Students will continue to benefit from education grants, says Skates

* Minister for Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells, discusses the grants with students.

Thousands of students in Denbighshire and Wrexham will continue to benefit from weekly grants from the Welsh Labour Government, says a local Member of the Senedd.

More post-16 learners in colleges and sixth forms will now receive the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) following a Welsh Government decision to uplift the household income thresholds – resulting in more families being able to apply.

EMA is a weekly grant of £40 designed to support 16 to 18-year-olds with further education costs.

Ken Skates, whose Clwyd South constituency includes parts of Wrexham and Denbighshire, said: “EMA was scrapped in England by the Tories and Lib Dems in 2011, and is retained at a lower rate of £30 in Scotland and Northern Ireland – meaning Wales’ system is the most generous in the UK.

“Currently around 16,000 Welsh learners receive EMA, which can be a lifeline for students, but starting from the new academic year in September an estimated 3,500 more will benefit.”

The threshold for households with one dependent child is currently £20,817, which will increase to £23,400 – meaning students in a household with an income of £23,400 or less will be eligible. The threshold for households with two or more dependents will also rise to £25,974 from £23,077

Last year, more than 1,000 students in Wrexham and Denbighshire received EMA, and around 3,500 across the two counties have benefited from the scheme in the past three years.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells, said: “Wales already delivers the most generous Education Maintenance Allowance in the UK, helping post-16 learners to continue studying, and this change means we will now be supporting thousands more learners.

“We are very proud of our record in maintaining and increasing the Education Maintenance Allowance. We are clear that our Draft Budget is a budget for a brighter future and the uplift to EMA eligibility is one of the ways we are delivering this. The announcement means thousands more learners will now benefit from further financial support to continue their journey.”

Llangollen Railway features in two high-profile stories

* The story about the signal box planning application in Nation.Cymru.

A listed Victorian signal box in Llangollen could be turned into a wheelchair accessible wildlife viewing hub.

Llangollen Railway Trust has applied to Denbighshire’s planning department, seeking permission to build a wheelchair accessible platform adjacent to the historic signal box.

* For the full in Nation.Cymru story, see: Historic signal box could become wildlife viewing hub

And picturesque Berwyn Station is featured in an article in the Daily Express.

* To see the full story, go to: Beautiful Tudor train station next to river named as 'one of the best' in country

*Berwyn Station is featured in the Daily Express.

Dee Pizza restaurant hits national BBC headlines

* Dee Pizza is featured in a story on BBC Wales online.

Llangollen's Dee Pizza has hit the headlines on BBC Wales online for the way it has gone viral on TikTok.

The restaurant in Oak Street has surpassed 700,000 followers on the platform and their videos regularly get more than a million views.

* For the full story to go to: TikTok: How 'going viral' has changed the restaurant industry - BBC News

 

Reablement care service to expand within Denbighshire

Denbighshire County Council is expanding its Reablement Service in Adult Social Care, which helps residents do ordinary things such as dressing and cooking, by recruiting eight new staff. 

This forms part of Denbighshire’s transformation to ensure a sustainable social care service for the future, and also helps mitigate some of the financial pressures the council faces.

The new staff will be supporting people who need a hand to regain the skills to do everyday activities like cooking meals, washing, dressing, moving about the home and going out.

There are a number of reasons why people may need this support, like following a period of illness or a hospital stay. This support can last for as little as one or two weeks, but can be offered for up to six weeks if it is needed.

In addition to this support, the Care and Support Team offer longer term domiciliary support when this is required.

Darylanne, a Senior Care and Support Worker at the Council, said: “Our Reablement Service helps people to learn or re-learn the skills necessary to be able to engage in everyday activities, and to be as independent as possible. It is incredibly rewarding to see someone regain their independence and to start living their lives to the fullest.”

Ann Lloyd, Head of Service for Adult Social Care & Homelessness Service, said: “Being able to live as they wish in their own homes is vitally important to our residents, and we want to do everything possible to help them with this.

"With the right support at the right time, we can help residents have a better chance of maintaining their wellbeing, as well as stay independent in their own homes for longer.

We are looking for people who want to help residents gain skills, to help them to remain living independently at home, to come and join our team, and discover the rewarding role of caring for those who need our help."

Councillor Elen Heaton, Lead Member for Health and Social Care, said: “Residents who have just arrived home from hospital or treatment often need some support in adjusting back into domestic life, needing help with everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning or maybe help with doing their shopping.

"A successful Reablement Worker has good communication skills, empathy and most of all a real commitment for helping those who need it. I’d urge anyone who feels this way to come and join our passionate and caring team.”

* The full job description and details of how to apply can be found here:

https://workfor.denbighshire.gov.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?VACANCY_ID%3d127371Dvif&WVID=7576912FL1&LANG=USA

For an informal chat about these roles, candidates can visit Hafan Deg, War Memorial Court, Grange Road, Rhyl LL18 4BS between 4:30-5:30pm on Thursday throughout January and February.

Energy company serves up fish and chips on town car park

                                                                               

* The fish and chip van sets up on the Market Street car park earlier this afternoon.

A mobile fish and chip shop is spending this afternoon (Saturday) serving portions of food to people on Llangollen’s Market Street car park.

The service has been laid on by local power provider SP Energy Networks (Scottish Power) which says on its website that for those without power as a result of Storm Éowyn hot meals are being provided via food trucks at a number of locations.

Most of these are in Scotland, which was worst hit by the storm, but also on the list was Llangollen where, between 1 and 4pm, the food van was to be parked up outside the town’s Food Share office.

On its own Facebook page Food Share posted: “Free fish and chips for people without power in Market Street car park outside Food Share.

“500 portions when they’re gone, they’re gone ... please spread far and wide so that people find out about this. This is provided by Scottish Power.”

Just after 1pm a queue was forming outside the truck as people began to collect their meals.

* Llangollen Food Share's Facebook post.

Trevor Hall features in sumptuous country house weekend

* The facade of historic Trevor Hall.

An historic Llangollen mansion features in a sumptuous £1,500-a-head long weekend aimed at book-lovers who also like to travel.

An organisation called Strong Sense of Place has a podcast, a website and a section dedicated to “travel and the books we love”.  

It has just sent details to potential travellers of a “Top Secret Very Exciting Project,” it says it has been working on behind the scenes and is billed as a “modern take on the traditional manor house weekend”.

Describing 18th century Trevor Hall on the outskirts of Llangollen, the blurb says: “Together, we'll make ourselves at home in this historic Georgian mansion surrounded by the picturesque North Wales countryside.

“We'll talk about books, share gourmet meals in the Great Hall, play parlor (sic) games, ramble in the Welsh hills, listen to stories by candlelight, and be dazzled by an illusionist from London.”

Clearly aimed at visitors from the United States, the weekend begins in Manchester on a Thursday where the group will take over a boutique hotel in the city center (sic), enjoy an evening pub meet-up and spend the night.

* The drawing room at Trevor Hall.

Next day the group visits the Elizabeth Gaskell House in Manchester for a private tour of the Victorian villa where the author wrote her classic novel North and South and entertained literary friends like Charlotte Brontë and Charles Dickens.

Later they move over the Welsh border to Llangollen – “a charming historic town on the River Dee in North Wales” and their destination of Trevor Hall.

There, the itinerary includes games and conversation in the drawing room, formal dinners in the Great Hall, cocktail party and full afternoon tea plus, on the Saturday night, a séance show with an illusionist from London..

The weekend also includes a guided walk along the Llangollen Canal.

Menus at Trevor Hall, according to Strong Sense of Place, have been designed in collaboration with Welsh caterers Chris and Amy Yapp.

“Their carefully crafted meals feature Welsh specialties — Glamorgan Sausage Rolls, Welsh Lamb Lolly Pops, Laverbread, Welsh Cakes, Bara Brith — and local ingredients, including salted butter, honey, and produce from local farms,” says the description.

Cost of the four-day weekend, for which there are two choices of dates next October, is $1,850 US dollars per person, double occupancy, or around £1,518.

* For more information on the weekend, go to: Spend a Bookish Weekend with Us in a Country Manor House

St David's Day concert at the Stiwt