First snowfall of year leaves castle with light covering

* The first snowfall of the year brought a light covering to the castle this morning, as these photographs show. 

Cancer Research Christmas quiz raises record amount

According to the organiser, this year's Cancer Research UK Christmas Quiz proved very popular with more sheets than ever being returned and a record sum of £831.37 being raised for the charity.  

Judith Smith said: "Our grateful thanks to everyone who supported us.

"For the first time we had four absolutely correct answer sheets, and with only three prizes to give, had to bring in the proverbial hat.  

"The brilliant four who returned those perfect answers were Keith Stacey of Newport, Gwent; Jane Hurle of Llangollen; Kathryn Dunn of Llangollen and Will Craven of Ponthir, South Wales.

"Many congratulations to them, but there were so many more hard on their heels.  

"Ben McDonald of Bristol scored 49 ½, and behind him came 5 people with 49 – the Hindle family of Ponthir, Keith and Pat Campbell of Northampton, Helen Watson of Cleobury North, Fiona Black of Poynton, and Chris Potter of Llangollen.  

"In truth it was most impressive that so many of you scored so very highly this year.  A big pat on the back for everyone – and please come back for more next December."

Answers are:

Mammals

21           Good fodder   (4)                                                               Goat

22           Work hard   (6)                                                                   Beaver

23           Before rate changes   (8)                                                    Anteater

24           Sounds like a shy bear?   (5)                                              Coypu

25           Lament over awful childhood illness   (9)                         Porcupine

Birds

26           Pastime   (5)                                                                     Hobby

27           Italian river in an empty dish   (4,3)                                 Barn Owl

28           Cowardly end of a joker   (6,7)                                         Yellow Wagtail

29           Grumble   (6)                                                                    Grouse

30           This bird sank teeth into another   (7)                              Bittern

Fish

31           Russian bulldog?   (3,7)                                                   Red Snapper

32           Alien on an island   (6)                                                     Mullet

33           Get river out of the ditch   (5)                                          Tench

34           Taken for a ride on a harbour   (7)                                   Haddock

35           Fantastic!   (5)                                                                  Brill

Trees

36           Reversing the floor covering is chancy   (8)                    Tamarisk

37           Senior statesman   (5)                                                       Elder

38           Assassinated PM reconstructed   (5)                                Maple (PM Olof Palme of Sweden assassinated 1986)

39           Hear a sheep?   (3)                                                            Yew

40           Longing for Aberdeen?   (5,4)                                           Scots Pine

Insects

41           Medical officers going to Ecuador   (8)                           Mosquito

42           Bird meets fish   (9)                                                          Cockroach

43           Fair play   (7)                                                                     Cricket

44           Irritate Romeo   (6)                                                            Chafer

45           Timeless dwarf   (5)                                                            Midge

Wild flowers

46           Turning problem needs an article   (6)                             Yarrow

47           Maybe a fur coat?   (5,6)                                                   Lady’s Mantle

48           Current physician in appeasement   (8)                            Snowdrop

49           Savage without direction (6)                                             Violet

50           Edge fastener   (7)                                                              Hemlock

 

Senedd Member wants more support for 'fantastic' councillors

* North Wales Senedd Member Sam Rowlands.

Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has called for more support for "our fantastic councillors". 

Speaking in the Senedd, Mr Rowlands, Shadow Minister for Local Government, highlighted the "great work" being carried out by councillors despite the demands of the job and the issues they face.

But he also highlighted the "abhorrent bad behaviour and abuse" that many of them receive.

 

In responding to a statement by the Finance and Local Government Minister, Rebecca Evans, ‘Diversity in Democracy—Survey Results’ he said: “The decisions councillors make have that real-life impact on our communities across Wales as a whole, and on this side of the benches we certainly welcome support being provided to our fantastic councillors and applaud their efforts to best represent their communities.

 

“There are just three points I'd like to pick up and expand on. You outlined the work that's being done to ensure more flexibility for council meetings. It is crucially important that our local councillors don't lose the focus of the in-person nature of representation as well. 

"Often, some of the best work is undertaken in person. Regretfully, a number of councillors in Wales still aren't meeting flexibly—they're insisting to only meet online and seemingly taking advantage of this way of meeting, which, in my view, does put limits on democratic involvement."

He added: "In terms of improving democracy and diversity in democracy, one of the biggest areas of opportunity, is in working with employers to enable their staff to carry out their role as councillors. 

"For my 14 years as a councillor, 10 of those I held a full-time job, but I was lucky to work for a company that saw the benefits of my role as a councillor and allowed me the flexibility to carry out both of those roles. Regretfully, many organisations still don't understand these benefits.

“The second point is the abhorrent bad behaviour and abuse that many councillors and candidates receive. There is a risk that abuse becomes normalised and is seen as part of the job, which we must not allow to happen as it really puts people off standing for election and certainly has an impact on diversity in our councils. 

“The final point is in relation to the level of commitment from many of our councillors. As mentioned in the public survey, 63% of councillors indicated that they were available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is a great commitment and a reflection of their work. 

"But I would argue it is a difficult expectation to sustain and this expectation makes it very difficult for councillors and prospective councillors to juggle family life, a career, and then also representing their community.”

Mr Rowlands urged the Minister, for more support for councillors and to ensure younger people, who want to become councillors, or who are councillors, had a fair expectation of the time and energy they need to commit to the role.

Latest local roadworks alert

Latest local roadworks alert from one.network is:

B5103 From Junction Of  A5t To Junction With A542 Horseshoe Pass Road, Llangollen, Denbighshire 16 January - 17 January   Delays likely - Diversion route   Name: Diversion   Location: Access Road To Chain Bridge Hotel   Description: Streetworks / License - Streetworks   Responsibility for event: Denbighshire County Council   Current status: Planned

County puts e-powered bin lorries into service

* One of the new electric bin lorries gets powered up.

Electric bin lorries have joined Denbighshire County Council’s growing non-fossil fuel powered fleet.

Two new Dennis Eagle e-Collect bin lorries have been purchased following a trial run in 2020 of the model around Rhyl, Prestayn and Ruthin with staff from Waste and Recycling.

The council declared a Climate Change and Ecological Emergency in July 2019 and committed to becoming a Net Carbon Zero and Ecologically Positive authority by 2030.

Part of this work is growing the number of non-fossil fuel vehicles used by the council. 

Examples of these currently in use are taxis, an electric mini bus used in the Ruthin area, a mobile observatory van and EV ATV used by countryside staff, EV vans used for goods transport by different services and EV cars supporting social services staff.

Staff are currently familiarising themselves with the new lorries and how they can perform for the service. The vehicles will be brought into service before March.

Cllr Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We are working hard to reduce the miles produced by fossil fuels in our county by council staff and the public to tackle climate change

“The initial trial of the Dennis Eagle e-Collect went extremely well, it showed us that after a shift there was battery capacity left and that it was safer and comfortable for the staff.

“Above all these two vehicles are another important part in the chain to reduce our fleet carbon emissions and I look forward to seeing them enter service soon." 

Project team outlines Four Highways scheme to online audience

* A map of the areas involved in the project.

The team behind the scheme to improve links between the four famous ‘highways’ that run through the heart of the town explained the £1.25m plan to an online local audience yesterday (Thursday) evening.

Following a successful application to the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF) Denbighshire County Council aims to enhance the public spaces that connect Llangollen Canal, the old Ruabon to Barmouth Railway line, the River Dee and A5 Holyhead Road. 

As the first phase of a public consultation exercise four members of the project team – the council’s project managers Sian Lloyd Price and Kimberley Mason along with design expert Daniel Smith and landscape specialist Chris Brinnington from consultancy firm Burroughs & The Urbanists - held three separate half-hour Microsoft Teams sessions yesterday.

The first for local residents attracted around 10 participants, about four businesses were at the second and the third, for everyone else, was attended solely by llanblogger’s Phil Robinson.

The aims of the sessions, according to the team, were to Introduce themselves, give an update on what had been done so far and detail the next steps.

Total budget for the project, which has received substantial help from Levelling Up, is around £1.25m and work is expected to be completed by March of 2024, they said.

They also pointed out that this was a new project and not an extension of the Castle Street works or any other on-going developments in Llangollen.

It is based on an initial concept design developed several years ago, which includes lots of ideas but is not a final design or plan, giving flexibility around what its final appearance.

Although no work has yet started, site information gathering has commenced, including conversations with landowners and technical specialists to understand what may be possible at each of the sites involved.

The team explained that there will be public realm improvements covering a total of 960 square meters within the area around the Wharf, the Railway and Lower Dee Mill Park.

Improvements near the Wharf will include seating and signage along with aiming for better access, which might mean improvements to the steep flight of steps up from the Abbey Road side.

At Lower Dee Mill Park, which the team said feedback from the public has shown to be an under-used natural asset, the proposal is to provide new seating with, potentially, “other activities such as play,” they explained. There will also be new signage.

Another aim is to improve signage around the station area.

The team stressed that details of the project’s design have not yet been finalised, adding that “nothing is off the table”.  

Residents, businesses and other interested parties are being invited to share their ideas, either online, in person or in writing

A face-to-face meeting in the town centre with project managers is due to be confirmed in the next couple of weeks for those unable to attend the online sessions.

A questionnaire will be launched on Denbighshire’s engagement portal, County Conversations, and will also be available from Llangollen Library from next week. This will be promoted on our social media and information regarding the consultation will be also displayed on a poster to be distributed around Llangollen from next week.

* Anyone with further questions, comments or concerns are asked to email Kimberley Mason and Sian Lloyd Price, Project Managers, at: fourgreathighways@denbighshire.gov.uk

Latest local roadworks alert from county council

Latest roadworks alert from the county council are:

OUTSIDE NUMBER 11 & 9 WILLOW STREET until 18/01/2023 Gwaith Dwr / Water Works HAFREN DYFRDWY (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure 

Outside 5 CHURCH STREET 20/02/2023 22/02/2023 Gwaith Trydanol / Electrical Works QUARTZELEC (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure