There have been a number of important announcements about changes to the current Covid 19 regulations which may or may not happen if there are any further Covid spikes in Wales. The pandemic is ongoing and we must all still take care to follow the guidelines on social distancing, general hygiene and wearing face masks on public transport etc.

As your County Councillor and a Group Leader I have been meeting once a week with Denbighshire’s Chief Executive, the Leader of the Council, the Head of Finance and other Group Leaders to review everything from the current finances at DCC, how the council is now being run and how it will be run in the future and the impact of Covid 19 on everything we do. We receive Covid stats from the health board and I have been pressing for some time for more detailed reports so that we can try and id Covid hot spots in the County. I believe this information is key to how we as a County can

manage any outbreaks and it would help us to concentrate resources where they are needed. I also believe that if there was an outbreak in one of our communities you would all want to know so that you could take local precautions.

The police have asked me to circulate details of two vehicles that have been acting suspiciously in

the Ruthin area. One is a light blue Cherokee Jeep and the other a light blue Mazda 5. Both have

ladders on their roofs. The occupants who have strong Irish accents are calling on residents asking if they want to sell their caravans. The police are advising that people secure their caravans by locking them to the ground and if anyone sees these vehicles in their area, they should report them to the police immediately.

The Schools in Wales have now reopened and those pupils who have opted to attend will be going back to school on a strict rota basis. In the case of Ysgol Bro Famau the pupils will be looked after at the Llanferres site because there is more room there. Although this is a very short term it will give teachers at all of our village schools a chance to see how the new norm works before everyone ideally starts back to school for the new school year in September. It also means that those children going to secondary schools in September can at least have an end of term and some preparation for what is a big move for them. This school year will end on the 17th July when in Denbighshire schools will finish for the summer holidays. All Caravan Parks will open on the 13th July in Wales along with self-catering cottages and on the 6th July, people will be able to travel relatively freely in Wales as they are in England. The 6th July is also the date when the Country Parks will reopen at Loggerheads and Moel Famau and so with the ability to travel further we should brace ourselves for an increase in visitors. The Moel Famau and Loggerheads public toilets will also be open. The Park Rangers and the Police will keep a close eye on the number of visitors and if they feel that the Park at Moel

Famau is reaching capacity the Police will still have the power to close Forestry road again at Tafarn Y Gelyn if necessary.

There have been some concerns raised about the use of the car park at Pistyll Gwyn quarry. At a recent meeting with Tarmac I suggested that the bund between the car park and the B5430 should be removed as far as the wall and gate into the quarry. At the moment this area of the car park cannot be seen from the road and it has led to fly tipping, overnight parking and unsavoury night time activities! Tarmac have agreed to remove the bund and they have also agreed to reinstate the height barrier and rebuild the stone wall at the entrance as well. The reinstatement of the height barrier will help to stop overnight parking and larger vehicles from entering and fly tipping.

I have now managed to get rid of my green waste thanks to the reinstatement of the green bin collections and I would just like to remind everyone who pays for this non-statutory service that their payment for those ten weeks missed during the lock down will be carried forward.

Some of the popular footpaths closed during the lock down have already reopened and as from Monday the main paths around Moel Famau and Loggerheads will also reopen. To avoid the crowds, it may be a good idea to get hold of a good ordnance survey map and walk some of the many

footpaths in our area. Our ward has the highest number of footpaths in the County and there are also some excellent community circular walks supported by maps produced by Countryside Services. When walking in the Countryside please always follow the Countryside code, close gates behind you and keep your dogs on a lead when crossing farm land. Most importantly explore and enjoy this beautiful part of the world. DWR Cymru (Welsh Water) has provided bottled water supplies to each local authority for people on private water supplies in the event of a drought this summer.

The Llanarmon Yn Ial/Llandegla ward has a large number of properties and businesses who have their own private water supplies from deep wells and springs and any illegal tipping could affect these supplies. This is another reason to report any fly tipping as soon as you find it. Asbestos was tipped in a stream in Graianrhyd last year and that case is still ongoing.

Sadly, I have now had confirmation that both the Llanarmon Show and the Eryrys Tractor

Show have been cancelled for this year due to Covid 19.

I know that everyone will be disappointed because these shows form part of our

communities’ social calendar and a lot of work goes into organising these events by the

committees involved. Hopefully everything will be back to normal next year.

The Llanarmon Yn Ial Community Shop have asked me to let everyone know that they are increasing their opening hours as from Monday 6th July. The revised hours are 8.00am until 4.00pm Monday to Saturday and from 9.00am to 2.00pm on a Sunday.

Can I once again thank all the volunteers who have gone the extra mile during the lock down to help their communities and the Spar Shop and their staff at Loggerheads for doing the same.

I used the mobile post office In Llanarmon on Thursday which is an excellent service and which is being well used in both Llanarmon and Llandegla. Sadly, they have been unable to include Eryrys in the mobile service due to a very tight schedule but it is hoped that Eryrys residents can get down to Llanarmon until normal service is resumed. I have covered the Post Office hours in a previous update. The Westminster Government are keen to get Superfast Broadband rolled out across the UK and in some rural areas, broadband is still an issue. The majority of our ward now has Superfast BB and some have Ultrafast BB but there are still pockets where the service is still very poor.

The Welsh Government have announced that they are doubling the value of the Community Broadband [BB] scheme vouchers and it looks as if Graianrhyd will be one of the first Community schemes in Denbighshire. They have managed to get over forty-four households to sign up and the County’s new Digital/BB officer Phil Burrows is helping them through the hoops. I would like to thank Kevin Patterson and Sue Jones for leading the way on this Community project. If you are in a BB ‘not-spot’, speak to your neighbours and then to Phil Burrows to see if he can help you.

Many of you may be aware of a new Traveller site that has appeared in our ward during the lock

down. It has been constructed in the open countryside near the reservoir on the A525 as you cross

the County Boundary from Wrexham into Denbighshire. This was first brought to my attention by a number of residents in that area when a gateway appeared giving access to the land from what is a busy and fast road. Over the following weeks I reported to the DCC planning team further developments and supported these reports with pictures. Last weekend it became clear what was happening when a number of caravans appeared on the site and on Tuesday morning, I attended a video conference with the DCC Senior Planning Officer, the Planning Enforcement Officer, Planning Legal Officer and the Police. This is an illegal development and the County will take enforcement action but sadly I believe that this will take some time to resolve!!

There are a lot of issues in the ward at the moment and as a result of this my telephone line is hot and my e-mail inbox is always full. Please bear with me and I will endeavour to respond to all e-mails within two to three days. As the lock down eases, pubs and restaurants reopen and other forms of entertainment open their doors again, it is important that we all take responsibility for protecting ourselves and everyone that we meet. Please do not forget that the virus is still out there and none of us would want to catch it or pass it on to our friends and family. Please do not hesitate to contact me If you think that I can help in any way.