Church bells will ring out for today's D-Day 80th anniversary

* Bells will ring out from St Collen's Church.

Llangollen's church bells will ring out to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day this morning. 

The special day commemorates the Allied landings on the coast of Normandy on June 6th 1944,

Church bells all over the country will be rung to celebrate the peace which followed when World War Two in Europe came to an end just under a year later.

And just after 11am today the same peal for peace will be heard from the bell tower of St Collen's.

A little earlier - and precisely at 11am - Llangollen’s town crier is joining his counterparts from across the world to deliver a very special proclamation to mark the anniversary.

Austin “Chem” Cheminais is on a list of over 300 town criers from many countries who have been asked to send out to their local communities the commemorative message detailing the famous cross-channel invasion.

Accompanied by a contingent from the Llangollen branch of the Royal British Legion, he will stand in Centenary Square and at 11am cry out the proclamation which has been specially penned for the occasion by Christian Ashdown of the Ancient and Honourable Guilds of Town Criers who formerly served with the Household Cavalry.

The proclamation he will deliver is:

“Oyez, Oyez, Oyez

“Today we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France - an incredible achievement in military planning and logistics uniting brave service personnel from air, sea and land forces at the beginning of Operation Overlord.

“By the day’s end, over one hundred and fifty thousand Allied troops had successfully stormed the now famous Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah and Omaha beaches to achieve a toehold in France.

“In the weeks that followed, the Allies fought bitterly against a determined foe from the unforgiving countryside of Normandy to the liberation of Paris two months later.

“We should all remember and never forget the selfless sacrifice and courage of all those involved and use this Commemoration to pay our tribute to those who gave so much to secure the freedom we all enjoy today. God Save the King!” 

Market Street car park made £187,726 last year, says story

 

* Market Street car park.

Denbighshire County Council pulled in more than £1.29 million in pay-and-display car parking fees in 2023/24, according to a story in the Daily Post.  

And it adds that a breakdown of the figures show that Llangollen’s Market Street car park is the most lucrative pay and display, raking in £187,726.07 in the last financial year.

* For the full story, see: https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-council-rakes-more-29293659

Eisteddfod answers questions about evening concert control measures

* Dan Cuffe answers a question from the audience during the meeting.

Promoters who will bring a series of big-name concerts to Llangollen International Eisteddfod from later this month have assured they will do their very best to control extra traffic and any excess noise they create. 

Over 50 people attended a public meeting at the Town Hall yesterday (Tuesday) evening to hear a panel of key figures from Cuffe & Taylor and the Eisteddfod answer questions on traffic management and noise control measures to be put in place for the all-star evening concerts arranged either side of and during festival week. 

The concerts start on June 18 with Bryan Adams and end with Madness on July 13.

Traffic control measures for the concerts are based on a one-way “clearway” system, controlled by manned traffic lights, at either end.

This will guide vehicles along in and out of the official Eisteddfod car park via Tower Road and Dinbren Road. 

People attending the evening events are being advised to buy parking passes along with their tickets as early as possible.

All the control measures are fully explained in a leaflet due to be delivered to residents and businesses across Llangollen soon.

The panel took a series of questions on how things will work and Dan Cuffe, co-founder of Cuffe & Taylor, said that feedback gained from the meeting would lead to further examination and possible amendments to the plan.

One of the first questions came from former Eisteddfod chairman Dr Rhys Davies who asked what would happen if parked cars blocked the clearway, which would cause “chaos” in the system.

Dan Cuffe replied: “We have already consulted the local authority about this plan but if necessary we could call on them for extra help with enforcement even if that means paying for it.”

To the satisfaction of the audience the panel dealt with a series of traffic control questions, such as where concert-goers could be dropped off by cars and where coaches would be able to park.

On the question of possibly providing a parking shuttle service for the concerts, Cuffe & Taylor’s events manager Becca Woodhead said there were currently no plans for this but that ticket sales would be monitored to see if it was warranted.

On the general question of any additional measures which might be thought necessary Dan Cuffe said: “We are a responsible company and we will listen. If numbers go beyond what we expect, one hundred percent we will do something more.”

He also assured that his company had long experience in handling traffic and this summer alone would be putting on a total of 140 shows in various parts of the UK.

On the question of noise which might be generated by the evening concerts, Becca Woodhead explained that they would be using a sound management company to monitor levels just outside the Pavilion to ensure local residents were not being adversely affected.

Dan Cuffe said he would be at the Pavilion himself on the night of the Bryan Adams concert, not to see the show but to walk the area to make sure all measures being put in place were working and to make amendments where he thought necessary.

At the outset of the meeting the Eisteddfod’s artistic director Dave Danford said: “This year’s Eisteddfod will be really exciting for the town,” and he assured, “the festival you know and love will still be here, just in an expanded format.”

The panel was given a round of applause at the end of the meeting,

Rhos Male Voice Choir's next date at the Stiwt

 

Pengwern Community Hub's June timetable

Pengwern Community Hub has published its timetable for June. 

The Friends of Pengwern are having a meet 'n' greet and AGM on June 14, which is open to all residents of Llangollen or anyone interested in finding out more about the group. 

Organisers say you can just turn up but it would be great if you could let them know you are coming so they can have plenty of refreshments available.

They add: "If you fancy a break from the routine and would like to join us for a community dig and land clear on Wednesday morning 10 till 12, we’ll be having a shared lunch afterwards. 

"It’s National Volunteers Week this week so a great opportunity to build community together."

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