News
Taking the Lead on dogs in the open countryside
The Council and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Beauty have joined forces to launch a brand new campaign, encouraging people to keep their animals on lead in the county’s open countryside.
The Take the Lead campaign is now in its second year and is being launched ahead of the start of the holiday season this Easter. The campaign is targeting local residents and visitors to the countryside and wants to build on the success of last year’s initiative.
The campaign will include the production of videos that will be shared on social media, as well as features in the local media and online.
Councillor Tony Thomas, Cabinet Lead Member for Housing, Regulation and the Environment, said: “We were delighted by the success of last year’s campaign and it seemed that people were listening to the message. We saw far more people acting responsibly and taking their dogs on leads in the countryside – we thank them for their efforts.
“However this is a kind of message that needs to be repeated time and time again to gain its maximum impact, so we will be sharing our campaign messages with locals and visitors and encourage the small minority who flout the law to take action.
“We have seen some incidents where sheep have been injured or killed as a result of attacks from dogs off their leads. This is what we need to avoid and by working together with dog owners, we can really make a difference”.
“They really must be mindful that they are crossing valuable grazing land where there are sheep roaming. The effects of attacks on animals can be devastating, to the animal and to the landowner.
Councillor Hugh Jones, Chair of the Advisory Committee, said: “We appreciate why people would want to go on walks in our scenic countryside in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Many walkers bring dogs with them and whilst we want that to continue, all we are asking is that people respect the Countryside Code.
“There are plenty of warning signs and information about taking dogs on leads and we will be out and about over the coming months talking to owners and sharing our message to as wide an audience as possible”.
Listen to what Ceri Lloyd, AONB Sustainable Development Officer has to say ...
Stop feeding the seagulls call from council
A campaign is to get underway in Denbighshire in the coming weeks to try and reduce problems caused by seagulls.
Seagulls are a common cause of complaint for the Council and are seen as something of a nuisance, predominantly in coastal communities, but also inland.
Now the Council is looking at ways of tackling the issue and will focus its efforts on encouraging residents and visitors not to feed seagulls, and working with food providers to reduce food waste and ensure any food waste bins are covered adequately.
The campaign will run on the Council’s social media accounts, on its website, in the local press and through working with local communities.
Councillor Tony Thomas, Cabinet Lead Member for Housing and the Environment, said: “We fully recognise that seagulls are part of life in all coastal communities. They have been present for many years and continue to thrive.
"However, we do get regular complaints from residents in coastal communities, as well as some of our towns inland about the dangers posed by seagulls, especially when they are attracted to food.
“There are limited options to the Council as they are a protected species. We have tried some scare tactics similar to the angry birds and netting/ bunting being provided in some areas and to a degree they have been successful.
“What we need is the public’s support. By not feeding the seagulls and making sure food waste is covered, we can greatly reduce the amount of opportunities for the seagulls to swoop on our town centres”.
Residents informed of changes to benefits system
Residents in Denbighshire are being reminded about some changes to the benefit system being introduced by the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP).
Universal Credit is being introduced in stages by DWP across Great Britain by postcode area and has already been rolled out in south of the county. Whether you can claim it and the way you manage your claim depends on where you live and your personal circumstances. The changes will only apply to new claimants and those who have had a change in circumstances.
Other claimants don’t need to do anything until they hear from the DWP about moving to Universal Credit.
As part of Universal Credit Full Service, claimants are expected to claim and manage their account with DWP online.
To support residents impacted the following services are available:-
Background information
Universal Credit is a complete overhaul of the current benefit system being implemented by postcode areas across Great Britain, on a phased approach, by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is a means-tested benefit for people of working age who are either, not working, or working but on a low income. It replaces six main benefits/tax credits (Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit and Housing Benefit). Universal Credit combines all of these benefits into one single monthly household payment. Universal Credit Full Service is for single people, couples and families who are applying for the first time or have a significant change in circumstances. It also means fully digital, i.e. claimants are expected to claim and manage their account with DWP online.
Aims of Universal Credit
- To make the system simpler for claimants – i.e. single application and one single payment.
- To ensure people are financially better working rather than on benefits.
- To make it easier for people to gain employment.
- To reflect the reality of work to the claimant i.e. a single monthly payment
Officers in Denbighshire are undertaking a raft of activities to ensure that residents are provided with the support they require and that all impacted services are briefed and prepared. If you would like any further details please contact Rachel Thomas (01824 712449) or Paul Barnes (01824 712660).
Sounds of Europe heard in Llangollen visit
The future of minority languages across Europe was the subject of debate for 25 students from Europe during a week long stay in Denbighshire.
The visit to Llangollen was hosted by Ysgol Dinas Bran as part of the Erasmus Project, which was set up to understand the importance of minority languages across Europe.
Ysgol Dinas Bran has been involved in the project for two years, with representatives having visited a number of European countries.
This month it was the school’s turn to host a visit for pupils from Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Scotland for a week-long visit.
Students stayed with host families in the Dee Valley as part of the exchange visit.
Ifor Phillips, Head of Welsh at Ysgol Dinas Bran, said: “The school has been extremely fortunate to be involved in such an important project. Students from across Europe have been given opportunities to learn about the minority languages and to hear what steps are being taken to promote and protect their future.
“During the week, we offered the European students a real taste of Welsh Language and culture. They attended a Noson Lawen and a real life Welsh language gig. We have also shown them the sights of Llangollen and Denbighshire, as well as a visit to Snowdon and Llanberis.
“It has been an extremely worthwhile initiative and we have been delighted to promote the Welsh Language and culture through our activities during the week”.
Council tax booklet goes live online
Your Money, the Council’s definitive guide to all things relating to council tax has now gone live online.
The Council recently set its budget for the 2018/19 financial year. In terms of council tax, this means an increase of 4.75% for Denbighshire residents (this takes into account an increase in the county council element, as well as the town/city/community council and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s precepts).
Every year, the Council produces a booklet that explains all the facts and figures behind the council tax settlement, how that money is spent and details on how to pay your council tax bills.
The booklet also gives information on business rates, small business relief discounts and what kind of support is available if residents struggle to pay their council tax.
The booklet is produced electronically and can be found here
Update on the Council’s Corporate Plan
Progress is being made on the Council's new five-year Corporate Plan.
The Plan, which has set out priorities around housing, the environment, young people and connected and resilient communities, will improve the lives of residents with a proposed investment of £135 million.
The two programme boards responsible for monitoring the Corporate Plan have both met: the Connected & Resilient Communities and the Environment Board, and the Young People and Housing Board and plans are now being drawn up with a number of projects set to be announced in the coming months.
Councillor Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of the Council, said: “We are gearing up to start announcing projects that will help ensure our new corporate priorities will be met over the next five years.
“These priorities will improve the lives of our residents and continue to make Denbighshire a great place to live, work and visit.
“Implementing this plan requires an additional £135 million of investment. At a time of continuing reductions in budgets this is an ambitious amount, but we believe ambition is important. Our ability to attract funding, pool resources with partners and harness the capacity within our communities will give us a good chance of success.”
The priorities are that everyone is supported to live in homes that meet their needs; communities are connected and have access to services and goods locally, online or through good transport links; the Council works with communities to build independence and resilience; the environment is attractive and protected, supporting well-being and economic prosperity and younger people want to live and work here and have the skills to do so.
The priorities were drawn up after the County Conversation consultation with residents and discussions with Council staff and elected members, as well as colleagues from other organisations.
The priorities were then presented to elected members and were adopted by the Council.
The ‘Corporate Plan, Working Together for the Future of Denbighshire’ document outlines the five key priorities for 2017-2022 and you can visit www.denbighshire.gov.uk/corporateplan for more information.
UK Armed Forces Day 2018
Excitement is building throughout North Wales for the UK Armed Forces Day 2018 event that takes place in Llandudno on the 30 June, with so many people wanting to show their support and say thank you to our serving personnel, veterans, cadets and their families for all the work they do to keep us safe at home and abroad.
On the 30 June, a parade of around 1,000 serving personnel, veterans, cadets and marching bands will step off from the Llandudno War Memorial at 11am to signal the start of the Armed Forces Day celebrations. The parade, which promises to be an impressive display of both sound and colour, will then march down the road adjacent to the promenade, culminating in a salute to a number of special guests and dignitaries outside Venue Cymru.
Serving personnel, veterans, families, friends and visitors will then have the chance to interact with exhibitions and activities along Llandudno Promenade and Bodafon Fields including static aircraft, armoured vehicles and a diving tank (all assets are subject to operational requirement). A fantastic opportunity for the public to get up close to military assets.
A full programme including an event site map will be released nearer the time.
To keep up to date on the Armed Forces Day event visit www.conwy.gov.uk/events or follow them on on Facebook and Twitter.
What is DEWIS?
Dewis Cymru is the place to go if you want information or advice about your well-being – or want to know how you can help somebody else.
When we talk about your well-being, we don’t just mean your health. We mean things like where you live, how safe and secure you feel, getting out and about, and keeping in touch with family and friends.
No two people are the same and well-being means different things to different people.
We’ve got information that can help you think about what matters to you, and we’ve also got information about people and services in your area that can help you with the things that matter to you.
If you want to know more about how to use Dewis Cymru to help you work out what matters to you, click here.
How to use DEWIS Cymru
If you’ve got a service that helps people with their well-being, you can add your details to Dewis Cymru, so that the people who you want to help and support can find you more easily. It doesn’t matter how big or small you are, or whether you’re volunteers - if you help people with their well-being, Dewis Cymru wants to know about you and about what you do, so that we can put people in touch with you!
If you want to add details of your service to Dewis Cymru, click here.
