The Chief Constable scorns North Wales communities

In The Daily Post Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom scorns the lack of residents who attend neighbourhood forums. It would appear I am a "grouser". He criticizes those who go on about dog fouling. I know a Buckley councillor who puts dog fouling at the top of his priorities.

North Wales Police have been amateur in the way they arrange meetings if Penyffordd is anything to go by. Here a leaflet would be put up the day before a meeting. Most people have busy lives and next day is too near the event.

Residents in communities tend to get on with their own lives. The only time they will go to a forum if they know about it is if they have issues.

The main issue in Penyffordd as far as I know is outstanding with no improvement. ( this is not speeding cars)
Over a 1000 speeding vehicles through the village centre each day, the police do not want to know.
I don't go to the neighbourhood forums as CBM Chris Pullen took speeding off the list. He has as far as I know never asked Flintshire County Council to look at the speed data for Penyffordd.

Here's his say on the matter The Daily Post

Policing Pledge

A few residents in Penyffordd maybe interested in this.
Will it make any difference?
In my case there are over a 1000 vehicles a day that speed through the village.
Also North Wales Police will not support an HGV ban even though we have a bypass

Link Direct.Gov Uk

Goings on at Shire Hall March 2009

Alison has changed the web colours from the lime green so it is now possible to read the blog without risking a headache.

Link Cllr Alison Halford

Union dismay at Airbus job cuts

Link Walesonline.

Apologies

An unreserved apology to Cllrs Edwina and Stan Davies for comments made in the link below. I added 2 + 2 and came up with the wrong conclusion. Comments made have been edited out. A lesson for me to learn.


Link http://penyffordd-district.blogspot.com/2009/03/chester-rd-speeding-update.html

Environment Agency Newsletter March 2009

Penyffordd drop-in sessions
Two drop-in sessions were held in
Penyffordd Memorial Hall on 30th September
and 1st October 2008.These gave a chance for
people living near the Castle Cement plant to
find out what we were doing and to raise their
concerns with us.People who attended said
they wanted the ability to contact us direct if
there is a pollution incident and also for us to
provide an update on our work in the area at
least once a year.
If there is a pollution incident contact us on our
24 hour incident line 0800 80 70 60 and we will
investigate.

Penyffordd drop-in sessions
An update on Castle Cement

During 2008,odour became a concern for some
people.The temporary nature of this type of
complaint makes it difficult to investigate.We
will continue to work with Castle Cement to
identify all possible causes of odour.We have
also identified other sources of odour nearby
including burning of cables and rubbish and
landspreading.

Complaints about noise and dust were
significantly down in 2008
Numbers of complaints 2007-08
Site audits.
We recently carried out audits of Castle
Cement's management system and their
arrangements for monitoring emissions from the
site. The management system audit was carried
out jointly with the Health &Safety Executive.
We examined how they manage risk,comply
with their permit,how well they monitor
airborne emissions and how to improve
environmental performance.
The control room at Castle Cement
In general the audits showed the site complies
with the permit,has effective systems to control
environmental risks and the people working
there have a positive attitude towards
environmental performance. They also showed
that some management systems need to be
reviewed to make sure they continue to
improve.
Arrangements for monitoring emissions to air
from the permitted release points were generally
satisfactory although some further information
on the calibration of the monitors has been
requested.
We have completed our investigations into the
noise,dust and fire incidents of 2007 and the
file is currently with our legal department.
For more information or if you wish to provide
comments or suggestions relating to the content
of future newsletters please contact Julia Frost
on 01244 894558 or email
julia.frost@environment-agency.wales.gov.uk.
www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Will your child or grandchild be next?

Arrests after cyclist boy's death

Link The BBC

With over 1000+ speeders through Chester Rd Penyffordd every day the above scenario is a distinct possibility. We had a near miss last year a young girl on a green bike, most councillors have no interest in village safety whatsoever. I cannot think of any other village road that is as fast as Chester Rd.

Wrong priorities - child safety relegated below pathwork

cc Chief Superintendent Ruth Purdie and Inspector Alun Oldfield.

I tend to stay away from the road. I live in the back of the house and spend most of the day in my greenhouse which is an extra 75 yds from Chester Rd. I understand CBM Chris Pullen has deigned to visit Chester Rd and opines that there isn't much speeding traffic.
Today I have decided I have had enough of some mature leylandii so I have been around the front of the house loading cuttings into the car. Traffic continues to hammer through the village every minute or two. Why should it not? We have no speed camera, Arrive Alive have given up, CBM Chris Pullen has no interest what so ever in speeding the road is wide open with no traffic calming. I'm sure over a 1000+ speeding vehicles each day will not even reach the pages of his next village audit.

This portion edited out.

FCC seem fine adding to Penyffordd pathways but have no interest in child safety.

Village safety appears to have been forgotten......................

Community Policing a sham....................................

North Wales Police currently refuse to back an HGV ban even though we have a bypass.

Flintshire County Council refuse to cough up the speeding traffic data allowing agencies to sit on their hands.

Will Peter J Evans of Flintshire County Council Scrutiny do his work properly or will he side with the agencies of Flintshire County Council, North Wales Police and Arrive Alive who conspire to do nothing thereby endangering Penyffordd children and OAP's? Our village environment trashed everyday by unwanted speeders by the 1000.

Internet Problems

I hate these. We have 2 or 3 machines networked then out through a BT 205 box. Internet is off.
Well it isn't really as 2 emails have crept through. Web browsing will not work.

The BT box says we are synchronised.

The dreaded phonecall. The person of course is of foreign extraction and English is not her first language. So she has Lisa try various ping tests. Looks impressive but shows nothing is wrong.
This goes on for 30 mins. So she passes us onto a different department. The man on this end says it will cost £25 if they fix it. We decide to decline.

So still no internet

Before ringing BT I have restarted the computer, turned off BT box for a few minutes.
So I have the idea of turning network box off.

Put this back on after a minute, hurray we have internet.

How does a network box allow 2 emails through but no browsing?
We keep a spare BT box adsl modem after years of problems.

Briefing - Penyffordd Community Council Meeting March 2007

Cllr Edwina Davies not present.
CBM Chris Pullen no report - council moved meeting date.

Cllr Cindy Hinds brought up the issue of having a PCSO part time. This has been discussed previously and voted out. Council is to write to Chief Superintendent Ruth Purdie to discuss this further.

Cllr David Williams has been working on a Penyffordd Community website. It continues to trundle on to completion. Costs yet to appear. Our's costs us £20 a month, plus web domain name charges plus me who puts stuff on our commercial website for free. http://www.ladylisabooks.com/

Discussed a review of the electoral arrangements for Flintshire. ie which houses are in Penyffordd and District electoral ward. It was decided to get the definitive map from Flintshire County Council. We currently have the issue where half the houses on Wrexham Rd are in Penyffordd and the other half in Hope.

Quite a lot of issues discuss correspondence between FCC and councillors. It is not seen by residents.

To be continued........

Time to buy our red wine from England?

Link Wales on Line

Flintshire County Council and Speed Limits

In the the Flintshire Leader tonight Treuddyn residents protesting against the 60 mph speed limit passed their village. The road is the A5104 the same one that is our Penyffordd By Pass. I travel from Penyffordd to Treuddyn most days. Tonight I was nearly taken out by a Volvo driver between Penyffordd and Pontybodkin on the bends, 3 foot over the white line, its a dangerous stretch of road.
From now until late Autumn this road will be race practice for many 1000's of cars and motorcycles. Motorcycles are allowed highly illegal exhaust systems and 100mph speeding with impunity.
North Wales Police seem impotent to deal with speeding or illegal exhausts in North Wales.

Arrive Alive and Flintshire County Council will not share data with communities.
They hide their gross efficiency by hiding the true statistics.
The system for getting Arrive Alive shrouded in secrecy.
Their qualifying system a load of bull.

In The Leader it says Treuddyn have been trying for 15 years. What is it about Flintshire County Council and speed limits?
Is it not time for communities to have the ultimate say on speed through their communities whether it be 20mph or 70 mph.

Lord of the Manor?

About 2 weeks ago I wrote an email to County Councillor David Williams asking him about his efforts in stopping over a 1000 vehicles speeding through the village everyday.
He has of course ignored my email.

Is their grounds over his conduct?
Perhaps.
David thinks he can do what he likes.
He forgets he signed up to work for us.

Vandalism in Chester Rd Penyffordd

Click to enlarge. Carried out Wednesday night, Thursday morning.

Airbus Parent Company spells out the financials for 2009

Link FT

Carnage on the roads continues

1. Two funerals in Angelsey this week after a young man hit a tree with 4 occupants in the car.

2. Vehicle leaves road at Rhydymwyn 54 year old male killed the day before yesterday.

3. Five killed on the Wirral including a 6 year old from Wrexham

Tomorrow night Penyffordd Community Council meet. We have over a 1000 vehicles speeding through the village everyday. Speeding is usually ignored by most councillors and CBM Chris Pullen.

Is this carnage not a wake up call?

North Wales Police are talking tough about speeding. Are they just smoke and mirrors though?

Is it not time for action from Flintshire County Council and the Welsh Assembly?

Penyffordd Community Council continues to sleep walk with regards village safety.

Penyffordd to have it's own official website?

Penyffordd Community Council on Wednesday has an item on the agenda about a community council website. As per usual Nigel the clerk puts the agenda on the notice board showing the first page and hiding the others.
Hope Nigel's dog has fully recovered after it's recent vehicular altercation.

Recent House Sales in Penyffordd

Sales recently added within 500 metres of CH4 0LS
• 25, Hazel Drive, Penyffordd, CH4 0NF - Sold for £145,000 on 23-01-2009
• 17, Bilberry Close, Penyffordd, CH4 0LT - Sold for £87,000 on 19-12-2008

In future I will have figures for most of Penyffordd. One wonders if the Billberry Close sale was a distressed sale.

Enterprise blossoms in Penyffordd

One young gentleman is buying sweets in Penyffordd Post Office for 5 pence and selling them for 7 pence at school. A good profit margin with few overheads.

Play Area to be built

on over grown land at the side of the Millstone. The new facility will consist of a sand/play area and community garden and allotment.

Ref. The Leader

Castle Cement to go

They are going to call it Hanson Cement instead. I think Hanson are to run Heidelberg's cement interests in the UK.

A Letter published in today's Leader

Dear Leader

A letter for consideration.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So Martin Phillips feels we have gone too far with CCTV. I see none of the main political parties
promising to dismantle our "Orwellian Nightmare" system as he calls it or to guarantee the proper use of data collected.

CCTV does have community benefits, it acts as a deterrent, it stifles criminal movement. It can gather evidence that can be

used in prosecution of anti social behaviour. There are times when witnesses are too fearful to give evidence, CCTV circumvents

this issue.

In the near future I hope communities will make full use of technology available. North Wales Police, local councillors
and communities have the tools to drive anti social behaviour into the ground if managed properly.

It could be an electronic neighbourhood watch.

Communities could have local networks of cameras guarding their streets and properties. With the use of camera networks,

police bodycams, emails, text, Blackberries, Facebook and Twitter to give full communications with our CBM's we

communities have the power to turn our CBM's into RoboCop.
The future does not have to be 1984 if the politicians have the foresight to see this and make laws to satisfy the electorate.

Colin Hughes
Penyffordd District

Many Thanks Evening Leader

The letter started out in the shape of wanting covert speed cameras in Chester Rd but had to take it out as it was too off topic, never mind perhaps another occasion will present itself. Still over 1000 vehicles speeding through Chester Rd, Penyffordd each day.

keywords. Inspector Alun Oldfield, Chief Superintendent Ruth Purdie.

An email to Flintshire Community Safety Partnership

Dear Flintshire Community Safety Partnership,

I read with interest that you are to hold a public meeting

in the Alyn and Deeside Room at County Hall about Community Safety today. ( correction Tuesday March 17th 5.45 - 8.00 pm )

I understand that Cllrs Cindy Hinds and Linda Vidamour from Penyffordd

will be attending. (not so they are going to a neighbourhood forum) ( all these meetings lol)

As you hold data that shows Chester Rd, Penyffordd to have well over

1000 vehicles a day that speed through our village perhaps you might

wish to discuss with Cindy and Linda actions to be taken to stop this daily gross abuse of our village that has its own by-pass.

regards Colin Hughes

Chester Rd Penyffordd.

A Major Route to School.


keywords: Colin Everett Chief Executive, Hugh Jones, Safety Officer, Gerraint Jones.

Alcohol

In The Independent

Healthy living: There's always been something about the tone or manner or nature of health advice that didn't chime with the claimed intent. You can almost believe what you want. Studies say that red wine halves the risk of cancer, or doubles it. That alcohol causes dementia, or prevents it. That it's a life extender, or a life shortner. It's a lucky dip.

But the number of recommended alcohol units has been falling inexorably since the idea of units was invented. If you consume, oooh, 100 units a week, you get some quite judgmental looks. That's the only constant.

A hundred units is probably a bit much, but I find it better than abstinence. When I gave up alcohol entirely for a couple of years I wanted to die.

It was the boredom. The undifferentiated day. The watchfulness. Perpetual sobriety simply doesn't suit some people. It would definitely be a life shortner in my case. So when reports came through last week that two glasses of wine a day increases a woman's chance of breast cancer by 12 per cent ... I decided not to believe it. I know nothing about statistics, or epidemiological research, or cancer – but I just don't believe it. Maybe it's the researchers or maybe it's the news editor that reported it. But I'll bet my whole life savings that it's baloney. Anyway, I've decided to be one of those people who live as long as they want by doing what they like.

Simon Carr

Link The Independent

McClean's continue with Meadowslea

Building starts again. There is a crane putting scaffold up and men working on the service road.

Would I commit millions of pounds in this property downturn which is currently not at its bottom?

Brave People.