New book highlights growing importance of trees in landscape

 

* At the launch of Trees in Our Landscape in the Plas Newydd cafe are, from left, Howard Sutcliffe, lead officer of the AONB, Loggerheads Ranger Imogen Hammond and Andy Worthington, chair of the AONB. 

A new book highlighting the growing importance of trees in the natural landscape of the area had its official launch at the cafe in Plas Newydd yesterday (Friday) morning.

The 50-page book, entitled Trees in Our Landscape and available free to the public, has been financed by the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and compiled over the past 12 months.

It has been overseen and collated by resident Loggerheads ranger Imogen Hammond and includes contributions from a host of tree experts.

Trees in 42 locations across a swathe of Denbighshire stretching from Llangollen to Prestatyn are featured.

Each tree, ranging from the Carrog Yew and Pontcysyllte Field Maple to the Cilcain Huntington Elm and the Pentredwr Sycamore, are described in detail with their significance highlighted.

Those interested in taking a closer look are guided to their locations by Ordnance Survey maps.

In his foreword to the book Rob McBride, known as the Tree Hunter, says: “Trees in Our Landscape brings readers face-to-leaf with a diverse selection of culturally significant trees.

“With its clever use of Ordnance Survey maps enabling readers to easily find the trees and the beautifully crafted tree illustrations, it is a joy to turn each page.

“The AONB has curated a fine selection of special trees. It brings greater awareness of their importance in terms of species, habitat, biodiversity and cultural value to the communities living within the AONB.”

At the launch – held appropriately during National Tree Week -  Howard Sutcliffe, lead officer of the AONB, said: “Trees are fantastic. Both the UK and Welsh governments are putting real emphasis on them at the moment.

“The Welsh Government wants all farmers on their land to have ten per cent of tree cover, so the importance of trees has many different aspects.

“They suck up Co2 produced by cars and industry, they produce oxygen to help keep the air clean. They also help stop flooding and provide shade. In fact, up at Pengwern the dairy cows are always under the same tree in the middle of the field.

“As a nation we are just starting to realise the importance of trees and what we have done in this book is identify some special ones.”

Guests at the launch were taken on a tour of the trees in the grounds of Plas Newydd which, according to Howard Sutcliffe, contains a number planted during the first National Tree Week in 1973.

* Copies of Trees in Our Landscape are available free from the cafe at Plas Newydd and Llangollen Library.

St Collen's Christmas fayre today

 

Friends of Pengwern enjoy their Christmas lights switch-on

* Llangollen Silver Band play carols at the Friends of Pengwern Christmas gathering. 

Friends of Pengwern braved sub-zero temperatures this evening to hold their Christmas lights switch-on and gathering around the tree on the green near the park.

Santa himself was there direct from the North Pole - which can't have been that much colder - to lead the festivities with carols provided by Llangollen Silver Band.

On hand to provide further entertainment was popular local musician Chris Burton.

Later, people headed over to a much warmer community centre for kid craft, hot dogs, mince pies and very welcome mulled wine. 

 * Santa and entertainer Chris Burton joined in the fun.

Some council homes to be tested for RAAC concrete

Some council tenants in Llangollen are being informed that their homes are to be tested for Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC). 

However, the county council says it is "reasonably confident" that none will be found.

This type of concrete is known to have been associated with structural problems in certain buildings and tests for it are being carried out by councils across the UK.

A letter to tenants from a senior officer of Denbighshire County Council says: "I am writing to advise you that we are in the process of sending letters to some of our council home tenants informing that we will be contacting a sample of them, to arrange to carry out an inspection in their homes, to look for the above concrete, known as RAAC. 

"Welsh Government have instructed these checks to be carried out on housing stock built between 1950 and 1990. We are reasonably confident that we will not find any of this type of concrete in our homes. 

"We don’t wish to cause any undue alarm to our tenants, however, these checks, as mentioned are instructed by WG and are necessary. We have asked a company called Xrail to carry out these checks for us. 

"In the unlikely event that RAAC is discovered in any of our properties, we will instruct a further more detailed survey and carry out a risk assessment as tenant safety is paramount, to determine what remedial works we will need to carry out, this may include temporarily having to re-home some tenants whilst work is carried out."

The letter then gives details of the officer to contact for questions and further information. 

The same letter is being sent to tenants in Denbigh, Cefn Meiriadog, Rhyl, Ruthin, Prestatyn, Meliden and Dyserth.

Inner Wheel to bring Christmas Cheer to town hall stage in aid of charity

 

In aid of local charities, The Inner Wheel Club of Llangollen will be hosting a charity evening of  “Christmas Cheer” in Llangollen Town Hall on Saturday December 16, starting at 7pm. 

Arranged with the help of local musician Owen Roberts, the evening will feature festive music and the talents of local soloists, including Phillip Robinson, Debbie Whitfield and Emma Williams.

In addition there will be a piano solo performance by Anna Romanenko, who originates from the Ukraine but now lives in Llangollen. 

There will be a glass of punch on arrival and a festive two-course supper at the interval for attendees.  

The evening’s celebrations will come to a close with some rousing community carol singing, led by Gethin Davies. 

Tickets cost £15 and include a glass of punch and festive supper. 

Money raised by the event will go towards helping to support local charities. In the past year, the organisations helped by the Inner Wheel Club of Llangollen have included: Llangollen Food Share, Pentredwr Hub, Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and Wales Air Ambulance.

The Inner Wheel Club of Llangollen has been in existence for 60 years and is part of a worldwide organisation with the aim of promoting friendship and providing service to the community. 

* To obtain tickets call 01691 828395 or 0781 6286436.

Book launch at Plas Newydd tomorrow

 

Horseshoe Falls improvement scheme appoints contractor

Denbighshire County Council have appointed a contractor to undertake improvement works at Horseshoe Falls funded by the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF).

During the first round of LUF, the council was successful in its joint application with Wrexham County Borough Council for the Clwyd South Constituency, which was supported by Simon Baynes MP. Denbighshire secured £3.8 million to invest in the communities of Llangollen, Llantysilio, Corwen and surrounding areas.

Residents and visitors will soon be able to benefit from enhancements to Horseshoe Falls through improvements to the toilet facilities and drainage, additional parking spaces and improved visitor flow between the car park and the viewing area which will enable the area to cope with increasing visitor numbers.

KM Construction have been successful in their tender for the project, with work having begun at the site earlier this week.

Part of the car park will be closed to the public while the work is carried out, which are anticipated to take approximately 10 weeks, with a two-week shutdown during the Christmas period.

Every effort will be made to keep disruption to the toilet facilities to a minimum, but there will be occasional closures while the work takes place, says the council.

Cllr Jason McLellan, Lead Member for Economic Growth and Tackling Deprivation, said: “We are pleased to have appointed KM Construction as the contractor to complete these much-needed improvements to Horseshoe Falls and look forward to seeing them bring the plans into fruition.

“The area has seen a significant increase in visitor numbers in recent years, and hope that this project, once completed, will enhance the visitor experience for all who visit the site.” 

* Find out more about Denbighshire County Council’s Levelling Up Fund project at Horseshoe Falls here.