Have your say on county council’s five-year plan

* County Hall in Ruthin, headquarters of Denbighshire County Council.

Residents in Denbighshire are being invited to have their say on what the council’s draft objectives are for the next five years. 

The council has already heard from residents during consultations last summer and in early 2022.  

A set of nine draft themes has been drawn up and residents are asked for their final views before the objectives are agreed in October. 

The draft objectives are:

1. A Denbighshire of quality housing that meets people’s needs: Ensure sufficient good quality housing is available, particularly addressing the provision of what meets the needs of people in Denbighshire.
2. A prosperous Denbighshire: Support post-pandemic economic recovery, including identifying and capitalising on opportunities to upskill residents and enable them to access decent employment and income. We want to use economic growth as a driver to reduce inequality and poverty.
3. A healthier and happier, caring Denbighshire: Promote and support the safety, resilience and well-being of people of all ages, in partnership with strong community networks that enable people to live safely, happily, independently and receive good support when needed.
4. A learning and growing Denbighshire: Support provision of quality learning and training that enables people of all ages to fulfil their potential, both personally and professionally.
5. A better connected Denbighshire: Denbighshire will be a place with thriving, cohesive and connected communities, including good road infrastructure and transport links, better digital connectivity, and social infrastructure to support personal and community well-being.
6. A greener Denbighshire: Become a Net Zero Carbon organisation by 2030, and enhance, preserve and improve our natural assets. We must also mitigate - and work with communities to cope with - the impacts of climate change, which could be in relation to flooding, food provision, etc.
7. A fairer, more equal Denbighshire: Address the inequality and deprivation faced by our communities, reducing the well-being gap, and promoting diversity and community cohesion.
8. A Denbighshire of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language: Be a county where the Welsh language is a living, thriving language. The county will also maximise its rich cultural heritage and natural assets to support economic prosperity, community cohesion, and instil pride in our communities.
9. A well-run, high performing Council: To be a council that is fair, transparent, performs well, represents value for money, and gives consistently good customer service. The council wants to be creative, brave, ambitious, outward-looking, and an excellent employer, backed by strong governance and assurance.

Councillor Julie Matthews, Cabinet Lead Member for Corporate Strategy, Policy and Equalities, said: “All councils in Wales are required to adopt well-being objectives that support the long term sustainability of their communities, for the benefit of future generations. 

“These objectives include the issues that people told us that are important to them and we have wanted those big issues affecting people to be reflected in how we work as an organisation over the next five years. Issues around the cost of living, responding to climate change and improving people’s well-being post Covid are some of the many issues of interest to our residents and we hope people agree that our objectives reflect the needs of communities right across Denbighshire. 

“This is a great opportunity to have your say as we finalise our Corporate Plan”.

The engagement has now been launched and will end on 31 August. Residents can complete an online survey: countyconversation.denbighshire.gov.uk/project/662

E-mail: strategicplanningteam@denbighshire.gov.uk with their comments or phone 01824 706291.

Forms have also been produced which can be filled in and posted to Strategic Planning Team, Denbighshire County Council, PO Box 62, Ruthin, LL15 9AZ.  Copies of the forms can be picked up at libraries and one stop shops, leisure centres and at Council office receptions at County Hall, Ruthin.

Llangollen road to be resurfaced this month

Denbighshire County Council will be laying a micro asphalt surface on a Llangollen road this month.

As part of a £4m countywide programme that will take approximately one month to complete, work will take place in Tyn y Celyn.

The nature of works comprises of sweeping the existing carriageway, laying the micro asphalt and once the material has hardened sufficiently, adjusting any items of ironwork (manhole covers, stop tap covers, gullies and so on to the new level.

Councillor Barry Mellor, Cabinet Lead Member for Highways and Transport, said: “The works form part of Denbighshire County Council’s £4 million commitment to improving our road surfaces with this programme costing approximately £400,000.

“Works will be weather dependent and due to the nature of the work it will be necessary to put road closures and signed diversions in place. Generally, the laying of the micro asphalt will take only 1 to 2 days to complete with subsequent works being undertaken the same week or later in the month. A full road closure will be necessary to undertake the laying of the road surface to ensure it is completed quickly and safely.

“Local residents will receive a letter prior to the works commencing and advance signage will be placed on lamp posts with the actual dates.

"The council would like to thank residents in advance for their understanding during the duration of the works."

Police warn about 'emerging pattern' of fuel thefts

North Wales Police have warned people about what they say appears to be an emerging pattern of the theft of cooking oil, heating oil and fuel.

In a message which has gone out to the public through the force's Neighbourhood Alert network PCSO Lucy Green of Conwy and Denbigh Rural says: "Cooking oil is stolen from hotels, pubs, takeaways and cafes - due to the large quantities that these premises require on site.

"Remember, if you are the proprietor to one of these establishments you are entitled to request identification from anyone you do not believe to from a legitimate collection company. CCTV is an excellent deterrent and source of evidence.

"Heating oil is being removed from locations without the owners permissions. 

"We are encouraging those of you with tanks, to ensure they are locked and alarmed. Owners are not realising these tanks have been drained until the heating in the premises goes off unexpectedly."

She adds: "Fuel theft is often paired with a secondary crime of criminal damage. Criminals are targeting large vehicles, wagons and farm machinery. Please ensure you are securing your vehicles. This form of crime is on the rise within the UK. 

"These thefts can be opportunistic thefts and planned operations too!

"Please ensure that you report any suspicious activity via 101, any vehicles or suspect descriptions that you may have. 

"Refrain from sharing immediately on social media, as this could hinder any investigations."

MP praises 'amazing' progress on new Corwen station

* Simon Baynes MP (front, centre) with Peter Jump, Wayne Ronneback, Paul Whitton, Richard Dixon-Gough, Phil Coles (chairman), Joel Scott, Douglas Hebson, Philip Hebson, John Gwynne and Sue Ronneback at Corwen Station.

Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes has praised Corwen Station on the 'amazing' recent developments following a visit there. 

Mr Baynes met with the Corwen Project Team and the Corwen Station team who recently opened the station to the general public to show what has already been achieved and to indicate that a continuation of passenger services is not far off. 

Mr Baynes said he was delighted to hear about developments that have been taking place including improvements to the station and track adjustments as well as the imminent construction of the station canopy. 

This is being funded as part of the Clwyd South £13.3m Levelling Up Fund grant which Mr Baynes secured from the UK Government.

He said: “It was wonderful to visit Corwen Station and see at first-hand the amazing developments that are taking place. I would like to congratulate everybody involved in the construction work at Corwen Station which has involved a huge amount of volunteer time and expertise. 

"I am very glad to have been able to contribute to the refurbishment of the station via my securing the £13.3m Clwyd South Levelling Up Fund grant from the UK Government which has financed the new canopy for the station. 

"I can’t wait to see the station fully re-opened and steam trains travelling between Corwen and Llangollen next year.”

BBC films Songs of Praise at St Collen's

                                        * The crew filming inside the church.

* Congregation members get ready for the next hymns (above and below).

                           * Filming continues in the church grounds.

It was 'lights, camera, action' at St Collen's this lunchtime.

A film crew were at the church to shoot sequences for the BBC's Songs of Praise programme centred around the regular Hymns & Pimms musical sessions which vicar Father Lee Taylor began hosting during the 2020 lockdown.

Members of the congregation were shown singing a number of well-known hymns ending with the well-known Calon Lan in the original Welsh.

Later it was time for glasses of Pimms to be served outside in the church grounds. 

The Songs of Praise episode featuring St Collen's is due to be shown later this year. 

Feast of top-class rugby planned for Llan

The Royal Marines Charity has announced that it will be playing two high profile games against the cream of North Wales rugby in Llangollen on Saturday August 20. 

As well as treating local fans and visitors to two top quality games of rugby and the chance to meet RFU "royalty" in Ryan Jones (MBE) and Peter Rogers, organisers are hoping to raise much-needed funds for The Royal Marines Charity, as well as making a donation to the Ifan Phillips fund. 

Organising committee member and MD of local business Linguassist Graham Paton - himself an ex Royal Marine - said: “We are extremely excited to be hosting this event and to be able to show off the delights of Llangollen to such a wide ranging audience. I am sure that the town will get behind the whole event and we look forward to welcoming everyone." 

First up on the day at Llangollen Tower Fields will be Royal Marines Veterans v North Wales Barbarians, with kick-off scheduled for 2pm. 

Following this game will be the  highly competitive Royal Marine Corps v R.G.C Senior Academy. 

Attendance is free, with the organisers selling programmes for the match, which will include a raffle ticket where the winner has a pair of tickets for any Wales Autumn International match at Cardiff later this year. 

The fun doesn’t end there, because in the evening there will be a chance to party with the players at the pavilion building and enjoy live music from local bands, a hog roast and a full bar. 

Tickets for the evening event are £10 per person and again all money raised will be going to the RMA and Ifan Phillips fund.

Former International Rugby Union Players include:

* Ryan Jones – A legend of the Welsh game, Ryan is one of a small group of Welsh players to have won three Grand Slams, in 2005 , as captain in 2008 and again in 2021. In addition to a hugely successful playing career, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours. 

* Peter Rogers – Peter is a former WRU who played prop. Rogers attained 18 caps for Wales and during a successful playing career, also turned out for Bridgend RFC, Maesteg RFC, London Irish, Newport RFC & Cardiff RFC.

Other attractions include:

* Weapons Display – For the first time in Llangollen, the Royal Marines will be allowing the public to get up close and personal with a range of cutting-edge weaponry.

* Party with the players – There will be hot food, live music, drinks and a family friendly atmosphere in the post-match party being held at the Pavilion building, tickets £10 per person and all ages are welcome.

Green guide looks at helping town’s environment

A new 'green guide' aims to generate ideas for improving Llangollen's environment.

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) has published an illustrated guide to the town's Green Infrastructure (GI) opportunities.

Following on from the AONB’s 2021 publication, ‘Landscape and Nature Recovery in a Changing Climate’, the new guide looks at opportunities for adding to the existing GI network in Llangollen to managing, mitigating, and adapting to the threats posed by climate change.

Developed in consultation with the local community and led by the AONB’s climate change lead officer, the guide identifies six well known locations in the town and how they would benefit from GI additions.

Each of the locations are linked together by a GI route which is a mainly traffic free green corridor which should encourage active travel.

The guide looks at the existing situation in the town, sets out the basic principles necessary to provide a joined-up network of green spaces which benefit the local ecosystem and recommends improvements for discussion which would realise the GI objectives.

These include ecological improvements like tree and wildflower meadow planting and improved facilities such as path and signage improvements and sustainable drainage systems.

Cllr Win-Mullen James, Lead Member for Local Development and Planning, said: “This fantastic publication marks the start of a longer-term objective of creating a more sustainable Llangollen. 

"Apart from the council, Natural Resources Wales NRW and the AONB, several local organisations and businesses have already signalled their support for the guide, including the town council and Llangollen Friends of the Earth.

“It’s also good to see Ysgol Dinas Bran pledging its full support as the involvement of the next generations is essential.

“This is a great opportunity to spark discussion and action on green infrastructure from both a community grass roots level, and strategic level and we look forward to hearing the outcomes driven by this document.”

Printed versions of the guide are available from the AONB's Llangollen office at Y Capel, Castle Street, LL20 8NU, and also the Loggerheads Country Park office.