all weathers over the last 8 years, having overcome numerous challenges along the way.

"Tom Taylor, an adviser to the board on organisational structure, governance and planning matters, gave an update on progress of his One Railway initiative. Although only in its very early stages, Tom has received over 70 responses so far to the online consultation survey and conducted numerous 1-1 interviews. 

"Feedback has been mixed but as Tom said, 'There’s no such thing as bad feedback. It’s only by reaching as many members as possible and capturing their views that we will be able to shape the organisation for the future, and put it on a sound footing that is fit for purpose.'"

The statement comes with a picture of one of the engines which has become the backbone of its renewed operations.

Railway publicity officer George Jones explained: "By way of illustration, and in acknowledgement of the major part played in the 2021 season's operation, the photo shows the diesel railcar two-car set at Carrog station. 

"Operated by the volunteers of the Llangollen Railcars Group, their fleet of heritage diesel units have provided the bulk of the train services on the line when steam has been in short supply.

"By their last day of service in 2021 on Sunday November 7 they will have operated on 85 days and carried over 23,000 passengers in the course of running 3500 miles on the Llangollen line since services resumed to Berwyn on July 9.

"Their appeal to the modern generation of visitors is as trains on which they perhaps went to school or to work 40-50 years ago. 

"Visitors riding these trains appreciate the viewing opportunities from the all round windows when taking in the Dee Valley scenery and observing the driver and the operation of the railway. All such interesting opportunities are denied in the modern units now employed on Network Rail, so they are pure nostalgia for some." 

Virtual dementia tour planned at St Collen's

A Virtual Dementia Tour Llangollen will be held at St Collen's Church, Llangollen, on Wednesday November 17, from 1.30-3.30pm and 2.30-3.30pm.

It is described by organisers, Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council, as a "window into dementia".

They say places are limited and advise booking is essential.

Register at: https://bit.ly/DAD_VDTLlangollen1711; email, engagement@dvsc.co.uk; or call 01824 702441.

This week's work on the 2020 project

Latest work planned for the ongoing 2020 project in the town centre foe the coming week is:

Work planned for week starting 1 November 2021

Below is a summary of the work planned in different areas.

Bridge Street (North footpath)

Pave footpath outside of the Royal Hotel.

Castle Street (East footpath)

Install new kerb line.

Castle Street (West footpath)

Continue with excavation for the new footpath.

Market Street (North footpath)

Laying of the paving.

St Collens' atmospheric alternative Halloween

* Father Lee speaks of the original meaning of Halloween. 

* The roof carving of a man with two barrels.

* A flight of angels carved into the roof.

* The original main door to the church.

While the kids were outside trick-or-treating the vicar was inside St Collen's Church last night acquainting people with the original meeting of Halloween.

According to Father Lee Taylor, rather than the ghouls and ghosts of recent popular culture, the term actually refers to All Hallows Eve - traditionally the day before All Hallows on November 1 when, in the ancient church, the lives of the saints were celebrated.

Father Lee, against the background of a darkened church atmospherically lit with flickering candles and some haunting 16th century ecclesiastical music, gave a run down on a couple of the more colourful of these, including a certain St Simeon who was famous back in medieval times for attracting the attention of his congregation by throwing nuts at them.

The vicar's discourse on the saints was deftly interwoven with many interesting facts about his ancient Llangollen church the origins of which go back as far as the seventh century when it was founded by St Collen, the man whose name it bears and for whom the town which grew up around it is named.

Father Lee next drew attention to the church's magnificent roof whose breathtaking carvings date from 1450, his audience was informed.

One of the carved features he pointed out was that of a diminutive figure rolling out a couple of barrels, perhaps no surprise when one learns that in medieval times beer was so revered as a life giver and enhancer that it even had a special prayer of homage composed for it.

Opposite the tiny drayman the roof is adorned by a whole squadron of angels, every one of them crafted with incredible precision.

The vicar highlighted many more features of interest which mirror the church's evolution over the centuries, last and not least of which was the stout oaken door in the corner near the font which dates back to the 12th century and was once the original entrance to St Collen's. 

It may also have been the portal via which those fleeing from the clutches of the law once sought the sanctuary of the church to which they were historically entitled. With the blessing of the vicar, of course.

It was a brilliantly informative evening and a most satisfying escape from the pumpkins and witches of October 31, 2021.