News
Hundreds line the street for Freedom of the County parade
Hundreds of people lined the streets of Ruthin last month to bestow the honour of Freedom of the County to the Royal Welsh.
They already have the honour and this was reaffirmed during a ceremony on 2 September. Fusilier Llewelyn (the goat) led over 130 soldiers, who paraded through the town’s streets, starting off at Wynnstay Road and up Market Street to St Peter’s Square where a parade inspection took place.
Following a public address and National Anthems, Fusilier Llewelyn then led the Royal Welsh, the Regimental Band and the Cadets around St Peter’s Square, down Well Street and into Wynnstay Road where the march ended at the cenotaph.
This momentous occasion gave the people of Denbighshire and visitors to the area, a chance to show support and thank our armed forces for their courage and bravery in the execution of their duty, both at home and overseas.
The Freedom of the County was first awarded by the Council to The Royal Welsh in June 2011, when hundreds of people lined the streets of Denbigh to support and witness the event.
Recycling efforts paying dividends
The Council is saying a “huge thank you” to the county’s residents for their recycling efforts.
In the 2016/17, Denbighshire recycled 64% of the waste it collected, meeting the 64% target set by the Welsh Government two years early.
The Council is now encouraging residents to make sure that all food waste is disposed of in the food waste collection service. Currently 20% of the total waste that is collected in black wheelie bins is actually food waste.
The next target set for Denbighshire is to reach 70% by 2024/2025.
To assist with improving recycling rates further, residents are asked to ensure that all food waste is placed in the orange food waste caddy provided, ready for its weekly collection.
A smaller kitchen caddy is provided for you to collect food waste each day and transfer to the orange food waste container when convenient. The following food waste can go into the orange caddy: Baked products i.e. cakes, cereals, biscuits, bread crusts, mouldy bread ; Canned/packed products i.e. nuts, pulses, seeds; Vegetable waste i.e. peelings / rotten veg; Tea bags / coffee grounds; Leftovers; Fruit waste i.e skins, cores, peels; meat waste; Dairy waste i.e. egg shells.
Councillor Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member with responsibility for recycling said: “Meeting the recycling target two years early is a great achievement and we couldn’t have recycled so much without the dedication and commitment of Denbighshire residents to dispose of waste in the correct way.
“The Council is proud of its recycling service which has developed over recent years and Denbighshire is seen at the forefront of recycling in Wales. We want to continue with our green, environmentally friendly approach by providing the right recycling services and by working with residents and local communities."
For further information about recycling, please click here.
National Adoption Week 2017 #SupportAdoption
National Adoption Week 2017 will take place from the 16th to 22nd October. As in previous years, the need to find families for some of our most vulnerable children is at the heart of the event and the focus this year is on siblings.
It will also aim to encompass all aspects of adoption, to demystify and clarify the adoption process, reflect the challenges of adoptive parenting.
The North Wales Adoption Service will be supporting National Adoption Week by holding information/drop in sessions across North Wales giving people the opportunity to come and find out more about the adoption process. No appointments are necessary, and people are welcome to come and talk through their own personal situation, in full confidence if they wish.
On the 18th of October we will be at Rhyl Library (1pm -3pm) and the Swimming Centre in Llandudno (4pm-7pm).
For more information please visit our website http://www.northwalesadoption.gov.uk/.
Innovative Council initiative seeks involvement from local community
Denbighshire’s Shared Lives Scheme is currently looking for local people who would like to become ‘carers’.
The scheme provides extra support in the daily lives of people in need – they may have a complex disability, mental health problems, physical disabilities, or sensory impairment which affects their lives.
The Council is looking for enthusiastic and caring individuals, couples or families who live in Denbighshire and have a spare room in their home to be a Shared Lives Carer.
Denbighshire’s Shared Lives Scheme has dedicated staff who provide practical support, advice and guidance to Shared Lives Carers. We will also provide them with appropriate training and arrange for them to be paid a fee.
Councillor Bobby Feeley, Cabinet Lead Member for Well-being and Independence, said:” Denbighshire’s Shared Lives Scheme aims to play a crucial link in supporting those in our community who need help the most. Experience of working in the care sector would be useful but isn’t a requirement – enthusiasm is just as important!”
Anyone interested in becoming a Shared Lives Carer or those who would like to find out more should contact Denbighshire’s Single Point of Access and ask to speak to the Shared Lives Scheme Co-ordinator.
You can write to them or see them at: Single Point of Access, Denbighshire Social Services, Russell House, Churton Road, Rhyl, LL18 3DP; Telephone: 0300 456 1000. Email: spoa@denbighshire.gov.uk
Council identifies need for gypsy and traveller sites
The Council is on the look-out for land for a residential, as well as a transit site for Gypsies and Travellers in the county.
The Council, working with Conwy County Borough Council, carried out an assessment need for accommodation for Gypsy and Travellers. All local authorities across Wales are required to undertake such assessments, in line with the Housing (Wales) Act 2014.
The assessment recognised the need for a six pitch residential site in Denbighshire, as well as a transit site for four to five pitches for those travelling through the county.
A permanent site would function as any other residential community where residents are provided with basic accommodation, such as individual amenity blocks, access to utilities, refuse facilities and collection service. As with any other rented accommodation, residents pay rent and council tax, pay for their own utilities and are required to abide by tenancy conditions.
Transit sites are permanent facilities designed for temporary use by occupiers, normally with a communal amenity block. Individual occupiers are permitted to stay on the site for up to three months at a time.
Currently, there are no existing permanent or transit sites in Denbighshire.
The next steps is to review all suitable land currently in Denbighshire and to encourage landowners to put forward any privately owned sites forward for consideration. Any expressions of interest should be forwarded to ldp@denbighshire.gov.uk. The closing date for submissions is 8 November, 2017.
For more information, please visit: www.denbighshire.gov.uk/gypsiesandtravellers.
St Asaph Library and One Stop Shop – Temporary Closure Information
The Council are offering free bus travel from St Asaph to Rhuddlan Library for library customers during a short period of extensive refurbishment.
The St Asaph Library and One Stop Shop building closed to the public from Monday 2nd October 2017 and will reopen in the New Year.
Denbighshire County Council, in partnership with the City Council, will be improving the building and services provided to create a community facility ready for the future.
During the closure, the council and Arriva welcome customers to travel free of charge on the local bus service (Arriva), to the next nearest library which is Rhuddlan Library / One Stop Shop.
Please be prepared to present your Library Membership card to the bus driver to qualify for the free travel service – if this is not possible a travel ticket will have to be purchased, which does not apply to those who travel with a free bus pass.
Customers may catch the bus from any recognised bus stop in St Asaph to travel to Rhuddlan Library/One Stop Shop at the following address:
Rhuddlan Library / One Stop Shop
Vicarage Lane
Rhuddlan
LL18 0DR
The opening hours for Rhuddlan Library and One Stop service are:
Monday 9:30 – 12:30 1:30 – 5pm
Wednesday 9:30 – 12:30 1:30 – 5pm
Thursday 1:30 – 5pm
Friday 9:30 – 12:30 1:30 – 5pm
Saturday 9:30 – 12:30
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause - thank you for your cooperation and patience during this time. The council would also like to extend their thanks to Arriva for providing this free of charge service for customers.
Your Talking Points
Ageing Well in Denbighshire
A week-long series of events has taken place across Denbighshire in the run-up to the International Day of Older Persons which was held on 1 October, to celebrate the contribution of older people.
This year, a series of events were arranged by the Denbighshire Ageing –Well Networking Group to showcase what support is available. This Partnership includes the Council, Age Connect, Alzheimers’ Society, British Red Cross, Care & Repair, Care Forum Wales, Citizens’ Advice Denbighshire, NEWCIS and the NHS and many more.
Events included sessions of the Lost in Art project, social events, arts and textiles, a ‘culture club’ for arts and dance and Talking Points sessions for people to get advice and information on well-being issues.
A social media campaign was also held to promote the projects and help raise the profile of issues relating to older people. You can see the social media videos below.
A copy of Denbighshire’s Ageing Well Plan can also be found by visiting: http://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/ageingwell.
Council to survey residents
The Council will soon be asking for your views about council services and issues in your local community.
Every two years, we produce a residents survey when we ask for your views about your communities as places to live and how satisfied you are with council services in general.
The findings will help us understand how much you know about us and our services; your experiences of contacting us and providing feedback and what you think we should focus on during the next four years.
The findings of the survey will be issued in early 2018.
The survey will be issued to sample households across the county over the coming few weeks. Copies will also be available in reception areas and on social media.
We’ll let you know when they’re available.
Modernising Social Services: Community Resilience
Community Navigator
The Community Navigators aim to develop and support local networks and communities and promote a range of help available within the community to reduce the need for formal, planned support. The support from them will be empowering and enabling wherever possible and will promote independence, confidence and skills.
Community Navigators provide a link between health and social care, the citizen, their family and carers, and sources of support within the community. GPs are increasingly finding this service invaluable and the service has been described as ‘a mechanism for linking patients with non-medical sources of support within the community.
Community Navigators offer a different way for people to find out what help might be available or what they can contribute in their community to support their health and wellbeing. They work closely with health and social care teams and can be found within the Talking Points in your local area.
Dewis
If you prefer to look on line for sources of help or opportunities to volunteer, look on Dewis Cymru, the place for well-being information across Wales.
Dewis is the well-being website for Wales where information about ocal organisations and services can be found to help you maintain your independence and well-being. To see what is available in a particular area that might be of benefit to you, your family members/friends or those looking after other people check out www.dewis.wales. As well as details about services and activities in your area it also has lots of really useful information.
There are currently over 3,500 resources on Dewis and it gets over 30,000 page visits per month and each person who goes on Dewis stays for over 5 minutes – that might not sound much but it’s more than a lot of websites get and it shows that people who come to Dewis are finding it useful – why not take a look yourself…..http://www.dewis.walesn/
If you think you need help or would like a discussion with someone, you can visit a Talking Point, contact the Single Point of Access on 0300 456 1000 or visit our website.