Public can find out about plans for new National Park

Two drop-in events are to be held in the Llangollen area by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) as part of a 10-week public consultation period on plans for a new National Park in Wales, starting this week and ending in December.

Welsh Government has commissioned NRW to assess the evidence and case for a new National Park and make a recommendation.

A study area based on the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape was identified and shared during a public engagement period in late 2023.

Following this and a period of evidence gathering NRW will now be consulting the public on the emerging proposal throughout the autumn and winter months.

The public consultation events will be an opportunity to learn more about the project and evidence gathered to date, ask questions of the team and share feedback on the draft boundary map referred to as the Candidate Area Map.

The two local drop-in events will take place at the Ceiriog Centre, New Road, LL20 7HE on Wednesday October 16, from 1-7pm, and at Llangollen Town Hall on Tuesday December 10, from 3-7pm.

Ash Pearce, Programme Manager in NRW’s Designated Landscapes Programme team said: "While we have a statutory procedure to follow, we want to ensure that this is an inclusive process and that people have the opportunity to share their views on the proposals. 

“Early engagement has given us a much clearer picture of the issues, hopes and concerns of the local people and stakeholders. We have identified eleven themes that underline both risks and opportunities for the area. These reflect concerns about over tourism and the impact on housing, but also the hopes for better management, responsible access, conservation and nature’s recovery.”

* People are encouraged to either drop by at an in-person event or email the project team at designated.landscapes.programme@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk to sign up to an online event. People will only need to attend one event as the information shared will be the same for each.

Latest generation Swift is 'terrific value'

Suzuki Swift drive by Steve Rogers

It certainly brightened up a dreary day when the bright blue Suzuki Swift pulled on to the drive.

The little super mini has always been a favourite since I drove the new model around the streets of Monaco at the launch in 2004. Wisely the powers that be have pretty much stuck with the original shape with just the occasional bit of tinkering, and it is ditto for the fourth generation model.

Keen eyed Swift fans will spot the full length swage line above the door handles running into a new clamshell bonnet, along with a restyled grille and more prominent L shaped daylight running lights.

And they have not been idle elsewhere, fine tuning the suspension and adding some much needed soundproofing to reduce noise in the cabin. There is a new 1.2 litre three-cylinder mild hybrid engine with lower engine emissions and an 8 per cent improvement in economy.

Quite a lot going on then, but has it made a difference?

That would be a yes on all counts with some more noticeable than others. The biggest improvement has come from the sound proofing. Cabin noise was an area that let down the Swift, whether it be road noise or jolts coming through the suspension, and there was always a tinny sound when closing the doors.

You cannot get rid of cabin din altogether but they have made a pretty good fist of it applying underbody adhesives and liquid filled engine mountings to reduce transmission noise and vibration along with damping panels to the floor and dashboard. They have even increased the thickness of the carpet pile so no one can say they haven’t tried.

Changes to the suspension have helped, more so on smoother roads, but once into the rougher stuff the car is still a bit lively. Suzuki hasn’t quite got the knack of Renault or Peugeot/Citroen when it comes to smoothing out the worst of our road surfaces.

That said the aforementioned cannot match Swift when it comes to handling. It sticks to the road like glue, sweeping through bends without a care in the world reminding the enthusiastic driver of favourite hot hatches of old.

The sporty drive is not really matched by performance, 82bhp is down on some of its rivals as is the sprint time to sixty time, but the three cylinder configuration provides surprisingly good pick up from around 1600 rpm and does not sound stressed approaching the red line. Could it do with a sixth gear? Probably.

Even with five gears economy is up there with the best. I did not reach the 70 plus achieved in the Mazda2 hybrid but the Swift never dropped below 60 mpg and was topping out at 64 mpg on longer runs. That is cheap motoring at a time when we really need it.

Inside has been nicely spruced up, still loads of hard plastic coverings, but more pleasing to the eye with two tone moulded finishes. The driver’s binnacle is still analogue but with far more information and a digital speedometer.

Everything looks more modern thanks to a new nine inch centrally mounted touchscreen. It covers the basic features including smartphone connections and is as easy as blinking to use. Heating controls are separate. Hooray for that.

Worth a mention is the new front seat design which is more comfortable with excellent side bolsters to hold you in place.

I have saved the best until last. There are only two models, Motion and Ultra and the spec list will raise eyebrows. In fact there is no need to spend more on the Ultra because the Motion has just about everything including auto dipping LED headlights, navigation, adaptive cruise control, rear view camera and parking sensors.

Even more impressive are the safety features, in fact this is the longest list on the spec sheet with 24 items.

Suzuki has probably taken Swift as far as it can. The improvements have worked, it is terrific value for money, there are not many new cars around under £19k with this level of equipment and safety features. Running costs should be low, it has an enviable reliability record, and there is an option to extend the warranty to seven years provided the car is serviced at a Suzuki dealer.

It might be one of the smallest superminis, but definitely not one to be ignored.

Fast facts

Swift Ultra

£19,799 (Motion £18,699)

1.2 litre 3-cylinder petrol; 82bhp

0-62mph 12.5secs; 103mph

64.2mpg combined

99g/km. First tax £165

Boot: 265-589 litres

Insurance group 27

Council cabinet agrees steps to tackle recycling problems

* One of the new trolibocs at the centre of problems.

Denbighshire County Council is to pay for extra vehicles and staff at a cost of over £2m to help overcome major problems created by its troubled new household waste collection system.   

Since its introduction at the start of June there has been a catalogue of problems with late or missed collections right across the county, including Llangollen.

At a special meeting of its cabinet yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) members agreed to approve the purchase of eight new vehicles plus taking on eight extra drivers and 11 more loaders in a bid to ensure the service can be delivered on a sustainable footing.

The cabinet was considering a report from the council’s Corporate Director: Environment and Economy & Head of Highways & Environmental Service which said that on June 3 this year the council implemented a new waste/recycling service.

And it adds: “It soon became apparent after the roll-out of the new service that some of the assumptions were flawed.

“The main issue being some of the daily recycling rounds had been designed with too many properties requiring collection. This meant we were seeing several rounds per day not completing, resulting in large and unacceptable numbers of missed collections.

“Without committing additional resources the new service cannot be delivered successfully and sustainably and we will continue to spend significantly more on inefficient short-term day-to-day decisions to ensure missed collections are minimised/corrected.

“The day-to-day management decisions since the roll-out have focused on the hire of additional vehicles, increase in the use of agency staff, and the use of overtime for existing staff.

“In order to put the new waste/recycling rounds on a sustainable footing additional recycling rounds are required. The original model as rolled out was based on 20 rounds per day. The number of additional rounds required ranges from 6 to 8 rounds depending on the day of the week.

“This requires the purchase of an additional eight vehicles at a capital cost of £1.299m and additional drivers and loaders to operate the vehicles."

Cabinet was also asked to approve an additional £1.067m of revenue costs in order to ensure the service change can deliver as planned on a sustainable footing. This includes the revenue costs for the prudential borrowing for the vehicles.

The report added: “If this additional budget is approved, then we can immediately plan to implement the necessary changes, and the introduction of the additional rounds can commence within week’s of today’s Cabinet meeting.”

Members were told that the additional cash needed to implement the plan would be raised through borrowing.

At the start of yesterday's meeting the lead member responsible for recycling, Cllr Barry Mellor, said: “We all accept that the new service hasn’t worked as well as we wanted it to.

“We now understand why it hasn’t worked and what lessons need to be learned.

“We used temporary resources to address the problems – agency staff and hired vehicles. However, we need a permanent solution in place to ensure the service is on a sustainable footing.”

Tony Ward, the council’s corporate director for the economy and environment, admitted: “We didn’t design enough recycling rounds into the new service. The number of rounds needs to be 26 to 28 rounds per day depending on the day of collection.”

He added: “We now have experience of what happened. We are working on the basis of real evidence rather than on assumptions.

“We are looking at every single round on every day and concentrating on those rounds that haven’t worked to make sure that they do.”

He said he believed that the new business model would allow the council to hit its statutory recycling targets set by the Welsh Government.

During a discussion about those who had paid for green garden bin and trade waste collection but not received a proper service for four months, Councillor Terry Medies suggested that as a gesture of goodwill they should be given a four-month holiday on their direct debit payments from last December to March.

Tony Ward said that although this was an issue that needed to be addressed compensation wasn’t an issue for this particular meeting.

Chief executive Graham Boase said it had been a difficult time for everyone – residents officers and councillors but added: “We’ve tried to be open and honest but we will learn from our mistakes.”    

At the end of a lenghty debate the new recycling model was approved by the cabinet. 

Dementia films to be shown at Community Hall

 

Panto chooses two good causes for donations from its 2025 show

Llangollen Pantomime Group has chosen the two charities it will be supporting with its 2025 show.

Hope House Children's Hospices and the Llangollen Parks community group will both benefit from Beauty and the Beast which the group will stage at Llangollen Town Hall from Thursday-Sunday, January 16-19.

Cast and crew are already busy rehearsing for their own version of the classical panto which they promise will be an hilarious fun show with fantastic music and songs.

From its 2024 show, Jack and the Beanstalk, the group was able to donate £1,500 to Nightingale House Hospice and is aiming to make similarly successful donations in January.

A group spokesperson said: "Due to the success of the last panto we are now raising funds for two local charities, Hope House and Llangollen Parks Community Group, who help fundraising to support local parks and outdoor spaces.

"People planning to join in the fun of our show can take advantage of early bird tickets, with the Saturday matinee already almost sold out. The link is: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/llangollenpanto"

Council's bulky waste collection service is back

Denbighshire County Council has reopened its bulky waste collection service.

The service was paused whilst the transition to the new waste model was implemented but the council says it is now in a position to reopen it and take bookings for bulky waste removals. 

According to information sent to Llangollen county councillor Karen Edwards by officers, collection slots will be made available to customers so they can select a date for it to be done. 

The previous system meant a call back from one of the waste team within 15 days of making the booking request. 

The new way of working is described by the council as “much more efficient and effective for both residents and the Operations Team as it will give clarity of collection dates to all parties from the moment the booking is made”.

Residents can book via the online link at: www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/bins-and-recycling/bulky-item-collection.aspx

The council adds: “We don’t anticipate any issues with the service or for it to have any effect on the collection of the other waste stream collections as this is being operated in isolation from the rest of the operation.”

Prices for the service are:

Bulky item collection costs including administration charge

 

Number of bulky items – maximum of six per collection	Total cost including administration charge
Hyd at 3 eitem	£31
4 eitem	£37
5 eitem	£43
6 eitem	£49

Scottish legends Texas to headline at Eisteddfod concert

 

Following on from their critically acclaimed sold-out UK arena tour, Texas will be bringing their popular, crowd-loving live show to Llangollen next summer.

Fronted by Sharleen Spiteri, the band will showcase five decades of music from the worldwide classic I Don’t Want A Lover to the modern-day hits of Mr Haze and Keep on Talking when they headline Live at the Pavilion on Thursday June 26.

With more than 40 million albums sold, their songs continue to resonate with fans across the world including the ever popular Say What You Want, Summer Son and Inner Smile.

Tickets go on sale at 9am this Friday (October 4).

Speaking about the Llangollen concert, Sharleen Spiteri said: "I came to Llangollen for a gig this summer and was blown away by the incredible atmosphere and beautiful venue. We'll have a great night with you next June and I can't wait to see you all."

The announcement is part of an ongoing partnership with Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and Live Nation promoters Cuffe and Taylor.

Cuffe and Taylor co-founder Peter Taylor said: “We’ve had the pleasure of working with Texas before and they always put on the best show. They’ve produced hit after hit over 35 incredible years, so their Llangollen debut is definitely not one to miss!”

Artistic Director of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Dave Danford added: “Texas are undoubtedly one of the UK’s most beloved and enduring bands of the last few decades, and we’re delighted that they’ll be playing a show in the Llangollen Pavilion next summer. 

"Sharleen Spiteri visited us during this year’s festival, and it’ll be great to have her back to take centre stage, along with the rest of the band, for a night to remember.”

It has already been announced that global pop rock sensation The Script will headline Live at Llangollen Pavilion on Thursday July 3.

* For more information and to purchase tickets from this Friday, October 4 go to llangollen.net and www.ticketmaster.co.uk

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