A number of sites in Llangollen have been submitted as ‘Candidate Sites’ for development. Here is a guide to the sites…

Llangollen Youth Club Site site
Site ref: CS-03E-170

Some thoughts on the youth club playing field site;

• This land is a vital resource for the youth club, kids, adults, families and sports teams.
• This green space should be retained as a playing field to support the health and well-being of Llangollen residents.
• Increased vehicle traffic.
• Increased demand on local services.

Site Name: Land off Maesmawr Road, Llangollen – Option 1
Site Ref: CS-03E-107

Site Name: Land off Maesmawr Road, Llangollen – Option 2
Site ref: CS-03E-108

Site Name: Maesmawr Road, adjacent to Tyn Y Wern, Llangollen
Site Ref: CS-03E-077

Some thoughts that apply to all 3 of the Maesmawr road sites;

• The site is large and so development would significantly alter the character of the town, and local services would struggle to cope.
• Employment within the town cannot support a site of this size, meaning increased commuting out of the town.
• The site is on the edge of town, and would pushing out the development boundary.
• The site has poor transport links. Birch Hill is a narrow and already busy road and would form the main access to amenities from the site.
• The site is too far out of the centre of town for Active Travel to be realistic.
• Development of the site would have significant negative visual impact on the valley.
• Development of the site would mean that the valley would lose important agricultural land, reducing potential for the agricultural industry.

Have your say

To have your say either…

Click here to visit the council’s consultation page. This contains lots of background information and a link to the consultation form.

OR

Complete the Consultation Response Form and return it by emailing: planningpolicy@denbighshire.gov.uk or
posting it to: Strategic Planning and Housing, Denbighshire County Council, PO Box 62,Ruthin, LL15 9AZ

The deadline for submissions is 30th August 2019.

The Big Bike Ride event was organised by Llangollen Friends of the Earth, and was part of the Sustrans ‘Big Pedal’, a national event involving over 2,000 schools. More than 70% of pupils from both the English and Welsh medium primary schools decided to cycle, scoot, or walk to school that day instead of travelling by car.

The event in Llangollen was covered by ITV Cymru/Wales as well as BBC Radio Wales. You can read more about the event here.

In Llangollen 240 children got together on Friday 29th March to cycle to school.

The event was organised by Friends of the Earth Llangollen, and was part of ‘The Big Pedal’, a national event involving over 2,000 schools More than 70% of pupils from both the English and Welsh medium primary schools decided to cycle, scoot, or walk to school that day instead of travelling by car.

Elin aged 7 said “It was really fun to cycle to school with my friends. Usually there are lots of cars at school which makes it difficult to cycle, but today there were hardly any cars and it was a lot better. I wish it could happen every day.”

Friends of the Earth Llangollen group coordinator Warren Davies said “Today has shown how easy and fun cycling can be. It wakes you up, it’s better for your health, and it’s just fun being outside in the fresh air. I have two young children and we would prefer to cycle to school every day. When they’re a bit older I’d like them to be able to cycle on their own, but the number of cars and lack of safe routes makes this very difficult.”

“We know cycling or walking is better for climate change and air pollution compared to driving. We also know that children are more at risk from the effects of pollution, so it’s important that we do more to improve air quality. The Welsh Government launched the Active Travel Act in 2013. To make progress we need the Welsh Government to provide more funding and clear leadership to councils in Wales.”

Headteacher of Bryn Collen, Lisa Howden said “Our learners love a challenge and we’re delighted to have taken part in the Big Pedal. We’ve been focusing on physical well being this year, taking part in Fitness Frenzy each break and the Daily Mile, so encouraging everyone to be active on their journey to school really complements that. We’re proud that our learners are aware of, and want to learn about, environmental and social issues. One of our year groups has recently chosen to learn about air pollution, so this event is also a practical response to that!”

Headteacher of Ysgol y Gwernant, Bethan Jones said “It’s great to be encouraging pupils and parents to walk, cycle and scoot to school. We have a responsibility to teach our pupils how to develop healthy lifestyles. It also links in with our Eco school initiatives and reduced traffic and pollution outside the school.”

In the UK 2,091 schools, nurseries, further education centres and after-school clubs are within 150 metres of a road with illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide.1 Air pollution costs lives and billions of pounds. It is one of the UK’s biggest killers, causing up to 36,000 early deaths in the UK every year, more than obesity or alcohol. Dirty air leads to worsening asthma symptoms, heart disease and even lung cancer. Air pollution has even been associated with changes in the brain linked to dementia and can lead to children growing up with smaller lungs.

The event organised by Llangollen Friends of the Earth aimed to encourage children and parents to consider cycling or walking to school instead of driving, showing how fun and beneficial it can be.

Be part of Llangollen’s Spring Clean, come along on Sunday 4th March!

Located in the picturesque Dee Valley, it is easy to assume that air pollution is something that doesn’t affect Llangollen. If you live alongside a main road in Llangollen, you may have guessed that things aren’t quite so rosey.

In January this year Llangollen Friends of the Earth deployed five Nitrogen Dioxide measuring kits. The kits measured this well known pollutant for three weeks. The results were surprising;

The European Union has set a legal average annual limit for NO2 at 40µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre). But even at low levels, short term and long term exposure to NO2 can have significant negative health effects.

One of the measurement sites is very close to the 40µg/m3 limit.

The levels displayed in Llangollen, especially those on the A539 Mill Street and by the A5 / Castle Street traffic lights are comparable to those found in certain locations in major cities. For example; Chester, the outskirts of Liverpool, Walsall and the dockland area of Cardiff.

Although generally lower, the increased average level at the school gate compared to the community garden is likely to be due to droppping off and picking up traffic at the school.

Group member Warren Davies stated, “These readings were taken during January and February when the traffic is pretty quiet. If the rest of the year was taken into account, the average values could be much higher.”

He went on to say “There is a lot of talk about reducing emissions in London and in cities, but localised air pollution in our towns can be just as unhealthy.”

Nationally outdoor air pollution is responsible for 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK, according to the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

NO2 is associated with vehicle traffic. Nationally Friends of the Earth is calling for restrictions of the dirtiest vehicles. Locally, Llangollen & District Friends of the Earth are calling on our local decision makers to consider our findings, and invest in schemes locally to reduce emissions by encouraging walking and cycling, and discouraging traffic-generating developments.

This year the garden will focus on running skills workshops. Workshops may include; green woodworking, permaculture, herb growing and uses, and maybe even eco-building techniques.

Energy project

We will look again at energy generation in Llangollen and the Dee Valley. We will consider a variety of technologies, sites and company structures. Have an interest, any advice or experience in this area? Please come along!

Fracking campaigning

We will work with other groups in the area to campaign against Fracking.

Come along and join our campaign against Fracking!

Over 600,000 tonnes of food is thrown away by UK restaurants every year. That’s the equivalent of 40 000 double decker buses!
Llangollen Friends of the Earth supplied all of the Town’s biggest restaurants with an initial batch of boxes and promotional material, in the hope that they will encourage diners to take home anything they cannot eat.
It is hoped that the promotion of the boxes will remove the embarrassment felt by some diners that prevents them from asking for a doggy bag.

Restaurant owners felt that throwing excellent food away was a scandal, “Our food is excellent, and really we don’t throw that much away, when we do have to throw something away, it really does feel like such a shame”.

Local Friends of the Earth member, Warren Davies, explained, “We’ve encouraged the restaurants to promote our boxes so that their customers feel at ease asking to take food home. Restaurants and their chefs hate to see their excellent food go to waste, and would much prefer it to be taken home”.

Participating restaurants in Llangollen are; Manorhaus, Tyn Y Wern, The Cornmill, Gales wine bar, and The Gallery. Other restaurants are also looking to take part soon.

The day starts at 10am with a visit from Susan Elan Jones, who will be helping launch our new Bee World area. The BBQ will be serving food at around 1pm, with the day wrapping up around 5pm.