Food Share gives support to children during summer holidays

Just over a week ago the Welsh Government announced that it would be stopping the support for children who have free school meals during school holidays. 

As a result, Llangollen Food Share is starting a new service to help parents to provide lunch for their children.

The circular above has been sent out to all pupils in the three Llangollen schools.

It says: "Free school meals support for families during school holidays has just been withdrawn by the Welsh Government, but don’t worry!

"The Llangollen Food Share have decided to help local families with free food packs for children. You can pick up your free packs for children on Monday or Thursday from 9am-11am at our centre until the end of the holidays. 

"Please help us to avoid food waste by contacting us beforehand to let us know what you need.

"Llangollen Food Share Hub is at the town end of the main Market Street Car Park in Llangollen. Call or text: 07538 894 449, email llangollenfoodshare@gmail.com , Facebook:/Llangollenfoodshare/ If you are unable to get to our centre – give us a call. In some circumstances our volunteers may be able to deliver to your door."

County councillor to hold 'surgery' sessions at Town Hall

 

Council teams with police to control Llangollen summer parking

Council and police officers are working together to manage parking at Llangollen’s Horseshoe falls and the surrounding area this summer season. 

Denbighshire County Council and North Wales Police are urging visitors to the hotspot to park responsibly this summer and consider planning ahead to visit other attractions that are available across the Dee Valley if the area is busy. 

The council has made a number of preparations already to manage an increase in visitors. 

Extra countryside rangers are in place to manage the area and provide support and information for visitors. 

Civil enforcement officers are also monitoring the site and surrounding area, especially at predicated peak busy time. 

Work has also been carried out to add fencing to the car park entrance. The new fencing is similar to what is already found on the surrounding estate and is designed to stop parking on the grass verges which can obstruct other traffic. 

Awareness signs advising drivers to park responsibly will also be placed on the site. 

Visitors coming into the area on a Saturday can now use the Dee Valley Picturesque Bus which provides a circular route running every Saturday until November 4 2023, linking Llangollen and the surrounding villages to Horseshoe Falls and popular local attractions including Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Wenffrwd Nature Reserve, Valle Crucis Abbey, Plas Newydd Historic House and the Horseshoe Pass. 

The service will enable visitors and residents to visit and explore these locations without the need of having to constantly find car parking spaces at the sites. 

Stops include Llangollen Pavilion where there is ample parking to leave vehicles for the day. 

Councillor Win Mullen James, Denbighshire Cabinet Lead Member for Local Development and Planning, said: “We want people to enjoy the great attractions Llangollen and the surrounding areas have to offer but would remind them that parking restrictions are important for both road safety and ensuring there is a fair turnover of parking spaces. Anyone not complying with parking restrictions risk receiving a Penalty Charge Notice from civil enforcement officers.

“Our rangers are working every weekend at Horseshoe Falls to provide advice and guidance to visitors coming to the site and I would ask that the public also respect the role they are there to carry out. 

“Please plan your day in advance, use facilities such as the Dee Valley bus to travel on which will save parking spaces and make sure you have other options planned for visiting and parking if you cannot stop at your first choice of venue as the area has plenty of attractions to visit. 

“The Dee Valley also has a rich area of attractions to visit, from Llangollen right up to Corwen. I would urge visitors to plan ahead and consider all options so if the falls are busy you will not be disappointed on your day out.” 

District police Inspector Laura Salisbury-Jones said: “We will continue to work closely with Denbighshire County Council, and any danger caused by vehicles will be dealt with robustly.”

Llangollen's new park run gets glowing review from national body

 

* Run Wales's Joie Rhisiart, left, with members of the Llangollen Park Run team.

Llangollen’s new weekly Park Run has had a glowing review from a representative of national community running organisation Run Wales.

Josie Rhisiart  tagged along with a large group who took part in the fifth Saturday morning run recently.

Her visit was part of the Celebration Relay which provides all Run Wales-registered groups with the opportunity to showcase themselves, share information about their activities and encourage more people to take part in social running outside of their regular weekly park run.

In an article in the Run Wales online newsletter she wrote: “The car park in town was buzzing with park runners excitedly chatting about the event, queuing for the public loos and asking if anyone knew where the start was – it was clear that it was going to be another busy morning with visitors!

“A t 9am we shuffled along the old railway trail, with the River Dee on our right and off we went on the 5th park run event in Llangollen, which is a very pretty (and flat) out and back with one section which is repeated again towards the end of the 5k. 

“The scenery at Old Railway Trail Llangollen parkrun is a lovely mix of woodland and open spaces with far-reaching views – if you take notice, you’ll see Castell Dinas Brân high on the hill too.

“This week, the volunteer team welcomed 6 people to park run for their very first park run experience, and 9 who had been once before and come back for a second time today. Welcome to the park run family.

“Today’s most experienced park runner was James Barber of Shropshire Shufflers, who, as a member of the esteemed ‘500 Club’, chalked up his 534th park run this morning in Llangollen. An additional 19 of today’s park runners were members of the 250 Club, so there was experience galore here today.”

She went on: “Llangollen’s Old Railway Trail park run promises to be a popular destination for park run enthusiasts from near and far. Its accessibility and captivating scenery are sure to attract visitors throughout the year.  

“Old Railway Trail Llangollen, park run started on 17th June 2023. Since then 765 participants have completed 888 parkruns covering a total distance of 4,440 km, including 60 new Personal Bests. A total of 65 individuals have volunteered 96 times.”

County cabinet agrees big tax rises for second and empty homes

Denbighshire looks likely to go ahead with major increases to council tax premiums on long-term empty and second homes. 

At its meeting earlier today the county council’s cabinet unanimously recommended increasing the charges to 100% from April 2024, then 150% from April 2025. 

The proposal will now go before the full council for final approval in September. 

Denbighshire recently held a public consultation on increasing the tax premiums on long term-empty homes and second homes.  

The council says results showed the majority of respondents who live in Denbighshire felt there was a need for an increase in the charges for both categories of homes. 

Owners of these homes did not generally support the proposals, although there was slightly more support for a charge for long-term empty properties. 

The results were included in a report that was presented to the cabinet today, where members recommended that officers proceed with the next steps to take forward the proposals by taking a report to full council in September. 

The proposals support the council’s Corporate Plan which aims to encourage home owners not to leave their properties empty and bring them back into use for the benefit of local Denbighshire communities and also their economies. 

Although the Welsh Government has given powers for increases up to 300%, the proposals which will now go forward for consideration by full council are: 

•  Second home and long term empty premium charge will remain at 50% for April 2023 then increase to 100% from April 2024 then 150% from April 2025. 

•  Those properties that have been unoccupied and unfurnished for five years or more will pay a higher premium at 50% more than the standard premium. 

Cllr Rhys Thomas, Lead Member for Housing and Communities, said: “We are fully aware of how much housing is needed in our local communities to support families who want to stay in the county and thus contribute to the local economies promoting growth and support for local culture. 

“This scheme will help encourage these empty properties to become available again for local residents who will in turn add to sustaining and improving our county’s economic health.”

Silver Band to play in Centenary Square on Friday evening

 

llanblogger looks into enforcement of new 20mph speed limit

llanblogger special report

* The 20mph speed limit will soon be imposed on roads across Wales.

The new 20mph speed limit on roads across Wales currently 30mph is now just weeks away from being applied but a question hangs over how the new reduced limit will be enforced in this area.

A briefing paper sent out by their officers to county councillors in Denbighshire says they believe Go Safe – the agency which enforces speed limits on behalf of North Wales Police – has no current plans to increase its resources.

And a Llangollen county councillor agrees that the ability to police to the 20 limit is “questionable”.

The Welsh Government in association with the county council and the North and Mid-Wales Trunk Road Agent recently held a number of consultation sessions to brief the public about the change from 30 to 20mph at which they sought feedback from those who attended.

Llanblogger went along to one of two sessions at the Town Hall last week specifically to pose the question of local enforcement.

Concerned, like a number of other residents, about the routine flouting of the 30mph limit outside homes and businesses along Regent Street (A5), llanblogger posed the question: if the present 30mph is not adequately policed on this stretch what hope is there that a 20mph limit can be enforced?

A Welsh Government official was unable to give a definitive answer and asked llanblogger to fill in a reply slip with my query which he said would be passed on to the appropriate place, which was done.

The councillors’ briefing document says of enforcement: “There will be no changes in regard to responsibility for speed enforcement following the introduction of the default 20 mph speed limit.

“In other words, Go Safe and North Wales Police will continue to have responsibility for speed enforcement.

“Our understanding is that there are no current plans for Go Safe to increase their enforcement resources such as camera vans, as a result of the 20 mph introduction.

“So, enforcement will continue to be prioritised for those locations where risk is considered to be highest i.e. locations where there is already a history of speed-related collisions, or locations where there aren’t any collisions but vehicle speeds significantly exceed the posted speed limit.”

There have indeed been no speed-related collisions on the Regent Street stretch of the A5 in recent years but llanblogger suggests this is a matter of luck rather than any noticeable enforcement at all of the current 30mph speed limit.

Llangollen county councillor Karen Edwards, who allowed llanblogger to have sight of the Denbighshire briefing document said: “It appears that no new extra resources will be available to enforce the new 20mph limit, not just on the A5 in Regent Street but elsewhere in the county.”

What the briefing document says generally about the new limit:

"The default speed limit in towns, villages and cities is currently 30 mph. On the 17^th September 2023, this default speed limit will change across the whole of Wales from 30 mph to 20mph.

This change to the default speed limit is happening because the Welsh Government (WG) are changing the legislation that relates to speed limits in Wales. They are making this change for the purposes of making roads safer; to encourage more walking and cycling; and to make neighbourhoods more pleasant places in which to live.

This change will affect roads in cities, towns and villages which have street lighting and which are currently 30 mph. In other words, this will apply to the vast majority of the roads in our towns, cities and villages. However, speed limits outside of these areas will remain the same as they are now. In other words, if the speed limit on a road is currently set at 40 mph, then it will stay as 40 mph.

It also will not change our existing 20 mph speed limits. In other words, this isn’t an initiative to make all speed limits 10 mph less than they are at present.

As well as the Traffic Order related work, there is a significant amount of work currently being undertaken to make changes to existing speed limit signs and related road markings. For example, most of the existing speed limit signs at the entrance points to our towns and villages will need to be replaced by signs saying “20”. This equates to approximately 500 signs in 250 locations. This work has been split into three separate contracts for local contractors.

The approach that Denbighshire and other Welsh Councils are taking is to replace our existing 30 mph signs with signs that say “20” but have a temporary vinyl sticker with the number “3” over the number “2”. These temporary vinyl stickers can then be quickly removed once the default 20 mph speed limit comes into force on the 17^th September.

All costs associated with the 20 mph speed limit, including officer time, signage and road marking work, legal orders and advertising are being fully-funded by a grant from the Welsh Government."

* The council website has been updated to provide a page about the 20 mph speed limit. Here is a link to the webpage: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/parking-roads-and-travel/road-safety/20mph.aspx