New heritage group to launch at Christmas festival

At its second meeting, in September, the newly-formed Our Historic Llangollen/Hanesyddol I bawb agreed to publicly launch its existence by taking part in the town's annual Christmas festival on Saturday November 30.

The co-operative group of heritage sites and projects will take part in the stalls and events during the festival.

Spokesperson Sue Hargreaves said: "We will be having a stall on Centenary Square specifically devoted to Our Historic Llangollen/Hanesyddol I bawb  -abbreviated for convenience to OHLlHib - with new leaflets in Welsh and English giving a brief summary and illustration of each of the key heritage sites in Llangollen.

"We will also have available any current leaflets, posters and fliers from our member organisations. 

"We hope that a number of our member heritage sites in the town centre will be open, with tours and talks, information sessions or story-telling.

"We will compile these into a programme, ensuring that people can progress from one site to another without timing clashes."

Sue added: "Our Historic Llangollen/Hanesyddol I bawb is assisted in this initiative by grant-aid from the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape Sustainable Development Fund. 

"This funding will also support the creation of an OHLlHib logo to aid developing a recognisable brand for Llangollen’s historic sites, and the development of a sharing of resources, information and co-operative initiatives going forward into 2025."

Llantysilio Community Council seeks new clerk

 

Council says: Let us know if you still need assisted refuse collections

Denbighshire County Council (DCC) has asked residents to urgently confirm whether they still need assisted refuse collections.

The council recently wrote to over 1,000 properties it has identified as having been registered for the service for three years or more, asking them if they still required this form of collection or not.  

People were informed in the letter that if the council hadn’t heard from them by September 27 they would be removed from its system.  

Details were provided in the letter of how to contact DCC should the property/resident wish to continue the service.

However, the council says response rates have been "relatively low" and that the original date has now passed.  

In a message sent to local county councillors earlier this afternoon (Tuesday) a senior officer says: "Given the difficulties we have faced in recent months, we’ve taken the decision to issue a further letter to the properties as a final reminder. This will be going out to the properties we’ve had no response from in the next 24 hours.

 

"If we receive no response following both letters, the service will be removed. I’m letting you as a group know in advance so you are forewarned on this matter."

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Yet another Chinese contender makes bid for slice of UK market

Omoda launch by Steve Rogers

To get noticed and get ahead are the challenges facing the latest Chinese car brand to hit our shores.

Futuristic design and obscure names are the starting point so enter Omoda, another Chinese company you are unlikely to have heard of.

First the house keeping. The cars are produced by Chery, the country’s top car exporter and currently the world’s fastest growing car brand. As for the name, the O stands for life and vitality while Moda comes from fashion trends. That must have taken some thinking up.

For now the range is made up of the electric E5 and petrol Omoda 5 with a choice of Comfort or Noble variants. Hybrid and plug-in models will follow.

Like fellow Chinese brands MG and BYD the idea is to undercut just about everyone so typically you get a C segment SUV (e.g.Ford Kugar) for B segment SUV (e.g. Ford Puma) money with a lot of kit thrown in and a seven-year warranty to sweeten the pill.

They do not want the cars to be tagged as bargain basement so along with eye-catching design the interiors have a definite up market finish with lots of synthetic leather, a nod to the company’s eco ambitions.

With the 2030 electric deadline edging closer the main focus is on the E5. The starting price of £33,055 for a SUV the size of the Nissan Qashqai is competitive given the level of equipment, warranty and safety features.

Interestingly the company has turned to fellow Chinese car company BYD for the ultra thin ‘Blade’ battery. Its 61kWh output has a range of 257 miles which is down on the likes of Kia EV6, Skoda Enyak and Volkswagen ID.5 although they all have batteries with a greater output. I applaud the addition of a heat pump which reduces energy taken from the battery pack to heat the car. On a cold day turning on the heating can take 20 odd miles off the range.

Driving E5 is on a par with electric rivals. The extra weight of the battery pack can make them feel a little cumbersome on twisting B roads but it is not uncomfortable.

Omoda has gone to extraordinary lengths to satisfy UK drivers shipping the cars to a plant in Germany where everything from spring and damper rates, steering ratios, anti-roll bar stiffness and bush rates are tuned either for the UK or mainland European roads, shipped back to China for approval and brought back.

The ride is firm and a tad lively on those B roads but refined cruising the motorway. This is when you can relax and take in the classy ultra modern layout.

It has the now common ‘widescreen TV’ set up with twin 12.3in screens. There are graphics galore for the driver showing the position of surrounding vehicles while the adjoining touchscreen handles infotainment, and everything else barring heating, thank heavens. There is a lot to take in without having to work out how to adjust the heating when the windscreen is misting up so physical switches are welcome.

If electric is still a no-no then the petrol Omoda 5 is a tempting proposition with its starting price of £25,235 (Noble £27,035). This, too, feels like a more expensive car with a nice quality look to the fixtures and fittings. With the twin screens reduced to 10.25in it loses some of the dramatic effect but retains a futuristic layout.

The 184bhp 1.6 litre engine is punchy and carries the car to 62mph in a brisk 7,9 seconds through a seven speed dual clutch automatic gearbox. It also shows up the vagaries of electric versus petrol with a more settled ride and nimble handling.

It has the same seven year warranty along with a high level of equipment and safety features.

Next year will see the introduction of posher Jaecoo models, larger SUVs with sights set on the premium end of the market, think Lexus-Toyota and Genesis-Hyundai. To complete the name game Jae is a derivation of the German jager (hunter) and the coo our very own ‘cool’ so why not just call it Jaecool?

You can’t help thinking Omoda is using Kia as its guiding light. It would not mind mirroring the Korean company’s rise from bit part player to super star although its sales plan is even more ambitious with a target of 40,000 cars by 2026.

Oliver Lowe, the company’s product manager set out the company’s stall when he told me: “We want to be a significant player in the UK market.”

This looks like a story worth following.

Fast facts

Omoda E5 Noble

£34,555

Range: 257 miles

61KWh battery; 204bhp

0-62mph 7.2secs

30-80% top up: 28 minutes

Battery warranty 8 years

Boot: 380-1075 litres

Latest local roadworks bulletin from Denbighshire County Council

Latest local roadworks bulletin from Denbighshire County Council is:

NR 1 THE BEECHES MARKET ST JNC BERWYN ST AND HALL ST LLANGOLLEN LL20 8 MARKET STREET 18/10/2024 18/10/2024 Gwaith BT/ BT Works SUNBELT RENTALS (DCC)

Llandyn Hall Farm Culvert TRACK TO LLANDYN HALL FROM A539 02/09/2024 11/10/2024 Gwaith ar Gylfat/ Culvert Works PHILIP BILLINGTON (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

GREEN LANE, LLANGOLLEN, DENBIGHSHIRE GREEN LANE 22/10/2024 22/10/2024 Gwaith Carthffosiaeth/ Sewer Works MORRISON WATER SERVICES LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

A539 LLANGOLLEN ROAD 14/10/2024 17/10/2024 Gwaith Draenio / Drainage Works DCC

A539 NR 1 THE BEECHES MARKET ST JNC BERWYN ST AND HALL ST LLANGOLLEN LL20 8 HALL STREET 18/10/2024 18/10/2024 Gwaith BT/ BT Works SUNBELT RENTALS (DCC)

Hill Street, Pengwern, Llangollen, Denbighshire, LL20 8EU HILL STREET 27/10/2024 27/10/2024 remedial DEFECT TAR ALUN GRIFFITHS (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Goleuadau Traffig Dros Dro/ Temp Traffic Lights

 

MP and MS 'optimistic' that town's public toilets will stay

* The Market Street public toilets. 

Llangollen’s Member of the Senedd and MP say they have stressed the need for Denbighshire County Council to explore all options to keep the town’s toilets open. 

Ken Skates and Becky Gittins have held a number of meetings with senior figures at the authority and say they "remain optimistic" that the public conveniences on Market Street won’t close. 

The county council needs to find £10.4m of savings as part of its 2024/25 budget, and a proposal to review public toilets across the county was one of the potential savings identified. A public consultation was launched to allow residents, business owners and visitors to have their say. 

Both Mr Skates and Mrs Gittins have been contacted by Llangollen residents and visitors to the town, but the council has repeatedly reassured the community that no decisions have been made. 

Clwyd South MS Mr Skates said: “Becky and I have met with Denbighshire County Council a number of times to discuss the need for options to be developed and considered. We have said previously that we want to leave no stone unturned, and that hasn’t changed. We want to help find a way to keep the public toilets in Llangollen open.” 

Mrs Gittins, who was elected as the new MP for Clwyd East in July, attended the public meeting in Llangollen Town Hall earlier this year. 

She said: “Our meetings with the council have been productive and we remain optimistic. We are still keen to meet with town councillors as well, as they clearly have an important role to play. 

“The county council’s aim throughout this process has been to work with the town council and the community, and they’ve been meeting with town and community councils throughout the county where areas have public toilets to try to find solutions. We have stressed the need for all options to be explored, and I think everyone’s on the same page.”

The issue is now due be be discussed at Denbighshire’s scrutiny committee meeting in December.

In a recent email to Mr Skates and Mrs Gittins, Denbighshire's Head of Highways & Environmental Services, Paul Jackson, said: “Again, I must be clear, no decision has been made on this issue and we are still working through options and going through democratic processes.”

MS voices concern over future of eye care in Wales

Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales (pictured) has expressed concern over the future of eye care in the country.

Mr Rowlands, Shadow Health Minister, last week raised the issue that people in Wrexham, were waiting three years for glaucoma operations while across the border in Cheshire, it was only four weeks.

 

Opening the Welsh Conservative debate on eye care he said: “'A tidal wave of blindness'—that's a stark warning from a leading doctor on the state of eye care here in Wales. As it stands, more than 80,000 people in Wales are at the highest risk of irreversible sight loss, with eye care accounting for one in every eight patients languishing on a Welsh NHS waiting list. 

 

“The number of ophthalmology patients waiting beyond their target date has more than doubled in the past five years, and in the last decade, referrals to ophthalmic services have increased by over 50%.

 

“The numbers are staggering, but it's the personal stories that I'm sure we all hear of in our inboxes and on phone calls that are tragic.  A person got in touch with me just this week saying that they're on a list for a cataract operation at a hospital in North Wales and they've been told that the wait for the surgery is two and a half years. That can have a massive impact on a person's life and they can lose their sight.

 

“Let's not forget that this loss of sight, many times, is treatable, but people are losing their sight because they're waiting too long on these lists, which is ultimately the responsibility of Labour Ministers in this place.

 

“I recently visited Specsavers in North Wales, in Broughton, who are working to treat people with eye problems. And at a national level, they want to be able to support, with the training and development of optometrists, as they have done in other parts of the UK. It's organisations like this that can help take the strain off the NHS, and make sure that people are seen as quickly as possible instead of waiting, literally, for years.”

 

Mr Rowlands called on the Welsh Government to adopt measures to tackle the deep-seated issues that impact eye healthcare in Wales and for Ministers to set targets and deadlines for improving waiting list backlogs.

 

Jeremy Miles Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said although progress has been made to reduce long waiting times for eye care, there is still work to be done in order to deal with the backlog that built up during the pandemic.