The Ceasefire ends .......

Approximately 2 months ago after talks with Inspector Alun Oldfield of North Wales Police I agreed to a 1 month suspension of protest whilst a traffic calming initiative was applied to Chester Road , Penyffordd. As a token of good faith I added a month on myself.

The traffic continues to speed through the village by the 1000 each day.

Whilst talking to Nigel Jones the Clerk to the Council I noted that the traffic behaviour in our village is impossible in Rossett due to their traffic calming and 20 mph compulsory speed limit.

Prestatyn Windmills

Castle Cement support Penyffordd Junior Football Club

Mark Cox the General Manager of Castle Cement Padeswood presenting Sean Lewis-Wickes of Penyffordd Junior Football Club with boot bags for the players to ensure a mud free Chrismas for the young Penyfforddians.

Entertainment

A reply from ArriveAlive with regards my FOIA request.

Re: A Freedom of Information Act Request Our Ref: FOI Dec 07.03 SCFL 26

Dear Mr Hughes,
Thank you for your request detailed below. Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) a response will be sent to you if possible within 20 working days. Due to the Christmas break this reply is due on 29^th January 2008; however, we hope to respond before that date.

The Perfect Christmas Present from the Evening Leader

The Evening Leader letter published in todays edition.
Letter Title Human's Safety is Important Too


Hi Kate,

Hope you are warm enough.

A letter for possible insertion into The Leader with regards the bats and badgers at Meadowslea

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

Re: McLean's housing development for Meadowslea, Penyffordd.
I see Cllrs Colin Bithell and David Williams are in The Evening Leader with regards
a new bat house and the protection of a badger sett on the above development.

Colin mentions a possible zebra crossing to be placed near Meadowslea because it is busy.

Chester Road is the centre of the village, 5 times as busy, a major route to a junior school,
crossed by many OAP's, many busy exits and used by horses. It has no crossing or traffic calming.

I was wondering if our county councillors have negotiated any concessions from McLeans for funds for
traffic calming on Chester Rd which is a short cut and rat run that
has over 1500 speeding cars, lorries and buses each day from 5.30 am to midnight?

Us human creatures in Chester Road have a right to an environment too.

The village centre currently trashed daily.
The figures of 1500 speeding vehicles daily can be confirmed by Flintshire Highways Dept.

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

regards Colin

Penyffordd District

A Freedom of Information Request

I have made a request to Esmaeil Ahari - Project Manager for Arrive Alive. I have asked for a copy of the data collected by Hugh Jones, Arrive Alive Safer Roads Officer for Flintshire prior to the meeting with Flintshire Highways and my County Councillors in May 2007.
This data was collected for the 4 days prior to the meeting. This data is collected so Flintshire Highways have an exact view of the situation.
I have asked for the information in electronic format.

Open Door Newsletter

Castle Cement produce a community newsletter. Both in English and Welsh. A letter from Mark Cox who is general manager of Castle Cement Padeswood. Mark and staff wish us all a Merry Christmas. Mark mentions Emissions Watch who he says have a role to play but their information gathered must not be confused with kiln emissions which are continually measured and regulated to less than 30mg/Nm3. The maximum allowed by their permit.

Mark points out that Emissions Watch's monitors must also pick up other pollutants in the area as well. (inc. traffic pollutants)
Our village gets a regular stream of traffic pollutants off our main road to the By-Pass.

Castle Cement's sponsor the following groups.
Mold Rugby Club £1500.
Peny Y Group £19,000
Penyffordd Scouts and Guides £5,000
Penymynydd Church £9,000
Also many other causes are sponsored.

I wonder how Castle are fixed for a little traffic calming?

Employers to bear responsibility for their employees driving.

The publication of a new policy by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in relation to "bad" driving has implications not only for drivers but for employers and the police as well.
Link: BBC

Sunday - Race Afternoon

We are doing a little re-arranging so I have been out and about. On Sunday, Chester Road is plagued by many many 100's of speeding cars using Penyffordd as a short cut. I can't think of too many villages in Flintshire where cars are left to their own devices to do whatever speed they like.
Penyffordd is short of good county councillors.
Our current councillors are hopeless.

I am of a mind to re-start protest now but I will wait until January 2nd 2008.
My notice board in the hedge for 3000 daily passers by.

Trouble at Croes Atti Flint

Since I am currently in the protest business I keep my eye on developments else where.
I haven't got a full handle on what's happening at Croes Atti but ...........

Last week a lady was complaining her correspondence to Flintshire County Council was going missing. This week a letter by John Yorke who is a campaign leader against the way Flintshire County Council appear to be operating.
Noted.
1. The reluctance of officers to deal with her over requests for information.
2. County Councillors stating they had been misled by council officers.
3. Incensed County Director writes to Council Leader to protest the above
and for the correct information to be published to correct what councillors had misled about.
4. Three Flint County Councillors accuse protest group of misinformation.
I am currently experiencing a very mild version of this.
5. The protest leader states he has proof of all statements made.
I think he has done a FIA enquiry.
6. At Flintshire UDP enquiry only one proposal was offered in defense of the Croes Atti development, submitted after the closing date. (Thrown out.)
7. The signature on the above letter was allegedly that of a relative to the Flintshire County Council planning officer appearing before the enquiry.
8. Back to 2004 a member of the same planning team said that only a few vehicles would use the Croes Atti distributor road.
9. I suspect that the following was divined after a FOI request. Email from a County Director reads concern about estate design and the 2000 vehicles a day that would be using the area as a rat run.
10. A planning meeting where the planning application was passed. Flint County Councillors were substituted with non Flint Labour councillors.
11. The above was strongly criticised by the County's auditors.
12. Plans were changed to allow access from the A548 (bottom road)
13. WDA, the landowner has asked for time extensions from 3 to 5 years to finish landscaping commitments also they want higher house densities.

The campaign leader finishes by hoping that in the May elections 2008 Flint residents will be afforded service and understanding of their concerns.
Quite, I hope for a similar arrangement by Penyffordd County Councillors in the dealing with speeding cars in Chester Rd.

The Minister for Regeneration and Environment

This is Jane Davidson AM , Minister for Regeneration and Environment for the Welsh Assembly Government. I have 200o cars a day speeding passed my house every day Jane. We need some environment similar to Rossett. Also County Councillors to match.

So they have finally got one of us!

We have watched the HMRC data handout debacle from afar.
Not any longer!
The letter arrived in the post today

AGAIN! HMRC loses pensions data tape.

Totting up

So we now have the following identity record leaks:-

- HMRC Standard Life - 15,000
- HMRC child benefit database - 25 million
- HMRC Countrywide Assured - 6,500
- NI DVA - 6,500
- Driving Standards Agency - 3 million

The messing around when identity fraud is committed can be legion.
The compensation for worry, time, etc will not be forthcoming because its the government.

Link: Techworld

The Current State of the Village Centre Environment

So it is 300 days since I first brought the speeding traffic to the attention of my councillors. It didn't start out as a protest just a few emails to councillors.

The first gambit by Cllr Colin Bithell and Penyffordd Community Council was to tell me speeding traffic was nothing to do with them.

People and organisations who stand out.

1. The Evening Leader
2. Cllr Linda Vidamour
3. Cllr Cindy Hinds
4. Police Inspector Alun Oldfield.
5. Cllr Edwina Davies
6. Alan Skips
7. Springfield Building Supplies

People and organisations who do not shine.

County Cllr Colin Bithell.
County Cllr David Williams.
Flintshire County Council.
Airbus.
Raytheon.

David has been sending me a letter from Dave Faulkner of FCC for about a month. People ring him up about issues, he directs them to ring FCC. Not quite councillor mode.
Flintshire County Council in corporate spite mode. They give us half a rumble strip.

My friend Truth Crusader thinks nothing of the speeding traffic. His attitude sums up a proportion of Penyffordd.

Do we have the worst county councillors in the worst county in Wales?

So as we go into 2008. It's more eye catching signs and attempts to get in The Evening Leader.

The traffic speeds have altered little, still many over the limit.

I can feel a letter coming on

Very cold today. Third day in a shed of 2 degrees C. I have pulled my lower back doing inappropriate lifting. I also have a slight cold that is manageable.
My back gets better very slowly. Coughing causes a sharp spasm in my lower back. Sneezing is an option best to be avoided.

The traffic of course continues to plough through the village............................
Noisy and dangerous.

North Wales Police are finishing their traffic calming initiative this week.
It has altered some behaviour but it is not enough.

Having a village centre as a place to meet and talk rather than a speedy short cut to somewhere else seems foreign to some minds. Penyffordd has plenty of philistines and is seen a soft touch by Flintshire County Council.

Penyffordd village awaits an extra million or two vehicles a year with A55 Warren Hall, Broughton Park Extension, Warren Hall Business Park, Flintshire UDP and Wrexham UDP.

Flintshire County Council have given the thumbs up to The Welsh Assembly some time ago, Penyffordd roads will take all the above mentioned developments , no problem.

We are getting regeneration stuffed down our throats with no thought to village environments.

The Penyffordd By - Pass is already gridlocked at times before these extra millions arrive.
The late Cllr Derek Darlington saw all this coming. Our current councillors say nothing.

Much fun is going to be had with Freedom of Information requests.

Possible multi-use path between Mold and Saltney Junction

The track would be 12 miles long. The excellent Sustrans are involved. The route goes passed Castle Cement, Penyffordd Station and Airbus. Saltney Junction is close to the Saltney pedestrian bridge over the River Dee, then a long lane with little traffic leads to Sealand Road. Then its on the cycle path into Chester. From Mold to Chester on a cycle track with very little vehicle involvement.
External funding will be needed.

Planning for 29 houses on the Meadowslea site granted

Plans have been approved for 29 mock Tudor houses reports Kate Forrester of The Evening Leader. A building has been left standing because it has bats in it. Also there is a badger sett present.
Cllr Colin Bithell is looking forward to seeing the new bat house built. The application includes a small play area. Cllrs Colin Bithell and David Williams say they prefer more play area in central Penyffordd of which Penyffordd is short of. The badgers will also have to be built around.

Cllr Bithell opines that we should have a zebra crossing in the middle of the village.

This is something I agree with him as well a the bat house and the badgers, best not to let DEFRA know :(
It would help if it was on a raised platform so traffic cannot any longer just plough through the village. There is an issue here with less parking space for the Post Office. The removal of double yellow lines would help.

Postscript: I think Colin means a zebra crossing up the Vounog
2000 cars a day continue to speed through village.
Some villagers including Truth Crusader think me an idiot to protest.
Just wait until January my idiot friends

To my three readers

The blog may look a little strange whilst I wrestle with trying to get an image at the top of the blog.
There is a bug, so I will try different formats.

Things you don't read about Penyffordd County Councillors

Mold Councillors are looking for a showdown with Flintshire County Council over speeding issues in the town. Whilst my new friend Truth Crusader equates cars parking on paths with cars, motorcycles and lorries speeding passed my house at 50 mph by the 1000. We are a major route to school (primary), we have horses, OAP's and parked cars and the middle of the village.
My friend Truth Crusader has a strange regard for village environment.
I recommend a visit to Rossett. That model of traffic calming with a compulsory 20 mph in the village centre.

I see half of Flint appears to be a rat run. The natives are getting restless at Coed Onn and the surrounding areas. The one way system and a lack of by-pass being responsible for the rat runs.
Coed Onn awaits the onslaught of the Croes Atti development with its 400 houses plus 600 vehicles?

The Bewley family in The Evening Leader

Ian, Carol and Samantha Bewley, 12 of Penyffordd are out Geocaching.
Link: Geocaching