Minor works to start on Four Great Highways project

* The steps at Lower Dee Mill Park.

Minor works are to start in town on Monday (April 3) in connection with the Four Great Highways project.

A spokesperson for the project said: "Ground investigation works are being carried out to help us better understand the ground conditions at the Wharf and Lower Dee Mill Park in Llangollen to inform the detailed design of the project.  

"The techniques that will be used may result in intermittent noise associated with the drilling of boreholes to extract the material to be sampled.  This will involve some path closures for short periods during the week for the work to be carried out.

"The work will be limited to the following days and will take place during normal working hours.  Please note there may be some slight variation to the following schedule."

Date	Location	Disruptions / Closure
Monday 3 April 2023	Lower Dee Mill Park	Temporary closure of the path and metal stepped access will be required.   Alternative steps and access available further down Mill Street.
Tuesday 4 April 2023	Lower Dee Mill Park	Temporary closure of the path and metal stepped access will be required.   Alternative steps and access available further down Mill Street.
Wednesday 5 April 2023	Llangollen Wharf	Temporary closure of stepped access.   Ramped access will be available up to the Wharf.
Thursday 6 April 2023	Lower Dee Mill Park	No path closures

The spokesperson added: "We apologise in advance for any disruption caused and would also like to reassure you that the areas affected will be left in a safe condition once the work is complete. Thank you for your patience and understanding." 

Parks Project gets £2,217 boost for Pengwern adventure trail

* Jess Evans accepts the cheque from Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin and North Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Chris Allsop. 

A Llangollen scheme was amongst the winners of a special £120,000 fund to help communities across North Wales announced at a dedicated ceremony in the White House, Rhuallt last Wednesday.

The Your Community, Your Choice fund supports grass-roots projects and is supported by the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT) and North Wales Police. 

After applications were shortlisted, the North Wales public was asked to vote for their preferred projects and over 16,000 votes were cast across the region in the online ballot.

Amongst the four winners in Denbighshire was the Llangollen Parks Project, which will use the £2,217 it received to provide adventure trail equipment in Pengwern Park.

This will be added add to the £1,300 the project has already secured from another source.  

Project spokesperson Jessica Evans said: "We hope to go ahead with installing the equipment within the next few months." 

This year’s awards were even more significant as Your Community, Your Choice is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2023 and, over the past ten years, a total of over £500,000 has been awarded to more than 150 projects working to reduce crime in their areas and to support the priorities in the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan. 

The funding for Your Community, Your Choice comes partly from money seized by the courts through the Proceeds of Crime Act, with the rest from the Police and Crime Commissioner. 

In recognition if this 10-year milestone, the funding available to winning projects this year was increased to a total of £120,000, shared across 25 projects.

North Wales Police & Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin said: “I am delighted to see so many excellent and deserving winners receive funding that will help transform communities across North Wales. Your Community, Your Choice is a true collective effort – from my office, the police and PACT, to local communities, the organisations who apply, and to the public who vote for them.

“Everyone has a stake in the success of Your Community, Your Choice and, over the past 10 years, it has shown the difference it can make in offering community groups new opportunities. These organisations give their time and energy to help their local area and the initiative is a great way to give back and help these organisations achieve their aims. They help to keep our neighbourhoods safe and secure, and to meet the priorities in my Police and Crime Plan. And the fact that part of the money comes from funds seized from criminals also helps show to people that crime doesn’t pay, but community activism does!”

Plan ahead for Easter countryside visits, says council

Denbighshire County Council and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB are advising people to plan ahead for Easter visits to county countryside beauty spots.

As the Easter holiday fast approaches people should check ahead to see if facilities are open and where possible access quieter sites and walks to help avoid parking issues and busy periods.

A large number of countryside beauty spots have become more popular since people were asked to stay local during the pandemic and drivers are urged to be mindful of finding suitable areas to park or alternative transport to sites so as not to disrupt surrounding routes into the areas.

The Council has introduced a series of measures at Moel Famau to relieve congestion in the area. New double yellow lines are part of a series of measures, including additional parking spaces and road side parking provision that is hoped to improve visitor flow.

Last year saw grid lock as cars parked of the verges blocked the road – and on a number of occasions preventing emergency vehicles being able to access the area. Parking enforcement officers will patrol the site.

Visitors are also urged to respect the countryside and be sensible by parking responsibly, not littering and only riding bikes on permitted routes.

If the weather is fine over the period, people ae urged not to have BBQ’s, camping stoves or campfires on the moorland areas of the AONB because of the significant risk of fire.

Dog owners are also reminded to act responsibly and keep their pets on leads when walking through the countryside around livestock especially as lambing season continues

For more information on planning your trip ahead, visit https://www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk/   and follow the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB on Facebook and Twitter.

Pengwern Community Hub's April what's on guide

 

Tourism leader welcomes Riverside Park make-over

* The 9-hole bespoke mini golf under construction.

Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has welcomed plans to give a popular Llangollen park a new look.

Mr Rowlands, chair of the Senedd’s Cross-Party Group on Tourism, said: “I am delighted to hear about all the work which is going to be carried out to enhance and develop Riverside Park. 

“The town is an extremely popular tourist destination and as a very keen supporter of attracting visitors to this lovely part of the world it is good to see work being carried out to upgrade recreational spaces.

 

“I am also pleased to see this sort of investment in Llangollen which can only enhance and improve the area for local people and visitors alike.”

Contractors are currently working on a raft of new features for the Llangollen site including a new 9-hole bespoke mini golf which is due to be finished end of March with holes representing places and features of interest within Llangollen and the Dee Valley. 

This will include an active travel interpretation map for the area and replaces the old course at the site.

New play equipment for the 5-12 year old age range is also going to be installed early April and work is underway at the bandstand to install electricity power points to increase opportunities for entertainment along with seating block created in to the bank area for spectators.

Green infrastructure has also been introduced sat the park with trees to create shade, wildflower planting and shrub planting around the park. Also a green space area will be extended by introducing grass up to and around the blocked dragon area.

The work has been made possible through the Welsh Government’s Brilliant Basics funding round for 2022/23.

Paul Evans, Plas Newydd Site Manager, said: “ While planning this work, we worked closely with Llangollen Fringe along with Llangollen Parks Community group and Llangollen Town Council, who both provided some of the match funding towards the project.”

Cash boost for Pengwern Park

* Llangollen Parks Project has picked up a cheque for £2,217 from the North Wales Police Your Community Your Choice scheme.

The money will go towards providing adventure trail equipment in Pengwern Park and will add to the £1,300 the project has already secured from another source.  

Project spokesperson Jessica Evans said: "We hope to go ahead with installing the equipment within the next few months." 

Live show about death coming to the Town Hall

A live show about death is coming to Llangollen Town Hall next month. 

Outside the Box is presented by Liz Rothschild, a performer, celebrant and award-winning burial ground owner.

The 55-minute theatre show includes stories with props, music and post-show talk.

 

Themes touched on are how our society handles death and dying, talking or not talking about death, funerals and the full range of options available, involvement of children, preparing for end of life, funeral poverty and comparisons with practise in other countries.

 

The show’s pre-publicity says: “Her unique insights and experiences have created a highly original and beautifully cathartic show, combining mercurial tales and miraculous truths, collected over the years from life’s finishing line.

“Funny, wise and taboo busting, Outside The Box confronts the ‘Elephant in the room’ with grace and humour, asking its audience to embrace mortality and look on the bright side of life, with a weave of untold and surprising stories, a hint of history and some pithy commentary on the funeral industry from one who knows.

 

“The overall message of these pieces is that engaging with our mortality, rather being depressing, brings relief, connection and inspiration.”

 

Outside the Box, is coming to Llangollen Town Hall on Friday April 28, at 7pm, as part of a national tour. Tickets: £10 and: £8.00 concession.

 

* Booking: https://llangollentowncouncil.gov.uk/. Enquiries: facilities@llangollentowncouncil.gov.uk call: 01978 861345.

MP visits Chirk Castle to support tree planting campaign

* Simon Baynes MP planting with General Manager Lizzie Champion and Head Gardener David Lock at Chirk Castle.

Clwyd South MP joined the National Trust's campaign to plant four million blossom trees across the UK by 2030 by planting a blossom tree at Chirk Castle.

Mr Baynes is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Woods and Trees, and supports the National Trust's commitment to plant and establish 20 million trees across the country. 

The Trust is planting native and historic varieties, and other trees such as blackthorn and hawthorn, to support nature and to bring back blossom to areas that need it. 

The blossom tree, a crabapple Malus Florentina, was planted at Chirk Castle where Mr Baynes met Lizzie Champion, General Manager, and David Lock, the Head Gardener. The castle is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public.

Mr Lock has worked at Chirk Castle for over 40 years, starting as a gardener and then becoming Head Gardener in 1988. 

There are four gardeners at Chirk, one of whom is shared with Powis Castle, and 20 garden volunteers.

Chirk Castle has a 10-year vision for the gardens that includes developing the kitchen garden, which provides fresh produce for the castle tearoom, and plans to restore the 17th century pleasure ground woods. 

Over the next five years, the National Trust says it will be continuing its efforts to plant blossom trees in areas that need them and to ensure that urban communities can experience the natural world. 

Cities such as Newcastle, London, Plymouth and Birmingham will see blossom being planted for everyone to visit, enjoy and reflect.

Lizzie Champion, General Manager at Chirk Castle, said: “Through the #blossomwatch campaign we are proudly bringing the beauty of nature closer to everyone in Wales. 

"Thank you to Simon Baynes MP for planting a blossom tree in the garden at Chirk today. We hope that everyone who visits will enjoy watching as it blooms each spring.”

Speaking about the planting, Mr Baynes said: “It was a great pleasure to plant a blossom tree at Chirk Castle, near where I live in Clwyd South. 

"I have been visiting the Chirk Castle gardens for many years and have seen them flourish under the expect care of Head Gardener David Lock and his team of staff and volunteers.

“As Chairman of the APPG for Woods and Trees, the National Trust’s commitment to planting over four million blossom trees is a matter very close to my heart, and I was so pleased to be able to be part of this effort in Clwyd South.”