Funding available to improve open spaces and play areas

Over £100,000 of funding is available to help improve open spaces and play areas throughout the County of Denbighshire. 

This fund is available to a wide range of groups and individuals including community and voluntary groups, charities, public sector organisations and amateur sports clubs. 

The funds can be used to lay out new open space or can be used to enhance existing provision, thereby increasing usage. 

Councillor Rhys Thomas, Cabinet Lead Member for Housing and Communities, said: “This fund has been made available to a wide range of groups to ensure there is safe and exciting outdoor spaces available to the people of Denbighshire. Access to this fund means being able to maintain open spaces and play areas, with the possibility of improving or replacing some older equipment.”

* To find out if your area has funding available, please visit:

https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/community-and-living/community-development/community-funding-and-grants/commuted-sums.aspx

If you would like support to develop a community project or idea, please get in touch with our Community Development Team via email: communitydevelopment@denbighshire.gov.uk

Police warn over Facebook Marketplace fraud

North Wales Police have sent out a warning about online fraud amounting to thousands of pounds on social media in the run-up to Christmas.

On their own page they have posted: "With Christmas fast approaching we are warning about a sharp increase in Facebook Marketplace fraud.

"Over the weekend residents have reported losses of £4,270 over a two-day period.

"The reports include victims paying large deposits or making full payment direct into the suspects bank account, for goods that are never received.

"In one instance a large deposit was made for an item and, when the victim attended the address provided to make collection, the elderly occupants were unaware of the sale and the victim was left out of pocket.

"People selling items have also been targeted by criminals. Fraudsters posing as buyers arrived at the victim’s house to collect an item and claimed they had made payment using an online banking app. The suspects were handed the item and left, but the funds were never received by the victim as the banking app was fake."

The police post adds: "We would urge people to be cautious when using Facebook Marketplace as there is little chance of being reimbursed if the worst happens.

"When buying items, we would advise to carry out transactions face to face where possible, using cash or payment services, such as Paypal, where a level of protection is offered.

"If you need to report any fraudulent activity, contact Facebook to report the account, the Action Fraud website, via the north Wales Police website or by calling 101."

Twenty Club makes heavenly job of Vicar of Dibley

* A scene from The Vicar of Dibley by Llangollen Twenty Club.

* The vicar meets Elvis in the church hall.

... then Mary and Joseph.

* An angelic nativity scene.

llanblogger preview

Llangollen Twenty Club has made a divinely good job of bringing the Vicar of Dibley, one of the small screen’s greatest comedy hits, to the live stage.

From tomorrow (Wednesday) until Saturday at the Town Hall the talented drama group will be performing two back-to-back episodes of the iconic show which centres on how the Rev Geraldine Granger copes with life in a small rural parish and the crazy antics of a bunch of eccentric villagers written into sitcom legend back in the 90s by Richard Curtis.

The original cast, all with their own highly identifiable quirks, are a tough act to follow but the Twenty bunch handles it in style.

Club regular Helen Belton takes on the ecclesiastical role and has even had her hair styled in the manner of Dawn French, who memorably played the vicar on TV, to ensure a high level of authenticity. And she also effortlessly manages to wring out just as many laughs from the action as her famous counterpart.

The piece includes the episodes Dibley on Air, in which the gang try out their own local radio station with predictably hilarious results, and the Second Coming, in which their nativity play with a difference goes haywire. 

Handling the pivotal character of the sex-starved Jim Trott – famous catchphrase “no no no no” – with total competence is Kevin Williams, while Matt Oswald-Haggett is equally adept at recreating Owen Newitt, the blunt-mannered local farmer.

Excellent as usual in his role as pedantic yet surprisingly interesting parish council clerk Frank Pickle is Twenty regular Arwel Jarvis and Heather Wolfson does a neat line in bringing to life Mrs Cropley, whose repulsive culinary creations nobody would want to touch.  

An impressive dopey double-act has been put together by Bev Maier as church verger Alice Horton – Tinker as was – and Dan Pedley as her equally hopeless husband Hugo.

Steve Hughes turns in an admirable portrayal of Hugo’s tetchy old dad, local squire David Horton, who is the closest we ever get to a villain of the piece.

There are a couple of nifty cameos by John Clifford as the vet and Jayne Dickson who shows up right at the end playing an accordion, the reason for which cannot be disclosed without spoiling things.

Director Chrissie Ashworth, the whole cast and a very competent backstage team have done a heavenly job with A Vicar of Dibley Christmas.

Stage play is by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter adapted from the original TV series by Richard Curtiss and Paul Mayhew-Archer with kind permission of Tiger Aspect Productions.         

The show will be staged at Llangollen Town Hall from Wednesday November 16th to Saturday November 19 at 7.30pm with a matinee on the Saturday at 2.30 pm.

* Tickets  - £12 and £10 concessions - are available online at: ticketsource.co.uk/llangollentwentyclub or from Courtyard Books, Llangollen Oggie Shop or Jenni in Market Street. Tickets also available from cast and crew members, and at the door, subject to availability. 

Toyota in the van of bringing back car-style commercial

Toyota Corolla Commercial drive by Steve Rogers

It looks like a Toyota Corolla, drives like a Corolla, but open the passenger doors and it is a very different story.

No rear bench seat, just a sturdy steel mesh frame behind the front seats and a solid flat floor. This Corolla Touring Sports is a van.

It is the brainchild of the Professional Commercial team at the company’s Burnaston plant at Derby where Corolla is built and has been such a success in the UK that it is likely to filter into other markets.

Why is it so significant? Since the Vauxhall Astra van was dropped nearly a decade ago there has been nothing to replace it, Ford and Vauxhall preferring to covert the smaller Fiesta and Corsa. Corolla Touring Sports (estate to most people) does not just fill the void it goes a whole lot further because this is the first van with a full self charging hybrid electric power train.

For small traders and delivery drivers this is a godsend. Switching to electric is not always feasible when long journeys have to be interrupted by recharging but Corolla should be good for well over 500 miles on a full tank thanks to its near 60mpg average, plus some electric only driving around town, while low emissions reduce the carbon footprint.

The story behind Corolla Commercial is this. It runs along the normal Touring Sports production line, same body, suspension, engine, CVT gearbox, but comes off before the rear is trimmed with seating and seat belts. In goes a steel bulkhead, plywood floor and thick rubber mat.

The side rear windows are opaque, covered in a thick black film, and the electric window switches are just for show. UK regulations do not allow for the car to be converted back its original use. The only tell-tale sign that this is a van are the steel wheels.

If you are thinking the van is devoid of creature comforts fear not. It is based on the entry Touring Sports and comes with electric windows, climate control, reversing camera, auto dipping LED lights, and heated seats, along with Toyota’s Safety Sense active safety and driver assistance features.

Sat nav is not fitted but the majority of delivery drivers are happy to sync their mobile phone ap to the touchscreen via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, an operation that takes a few seconds.

Performance from the 1.8 litre petrol is adequate and as nothing has been done to beef up the suspension for commercial use drivers enjoy the same comfort as the Touring Sport. A small drawback is extra noise from the empty load area.

That load area is quite generous with a capacity of 1326 litres and a front to back length of around 170cm so not far off six feet. The ply floor is hinged halfway for access to a large spare wheel shaped well which would take quite a few additional packages. It would be wise to cover the bumper when loading because over time it will get scratched.

If there is a downside to this car conversion it is the modest payload of 425kg while the 750kg towing capacity is no more than a small trailer.

The car comes with a three year warranty but this can be extended free to 10 years or 100,000 miles provided the car is serviced on time at a Toyota dealership.

Toyota tested the water with established customers who gave it enthusiastic support and this is the result.

Commercial has transformed the Touring Sport into a lightweight, comfortable, well equipped workhorse and is a good choice for the small trader/delivery driver who wants low running costs without switching to full electric.

Fast facts

Corolla Commercial CVT hybrid

£22,590

1.8 litre hybrid;120bhp

0-62mph 11.1secs; 112mph

55.6-61.4mpg combined

105g/km. 1st tax £160

Load space: 1326 litres

Payload 425kg

Insurance group 27

Pengwern families get to grips with a prickly subject

* Above and below: children work on the hedgehog project at Pengwern. 

It may be a prickly subject, but hedgehogs were the centre of attention at a recent event hosted in Llangollen, set up to increase awareness of the need for habitats in the county. 

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’s Our Picturesque Landscape Project team put on a hedgehog focused event at Llangollen, as part of Denbighshire County Council’s response to the climate and ecological emergency. 

A number of families attended the recently renovated community centre in Pengwern  in Llangollen to learn about everything hedgehog related and to hear about local work to support the animals. 

Hedgehog numbers have reduced over the last 20 years and the Hedgehog Preservation Society suggest there are a number of reasons for this. 

One of the biggest is nature depletion, the loss of hedgerows and other areas suitable for hedgehogs. As their names suggest, hedgehogs like to live in and around hedgerows and use them to travel between different areas. 

Where households have fences around their gardens rather than hedges it reduces the distance the hedgehogs can travel, limiting their food and mating options. Unfortunately, the insects and other invertebrates that hedgehogs eat have also reduced because of hedgerow loss, gardening practises and use of pesticides. 

Many hedgehogs are found injured or unwell each year. They are most often rescued by members of the public who take them to charities such as Hedgehog Help Prestatyn. The rescue staff nurse them back to health and support them being released back into the wild. 

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Our Picturesque Landscape project have previously welcomed rehabilitated hedgehogs to the grounds of Plas Newydd in Llangollen.  The hedgehogs are supported with a hedgehog house and food for their first few nights and then begin their new lives exploring the Llangollen area. 

Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “Protecting our native wildlife is incredibly important. Educating our young people and families in how to create the best habitat for hedgehogs to live happily will help to increase their numbers and reduce the number of sick and injured hedgehogs going to rescues. 

“Our wildflower meadows and tree nursery help to increase the food available to hedgehogs as well as many other birds and animals which rely on these habitats."

MS welcomes health board's progress on rapid treatment centres

Sam Rowlands,  Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, says he is pleased to see the health board making progress on setting up Rapid Treatment Centres across his region. 

He said: “I am delighted to hear that the North Wales health board is putting together a business case to set up centres across my region to transform planned care services.

 

“The proposals for RTCs, which are also being considered in England, will also speed up access to care and provide improved transport services for patients which is something we badly need in my region.

 

“I support any moves which will ultimately lead to a better NHS service for the people of North Wales and welcome this latest initiative.”

In an update from BCUHB they said that they were currently carrying out detailed work to develop a robust outline business case which, when completed, will be submitted to Welsh Government for scrutiny and approval.

The business case will allow them to explore a range of options in terms of the number, scale and location of the RTCs.

 The RTCs will develop new pathways to transform planned care services, improve the quality of ambulatory patient care and speed of access as well as improving service resilience and efficiency.

 They will provide services for patients on an urgent cancer pathway, as well as those who may have vague symptoms but need access to appropriate diagnostics and clinical input. RTCs will also provide ambulatory services for patients requiring diagnosis and treatment as a day case.

Although the locations for these new RTCs has not yet been determined, the health board say they are committed to ensuring good engagement and communication with the public of North Wales as the plans develop.

They will be communicating with patients, parents and stakeholders to share more information about this major new development in health care.

Special event at Dory Gallery tonight