Man aiming to stand in election complains of delay in obtaining paperwork

 * Paul Penlington.

The man chosen by Plaid Cymru as its candidate for Clwyd East claims Denbighshire County Council has ignored his attempts to obtain the necessary paperwork for him to stand in the general election on July 4.

Paul Penlington, a former Denbighshire county councillor, said: “I am intending to stand for Parliament but my attempts to get the necessary paperwork from Denbighshire have largely been ignored.

“I have been attempting to get the paperwork for a week now, my intention being to complete it well ahead of the submission deadline in order to avoid any errors.

“I have emailed twice, I have rung every day this week, but only had an answer once, and then was told they had been told not to put people through to electoral services.

“The monitoring officer with overall responsibility for this election it turns out was also away and doesn’t seem to have left anyone to respond to electoral queries. 

“Eventually, out of increasing frustration, I rang the CEO directly and spoke to someone in his office, yet again I was told I couldn’t be put through and that someone would get back to me. I am now a week behind other candidates and still do not have the required paperwork. 

“I will have a very limited window to get the signatures I need and complete the paperwork with time to spare in case of errors.”

A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: “All Clwyd East candidates should contact Flintshire County Council for the relevant paperwork for the upcoming election.

“However, we have posted out papers to the candidate first class and will be in contact with him to advise him of the situation. 

“The deadline for submission is Friday June 7 by 4pm.”

Latest local roadworks alerts

Latest local roadworks alerts from Causeway one.network are:

B5103 From Junction of A5t to Junction With A542 Horseshoe Pass Road, Llangollen, Denbighshire,North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency

04 June - 04 June

 

Delays likely - Diversion route

 

Name: Diversion

 

Location: B5103 From Junction Of A5t To Junction With A542 Horseshoe Pass Road

 

Description: Streetworks / License - Streetworks

 

Responsibility for event: Denbighshire County Council

 

Current status: Planned

Roadworks

 

Berwyn Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire

05 June - 07 June

 

Roadworks, Delays likely

 

Traffic management: Traffic control (two-way signals)

 

Description: Hydrant Rebuild chamber Job in Carriageway (Hot Rolled Asphalt-55/10 )

 

Works location: OPP POST OFFICE

 

Public facing description: one.network has automatically assigned a category of Unclassified works to this Works based on the information available. Please note: Works Descriptions are not published by Hafren Dyfrdwy.

 

Responsibility for works: Hafren Dyfrdwy

 

Current status: Planned work about to start

 

Works reference: ZU0028102/000013664121A

 

Town councillor's petition aims to save Market Street toilets

* The Market Street public toilets currently under threat.

A Llangollen town councillor is running an online petition opposing the controversial plan by Denbighshire County Council to get rid of the Market Street public toilets. 

As llanblogger has been reporting, the county aims to divest itself of all its public conveniences in a bid to save money. 

One suggestion it has made is that the toilets could be taken on by town or community councils but Llangollen town council has already said this is a non-starter in its case. 

The proposal has caused a storm of protest across the county and particularly in Llangollen. 

Now local town councillor Scott L Felton has started a petition at change.org,  which has so far attracted around 900 of its target 1,000 signatures. 

In the petition introduction he says: “Like most local authorities in Wales, Denbighshire County Council (DCC) has to find savings. It has targeted the entire public toilet asset within the county as, staggeringly, public conveniences are non-statutory. That means they aren't protected by law. They are thus an easy target for an authority with an appalling track record for abuse of the public purse itself.

“Llangollen is well known the world over as a day tripper and longer stay destination. It is home to the world famous International Musical Eisteddfod. The town sits within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the Llangollen Canal World Heritage site.

“It regularly features in the top 5 destinations within Wales in a plethora of polls and surveys. The bulk of the town's economy is tourism based. Despite this, DCC is willing to sacrifice that by closing down the town's (and others elsewhere) public toilets to save some money, part of the losses which are of its own doing. This is barbaric , uncaring, cold, heartless and defies logic.

“DCC has planned to close or otherwise dispose of the county's public toilets by close of 2024.

“Coach operators bring thousands of visitors to the town and drop off aside the toilets, most of whom immediately head there. Disabled, infirm, pregnant visitors etc rely heavily on such a facility. If the toilets close, those thousands of visitors will be dropped off elsewhere and Llangollen's economy will suffer hugely. Who has ever heard of a major tourist destination without public toilets?

“DCC's shoulder-shrug attitude is that visitors will use the private toilets of local businesses and community councils will take over the assets. It beggars belief that any human being could even think this up and actually promote it is a suitable alternative.

“If you've ever visited Llangollen, you will know how precious a jewel this little town is in Wales' crown. Please sign this petition to help force Denbighshire County Council to reverse its decision and keep Llangollen's public toilets open. “

* To see the petition go to: https://www.change.org/p/save-llangollen-s-public-toilets-denbighshire-council-abandon-any-closure-plans

New waste recycling scheme starts today

From today (Monday June 3) Denbighshire County Council is introducing changes to recycling and waste collections, including new containers and weekly collections for recyclable materials. 

Residents on the Trolibocs service will have received a letter outlining their collection dates for the new service, including any changes to the day they will be putting out their recycling. 

If residents are still unsure, there is a link on the website, which once the address is inputted, will provide the updated collection date. The link can be found here.

The council says waste crews will continue to work hard over the weekend to deliver the last few outstanding containers to residents and adds it is confident that all deliveries will be completed. 

If for some reason a resident doesn’t have their container by Monday, June 3, they should continue to use the blue wheelie bin or single use sacks for recycling until they receive their new containers. 

The council has received a large number of calls regarding the new waste changes within the last few days and would like to remind residents that if they have already logged a query about the new waste and recycling containers, there is no need to phone again to follow up, as the query is logged into the system and is being dealt with. This allows the contact centre staff to deal with more queries, more quickly. 

If residents have been unable to get through to the contact centre to log their new waste change query due to busy phone lines, they can fill in the following form here.

Tony Ward, Corporate Director, Environment and Economy, said: “From our waste operatives, through to the contact centre staff, there are a number of teams working incredibly hard to ensure that everything is ready for the roll out of the new service on Monday, including delivering new containers through the weekend in time for the service changes. 

"Separating materials at source will improve the quality of recycling that we collect and will also mean more recyclable materials will remain within the UK and be recycled as new products. As well as helping to reach mandatory waste recycling targets set by the Government, this new waste model will save the council up to half a million pounds per year.

"The council would like to thank residents for their co-operation during this transitionary period and appreciate their patience and understanding.”

Town council intends to co-opt two new members

Llangollen Town Council intends to co-opt two members to fill two vacancies for councillors it currently has.  

The public notice says:

Roadworks alert from Pengwern to Tyn Celyn

Latest local roadworks alert from Causeway one.network is:

Road From Pengwern to Tyn Celyn

03 June - 03 June

 

Delays likely - Diversion route

 

Name: Diversion

 

Location: Road From Pengwern to Tyn Celyn

 

Description: Streetworks / License - Streetworks

 

Responsibility for event: Denbighshire County Council

 

Current status: Planned

 

Eisteddfod's free ticket goldrush leaves scores of happy people

 

        * And they're off! People dash onto the field to begin the treasure hunt.

Scores of local people had fun this morning hunting for golden envelopes containing coveted free tickets to all the evening concerts being held as part of this year’s Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

The big goldrush on the Eisteddfod field began at precisely 10am when scores of people who had been waiting patiently at both main gates were let loose to start frantically combing hedges, outbuildings and the “big tent” itself for 80 golden envelopes hidden earlier by volunteers.

They contained tickets to shows this month and next by everyone from Sir Tom Jones to Kathleen Jenkins and from Simple Minds to Madness.

The first set was discovered within just 20 seconds by a young lady who had the brainwave of looking underneath the first object she spotted inside the town-end gate – a plastic traffic cone – where she saw they had been taped.

This find was followed by a procession of claimants which continued steadily until lunchtime.

People beamed with delight as they discovered that the unique treasure hunt organised by the Eisteddfod team had saved them hundreds of pounds.

In some cases whole families, complete with children and dogs, took part in the proceedings, many staying on the field for hours until they found what they were looking for.  

Eisteddfod vice-chairman John Gambles said: “I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who came along to join in the treasure hunt, making it a huge success.

“It turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable occasion and I was delighted to see many people going away very happy with their tickets to some of our biggest shows this summer.

“It also turned out to be a real community event of the kind we love to encourage at the Eisteddfod.

“I’d also like to thank the team of our volunteers who made the event possible.”

       * The first tickets were found within 20 seconds.

* Another early treasure finder.

* Smiles all round as the tickets turn up.

* A game for all the family.

* The queue of happy claimants.

* The generation game.

* What a great way to spend a morning.

* A jubilant family have their picture taken by an Eisteddfod cameraman.

* Found one at last!

* Keep on looking.