Empty homes matching service for Denbighshire
Empty home owners can take advantage of a free matching service with potential developers.
The Council is running a matching service to put empty property owners in touch with potential investors to increase the chances of the property being transformed into a home. There are potential investors ready to take forward opportunities.
It is part of the Council’s work under its Corporate Plan to reduce the number of empty properties in the county and to create more housing for residents.
Councillor Tony Thomas, the Council’s Lead Member for Housing and Communities, said: “The Council has been working hard to ensure that empty properties are brought back into the market and can be used as homes for residents.
“Selling a property through this scheme can save empty home owners money on estate agency fees and Council Tax, if the property has been empty for more than six months, as well as ongoing maintenance costs of the property.
“There are a number of property developers who are signed up to the scheme and who are looking for opportunities throughout Denbighshire.”
If you are an empty home owner looking to sell your property or a potential investor please get in touch at strategichousing@denbighshire.gov.uk and we will provide you with further information
Innovation grows support to improve county environment
New life has been breathed into Denbighshire’s natural surroundings thanks to an innovative and forward thinking approach.
The Council has helped deliver the planting of over 18,000 trees, the reduction of coastal flooding for 1,650 properties and the enhancement of biodiversity in the County, with 60 sites being managed to create wildflower meadows.
The Council’s Corporate Plan 2017-22 included a focus on the preservation of the natural environment and also paid particular attention to maintaining and enhancing biodiversity within the county.
The Council also declared a Climate Change and Ecological Emergency in July 2019 and committed to seeking to become a Net Carbon Zero and Ecologically Positive Council by 2030.
Managed wildflower meadows include highway verges, footpath edges, cycleways and amenity grasslands, and along with 11 roadside nature reserves, equate to about 30 football pitches worth of grassland.
As well as protecting wildflowers, the meadows are also boosting habitat available for our declining native insects. The project has also been funded by Welsh Government, through the Local Nature Partnerships Cymru ENRaW project.
In 2018 the Council also gained Bee Friendly status from the Welsh Government, a scheme which aims to make Wales a pollinator-friendly country.
A local provenance tree nursery has recently been set up at Green Gates farm on the edge of St Asaph, aiming to produce 5,000 trees and 5,000 native wildflower plants a year, with the hope to expand in the future.
The site features a newly planted species rich hedge, a large native wildflower meadow, and a great crested newt hibernaculum designed to support local wildlife. It also contains a rain garden and large wildlife pond, installed as part of a sustainable drainage system designed to boost biodiversity and reduce flooding.
Councillor Tony Thomas, the Council’s lead member for Housing and Communities, said: “The Wildflower Meadows project plays an important part in our commitment to biodiversity and supporting the preservation of native flowers and insect population across the county.
“We are really grateful to the support given by all volunteers towards the project and the work of staff in helping it grow strong.
“We are also proud to have established such an important facility at St Asaph which will assist us in maintain the improvement of our local environment.”
The Green Infrastructure project, funded through the Welsh Government Project Transforming Towns funding, has developed and improved green spaces in and around Rhyl town centre, to create new habitats, and provide ‘green corridors’ linking the town centre to biodiversity rich areas such as Brickfields Ponds, Rhyl Cut and Glan Morfa.
The Council has worked with Balfour Beatty to develop land at the Morfa, a 35-acre wetland in Prestatyn. Three ponds were created at the site opposite the Morfa Woods with the aim to protect and support local biodiversity, invertebrates, mammals, birds and plant life. And the new-look site has already been visited by Egrets and Mallards.
The East Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme, a £27million project funded by the Welsh Government and Denbighshire County Council, also commenced in April 2020 to protect 1,650 properties in East Rhyl from coastal flooding.
The Council has also secured £1million of Welsh Government grant to carry out natural flood management work in the county. In addition, we’ve received around £4million of Welsh Government grant to develop a business case for potential coastal defence schemes at Central Rhyl and Central Prestatyn, which if constructed would protect a further 2,800 properties.
To tackle the county’s carbon footprint, an Electric Vehicle Public Charging Pilot has been developed. This will provide fast charging points in eight public car parks across Denbighshire for use by the public and support the transition for people to an electric car.
Denbighshire is also hosting the only North Wales pilot of a Welsh Government funded zero emission green taxi scheme. The project has four Nissan e-NV200 Dynamo pure electric Hackney licensed carriages available to all Denbighshire dual licensed taxi drivers (subject to meeting criteria).
We currently have 13 all electric vehicles in the fleet with seven twin port chargers to support re-fuelling. These are a mix of small to medium vans and support service delivery from Highways and Environment to ICT and Housing services.
There are plans to substantially increase the percentage of zero emission vehicles within our fleet with 8 vehicles already ordered from manufacturers and several more planned. These include two electric refuse collection vehicles to support our recycling team, a five seater electric car to support the homelessness team and an all-electric all-terrain vehicle for use in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) at Loggerheads.
A green project delivered at Ysgol Dinas Bran and Llangollen Leisure Centre has seen a 150Kw array of solar panels installed on the school roof which will generate electricity for the school onsite using the sun’s energy.
Other work includes heating control upgrades and LED lighting. The project is expected to reduce the school’s carbon emissions by 73 tonnes per year.
Councillor Brian Jones the Council’s Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment, said: “We are proud to see the commitment and dedication to delivering our aim to become a Net Carbon Zero and Ecologically Positive Council by 2030 through fantastic projects already completed and ongoing.
“Going forward as climate change becomes even more important, we will continue to work hard to ensure the Council is maintaining the reduction of its carbon footprint and increasing biodiversity in the county.”
You can find out more about the Corporate Plan 2012-2022 here www.denbighshire.gov.uk/corporate-plan-ambition-achievements
Have your say in developing our new Corporate Plan 2022 to 2027
Partners across Conwy and Denbighshire have worked together to produce a draft Well-being Assessment which is now live, please visit the Conwy and Denbighshire PSB Website to have a look and to find out more.
The draft Well-being Assessment has been informed by engagement with our residents and stakeholders and also uses other information such as data, evidence and research. It captures the strengths and assets of the people and their communities, outlining what is important to people and communities in Conwy and Denbighshire in terms of well-being, now and in the future.
Every five years, the Council has to produce something called a 'Corporate Plan'. This plan gives the Council focus and helps all of the Council's services to work together, to plan and achieve specific goals.
The Council have considered what the Well-being Assessment data told us and listened to the feedback from our residents to determine the focus for our Corporate Plan 2022 to 2027.
The themes identified were:
- Housing
- Economy
- Young People
- Connected Communities
- Environment and Climate
- Addressing Deprivation
- A well-run, high performing Council
We would now like to know what you think by completing the online survey to let us know if you think our new themes will help to make Denbighshire a better place to live, work in and visit >>> https://countyconversation.denbighshire.gov.uk/project/662
If you cannot complete the survey electronically, paper copies of the survey are available on request in all Denbighshire Libraries and can be returned to the Libraries or posted to the Strategic Planning and Performance Team, Denbighshire County Council, PO Box 62, Ruthin, LL15 9AZ or you can e-mail them at strategicplanningteam@denbighshire.gov.uk. You can also give them a ring on 01824 706291.
The closing date for all responses is 11th March 2022.
Innovation brings us closer together
Connections between communities are stronger thanks to the roll out of innovative work on creating a new, accessible website.
Ninety-one percent of all our roads are now covered by a provider with a 4G mobile network and we have upgraded and improved public access technology facilities in all of our eight libraries.
The Council’s Corporate Plan 2017-22 included a strong focus on making sure that communities are connected and have access to goods and services locally, online and through good transport links.
Councillor Hugh Evans OBE, leader of Denbighshire County Council and Lead Member for the Economy said: “As a council, we recognised the importance of staying connected. This meant investing in the technologies that will keep our communities connected in the long-term, which is why we work with partners such as the Welsh Government's Superfast Cymru project.
Councillor Richard Mainon, Lead Member for Corporate Services and Transition, added: “The development of our website ensured that Council information and services will be accessible online where possible. We introduced new accessible website document templates in October 2019 to ensure that online documents are accessible and can be used by as many people as possible.”
From 2019 to 2020 the Council saw an increase from 38 percent to 46 percent of transactions undertaken via the web compared to the total number of transactions undertaken using all access channels.
During the first lockdown in 2020, between April and June online transactions increased to 52 percent, following work to increase available transactional services on our website to ensure that residents continued to benefit from the access that was no longer physically available.
All Denbighshire libraries now have dedicated solo digital spaces which provide connectivity and privacy for users to participate in online meetings, training or job interviews and staff support if needed.
A programme of upgrading and improving the public access technology facilities in all Denbighshire libraries started in 2021.
The project will see new public access computers installed, a new PC management system, self-service printing, an online booking system and printing via Wi-Fi.
The Council has also worked to improve digital communications with friends and family for care home residents.
The infrastructure at Cysgod y Gaer was updated to superfast broadband with download speeds of 65mb, allowing for greater use of smart devices for the residents at the home to stay in touch with loved ones and friends. Other Care homes in Denbighshire with limited connectivity had Wi-Fi boosters installed to help residents access a device throughout the home to attend online groups, see family and allow private G.P appointments to continue during isolation.
IPads, Alexas and Portal devices are now being widely used by residents, and staff have been trained to offer support with the new technology.
The Council teamed up with Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council and Digital Communities Wales and Denbighshire County Council to launch a new digital volunteering scheme in Denbighshire to help those that need assistance with digital technology. Denbighshire Digital Buddies aimed to support people who are not as confident in using tablets and smartphones and help them acquire those invaluable digital skills.
To connect residents closer to job opportunities, Working Denbighshire are also developing a Virtual Reality tool to create interactive interview scenarios designed to help improve the confidence and knowledge of those applying for jobs.
A one-purchase ticket valid on buses across North Wales was officially launched at Rhyl Events Arena in 2021. The launch of the 1Bws ticket was attended by bus operators from across North Wales as well as invited guests from Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey and Wrexham councils, Senedd members and officers from Transport for Wales.
One ticket is valid all day on buses in Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey and Wrexham and on buses from North Wales to Chester, Whitchurch and Machynlleth.
Councillor Brian Jones, the Council’s Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment, said: “We were proud to support this initiative, which helped encourage local people and visitors alike to use our extensive bus network.
“This was a great opportunity to get people back on buses and open up North Wales in a way that protects the environment as well.
“We have a strong partnership that exists between bus operators and local authorities which allows us to keep on working together on initiatives like this to better connect our communities.
You can find out more about the Corporate Plan 2012-2022 on our website.