Simple Simon

Wat's Meadow was partly built a couple of years ago. It was planned to be a new housing estate on the outskirts of Gobowen. A new roundabout just outside the village was created to allow access for residents as the estate would be sandwiched between the Wrexham Road and the railway line. However, the recession hit and the estate was never completed, but a number of houses were finished. I'm not sure if any of them are occupied. I've learnt that there are also plans to develop the old coal yard situated behind the railway station with afordable houses, but the market is so depressed and there doesn't seem to be any sign of an upturn in the foreseeable future. Shouldn't we concentrate on bringing old or unused properties back into use first?

I sometimes use Arriva trains from Gobowen Station to get to Shrewsbury. It costs £6.60p return, off peak. The price went up twice during 2011. I'm asking myself "Is the service good enough?" A lot of people use public transport in Gobowen to get into town, or to go to Wrexham and Shrewsbury. It would be useful to get some opinions on YOUR attitude to the services. What's the price by bus to get to town and back from Gobowen (Arriva and Tanat Valley)? Have prices for bus travel risen as steeply as by rail? Are the routes convenient? Are bus shelters suitable for purpose? Do you get enough timetable information? Do you feel weekend and evening services are regular enough?

It's Thursday 8th December 2011 and it's bin collection day. It's really wet and windy, and set to get even worse this afternoon. This is a WARNING TO DRIVERS going home from work in the dark this evening: There's loads of litter and up turned blue and orange recycle bins blowing around the roads in Gobowen...so BE CAREFUL!

Just a quick mention that the Green Room now has a fully functioning Table Tennis Table! I broke my back wrenching it out of the cardboard packaging, took one look at the construction booklet and decided to leave it at that! Thumbs up you guys who constructed it.

This is another article that had to be dropped from the winter issue of the Selattyn & Gobown Parish Roundabout due to lack of space and the fact that the changes had already been implemented. Any views? Unfortunately cardboard can no longer be put in garden waste bins or sacks. This change was approved at Shropshire Council Cabinet today and will affect all households in the Shropshire Council area. Why is it changing? Recent changes to national composting regulations mean that any compost produced across the UK must now be of a much higher quality. This new standard is called PAS 100:2011. The new rules mean that compost can no longer contain cardboard because the inks, dyes and coatings on cardboard may contaminate the compost. Compost producers will no longer accept garden waste and cardboard that is mixed together. This means, regrettably, we will no longer be able to collect cardboard for composting. What happens next? To inform householders of this change, a leaflet will be put under the lids of all rubbish bins from the 31 October 2011. A permanent sticker will then be put on garden waste bin lids to act as a reminder to residents not to put cardboard in. When will the change start? Residents will no longer be able to put cardboard in their garden waste bin (or sack) from Monday 28 November 2011. What will residents do with their cardboard now? We will ask householders to continue to recycle their cardboard by taking it, if they are able, to their nearest Household Recycling Centre. Otherwise we will be advising them to put their cardboard waste in their rubbish bin. Veolia are also looking for suitable sites around the county to place approximately 20 bring banks for cardboard. What happens if residents put cardboard in their garden waste bins (or sacks) after 28 November? If cardboard is in garden waste bins (or sacks) after 28 November Veolia will not be able to empty it. After this date, if cardboard is mixed in, entire loads of garden waste would be rejected at the composting facility and it would then have to be sent to landfill. Residents will get a bin hanger which explains why their bin has not been emptied and what they should do. The future We are working with Veolia to find new practical and cost effective ways of collecting cardboard in the future to make sure that we continue to recycle as much of our waste as possible.

The following article appears in the Winter issue of the "Selattyn & Gobowen Parish Roundabout", but I thought it would be useful for it to be uploaded here: Warm Home Discount information Confusion has arisen over the Governments’ new Warm Homes Discount. Customers have been calling the energy companies trying to find out who is eligible and therefore will qualify for £120 off their electricity bill this winter. Most of the money will be distributed automatically but for some eligible customers the discount will only be available ‘first come, first served’. Pensioners in receipt of the guarantee element of Pension Credit should receive their discount automatically without having to take any action. They will receive a letter from the Department of Work and Pensions to say that their electricity bill will be credited with £120. Some other households may also qualify, but the funds are limited. These customers do need to apply to their energy company. Each company has slightly different criteria for deciding who can have a payment. In broad terms they are looking for customers who receive a means-tested benefit and have a child under 5 or who also receive a disability benefit. Ian Peters, managing director of energy at British Gas, told Radio 4’s Money Box programme that no eligible customer would lose out if they apply before the end of January. Other companies are, currently, not making such a generous offer. Shropshire residents unsure who to call should contact Keep Shropshire Warm on 01743 277123. Keep Shropshire Warm also urges all customers that have not already done so to make sure their homes are fully insulated ready for winter. At present we can offer loft and cavity wall insulation from as little as £89 each and free to those over 70 or in receipt of qualifying benefits. Again contact Keep Shropshire Warm on 01743 277123 check the website at www.keepshropshirewarm.org.uk or email, info@keepshropshirewarm.org

There are 2 new telephone numbers for reporting different types of crime: The first is for reporting anti-social behaviour such as Noise, Vandalism, Rubbish, Alcohol, Drugs, Nuisance, Fireworks and Off Road. It's run by Shropshire Council with the Safer Shropshire Partnership. The number is 0345 678 9020. The second number is operated by West Mercia Police: 101 is now the number to call when you want to contact your local police – when it’s less urgent than 999. When should I call 101? To report less urgent crime or disorder and for general police enquiries. For example; • if your car has been stolen; • if your property has been damaged; • when you suspect drug use or dealing; • to report a minor traffic collision; • to give the police information about crime in your area; or How does it work? You can call 101 to contact your local police force. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more information visit www.police.uk/101 What does it cost me to call? Calls from landlines and mobile networks cost 15 pence per call, no matter what time of day or how long you are on the phone. Can I call 101 if I’m deaf, hard of hearing, speech impaired, or if English is not my first language? Yes, If you are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired you can textphone 18001 101. If you have difficulty speaking English, your local police can access interpreters who can translate your call. Crown Copyright June 2011

The following is a fact sheet that was too long to be included in the winter issue of the "Selattyn & Gobowen Parish Roundabout", so I've pasted it here to be viewed by all four villages: The Walkers are Welcome idea Walkers are Welcome towns and villages are places which have something special to offer walkers. It is a bottom up status and accreditation scheme. 70 + towns/villages signed up as full or associate members. Collectively managed by a members committee Benefits. strengthen a town’s reputation – WaW a strong brand good for the local economy. can unite a town ensures footpaths are maintained contributes to local tourism plans strong network support – newsletters - conference promotional material and website presence New ideas! Walking Festivals…Cultural links…Food and drink …Entertainment History 2006 - first discussed. 2007 Pennine town of Hebden Bridge became the first Walkers are Welcome town closely followed by Moffat in Scotland and by Prestatyn & Meliden. Six conditions for becoming a Walkers are Welcome town 1. Demonstration of popular local support for the concept. 500 signatures of support from local residents, visitors, accommodation providers, traders 2. Local Council formally endorsing application for Walkers are Welcome status by passing a resolution in support, by allocating some responsibility for Walkers are Welcome to a member of staff or committee, making small budget available 3. Action to ensure that facilities for walkers are maintained in good condition. Local council and/or voluntary groups make a commitment to ensure that paths are walked regularly and obstacles and problems are dealt with promptly. 4. Adequate marketing of Walkers are Welcome status. Press coverage, signage in the centre of town, waymarked walks starting from town centre, leaflets readily available, local shops display Walkers are Welcome stickers 5. Encouragement of walking using public transport. Clear public transport advice on marketing leaflets 6. Mechanisms in place to maintain Walkers are Welcome status. EG The creation of a local Walkers are Welcome steering group How to become a Walkers are Welcome town Step1 General discussion + Establish an informal steering group to oversee the project – Step 2 Let the Walkers are Welcome Towns Network know. They have informal mentoring arrangements to help and resources. Agree to proceed and apply to become an associate member of the Network by Filling in form on www.walkersarewelcome.org.uk Sending the annual subscription of £50 Step 3 Work in your community to meet the criteria Step 4 Keep the Walkers are Welcome Towns Network informed as you progress. Don’t take too long. Typically, it shouldn’t take much over six months to become a Walkers are Welcome community. Step 5 Meet the criteria and contact the Walkers are Welcome Towns Network committee which will assess your application, and all being well, you will be awarded Walkers are Welcome status. Step 6 Celebrate!....Organise official launch and associated events….Attract widespread publicity and media coverage. Top Tips for publicity from the towns represented at the 2010 Annual Conference ·Use Survey Monkey for gathering feedback - www.surveymonkey.com ·Get local schools involved, the children then enthuse their parents ·Prescription walks - work with your doctor’s surgery to produce leaflets of short, easy walks that can be handed out to patients instead of/as well as normal prescriptions ·Use car stickers to promote WaW, your website or walking events ·Ask the accommodation providers in your area to add a web link to your website and the WaW website ·Ask accommodation providers to add the WaW logo to their publications. ·Branded clothing – wear the WaW logo with pride. WaW national committee to look into offering this to all towns from one manufacturer ·Try to get articles into train company magazines, for people to read on a long journey ·Produce postcards and bookmarks with a lovely view on the front and the website and logo on the reverse. Get them inserted into Hotel and B&B bedroom browsers in the area, so that visitors can send them to friends and relatives. ·Produce an attractive walker’s calendar with the WaW logo and website details. Mark on it important dates such as your walking festival. ·Put visitors books in every teashop and invite walkers to add feedback on their experience in the town ·Don’t undersell what you are doing, think big and ask for donations from businesses. Offer a choice of sponsorship amounts with different benefits. ·TV is the best publicity you can get, increasing visitor numbers dramatically. Be persistent and try to contact names at TV companies rather than just the company. However, make sure your town can cope with the extra visitor numbers! ·Julia Bradbury is launched the Go Yomp website on 4 November 2010 to promote walking. Check it out and think about how it can work for your town ·Work with the council to erect WaW signs at the entrances to the town ·Keep businesses involved and updated by producing and circulating a regular newsletter of your achievements and ideas ·Work with your local TIC, make sure they know what you are doing. www.walkersarewelcome.org.uk also peter.dunhill@shropshire.gov.uk

The parish council have adopted the junior goal posts and there are plans to replace the large ones. But there's still a problem of how to store them after the season (about 3 months during the summer). It gets very muddy in the goal mouths during the season and it's important to remove the posts when it ends to give the grass a chance to recover. But where should the 24 ft long goal posts be stored? There's also the problem of a trip hazard caused by the holes left by the removal of the posts. How do the other sports fields in the area deal with this problem? There has been talk of locating some kind of metal shipping container somewhere in the area. Any suggestions would be most helpful...

Okay...the bike. Are you limited to the quality of the surface you ride on? Do you have to stick to main roads? I do a circuit of Selattyn, around to Glyn Ceriog to Chirk and back along the canal tow path to Gobowen. I've got a mountain bike with no suspension and it's a nice run, but the climb up after Craignant is a killer!

Gobowen Library has a large number of puzzles that are free for anyone to take out (no library ticket required).

...and another thing: We really should get more people posting events in the Calendar section. I've just spent some time doing this using information from the parish newsletter. The Calendar is an excellent tool for seeing what's going on across the villages and it should be possible to upload posters for events (it works for pdfs).

There will be some details about this site in the winter issue of the "Selattyn & Gobowen Parish Roundabout" which should be distributed (!) at some point before Christmas. I'll also stick something eyecatching on the Gobowen village notice board over the holiday.

I notice that you have a number of jigsaw puzzles in the Community Centre. I've seen the round "Waddingtons" picture puzzle of Birds of Prey there. Waddingtons produced a number of quality round shaped 500 piece puzzles before they went under sometime ago. Please can you keep a look out for one that features various images of bears, as I've been trying to get my hands on it for sometime. If one shows up please give me a bell. Many thanks.