May 2007 Archives

Drug addicts bad for our business

Posted by Dan Owen on May 31, 2007 4:14 PM

HOTELIERS and residents in Rhyl have hit out at a decision to treat drug and alcohol addicts at a seafront hotel.
Critics fear the Dewi Sant Centre’s move to the Sandringham Hotel on the West Parade will damage business in the holiday town.
Officials last night sought to calm anger over the move, saying the service had massive benefits for Rhyl.
But those living in the surrounding area will attend a public meeting tonight to ask why they were not consulted.
The Dewi Sant Centre is funded by Denbighshire Community Safety Partnership and run by charity Sova.
It was set up in 2003 to support those in need in the poorest parts of Rhyl.
They were due to move from the Salvation Army centre on Windsor Street to a new centre, a project since hit by delays.
So they are to meet daily between 10am and 4pm in a back room at the Sandringham Hotel on the West Parade.
The hotel is still used as a bed and breakfast, largely for homeless families directed there by Denbighshire County Council, but it still has a public bar.
Former Rhyl mayor Joan Butterfield, whose ward includes the hotel, said: “The Dewi Sant Centre has been carrying out a lot of important work and is valued in Rhyl.
“There should have been some consultation from Sova, asking community groups if they had any fears or anxieties about it. But there hasn’t been.
“They have done what has always been done, thinking they can do whatever they want because it is West Rhyl. And that is just wrong.”
Geraldine Griffith, who runs the nearby Westdale Guest House, said: “This is a holiday town and having this near other hotels and guest houses is just bad for business. Even local people who use these facilities say it is wrong and the hotel should not be used for this.
“Everybody in Rhyl has worked hard to clean it up. And it’s all being ruined by putting this on the seafront in full view of everybody.”
The comments come four months after Rhyl GP Dr Richard Landon said “damaged” people from Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham were moving in and “infesting” Rhyl with social problems.
Roly Schwarz, Denbighshire’s community safety manager, said the centre was in a separate, non-public part of the hotel.
He added that schemes such as Dewi Sant had helped drastically reduce crime in Rhyl.
He said: “There was no real opportunity for consultation as the move was quite sudden, but I’m not sure there would have been consultation.
“We are working very hard to reduce crime and the fear of crime in Rhyl. And one of the ways of doing that is to get the people into a place where they can be managed, supported, engaged and put right.
“It is very much a hidden problem and people are happy for it to be hidden. I think this is probably down to a dozen mischievous people looking to undermine the good work being done to help these problems. It is disheartening.
“The owner of the hotel himself has been very supportive of us going there, and does not see this as being a risk.”
No one at Sova was available for comment yesterday.

Save our Queens

Posted by Dan Owen on May 30, 2007 10:41 AM

A COUPLE fed up with how Rhyl's heritage is being lost last night vowed to save an historic building from the bulldozers.
Steve Francis and wife Jo have started a petition to get the Queen’s Arcade building listed.
The petition will be available from today at the town hall for people to sign.
Mr Francis is the great-grandson of the man who installed the maple floor in the Queens, a former sea-front hotel, which opened in August 1902.
Proposals are on the cards to transform a huge area of central Rhyl, taking in almost all the top end of the High Street. The revamp would include the Queen’s Arcade, one of Rhyl’s most historic buildings, now used as a shopping arcade.
Jo’s grandfather Joseph, a former Come Dancing judge, moved from Liverpool to manage the hotel’s ballroom in 1943.
The couple, who live in Rhyl, have launched the Save Rhyl Queens campaign to get the historic building listed by ancient monuments body Cadw and prevent it from being demolished.
Steve, 37, said: “It seems very sad that we want more shops in Rhyl when it is difficult to keep what we have got. And to do that, we have to get rid of places like this.
“It is the last historical site we have got on the promenade – everything else has gone. So why are we knocking down the last original building on the promenade and not restoring it instead?
“We do not agree with anything else that has gone up here. It has all been a total and utter waste of money. So why not do some good?”
Jo, 33, said: “There is a lot of support for this in Rhyl. A lot of people want it to stay. It would be a tremendous achievement to save it. I can’t imagine how my granddad would have felt to see it in its current state.”
In March, members of Denbighshire’s Cabinet supported a plan to alter the three-acre site.

Double arsonist faces sentence

Posted by Dan Owen on May 22, 2007 3:23 PM

A TEENAGE woman who started two fires at Rhyl railway station is to be sentenced at Mold crown court following the preparation of a psychiatric report.
District Judge Andrew Shaw yesterday called for the report on Leanne Bent, 19, of Prestatyn, who had admitted committing the offences in the early hours of March 10 and 23.
Each time she was accompanied by two different people, two of whom have already been dealt with in Prestatyn youth court.
Prosecutor Tracey Willingham said: “She was by far the principal offender in these matters.”
Bent was caught on CCTV setting fire to a bundle of papers and then throwing other material on the fire to keep it going. On both occasions damage was caused to wooden banisters and steps. “Had it not been caught on CCTV the outcome could have been far more serious,” said Ms Willingham.
When interviewed Bent, of Bastion Gardens, said she had started the fires because she was bored, adding: “I like fires.”
But she denied making the latter remark when interviewed.
The District Judge committed her for sentence at Mold on June 21.

Rhyl FC team up with Premiership Clubs

Posted by Rhyl FC on May 17, 2007 10:02 AM

Blackburn partnership
Rhyl FC have joined forces with two of the top Premiership Clubs to continue to develop their work in the community.
After successfully being accredited with Business in the Community Clubs that Count for 2007/08, Rhyl FC have gained agreement from Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City to work alongside both clubs in assisting and guiding the club in developing their community initiatives.
Mal Jackson – Commercial Director has had numerous meetings with both clubs to look at various schemes that will help deliver some of the social/community issues in Rhyl and surrounding areas.
He commented –
“Both BRFC & MCFC have a massive involvement in their relevant communities and are leaders in developing initiatives/schemes that have benefited both club and the local people. Obviously we are not at the level of these clubs in terms of resource and image, however, we can have an impact from a football perspective to help to support various groups in the area in a positive and beneficial way, it is all about using football as a vehicle to complement the community and educational work done at local level. We already are working with local primary schools, Rhyl High School and Rhyl College and are looking at other groups to assist in their schemes.
Having a partnership with two top premiership clubs gives us an excellent framework to “tap” into their knowledge and experience in developing our community programme.
Duncan Kinloch at BRFC has been extremely helpful in guiding us through the sometimes complex procedures to gaining funding and support, and I am grateful for the time Duncan and his team have given me. We now have an excellent partnership with BRFC which will continue to flourish.
Other clubs that we have formed a partnership with are Preston North End and Burnley from the Championship, who have also been supportive with their skills and experience”.

Picture shows MJ and Duncan Kinloch Head of Community Affairs at BRFC

Artist challenges cop over graffiti

Posted by Dan Owen on May 14, 2007 2:05 PM

Andy Birch
A PROFESSIONAL graffiti artist has laid down a challenge to a top policeman who said all graffiti was “an eyesore”.
North Wales Police’s deputy chief constable Clive Wolfendale said “graffiti walls are a bad idea”, adding: “Let’s get the paint stripper out.”
His comments come just days after an expensive mural was completed in Rhyl to help combat graffiti in the town.
Andy Birch, the graffiti artist behind the ambitious mural, has now challenged Mr Wolfendale to visit Rhyl and see what is being done to stop graffiti artists.
Mr Birch also said it was crucial graffiti artists had somewhere to paint, instead of seeing themselves marginalised.
Mr Wolfendale made the comments in his on-line blog after a visit to Prestatyn, where graffiti boards were put up to stop youngsters spray-painting walls.
His entry reads: “Specially-designed walls have been constructed for graffiti artists to adorn, with the intention of diverting them from public buildings, telephone booths and notice boards.
“The plan, as in other areas, has failed. The result is an unsightly environment adjacent to the well-tended railway station.
“I think I have come to the conclusion that graffiti walls are a bad idea...
“Even a skilfully-painted mural will quickly fade or be vandalised. Graffiti is an eyesore. Let’s get the paint stripper out.”
Mr Birch was hired by Denbighshire County Council to paint a 30ft mural at a regularly-graffitied spot at Rhyl’s Children’s Village. The work was supported by local police officers.
He has since been commissioned to complete more graffiti murals in the county.
Mr Birch, of Old Colwyn, said: “It does annoy me that there are some people who are quite narrow-minded and think ‘This is something we have to stop kids doing.’
“These kids have been allowed a place where they can go without worrying, show off their skills, and most importantly to stop them going on train tracks.
“I think it is quite sad that he has made this claim without coming down here and looking at it from a different angle.”
Mr Birch has since sent a message to Mr Wolfendale inviting him to see the work being done in Rhyl to harness graffiti artists’ talents.
He said: “It would be nice to take someone like Mr Wolfendale to Rhyl, and see if he is prepared to meet someone like myself to discuss the issue.
“Denbighshire are keen to try something different and I admire them for that. What has been said on the blog is a backwards line of thought and that is sad.”

School choir has Dream of stardom

Posted by Dan Owen on May 10, 2007 2:44 PM

SINGERS in a Rhyl school choir are dreaming of making it big in London’s West End.
Youngsters from the musical theatre group at Ysgol Emmanuel, go online today in a nationwide competition inspired by hit TV show Any Dream Will Do.
The series has seen hopefuls compete to land the lead role in a new Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
And to coincide with the search for a new lead man the BBC is offering one talented school choir the opportunity of a lifetime in its Joseph Choir Search competition.
Up for grabs is the chance to perform live on the final show.
And there is the chance to appear in the West End in a special Children In Need performance of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Ysgol Emmanuel music teacher Delwen Potter last night urged supporters to go on line when the school’s entry is downloaded onto the BBC competitions website tomorrow.
“We have recorded and videoed a medley of songs from Joseph and we hope our effort will go down well with those who log-on.”
She added: “We heard about the competition during the Easter holidays and members of our musical theatre group, which has put on numerous shows and won awards, were keen to give it a go.”
Voters can watch the school’s entry and monitor its progress and ranking by searching the ‘audition room’ at www.josephchoirsearch.co.uk.

Tools give rare glimpse of Stone Age Rhyl

Posted by Dan Owen on May 8, 2007 9:41 AM

ARCHAEOLOGISTS digging on the site of a planned housing development have unearthed signs of a prehistoric settlement.
Trenches dug on the site off Dyserth Road on the outskirts of Rhyl reveal a small pit containing charcoal and several flint tools, probably from the Mesolithic period (Middle Stone Age), 8,000-4,000 years ago.
Among the items discovered was a thumbnail scraper which had been “retouched”, a technique resulting in the careful removal of small flakes to produce a sharp cutting edge.
After some initial work in February, workers from consultants Earthworks Archaeology of Ewloe have spent the past two weeks examining the site in more detail, and are excited by their findings.
But now, after two weeks of digging, the area will be covered up and houses and a school built on the site.
The archaeological work was sponsored by Anwyl Construction which is to develop the 300-property estate to be known as Parc Aberkinsey. The research was one of the planning conditions laid down by Denbighshire County Council.
“There was no reason to believe there was anything here and so it was purely speculative,” said project manager Ian Davies.
Following discussions between Anwyl Construction and Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, as advisers to the county council, it was agreed to open a wider area for more detailed investigation. That means the remains will be properly recorded before building starts.
“Several prehistoric pit features have been excavated and recorded,” said Will Walker, head of Earthworks Archaeology.
“Although uncertain at present, the flint tools retrieved from the pits suggest transitory activity during the Mesolithic period.
“However, the recovery of one possible fragment of very early pottery may indicate later prehistoric activity but more detailed examination is required before any conclusions can be reached,” he said.
“Charcoal samples have been taken for radiocarbon dating and scientific analysis of the ancient soils may offer other important and fascinating information about the prehistoric landscape,” he added.
When all the analysis and information is gathered a full report will be produced.
Mr Davies said the pattern of small holes could indicate post holes forming part of some form of enclosure.
Another possible explanation for the findings is the slightly raised land was one of many small islands amid the wetlands of a wide river estuary.

Shopping delivers 30 new jobs

Posted by Dan Owen on May 8, 2007 9:39 AM

Thirty new jobs are being created by a new grocery delivery service.
Asda’s Rhyl store is set to launch its new home shopping service for local residents by the end of June.
The home delivery service will deliver shopping directly to a customer’s door when they place an order via the internet.
The service is offered up to 30 miles from the store and has been described as an exceptional new service.
The new jobs have been announced just weeks after plans for a new property development in the town were released.

Praise for town’s drive for jobs

Posted by Dan Owen on May 8, 2007 9:38 AM

MOVES to get people off benefits and into jobs in Rhyl were praised by a Government minister.
A pilot scheme by the Department of Work and Pensions aims to boost employment in some of the most deprived parts of the town.
And the town’s efforts to rise to the challenge have since been praised by Work and Pensions Secretary JohnHutton.
Rhyl is one of 15 spots throughout the UK to pilot the City Strategy scheme, which encourages more training within those towns. The town was allocated £317,000 to start the scheme but money saved from not handing out benefits could go to help the scheme in future.
It was successfully piloted since last May, with longer-term targets to be drawn up by the end of the month.
Mr Hutton said the Rhyl group “had developed and demonstrated a genuine understanding of the challenges facing the local area and that they had approached the initiative with energy and enthusiasm.”
Councillor Rhiannon Hughes, council leader and Lead Member for Regeneration said: “The City Strategy initiative in Rhyl supports the whole of our Rhyl Going Forward project of regeneration.
“Already people can see the difference in Rhyl’s physical infrastructure with the new Drift Park, as well as other capital projects such as work on the Foryd Harbour, and these will run alongside people-centred projects such as the City Strategy initiative.”

Landlords warned after flat blaze

Posted by Dan Owen on May 8, 2007 9:32 AM

FIRE chiefs warned landlords they risk prosecution over unlicensed or unregistered properties after the lucky escape of six occupants from a Rhyl flat fire.
Firefighters from Rhyl were called to a fire in a number of flats above a shop in Abbey Street, Rhyl at 11.35pm on Friday.
The six occupants were led to safety by police officers.
Crews used three hose reel jets and 10 sets of breathing apparatus to extinguish the blaze.
Firefighters found the fire doors were rendered inoperative and smoke alarms had not activated.
A prohibition order has now been served.
Alyn Edwards, county safety manager for Denbighshire, said: “Flats like these with multiple occupants should be licensed or registered with the local authority.
“This property was not, and contravened a number of fire safety regulations put in place to save lives.
“A similar prohibition order was also served on another property in Rhyl this week. I am deeply concerned that landlords are putting lives at risk.
“Landlords who fail to comply with the rules of the housing act and the fire safety conditions within it will face legal action.
“For more details, landlords should contact their local housing enforcement officer.”

No scrawl on my wall

Posted by Dan Owen on May 2, 2007 10:28 AM

Andy Birch
A COUNCIL hired a graffiti artist to spray-paint walls across the town – to deter youngsters from doing the same.
Professional painter and decorator Andy Birch, 33, was hired to design eye-catching graffiti in a bid to combat vandalism problems in Rhyl.
And now Andy, who first started making graffiti aged 13, hopes to teach youngsters how to harness their skills.
He is aiming to help youngsters keen on illegal graffiti to leave eye-catching markings instead of “messy” graffiti.
The plan to put up an approved graffiti mural in Rhyl, at a spot regularly targeted by illegal graffiti artists, was put forward by Denbighshire County Council last year.
And Andy, of Old Colwyn, was eventually chosen to draw a 30ft mural depicting Rhyl at the resort’s Children’s Village.
Council chiefs are so happy with the results he has been hired to draw more graffiti-style murals in Denbighshire.
Dad-of-two Andy said: “In places like Rhyl and Colwyn Bay kids are just putting up their tags, which are basically just scribbled letters.
“What I am trying to do is educate kids, and show them what they can do legitimately.
“I think the council realised that kids are always going to be writing on walls. But at least we can give a few of them something to work towards.
“I am giving them something to aspire to, and trying to encourage kids to produce work at home, producing stuff on boards.
“It’s important for them to get good on paper, and then take it on from there. There is talent out there, it just needs harnessing.”
He was helped in producing the mural by fellow artist Sam Fullman.
Andy admitted to very minor illegal graffiti as a youngster, but said he spent most of his time learning his skill at home.
He hoped youngsters could offer to paint attractive murals at graffiti hotspots to deter offensive spray-painting.
He said: “I’ve got kids and I don’t want them learning new words and picking things up by looking at graffiti.
“This is a way of moving it forward as an art form and showing people it can have a positive effect.”
Andy will be holding an exhibition of his work at Speaker’s Corner in Colwyn Bay for a month, beginning early next week.
Robin Jones, Public Realm manager for Denbighshire County Council, said: “We’ve had some tremendous feedback and have already commissioned Andy to paint a mural over the Ty Newydd Road foot bridge in Rhyl.
“It has started a conversation with some of those who may have been involved with unofficial spraying. We are hoping to build on this.”
Coun Eryl Williams, Lead Member for the Environment said: ““It costs every time we have to clean an area up, and each time we do, we are creating a blank canvas for the graffiti artists. It is excellent that we have been able to pioneer such a creative approach.”

Drugs found on board boat

Posted by Dan Owen on May 1, 2007 10:13 AM

THREE people on a boat were arrested by police last night after Class A drugs and cash were discovered on board.
Rhyl inshore lifeboat was launched after coastguards received a report of a boat behaving erratically at 8pm.

Chatroom sex act alleged

Posted by Dan Owen on May 1, 2007 10:09 AM

A DAD-of-four appeared in court yesterday accused of showing a young girl sexual activity through an internet chatroom.
Prestatyn magistrates heard jobless Robert Alan Giddins allegedly sent images of himself carrying out a sexual act to a 12-year-old Rhyl girl and asked her to do the same.
Giddins, 52, of Pelican Close, Weston-super-Mare, gave no indication of plea.
He faces three charges relating to alleged incidents on April 16 and 25. Giddins was remanded in custody until May 8.

Players Awards

Posted by Rhyl FC on May 1, 2007 9:31 AM

Our End of Season Night sponsored by Anglia Building & Decorating Contractors was held at the Faenol Fawr on Saturday 28th April. The evening was a great success and all playing staff, directors and fans attended. The evening included presentations for the players awards.
The awards went to the following players :-
Ist Team Awards

Players Player of the Year - George Horan
Fans Player of The Year as voted on our Official Website - Lee Hunt

Reserves

Players Player of The Year - Mitchell Booth
Managers Player of the Year - Matthew Hoult
Top Goalscorer - Mike Roose

This page contains an archive of all entries posted to Rhyl News in the May 2007. They are listed from oldest to newest.

April 2007 is the previous archive.June 2007 is the next archive.

Many more can be found on the home page or by looking through the archives.

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