LLys Madoc to Close

Tonight i attended an extraordinary meeting of the Council called for by the Labour Group in order to ask Members of the council whether they would vote to reconsider a decision made by the lib-dem / independant run Exec Board to close Llys Madoc home.
After much debate mainly from my fellow Labour councillors, all councillors were asked to vote. All labour members voted to reconsider the decisision and the rulling Lib-Dem Independant alliance group voted against. Thus Llys Madoc care home is to close in March 2007.

My views on this are straight, i do not belive in the privatization of our care homes , but in a mixed provision of both public and private care, thus giving people a real choice. The rulling Lib-Dem group say there is no money to run these homes but in their budget which was classed by the leader Aled Roberts as being both 'Wonderfull & Exciting' They put two million pounds of Council Tax money into council balances, as well as spending £25.000 on a minority welsh festival at a failing theatre called the Stiwt.

The Lib-Dems as ussual know the cost of everything and the value of nothing!!

We Shall Remember Them

This morning I attended the Annual remembrance day service at the Cenotaph Cefn.
This year as Chairman of the Community Council i had the privilege of laying the reath on behalf of the Council. The service was conducted by Mr R Breeze (Lay reader) Mrs C E Edwards (Lay reader) & the Rev R.D Thomas.
The service was well attended by the whole community.

Liberal's Close Llys Madoc

I went to a meeting with Cllr Nick Colbourn of Ruabon, to Llys Madoc care home.
Where in front of me and the staff Aled Roberts, Leader of the Council anounounced that Llys Madoc will be closing as of March 2007, with all its residents faceing eviction from a home they dearly love. This is a disgrace!! Especially when the Council will not know until January if its bid for an extra care housing facility will be successfull. The worst senario is that it wont and Plas Madoc will have an empty building which will be destroyed by vandals and druggies.

At the meeting i congratulated the staff for all the work they have put into the home and i would not like to be in their position - again for many staff when they have to move residents from the home they love.

The Lib-Dems are like darlecs off Doctor Who, they strutt around the county screaming "I Will Destroy - I Will Destroy"

Community Safety

Yesterday Wednesday Oct 25th I attended the once a month Plas Madoc Community Safety meeting. The meeting is held on the last Wednesday every month, at the Opportunity Centre, Hampden Way at 2pm

The meeting involves residents, police, fire brigade, & council employees and discusses all things to do with community safety and the general environment of Plas Madoc. At wednesdays meeting we discussed aspects of the 'Safer Living Better Living' action plan. As well as drugs, Youth service, & the road system around Plas Madoc including drivers speeding, with a new initiative being launched soon which includes school children handeling a speed gun with the police and thus hoping to shame speeding drivers.

All residents are welcome to attend.

The week ahead !

Below is what's in my diary for the week October 16th - 20th

Monday
Meeting at 6.30 at the Guildhall of Wrexham labour group, where we discuss what is going on behind the scenes on the Council, and our strategies for the week ahead.

Tuesday
My surgery at 6.30pm at the Opportunity Centre, hampden way. Any resident of Plas Madoc is welcome to come along for advice asisstance regarding the Council.

Wednesday
Children & Young People Scrutiny Committee 6.00pm at the Guildhall. This week the committee will be interviewing the headteacher of Ysgol Clwyedog, and discussing the folowing reports - Update on strategy to transform achievement in secondary schools, review of primary school provision, flying start initiative, and secondary schools reorganisation.

Thursday
An extrordinary meeting of the full council, in the council chamber, Guildhall 6.30pm to discuss the Neighbourhood warden scheme - this meeting has been called by the labour group.All members of the public are welcome to attend.

Friday
A meeting of the Fabian Society 7.30pm The fabian society is a political think-tank, our meetings consist of a nice meal followed by a guest speaker !

The General Is Right !

Having listened to the head of the British army, General Sir Richard Donnatt i could not agree more with his comments. Sir Richard said 'We have got to get out of Iraq soon, because our presence exacerbates the security problems' I have been against this war in Iraq from the start, why? because anyone who has been taught foreign politics will understand that for various reasons some countries are run by dictators. and others by democracy. The reason Iraq was run by dictatorship was because it is a false country, invented by the British after the second world war. The country was originaly three seperate states, the only way to hold this religious divided country together was by force, now that force has gone we have chaos.

So what will happen when we pull out? There will no doubt be a civil war, and after that? the country will go back to three seperate states. The south will be run by a Shite religious government - modelled on Iran, the centre will be run by a sunni religious government - modelled on Saudi Arabia, and the North will be the only part where we have any hope of democracy, that as is now will be run by the Kurds.

Llys Madoc

I Just want to state two things regarding Llys Madoc home. First i am completely opposed to any closure of this home, and what i see as the privatisation of residential care in Wrexham by this Lib-Dem run Council. I have been opposed to the closure of Llys Madoc sine the proposal first reared it ugly head two years ago on the principle that by evicting frail & elderly people from their home it will in some cases cause death, this has happened in other parts of the U.K where a home has closed. I think the staff have done an excellent job, especially recently and deserve our praise, not re-location or a potential redundancy notice.

Secondly,As far as the extra care home facility which may replace Llys Madoc if the home was to close, because i have a responsibility towards Plas Madoc and do not wish to see a derelict building which could be used by squatters & drug addicts, I reluctantly support the application for extra care housing and the facilities that would come with it.

All Talk & No Action !!

The Liberal Democrats pride themselves on their Environmental Policies, Claiming to have the most environment freindly policies of any of the mainstream political parties.

The closest the Lib - Dems have had of gaining power since Lloyd George's time is the control of local councils, so it is there that they can put these Environment policies into action. The Lib-Dems control Liverpool City Council, so why is it they have one of the worst household recycling rates of any Council in England, a Woeful six percent! The minister of state for the Environment Ian Pearson M.P has agreed that Liverpool is massively underachieving on its recycling targets and has given them six million pounds to sort it out. So what do the Lib-Dems in liverpool do, they send their waste on large lorrys to Hafod, using thousands of litres of dirty diesel, hundreds of litres of engine oil, and loads of tyres.I wonder what they have done with that £6 million of tax payers money.

The same all talk no action on the environment happens here in Wrexham. The so called environment champions who control Wrexham Council - yes you have gussed it! the Lib -Dems have also the worst recycling rate of any Council in the whole of Wales.

As per ussual the Lib-Dems are all talk and no action!!

Neighbourhood Warden

Whilst this post is a little late, with the decision to scrap the Neighbourhood Warden system being taken a few weeks ago by this Lib-Dem / Indi run council. I wish to pay tribute to our Warden Alan. Alan has been an asset to Plas Madoc. Anti-social behaviour is down, people are more confident in reporting anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, abbandoned cars ect The appearance of the estate has also improved with the removal of graffiti from the electric sub-stations, and now the painting of the garages. Work which the council would not have done had the levels of anti-social behavour not de-creased. Alan will be a huge loss to the estate.

By putting all their faith in Police community support officers the rulling lib-dem group on the council is removing one of its key responsibilities,to make Wrexham a safer place to live & work,if it can fund £25.000 for a one day minority welsh festival in Rhos then it can afford a neighbourhood warden system, as i have said before 'the lib-dems know the cost of everything but the value of nothing'

Sorry !

Hello All

I am very sorry for not posting blogs on this site for a long time. This was due to the council stopping me from using their broadband connection to post blogs. But now it seems i can, for how long i do not know ?

So hopefuly you will once again have an insight into what is happening in Plas Madoc, the council & the world in general !

LLys Madoc is worth fighting for!

On Wednesday evening I attended a meeting at Llys Madoc care home with the local member for Ruabon Nick Colbourne & residents families. The staff were not happy as I did not attend their meeting earlier as I was told to attend the residents family meeting at 7.30pm. The libdem-independent alliance that now run the council are determined to close this nursing home which is an excellent home with great staff providing round the clock dedicated care. I am strongly opposed to the closure of this home. I attended the social affairs scrutiny meeting in June to urge members to accept option 2/1 which would have kept the home residential as well as providing day care services, the scrutiny committee accepted that option, but what I heard on Wednesday night means that llys madoc would not be a residential home under this proposal. I want to make it clear to all staff, residents & their families that I oppose any removal of Llys Madoc as a residential home and will attend the scrutiny meeting in September to fight for Llys Madoc.

Paul

Neighbourhood Warden

Since my election as Councillor in 2004 Plas Madoc has had a Neighbourhood Warden in Place, called Alan. The reason for introducing Neighbourhhod wardens was to tackle anti-social behaviour and be the eyes and ears of the community. Unfortunatly the Liberal Democrats who now run Wrexham Council have been against the wardens, and on wednesday they decided to try and get rid of a succesfull Labour policy - the Neighbourhhod warden.
This is utterly disgraceful Alan is well known and liked by most residents in Plas Madoc The liberals say their is no need for a warden and his job can be carried ot by the current police support officer.

At committee on Wednesday i opposed these plans, with my fellow labour councillors, we have got the liberals plan delayed until June 22nd But be in no doubt the Liberals ambition is to do away with alan and all other wardens in the county, they say for cost reasons, i say the Liberals know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

If you are also against the liberal democrat plans then please write to the leader of the council, write to the newspapers, you can also contact me by e-mail paul.blackwell@wrexham.gov.uk or Tell 01490 430873 / 07855 620891 or place a comment below

Children & Young People Scrutiny Committee

Yesterday I attended a meeting with other memebers of the committee to the Idwal Family centre. This is an excellent centre based in Plas Madoc which deals with families and various problems families experience, such as domestic abuse. The members of staff are very dedicated to improving the lives of families who live in Plas Madoc and other wards in the County Borough.

After the meeting at the centre we then went to Grango school where we had a meeting with the Headteacher who has been in post since Sept 2004. The work she is doing in the school to raise performance and aspiration is truly brilliant! Prior to her appointment the school was failing. The scrutiny committee was very impresed with the work she is doing at the school.

Communities First

On Wednesday i attended the bi-monthly Communities First Board meeting. At the meeting we had a presentation Mindy the children &young people worker about play activities on Plas Madoc, we had a presentation from Sandra Ashfield who now deals with immigrant families and the Environment officer gave a presentation on the progress so far regarding the sensory Garden. Other issues regarding regeneration of Plas Madoc were also discussed.

Wwwkly Diary 27th March - 31st March

On Monday i attended a meeting of Cefn Community Council, The police were present which gives an opportunity for councillors to discuss local policing matters.

On Tuesday i went to the venue Youth club and watched the girs dance group practice their moves ahead of the one year aniversary for the club which takes place on Wednesday.

On Wednesday i attended a meeting of the Plas Madoc Community Safety Group. this group consists of residents, police, warden & council officers. The group deals with all community safety matters in plas madoc and i would urge more resident to get more involved.
At 4pm i attended the one year aniversary party of the Venue Youth Club the Mayor Cllr Mike Edwards was present as well as many residents and of course the youth. A disco was held for the youth in the evening at the leisure centre.

For the rest of the week i have been dealing with residents concerns & other Council related matters.

Weekly Diary March 20th - 26th

On Monday evening i attended a police meeting at the Stiwt, Rhos. This meeting was for people to hear a presentation on local police plans andto ask Inspector Paul Firth some questions on Police matters.

On Tuesday evening i did a surgery in the opportunity centre, Hampden Way. I do a surgery there on the third tuesday every month starting at 6.30pm

On Wednesday i had a meeting with the Dogs trust which is holding an event in Plas Madoc on monday 27th, I also attended a meeting of the Communities first board followed in the evening by a meeting of Acrefair School Governors, where saddly the headteacher anounced his retirement.

For the rest of the week i have been dealing with residents concerns.

Plas Y Wern Bail Hostel

On Friday evening 17th March I attended a meeting at the Plas Y Wern bail hostel. Present at the meeting was Karen Sinclair AM and from the probation service was: Carol Moore Chief probation officer, Steve Ray , Chris Higgins from the hostel and others

At the meeting steve ray gave us a presentation of facts about the hostel they were:

• 30 out of the 35 residents are from North Wales
• 27 are in the hostel on licence from prison and 12 are on bail
• No women are resident at the hostel
• There have been seven breaches of bail conditions this year for, Drugs, alcohol & mental illness
• 4 residents have been recalled back to prison for crimminal damage to the hostel, motoring offences, shopliffting & mental health
• The hostel management is looking into a derilict house close by to the hostel which is used by drug users with a view locating the owners and possibly demolishing the property.

At a previous meeting at the hostel members of the public present asked about sattelite tracking for offenders. Carol Moore reported back that she has loked at this the home office is currently undertaking pilots of this system in three areas of England and it was to early to say if this system was working properly, if it eventualy does then it could be rolled out accross the country. Carol Moore also talked about voice recognition technology as a way of tracking offenders.

Citizenship Ceremony

On Wednesday March 15th I attended the Citizenship Ceremony of Plas Madoc resident
Mr Lyle Zeiler. Lyle is a South African, who has been living in the U.K for the past five years. He first applied for British Citizenship three years ago, and he kindly invited me to his ceremony which took place in Wrexham.

Pictured above from Left to Right is the Deputy Mayor George James, Myself, Mr Zeiler,
Mrs Zieler and their their three Daughters.

In Need Of Some Extra Money ?

The Councillor for Ruabon Nick Colbourne is organising a :
Benefits Advice - Income Maximization Evening i the Pavillion, Next to Ruabon Village Hall on Tue 23rd March 6.30pm - 8.30pm

The event is being run by Jacki Cowee a legal advisor who specialises in all sorts of financial problems, and can advise you on the right benefits you can claim and how to claim them, plus all sorts of other kinds of financial help. The event is open to all residents of Plas Madoc.

You can also arrange for a private chat with Jacki on the night.

For more info : www.ruabonlabourcouncillor.blogspot.com

Cefn Commercial Regeneration

On Wednesday evening i attended a meeting of the Cefn Commercial Area Regeneration Group.
This meeting is held about once evey six months and is concerned with the regeneration of the commerical centre of Cefn - Well St & Crane St.
During the meeting we discussed some of the empty shops on Crane St, it looks like these will be modernised shortly. We also discussed the work going on at Ebenezer Chapel and the closure of Crane St which has upset many people including the traders. The police stated the reason they had to close it was because, when it was a one way people were not sticking to the rules and this posed a risk to the contracters.
A solution to the problem is now being investigated and hopefuly the road will be open shortly to one way traffic only.

Budget Meeting

On Wednesday Evening i attended a meeting of the Full Council, in the Council Chamber. The meeting was called to discuss this years budget and to set the level of the Council tax.

The ruling Liberal Democrat group wanted a 3% increase in the council tax as well as the ability to part privatise home help for the elderly, and introduce a number of damageing cuts to Council services, one of those long term cuts could be the closure of Llys Madoc nursing home.

The labour group opposed the budget,and highlighted a number of weaknesses as well as introducing our alternative spending plans which would protect services to the most vunerable in society. These alternative plans were vote down by the Lib -Dems.

As this budget sought to increase Your Council Tax by 3% and would hit the most vunerable in society i voted against.

sponsored walk

Today I joined some of the youth and their workers from the Venue for a sponsered walk to Llangollen. The walk was organised to raise funds for dance costumes for the youth, these costumes cost upwards of £100 . Also on the walk was our warden Alan as well as Neighbourhood wardens from Southsea, Chirk & Coedpoeth.
The walk was very enjoyable and the youths behaved themselves impecably.

Thanks to all that sponsored me I managed to raise £50 in all !

Communities First

Today I attended the once every two month directors meeting of Communities First.
At the meeting all staff give a verbal or written report. I also produce a report.
Today I reported on the Council Budget and the potential 3% rise in Council Tax which the Lib-Dem led council is proposing. I also reported on the 3.3% rise in rents, and gave the board an update on the redevelopment of Druid House and the new mini police station which is due to open in a fortnight.

In two weeks time Communities First new website should be up and running, you can access it by typing in
www.plasmadoc.org.uk

Hello and welcome to my new blogpage. This site is for you the residents of Plas Madoc. You can find out what i am doing for you as your Councillor and what is happening on the council. You can also post me your views on Council Services, and what changes you would like to see in Plas Madoc.