Newbridge Road 'open before year-end' MS told

* Damage caused to the road by the 2021 storms. 

Wrexham Council still aims to have Newbridge Road reopened ‘before end of year’, the local Member of the Senedd has been told.

The road was shut as a result of a landslide caused by severe storms in February 2021, leaving motorists heading between Chirk and Cefn Mawr no alternative but to use a long diversion route.

Clwyd South MS Ken Skates has made repeated representations to the council on behalf of local residents, who have regularly voiced their frustration about the lack of progress and public updates.

It is now more than a year since the Welsh Government announced a £2.8m grant to repair and reopen the key local route following a campaign for funding by Mr Skates and local councillors Frank Hemmings and Derek Wright, who represent Chirk North and Cefn East respectively.

Wrexham Council said that while the current procurement phase is taking longer than expected, ‘we do not envisage this situation will have any significant impact on the overall project timelines’.

In an email to Mr Skates this week, the council said: “Currently we remain within the procurement phase of the Newbridge project, and although this is taking a little longer than initially envisaged the project team here has been actively engaged in associated accommodation works on those preparatory matters whilst procurement passes through the necessary commercial discussions.

The council’s invitation to tender for the design and build (D&B) contractor was uploaded to the Welsh Government’s Sell2Wales portal in mid-February, with five potential contractors identified.

“During the tender period contractors were able to ask questions relating to the technical and legal detail of the tender, this included a mid-tender ‘clinic’ attended by some of the above contractors,” the council’s update continued. “Responses to questions were uploaded onto the portal in accordance with the tendering process for all contractors to view.

“Following this, consideration has been given to how the terms of the future contract can be adapted to ensure the best outcome for the council, whilst offering an opportunity for the D&B contractor to submit a competitive bid and attracting their commercial interest.

“Much of the recent work on our procurement process has been centred on the apportionment of ‘risk’ in contract terms. This has been proving a difficult balance and one we need to manage through the detail of carefully. Whilst the revised tender process will slightly extend the procurement phase, the potential contractors have already had an opportunity to study the technical data so we do not envisage this situation will have any significant impact on the overall project timelines. We still aim to have road open before end of year.”

Mr Skates said: “The Welsh Government announced a grant of £2.8m to Wrexham Council for vital repairs to the B5605 at Newbridge in April 2022. The matter has been in the council's hands since, and I share residents' frustrations. I will continue to press the council to urgently reinstate this key route and to communicate regularly with the public over progress to keep local people informed.”

The council’s statement concluded: “Whilst this is a relatively small engineering project, there are technical difficulties in providing the solution. We are currently not forecasting any significant delays nor cost issues at this stage, but engaging and maintaining commercial interest is vital.

“In the meantime, preparatory works are progressing. Details have been finalised for progressing the various ecological surveys and licences required for the scheme. This survey work is scheduled to start during May with the reports and licencing finalised by mid-June. This will avoid any delay to the likely construction phase of the repair.”

MP speaks in Commons on Government support for families

* Simon Baynes MP speaks in the House of Commons debate.

Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes spoke in the House of Commons debate on the cost of living earlier this week. 

He welcomed the Government’s extended Cost of Living support which, he said, will mean 9,100 families in his constituency will receive £301 from the Government through the latest Cost of Living Payments beginning from this week and £900 in total for 2023-4. 

They would also receive the Government’s Disability Cost of Living Payment worth £150 again this year. This direct support was part of the Government’s £94 billion package of Cost of Living support.

Mr Baynes said that in addition to means-tested cost of living support, the Energy Price Guarantee was continuing to help keep household energy bills as low as possible – ensuring the typical family pays no more that £2,500 for their energy bills until the end of June this year.

During the debate Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “The best thing we can do to help people’s money go further is deliver on our priorities to halve inflation and grow the economy.

“But we’re also here to help people through these tough times, which is why we’re holding down energy bills, freezing fuel duty, increasing Universal Credit, and giving £900 payments to low income and vulnerable families - all in part funded through windfall taxes on energy profits.”

Commenting in the House of Commons, Mr Baynes said: “I am delighted that 9,100 families in Clwyd South will receive £301 from the Government as the latest cost of living payments begin to be sent out. This is part of a much larger programme by the Government to support vulnerable people in these difficult times.

"Indeed, the Cost of Living package to help the most vulnerable has been worth £94 billion. A key part of this is addressing inflation – we expect inflation to halve by the end of this year, so the issues that we have at the moment will mitigate themselves, and we will see inflation come down later in the year.”

Details announced of Corwen station official opening

Four days of special celebrations will mark the fanfare official opening of the new Corwen station during the first week of June.

A highlight will be the arrival of a special steam train carrying coachloads of VIPs along the line from Carrog to see the formal opening ceremony on Friday June 2. 

There will also be a public gala event, an intensive timetable of services hauled by steam, diesel and railcars over three days, special exhibitions and the unveiling of a special commemorative model.

The opening will bring passenger rail services back into the heart of Corwen after a break of many decades.

It also marks the culmination of years of hard work by volunteers and staff of Llangollen Railway, millions of pounds of investment and the triumph of the heritage attraction over the massive setbacks of liquidation and pandemic. 

The formal opening event on June 2 will be performed by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, chairman of both Network Rail and the Heritage Railway Association.

Trains that day are scheduled to be hauled by Kitson 0-4-0ST “Austin 1” – one of the original Llangollen Railway steam fleet - top and tailed with visiting Austerity No 68067. 

* Kitson 0-4-0ST 'Austin 1', one of the original Llangollen Railway steam fleet, will be on duty on June 2.

June 3 and 4 will see a two-day gala event when an intensive public timetable will operate a three-train service of steam, diesel and railcar workings, each train working two return trips to Corwen a day. 

Locomotives and railcars are expected to be drawn from Austerity 68067, Class 31 No 31271, Class 47 1566 and Classes 104, 108 & 109 DMU. 

A range of attractions are planned in Corwen including model railway layouts in the town's community centre and museum.

Liverpool Model Railway Society will be exhibiting a layout entitled Corwen Through the Ages in the community centre and there is a 4mm scale model of sections of the Llangollen Railway in the museum. 

Dapol and Rails of Sheffield will also be making an announcement about a forthcoming new 4mm scale model that should be of great interest to both Llangollen Railway and GWR fans alike.

There will also be a display of heritage memorabilia in the Henry Robertson suite at Llangollen station across all four days of the event. 

A talk will be given on the evening of June 1 by renowned local archaeologist Fiona Gayle MBE entitled Denbigh, Ruthin & Corwen Railway in the Vale of Clwyd. Approximately 50 tickets at £5 each will be available. 

A vintage fire engine will also be on display at Llangollen station. 

LR Trust manager Tom Taylor said: “We are all tremendously excited at the prospect of seeing Corwen station opened for its first public trains. 

"This represents the culmination of many years of hard work by a small, but extremely dedicated team of volunteers. 

"We are all very proud of what they have achieved through some very challenging circumstances. We are also very grateful to all those who have supported the project financially, including grants from the Welsh Assembly and UK Governments. 

"Our local authorities and MPs have also supported us from the get-go. From June 3 all our services will be running to Corwen and we look forward to welcoming passengers, friends and volunteers to our superb new station as well as putting Corwen back on the railway map, where the town very much deserves to be."

Temporary traffic closure order for stretch of Barbers Hill

Denbighshire County Council has made the temporary traffic order below for a section of Barbers Hill.

Llangollen Ramblers looking for new faces

A few of Llangollen Ramblers enjoying the sunshine on Oswestry Racecourse last week.  

The ramblers say they would love to see new faces, so if you're interested, call Judy on 07905 330788 or email smithdinbren@gmail.com 

Much more to this Volvo hybrid than its comfy seats

Volvo XC60 drive by Steve Rogers

A car company director asked 30 motoring journalists would they buy an electric car tomorrow? Only four put their hands up. Mind stayed down.

The problem is not the cars, the majority of which are innovative and good to drive. The biggest barrier as we move rapidly towards electrification is range anxiety, the fear of not being able to keep the batteries topped up on a long journey.

And the fear is real so much so that the car industry is lobbying the Government to more than double its target of 350,000 charging points by E day in 2030.

Ironically now might be the best time to run an electric car because there are still not that many queues at charging points.

But for the time being my choice is hybrid, part engine, part electric motor, or you can take a step further with a plug-in hybrid which provides more miles on electric only power, just like this XC60 Recharge.

XC60 has a two-litre engine and an electric motor that can be charged in a couple of hours to give up to 48 miles on electric only driving. For some that is more miles than they cover in an average day. The big drawback with a plug-in is the extra cost and if we take XC60 as an example the gap between petrol and plug-in hybrid is all but £8,000.

Volvo is now well established as a premium brand so you are paying big bucks, in the case of XC60, its best seller, anything from £48,000 to £68,000 but it is an impressive car.

My wife is a good sounding board with test cars, she is very picky and rarely impressed but the Volvo charmed her. There were a few things. The glass gear change selector immediately caught her eye, the dashboard layout with its stylish mix of quality coverings and metal surrounds and inserts, but the highest praise was reserved for the seats.

I am with here all the way on this and have been saying for years that Volvo seats are the best shaped and most comfortable of any car I have driven.

So this is looking good, then I select reverse and notice the rear camera definition isn’t up to scratch, all a bit foggy. Very un-Volvo like, yet switch to the 360 degree surround setting and it is pin sharp. Strange.

No worries, we are off and are then surprised at the overly noisy heating fan even on the lowest setting. Hope this is as far down hill as we are going.

The next bit is not meant to be negative but every time I drive a Volvo I dread using the  touchscreen, the car’s brain centre. Volvo has upgraded the technology to a system powered by Android with Google mapping and access to Google apps. All the car’s functions are stored in a series of swipe files and in many ways the system is brilliant and can be mastered, it just takes a lot of patience. How can a grown man be intimidated by some highfalutin car tech?

Fortunately a super efficient voice control system will deal with everyday functions like selecting a radio station, heating settings, finding a navigation destination or searching the web. Software updates come in over the air. Cool, or what?

Everything in the cabin might be high tech but the classy Scandinavian design finishes are easy on the eye and create a relaxed atmosphere. Volvo is good at doing that.

With the help of the electric motor XC60 is quick, a good deal quicker than the Audi Q5 reviewed here a few weeks ago, with a huge surge of power when overtaking, but nowhere near as fun to drive as its German rival.

The suspension set up is fairly neutral, airing on the side of comfort, but even though it does not possess German handling credentials it will not let you down when pushed through twists and turns.

Official economy figures seem far fetched but are based on many miles of electric driving. Once the batteries are drained you should be able to achieve high thirties to 40mpg on petrol only power, a reasonable return given XC60s size and performance.

As you would expect from the safety conscious Swedes the car is equipped with every driving aid known to man, the latest addition is the excellent cross traffic braking which can avoid a collision when reversing.

The Volvo and the Audi came close together and although I loved the tearaway nature of the Q5 I am going with the more economical, yet very swift XC60.

Fast facts

XC60 Recharge T6 AWD Plus

£60,550 (range starts £47,460)

2-litre petrol+electric motor; 350bhp

0-62mph 5.7secs; 112mph

256mpg combined

30g/km. 1st tax £10

Boot: 468 litres

Insurance group 40

Eisteddfod puts out call for stewarding volunteers

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has put out the call for volunteers.

In a post on its Facebook page it says it is looking for people to join its stewarding team  who enjoy working in the "wonderful atmosphere of music, dance and colour."

The jobs of stewards is to man the pavilion entrances throughout the day during Eisteddfod week, check tickets, be on duty inside the pavilion during concerts and competitions and help visitors with any questions or enquiries.

For those interested there's an email address and a phone number for applicants to get in touch for further details.

It is known that like many organisations the Eisteddfod has suffered from the affects of the pandemic on volunteering.