Calls for steps to control town's traffic gridlock

* Traffic gridlock along Regent Street this morning.

A petition started by a Wrexham councillor calling on the Welsh Government to back urgent repairs to the storm-damaged B5605 road bridge in Newbridge has so far attracted over 2,500 signatures.

The online petition, at you.38degrees.org.uk, is the idea of the independent member for Cefn, Sonia Benbow Jones, and is aimed at Welsh Minister for Climate Change, Julie James.

It was started eight months ago and now has 2,519 signatures of people who want to see the bridge back into use for the benefit of people living in the area and the avoidance of a 15-mile detour through Llangollen whenever the A483/A5 viaduct is closed as it has been today due to high winds.      

* The petition calling for repairs to the B5605 bridge.

The petition calls on the Minister to provide Wrexham Council with funding to repair the bridge following Storm Christoph over a year ago.

Describing the importance of repairs, the petition says: "The B5605 provides critical road links between communities Newbridge, Cefn Mawr, Rhosymedre and Ruabon and also Chirk to the south. 

"This is causing major disruption to local residents and businesses and also provides critical diversionary route from the A483. In the event of closures on or planned works on the A483 it means a fifteen mile division via Llangollen which is unacceptable."

The petition can be viewed at: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/repairs-to-bridge-b5605-newbridge?bucket&fbclid=IwAR1rFG2ze0g7T6JTZOSbsaOfwB26iFnkPNh3gJ0wCwZ1E5TJVdE6aiXoCdg

* Meanwhile, town councillor Stuart Davies has this morning (Monday) emailed local county councillors and Denbighshire chief officers about the congestion caused by the traffic diversions in Llangollen.

He says: "Llangollen is gridlocked. Traffic backed up several miles to the Sun Trevor. People are not happy. Yet Denbighshire County Council and the Welsh Government, despite me warning them months ago, are still allowing this to happen. 

Attaching a screenshot of local people's complaints about the situation, he asks: "What are you intending to do to sort this problem, please?"

A483 closure means extra traffic through town

The closure of the A483 due to high winds this morning is causing extra traffic through Llangollen this morning. 

Traffic Wales posted earlier this morning n Twitter: 

Traffic Wales North & Mid #KeepWalesSafe@TrafficWalesN

#A483 : Both directions : Ruabon to Chirk (Gledrid) : Road closed : Due to high winds : #TrafficWalesAlert

MP raises over £2,000 on cancer charity challenge

* Simon Baynes MP outside Chirk Castle during one of his runs.

Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes recently completed the 50-mile running challenge in aid of Maggie’s Centres and managed to raise over £2,000 for the cause in memory of family members. 

Maggie’s Centres are based in various locations and offer support free to anyone with cancer and their families who walk through the doors. 

The centres were founded by Maggie Keswick Jencks who used her own experience of having cancer to create a new type of cancer care. 

The first centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996 and, since then, a network of centres across the UK and some abroad have now been established to offer care to those facing cancer. 

Mr Baynes had to run 50 miles for the challenge, with the money raised assisting those who use the centres. 

In total, he raised over £2,000, which was inclusive of match-funding. 

His efforts and those of others who took up the challenge resulted in a total of £115,037 being raised. 

Mr Baynes said: “I was pleased to complete this challenge for a cause that is close to my heart as both my parents and my father-in-law died of cancer. 

"It is quite a long time since I did any running and therefore I had to build up my fitness gradually over the 5 weeks of the challenge. 

"I did the running in Wales and also in London in the evenings after working in Parliament and I discovered many sights which I had not seen before. 

"I am very grateful to the large number of family and friends who sponsored me for this truly inspirational cause which brings so much comfort and hope to people suffering with cancer across the UK.”

Dog owners reminded to pick up after their pets

Dog owners are being reminded to pick up after their pets while out walking.

A Public Space Protection Order is in force in the county which allows Denbighshire County Council to take action, including issuing fines against owners who allow their dogs to foul in an area of public land without cleaning up after them.

The council works with District Enforcement who deploy officers to regularly patrol the county in order to prevent littering and irresponsible dog ownership. 

Cllr Mark Young, Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection and Safer Communities, said: “The majority of dog owners act responsibly and the Council would like to thank them for ensuring our communities remain clean and attractive for our residents.

“However, we have noticed an increase in dog fouling on pavements over the winter months as many dog walkers change their usual routes due to the darker evenings and mornings.

“We have received a number of complaints from residents because some dog owners are allowing their dog to foul outside people’s homes, businesses and even schools and not clearing it up. 

“We want to make it clear that irresponsible dog owners are in breach of the Public Space Protection Order and could receive a £100 fixed penalty notice.

“Patrols are ongoing and we are also encouraging people who witness this to contact us with information so we are able to target our enforcement patrols.”

To report a dog owner not clearing up after their pet, please provide a description of the person, a description of the dog as well as the time and location of the offence.

All litter bins and your black bin at home can be used to deposit dog mess which is bagged and tied and free dog bags can be collected from the Council’s one-stop shops.

To report an incident of dog fouling visit www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/environmental-health/dog-issues/report-a-dog-related-issue.aspx

New railway exhibition opens at museum

* Above and below: the railway exhibition at Llangollen Museum.

A Llangollen Railway volunteer is currently staging a new temporary exhibition in Llangollen Museum.

Entitled Along Lost Lines, the display is by Peter Dickinson, one of the founding members of the railway's Heritage Group.

It charts the history of the old railway line linking Ruabon with the coast at Barmouth. 

The exhibition includes a range of artefacts, posters and exhibits relating to the line. 

A dedicated section includes some original parts from Queen Victoria's Royal Train from 1897 which are being shown in public for the first time. 

The exhibition opens today (Saturday) runs until April 3. Entry is free.  

Currently, the museum will be open Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 11-4pm. 

The exhibition is a joint collaboration between the museum and the Llangollen Railway Heritage Group. 

Viaduct lane closure means extra traffic through Llan, county warns

Denbighshire County Council has issued the following warning on social media of a lane closure on the A483 viaduct due to Storm Eunice:  

𝗔𝟰𝟴𝟯 𝗗𝗲𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁

18 FEBRUARY @10.40AM

There is currently a 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 on the A483 Dee Viaduct due to Storm Eunice.

A traffic management plan is in place to help manage the additional traffic diverted via Llangollen.

Traffic management contractors will manually operate traffic lights on Castle Street, Llangollen during today (Friday, February 18).

Castle Street will then temporarily open to two-way traffic between 5pm on Friday and the morning of Monday, February 21.

Storm Eunice - council's 10.30am Friday update

Denbighshire County Council continues to monitor the weather position as Storm Eunice is predicted to bring extremely strong winds to the region during the remainder of today (Friday)

A number of Council services have decided to change their arrangements, due to the strong winds forecast.

Libraries and One Stop Shop (County Hall):

In the interest of the safety of staff and visitors, it has been decided that all of Denbighshire’s libraries will remain closed on Friday.

The One Stop Shop at County Hall will also be closed on Thursday.

Waste and recycling:

The garden waste recycling service will not operate on Friday, due to the temporary closure of the composing site where we deliver most of the garden waste we collect.  This is down to the strong winds expected with Storm Eunice.  We’re asking garden waste customers NOT to put out their bin and present it on their next scheduled collection day in two weeks time.

However, the other waste and recycling services are due to take place as usual today.

Public transport:

Most public transport (bus) services are running as normal at the moment, but operators will make a decision if the weather situation deteriorates.

The T3 service (Barmouth –Wrexham via Corwen and Llangollen is not operating this morning, but may return this afternoon.

Severe Weather Emergency Protocol

This protocol was initiated yesterday.  It aims to prevent rough sleeping during extreme weather and provides emergency accommodation for rough sleepers.

This is additional targeted support to the ongoing work of our Homelessness Prevention Team.

No issues have been reported overnight.

Other developments include:

1. Central car park in Rhyl has closed for the day.
2. Rhyl TIC is closed for the day.
3. The Nova Centre is closed for the day.
4. Coastal public conveniences have closed.

Councillor Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Highways, Waste and the Environment, said: “Our teams have been working hard to minimise the risk of disruption to residents and we’re in regular contact with the emergency services and Natural Resources Wales to gather as much information as we can to track the storm and its effects.

“The warnings state that Eunice is a severe storm and we want people to be as prepared as possible for its impacts. The main impact in Denbighshire is expected to be the wind and there are calls for people should stay away from coastal promenades  during the storm, for their own safety.

“We are monitoring the position hour by hour and we have teams on stand-by to deal with any issues caused by the storm and to try and keep our roads clear from debris, fallen trees and branches”.

The Council is urging residents to continue to monitor the weather forecasts and updates in the media and on social media for any storm related advice and information. The Council will publish updates on the impact of the storm on its website: www.denbighshire.gov.uk and on its Facebook and Twitter accounts.