The Daily Post is reporting that the A539 near Llangollen is shut in both directions following crash this evening (Saturday).
* For the full story, see: https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/live-a539-near-llangollen-shut-22507757
British Cycling has announced the dates and venues for the 2022 for the National Downhill Series.
The series is to be delivered by five separate organisers, beginning in Rheola in April. Round two will be a UCI C1 in Fort William, followed by a UCI C2 event in Llangollen for round three.
The series ends with rounds in Caersws and at Revolution Bike Park, which hosted the national championships in 2019.
National Downhill Series
Round 1: Rheola, 16 – 17 April (event organiser – Malc Dunn, Gravity Events)
Round 2: Fort William, 7 – 8 May (UCI C1) (event organiser – Colin Houston, SDA)
Round 3: Llangollen, 28 – 29 May (UCI C2) (event organiser – Si Paton, BDS Events / Malverns Classic Team)
Round 4: Caersws, 13 – 14 August (event organiser – Malc Dunn, Gravity Events)
Round 5: Revolution Bike Park, 17 – 18 September (Mike Marsden, Borderline Events)
A Neighbourhood Alert from North Wales Police says that a large metal gate was recently stolen from the Vivod area near Llangollen.
Measuring 12ft by 5ft, it was taken sometime between 6pm on Tuesday December 6 and 7am the next day.
PC2264 Chris Jones, rural crime constable for Central, Conwy and Denbighshire, said: "Only the gate was taken and no further reports have been received at this time.
"This message is to make people aware of the incident and to ask that any suspicious vehicles, especially at night, are reported to North Wales Police.
"We are asking that gates, especially those alongside roads, are secured as safely as possible."
Denbighshire County Council is reminding residents about the free parking scheme which is running until December 31.
Council-run
town centre car parks will be free to use across Denbighshire every day from 3pm
to encourage more people to use their local high street for shopping in the run-up to Christmas and New Year.
The Free After
Three initiative will be available in the following car parks:
• Llangollen - Market Street, East Street, Hall Street and Mill Street.
• Corwen - Green Lane
• Denbigh - Barkers Well Lane, Factory Ward, Crown Lane, Post Office Lane and Vale Street.
• Prestatyn - Lower High Street, Kings Avenue and Railway Station
• Rhuddlan - Parliament Street
• Rhyl - Central, Morley Road, West Kinmel Street, Library (disabled bays only),
Town Hall, Sky Tower and Railway Station.
• Ruthin - Market Street, Park Road, Crispin Yard, Troed Y Rhiw, Rhos Street, St
Peters Square and Dog Lane
• St Asaph - Bowling Green
Morfa Hall
private car park, Rhyl, is not included in the initiative.
The council says it is also reminding people to follow Welsh
Government guidance, to shop safely, including wearing masks in shops and to be
courteous to our local traders during this busy period.
* Ken Skates and Banc Cambria project lead Mark Hooper (second right) with small business owners in Cefn Mawr.
Member of the Senedd for Clwyd South, Ken Skates, has welcomed the announcement that the Welsh Labour Government is working with Monmouthshire Building Society to accelerate the establishment and roll-out of a community bank across Wales.
Welsh Labour’s manifesto for Senedd election earlier this year included a commitment to creating a community bank for Wales, supporting its growth so it can open an initial 30 branches over the next decade.
Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has confirmed that Monmouthshire Building Society, working with the Welsh Government and Cambria Cydfuddiannol Ltd (CCL), will deliver Banc Cambria – which will aim to provide everyday full retail banking services in communities by 2023.
The UK has one of the least diverse retail banking systems in Europe, dominated by a small number of very large banks which operate according to a shareholder-value business model, seeking to maximise profits.
Since Welsh Ministers initially set out plans to explore the creation of a community bank for Wales, traditional high street banks have further accelerated their retreat from Wales’ high streets.
Mr Skates, whose constituency is the worst-affected in North Wales, launched the plans for the community bank during his time as Economy Minister.
He said: “Over the last few years, we’ve all seen the big banks leave our local communities and high streets, leaving many people without access to accessible banking services. Clwyd South has seen 80% of its high street banks close since 2015 – more than any other area of North Wales – and now has just one surviving branch.
“I raised this issue in the Senedd earlier this year and was pleased to welcome Banc Cambria's project lead Mark Hooper to Clwyd South last month. I'm delighted that the plans are progressing at pace.
"Unlike other banks, this will be owned and controlled by members – not outside shareholders. Communities across North Wales have been abandoned by their banks and the UK Government's scrapping of its agreement with the sector that that last branch in each community should remain open. We desperately need this.
"Banc Cambria cannot replace the increasing number of branches closed, but will focus on communities that have lost provision. I will continue to make the case for Clwyd South. I hope this will provide a positive impact on our communities and high streets and improve access to financial help and support in locations that are convenient for the people of Clwyd South."
Banc Cambria aims
to provide full everyday banking services for individuals and small businesses,
accessible by telephone, online and face-to-face. It hopes to have a
customer launch during 2023.
Nissan Qashqai drive by Steve Rogers
Fed
up seeing nothing but SUVs on the roads? Blame Nissan.
It
all started in 2007 when the Japanese company hit a brick wall with the Almera
hatchback. I had the misfortune to have two company cars and hated both.
It
could not compete with anyone, let alone leaders Ford and Volkswagen, so Almera
was ditched in favour of something radical. Enter the Qashqai, a strange name
for a very different looking car, a high riding five door, five seater that
crossed the boundaries between hatchback and SUV.
Bold,
brave, gamble? All three, and we Brits loved it making it the best selling SUV
in the land year after year. So far more than three million have come out of
the Sunderland factory, a third going to British buyers. That is a fantastic
achievement.
It
didn't take long for the rest of the car industry to realise that Nissan had
struck gold and followed suit as quickly as they could making life far more
difficult for the third generation Qashqai. Can it hold on to the top spot?
Each
generation has improved but this one has made the biggest strides. More tech,
more comfort, more room, better handling, more money. My Tech+ is the other
side of £37k with extras and that is a whole load of cash.
To
put it into context Tekna+ has a full suite of safety kit and is fully loaded
with heated steering wheel, heated windscreen (shouldn't every car have that) brilliant
head up display, heated front seats and loads of other stuff. The only car I
can think of with a better spec sheet is the Kia Sportage which has air
conditioned front seats and heated outer rear seats.
So
what has happened to Qashqai to make it a top contender again? For starters it
is built on a new platform which has sharpened the handling and there has been
a quantum leap in the quality of trim, certainly on my Techna+. It was evident
along the dashboard and door cards where everything has moved up a few notches.
All
the key functions are nicely placed with physical switches for the heating
controls and a dominant nine inch screen for navigation, smart phone
connections etc. Better still is the 12.3in driver's display which has super sharp
graphics which can be changed by toggling through a switch on the steering
wheel along with clear head up display for speed, navigation directions and
speed limits. I like to think of it as selecting a chapter in a book and then
scrolling through the pages. Works for me and friends who find the whole
digital dashboard a confusing minefield.
The
driver gets powered memory seats which always gets you off to a good start as I
hate the manual ratchet adjustment for the back rest which never gets the
perfect position for driving. A little extra cabin space and a higher level of
technology is one thing but the performance and economy from the 1.3 litre
petrol engine tops both. There are two output levels and I can only speak for
the most powerful which is a revelation when mated to the seven speed automatic
gearbox and steering wheel paddle shifters. How they do it is beyond me but car
companies are brilliant at pushing the boundaries.
It
is even economical averaging 48mpg over a 100 mile cruise through twisting mid
Wales roads and topping just over 44mpg at the end of nearly 600 miles of mixed
driving.
You
can enter the world of Qashqai at £23,535 but as you can see from my test car
you have to spend a lot more to get the things we all crave. I particularly
like the adaptive LED auto dipping headlights, you always worry they are
dazzling oncoming drivers but never seem to, and the air bag between the front
seats to cushion a side impact is an excellent innovation.
This third generation Qashqai is going to have its work cut out against a mountain of opposition compared to when it first appeared all those years ago. But it has evolved and improved and although it has not got the best handling, or is the most comfortable, it has a bit of everything so is still the benchmark SUV.
I
ended up wishing I could trade in my Renault Kadar for a new Qashqai. Because
of the tie up with Nissan the Kadjar is basically a Qashqai with Renault
trimmings, but at this moment I want a new Qashqai.
Fast
facts
Nissan
Qashqai Tekna+
£36,125
(starts £23,535)
1.3
litre petrol; 156bhp
0-62mph
9.2secs; 124mph
43.8mpg
combined
146g/km
Insurance
group 16
Boot 436-1379 litres
* Partnership chief officer Margaret Sutherland.
A Denbighshire social enterprise is in the running for a major award after boosting the economy of the south of the county by over £4 million in just three years.
South Denbighshire Community Partnership (SDCP) has
been short-listed in the prestigious Steve Morgan Foundation Awards for its
pioneering work in the Dee Valley area, including Llangollen, in fighting rural
poverty and isolation.
Their services were extended to the Llangollen area
in January after they won a £500,000 lottery bonanza to fight rural poverty in
the Dee Valley with the cash to be spread over four years to autumn 2024.
Now they are appealing for local supporters to vote
for them in the awards which cover North Wales, Merseyside and Cheshire, in the
over £250,000 category for Charities and Social Enterprises making the Most
Local Impact.
In the past three years SDCP, a grant-funded
community charity with its headquarters at Canolfan Ni in Corwen, has helped
local people claim unpaid benefits, introduced community transport along the
Dee Valley, run a meals on wheels service and even pioneered a hydro-electric
power scheme.
That quarter of a million figure is dwarfed by the
economic and social impact made by the small team and their willing volunteers
that operate from the community centre of Canolfan Ni on London Road, Corwen,
and which extended its services to Llangollen earlier this year.
SDCP Chief Officer Margaret Sutherland said: “We’re thrilled to have been short-listed for
this major award and for a small organisation here in the Dee Valley to be
named alongside major charities and organisations from across Liverpool and
Cheshire.
“We feel it is recognition for the work we and the
people of Corwen and the Dee Valley have done to make life better for the local
community and in particular for those suffering from poverty and loneliness.
“Now we’d just like to appeal to our many
supporters to help by voting for us at https://stevemorganfoundation.org.uk/ by the end of the year as those votes will count towards 20 per cent of
the final decision.”
The awards were launched in 2001 by
multi-millionaire businessman Steve Morgan CBE, the founder and former chairman
of housing giant Redrow who lived in Ruthin for a number of years and even
played rugby for the local club, and over the past 20 years his Foundation has
donated over £300 million to charities.
SDCP’s work locally with Citizens Advice Denbighshire
(CAD) has helped people in the Edeyrnion area claim £1.8 million in benefits
in just over two years with 70 per cent of that money spent locally and with
each £1 estimated to be spent three times, providing a £4.1 million boost to
the Dee Valley economy.
SDCP Chief Officer Margaret
Sutherland added: “We have received huge support from the Wales National
Lottery Community Fund and worked closely with CAD who were an integral part of
the bid that we made for funds to fight rural isolation and rural poverty.
“We are working to reduce
fuel poverty through the Corwen Energy Local scheme and we also work with CAD
on their school uniform recycling and on helping people reduce their energy
costs and on debt.
“This is helping people in
very difficult circumstances, many of them are very worried about debt but
although they were eligible for these benefits but they just weren’t claiming
them.
“We work across so many
areas of need and the activities we organise and provide at Canolfan Ni are so
important as are the links our Meals on Wheels service and prescription and
grocery deliveries create with some of the most isolated people in the
community.
“We live in a spectacularly
beautiful area but often that beauty hides real poverty as well and its part of
our mission to reach out to people in need and connect them to their
community.”
Among the most recent activities to be launched at
Canolfan Ni is an arts and crafts group run by mum-of-three Kelly Kibble-White,
from Cynwyd, who said: “SDCP are great and they work so hard here.
“I became involved because they organised
activities for the children over the summer and it really was a lifeline for
me.
“They do so much and the vulnerable in our
communities rely on them so much.”
SDCP also receives funding support from other
sources including Betsi Cadwaladar Health Board, Morrison’s, Moondance,
Community Foundation Wales and Cadwyn Clwyd, while continuing to work closely
with Denbighshire County Council on joint Community Development and Community
Transport schemes.
Their rural transport services include bus trips on
their 16-seater community minibus
while their fleet also includes a Toyota Rav 4 hybrid SUV and an MG electric
and a Peugeot van cars, used for dial-a-ride and meals on wheels service – they
also provide two electric vehicle charging points at the rear of Canolfan Ni.
The Partnership serve Corwen and the surrounding
villages of Glyndyfrdwy, Carrog,
Cynwyd, Llandrillo, Gwyddelwern, Betws Gwerfil Goch, Melin Y Wig and
Bryneglwys, an area covering 100 square miles and this year extended its
activities down the A5 to Llangollen.
Community Engagement
Officer Sally Lloyd Davies said: “This is an area where there is a great deal
of rural poverty with older people often living in isolated areas and in the
pandemic it has been a very frightening time for them.
“At the height of the pandemic
we have been a vital link for many isolated people, bringing them shopping and
prescriptions, making regular buddy phone calls for a chat and just being a
friendly face dropping in.
“We sent out a flyer to
every household in Edeyrnion, over 1800 homes, with a phone number for people
to contact us and our volunteers have been brilliant whether it’s
taking calls or making deliveries and making phone calls to vulnerable people
to make sure they’re well and just to have a chat with them.
“Every Tuesday we’ve been phoning the people who
registered for our shopping service to take their orders, we’ve done the shop
on Wednesday and we deliver on Thursdays.
“There’s been a great response to our appeal for
donations to the food bank as well and we’ve kept people up to date with posts
on Facebook.”
* For the latest information on SDCP go to https://www.facebook.com/sdcpartnership and for those in need of support contact SDCP on 01490 266004.
