Shut up and go! The mantra of local government?

In many of my recent posts, I have repeatedly questioned the accountability and worth of my local council. Not the locally elected councillors but rather the employees charged with running it. As with many other councils in the UK, my local council has undoubtedly been subjected to the same cuts as the rest of us as the Coalition seeks to balance the books which they inherited in 2010. The way in which they have approached this challenge has been cynical and underhand which does them little credit.

Just yesterday, new information came to my attention. Under normal circumstances, I would have been flabbergasted but there is now little they could do to surprise me. Following a link on a social media site, I learned of a Freedom of Information request which eventually revealed details of the "Gagging orders" paid out by my local council over the last four years. It's fair to say that this information has been released not because they wanted the public to know but because they have been legally forced to do so.

In 2009/10, 3 gagging orders were paid out by my local council at a cost of £131,962.12. In 2010/11, 2 orders were paid at a cost of £37,500. In 2011/12, 4 were paid out at a cost of £91,963.92 and in 2012/13, 8 were paid out at a total cost of £182,032.24. This means that my local council has paid out a whopping £443,188.28 in the last four years (obviously not including the current financial year!). During the last year, that same council has closed down Rhyl Sun Centre, Prestatyn Nova Centre, the North Wales Bowls Centre and Llanbedr primary school to name but a few. They also tried their very best to close St. Brigid's faith school in Denbigh and have stated their intention to do so by 2018.

A gagging order is issued when the council wants to terminate the employment of an employee and shut them up. To do so, they have to pay a price such that both parties are happy. Thus, rather than go through normal employment tribunals and grievance procedures, they can simply pay off any employee whose face doesn't fit. This is 2014 and this is our council. If this was 1934 in Stalinist Russia, it would be difficult to tell the difference. Put simply, the power has got out of control. It will continue to do so until such time as they are held to account. The £443,188.28 so profligately spent in the last four years was done at a time when Clwyd Leisure (the not-for-profit company charged with running Rhyl Sun Centre) were having their annual budget slashed by £50,000 per annum. You don't need to be a mathematician to see that Rhyl Sun Centre, the Nova Centre and the North Wales Bowls Centre should all still be open. Meanwhile, the current Chief Executive continues to earn more than the Prime Minister!

I feel genuine sympathy for the ordinary council employees who are just trying to do their jobs to the best of their ability with the resources they have. I do take issue though with the spending decisions being made by the more senior personnel. Any outsider looking in at Denbighshire would surely question this track record? It does not reflect well on the people making these poor decisions and it insults the thousands of council tax payers in the county who frankly deserve a lot better. If you pay for a service in your life, you normally expect to get what you pay for. For the people of Denbighshire, such an expectation has for too long been an aspiration instead of a reality. Shame!

In his 1864 novella Notes from Underground, Dostoyevsky referred to the "farce in Schleswig-Holstein". The Schleswig-Holstein question concerned the relationships of the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein with the Danish crown and the German confederation. It was not an easy concept to try and understand and few people did. Famously, the British Statesman Lord Palmerston admitted that "only three people have ever really understood the Schleswig-Holstein business - the Prince Consort who is dead - a German Professor who has gone mad - and I who have forgotten all about it".

In Notes from Underground, Dostoyevsky rejects the concept of Utopian Socialism which would ironically come to dominate Russian life throughout much of the twentieth century. The novella portrays humans as they are which caused great upset among his contemporaries. He portrays humans as irrational, uncooperative and uncontrollable. It is perhaps easy to see why such assertions would cause discomfort. He also claims that human needs can never be satisfied. Many critics consider this novella to be the first example of existentialism in literature and no less a judge than Nietzsche called Dostoyevsky "the only philosopher from whom I had anything to learn".

But just how accurate were the assertions of Dostoyevsky? Are we irrational? Are we uncooperative? Are we uncontrollable? I've not yet met anyone who doesn't tick all three boxes. So why did he cause so much upset? Is it because we would rather not face the realities of our shortcomings or do we genuinely believe these claims don't apply to us?

Lord Browne resigned as Chief Executive of BP in 2007. Since his peerage, he has become active in Government and today highlights a culture which exemplifies the observations made in Notes from Underground. Referring to the civil servants in Whitehall, he expresses his exasperation at their culture. His background in the Private Sector meant that any mistake made was identified and dealt with such that chances of its repetition were negligible. I have worked in such a culture and can concur with him. Things get done. This is the culture of progress. Lord Browne highlights a culture in which mistakes are never admitted and where accountability is non-existent. It must be intensely frustrating for him to be faced with such a culture when he has spent his whole life in a proactive environment. He points to a prevailing culture of blame and denial which renders progress nigh on impossible. Several cases have emerged whereby ministers have recently found themselves having to micro manage a project for fear it won't get done if left to the Civil Servants. If this is true, it begs the worth of bureaucracy. This surely confirms what many have suspected for a long time. Bureaucracy stifles people and stifles progress. While it is intended to promote the most efficient way of completing a task, it all too often acts as a barrier. In short, they are complex, inefficient and inflexible - all the things against which Dostoyevsky warned. Trying to find out who is responsible is like trying to understand  the Schleswig-Holstein question. Even Lord Palmerston struggled with that one!

Power to the people?

In the first week of August last year, my local council in Denbighshire discussed ways in which they could seem closer to the communities they purport to serve. I read the minutes of that meeting with incredulity. That said, I was grateful to the council in one respect. At least their discussion was laid bare in the minutes of that meeting. We were thus given an insight in to some of the real issues which they consider to be important.

Since that meeting they have done a good deal to affect their popularity with the local population. I would imagine that the announced closures of the Sun Centre, Nova Centre, North Wales Bowls Centre and Llanbedr primary school (to name but a few) will have done little to enhance the public perception of them. The role of this or any other council though is surprisingly not as they seem to see it. It is not (and never has been) a popularity contest. As far as I'm aware, their role has historically been to augment and support what the local community is already doing for itself. During my life time, there appears to have been a different understanding of their role. When reading pieces in the local media and opinions on various media, I could be forgiven for thinking that the council are here to do everything for us. We only need to step back briefly to see the naievity of this proposition.

Another big change has occured during my life time. The council today is a lot bigger than it was in my childhood and I believe this will be true for you wherever you happen to live in the UK. With that growth in size has come a growth in power. It is palpable. What is surprising is that massive business decisions are being made by people with limited experience to make them. I'll qualify that. To be able to make key business decisions costing millions of pounds, logic alone dictates that a semblance of business experience is required.

When you're running your own business, you are only spending the money you have generated. Thus even for a comparatively small business, all spending decisions are questioned and analysed before they are executed. If that decision is a bad one, it can ultimately result in the end of that business as a viable concern. That is reality for millions of small and large business people every day in the private sector. But imagine if you were running a business charged with spending public money instead. When you're spending your own money, you tend to be rather more careful with it. When it's someone else's money, the dynamic changes.

Recent decisions executed by my local council are testament to that fact. If the decisions were being made with their own personal money in mind, those decisions would not be the same as those which they have made since last August. That is reality. That is why I believe more strongly than ever in trusting the local community to make decisions for themselves. Nobody will know their local community like they do and the extent to which they value their local community will dictate the wisdom of the financial choices they make. In other words, I believe the time has come for local government in the UK to be radically revised. Not for the sake of revision but for the sake of the real people who make up the communities.

I have watched recent events at Plas Madoc Leisure Centre with great interest. When the council announced their intention to close the facility, the local people soon got together to do something about it. They did so because they valued the facility in terms of their community. These are people with very little wealth but a robust sense of community. They knew that if they stuck together, they could get around the problem in spite of the council. Running the facility as a community trust independent of council involvement will free them from existing constraints and enable them to have a leisure centre which works most appropriately for their community which they know better than anyone else. Their action is not political per se. It just makes sense. Thay have recognised the worth of the leisure centre to their community on a variety of levels and are prepared to do what is necessary to make it work for them. It has been inspiring to see how they have set about their challenge. Their initial disappointment at being let down by their local council soon turned in to a focused group intent on overcoming the challenge. The £40,000 per annum being currently paid for the lease of a photocopier might be reviewed by the local community?

I don't know if there is such a thing as a measure of community but if there is, Plas Madoc in Wrexham would score very highly. In the end, it will always come down to people joining forces for those things which they hold ear within their own communities. Waiting for the council to come along and do it for you is a misapprehension which has somehow filtered in to our psyche. We need to let it filter out and remind ourselves of how powerful we can be as communities in our own right.

I have written a lot recently about town centre regeneration. Just like Plas Madoc leisure centre, the future of my town centre is entirely in the hands of the people. If they value it in terms of their local community like the people of Plas Madoc have with their leisure centre, they will do what it takes to support and grow it. The future of my high street and your high street comes down to personal choice. If it matters sufficiently in terms of the community where you live, you will support it and take pride in watching the growth not only of your local high street but also your local community. As the people of Plas Madoc have proved so admirably in recent weeks, all this can be achieved if people join forces and contrary to popular belief, it's ok to effect change for the better without council involvement. I've seen photos of Denbigh high street recently from my childhood and although much has changed since those days (there are more cars and more people work outside of the locality), people are still people. We can have that high street again if we want it bad enough. I feel my local high street is already on the up but I also feel it will go in to overdrive if more of the local population make the informed decision to get behind it. Surely it's a win-win situation?  

The Great Shop and Con Swindle

The story which I am about to share with you is particularly relevant to the town where I live. It also has relevance to the town where you live and I don't even know where you live. If you're living in the UK today, this piece really should interest you. If it doesn't, I fear for the future of the town where I live and the town where you live.

Over the past thirty years or so, the UK has become a monopoly state. There is a mountain of evidence to support this assertion but for brevity I will restrict myself to a couple of examples. How happy do you feel when you see the bill for your gas and electric? Opening our utility bill statement has made a visit to the dentist a veritable pleasure in recent times. Put simply, the big six suppliers who dictate our market have had it all their own way for a very long time. Some of the reasons given for the scale of the price rises are on a par with "the dog ate my homework!". As well as being unbelievable, they are all too often insulting to our intelligence.

For my second example of corporate greed, I turn my attention to the beloved supermarkets. Just today, Morrison's has released rather disappointing profit results for it's millions of shareholders. A profit of £879 million last year has translated in to a loss of £176 million this year. By any measure, that is a pretty spectacular fall from grace. But what has caused it? Some would contend that Morrison's has lost market share due to being behind in the online delivery market so cleverly exploited by their main rivals. This argument has limited worth though. The fact remains that their turnover fell by 2%. Coming from the food industry, I can assure you that a 2% drop in turnover is colossal - and particularly when your entire business model is based on continued growth.

But there is more to this story than meets the eye. The key to this story is not the performance of Morrison's per se. The real story here is the extent to which the gargantuan buying power of the big four supermarkets has held prices as high as possible in a desperate attempt to continue the growth upon which their expansion is based. Enough has been written about the credit crunch to reach the moon and back and we are all well aware of how much more difficult it has become to keep our heads above water. Throughout the UK, a succession of local councils have been gullible enough to support a relentless influx of supermarkets in to towns of all sizes.

The town where I live is arguably no different to any other. The planning consent was granted under the pretence that the supermarket (on the outskirts of the town) would somehow bring more people in to the high street in the town centre. As arguments go, it is pretty flimsy. With the benefit of hindsight, we can now all observe the worth of that assertion. In the North West where I live, the number of empty shops stands at a depressing 17%. That means that on average, one out of every six retail premises currently stands empty in the North West. Dare I tentatively suggest a link here?

On announcing their disappointing sales figures, Morrison's have revealed that they will have reduced profits in the next few years because they are having to slash their prices to try and compete with the "discounters" such as Aldi and Lidl. This tickles me. If Aldi and Lidl can both run viable, quality retail stores at their prices, how much over the odds have we all been paying at the big four these last thirty years or so? A recent survey illustrated that identical baskets of commonly used groceries at Tesco and Lidl respectively amounted to £27 and £17 respectively. I appreciate that a great many people have become accustomed to the "reward" of clubcard points, but that is a heck of a price to pay for them!

Morrison's are only going to reduce their prices because their hand has been forced. So goes the old saying, "You pay your money and you take your choice". Well, it seems as though more and more people are doing just that. In the town where I live, the High Street feels a bit more vibrant every time I go there and the local branch of Lidl goes from strength to strength. I'd prefer it if Lidl was a local company but have to seek value. Speaking of value, the High Street where I live offers great value at every given turn for those prepared to go there. This whole debate revolves around consumer choice.

For my part, I'm glad that the big four supermarkets are starting to take a hit because it's high time we fought to save our town centres. There remain several important reasons why we should choose to do so. Your local high street retailer is frequently independent with no share holders to worry about. That retailer will often have an impressive knowledge of the product you are buying. That product will be more likely to have been sourced locally. By supporting your local high street, more of the money you spend will stay local. That will support a local job and the local economy. Shopping in one of the big four supermarkets will support a local job too but it will cost several more and less of the money you spend will find it's way back to the local town where you live.

Maybe the time has come where we have seen through the great supermarket con. Maybe we'll all take a step back to the same high street upon which the communities of our parents and grandparents were built? It's all about choice. I've made mine - what about you?

What would Joseph Ablett think?

Fund raising has often been used to achieve the objectives of local communities. Such initiatives are frequently given their initial impetus by the generosity of altruistic benefactors. Such an example arose in my home county of Denbighshire in 1842. To fully understand why Joseph Ablett of Llanbedr Hall donated 20 acres of land in Denbigh towards the building of a mental asylum for North Wales, it is instructive to consider the events which led to the need for such an institution.

It would take too long to cover every aspect so I will stick to the more salient points. Prior to the North Wales Mental Hospital in Denbigh, any person in North Wales with an acute mental illness was sent to the nearest asylum in Gloucester. Most Welsh patients spoke no English and most English asylum staff spoke no Welsh. Hardly an ideal environment within which to achieve effective treatment.

That the North Wales Hospital was even built in the first place was little short of a miracle. The case of an emaciated Welsh woman living above the smithy in Llanrhaeadr-yng-nghinmeirch was cited in a speech in the House of Commons. The appalling details of Mary Jones were referred to by Lord Ashley in his Commons speech of 1844. He informed the house that "If they went to the Principality, they would find that the insane were too often treated as no man of feeling would treat his dog".

Following the generous donation of land by Joseph Ablett, the fund raising was given a further boost by financial input from both Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales. The rest as they say is history. The eventual North Wales Hospital was nothing short of a cultural icon. It provided asylum for the mentally ill of Anglesey, Caernarfonshire, Meirionedd, Flintshire and Denbighshire. To the rest of the United Kingdom, the North Wales Hospital achieved legendary status often blazing the trail which others would follow. As with all institutions of it's era, it had it's fair share of bad practice but it also achieved so much good.

The decision which brought about it's closure are beginning to be judged with the hindsight of the intervening twenty years. It does not make for attractive reading. The way in which this once great building was allowed to disintegrate was a shocking indictment on those involved. The efforts which made that once impressive institution were cynically undone within a couple of decades. To end the sorry story, the vultures have finally descended. Hiding behind the comfort of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO), the present local council has announced it's plans to go ahead with re-developing the site.

In modern parlance, this means that they intend to cash in on the enormous value of the real estate. With the luxury of a CPO, they can do so unopposed and will doubtless do so. That they are getting involved in the site at all is only because they are being forced to do so. Had the original building not been made so unsafe by successive hoards of adventurers and looters, there would have been no legal need for the council to become involved. Once the roof had become a threat to health following the terrible fire, their hand was forced. It could scarcely have been forced more conveniently in the long history of the council. In having to spend £900,000 to make the roof safe, they now had their motive to pursue a CPO in essence to recover their costs. If the credentials of the buyers since 1995 had been properly scrutinised, things would never have come to this. It's all very well whinging that the holding company is based in the British Virgin Islands, but the current owner was made to wait four years when it applied for planning permission. How long will it take for the council to be granted planning consent following the inevitable CPO? Four years? I doubt that very much.

In my naivety, I had assumed that a CPO was only going to be granted if the original building was restores to it's original glory. Such an eventuality would of course be impossible anyway given that all items of historic value have long since been stolen and flogged. Such items are naturally irreplacable. The plans for the re-development (which will go ahead irrespective of what local people say) are soon to go on display. This charade will comply with the formal legal requirements. The former hospital building will become luxury apartments. Not for the mentally ill (the have-nots) but instead for those with the means to buy them (The haves). The land will sprout houses like mushrooms on a dewy September morning. So who will profit by all of this? Joseph Ablett? No, because his donation was altruistic for the benefit of the people of North Wales. The people of North Wales? No, because the majority won't have a hope in hell's chance of even being able to afford one of these houses. The people of Denbighshire? No, because any profits made out of this venture will rest with the council charged with providing for them. On the basis of recent evidence, I can confidently predict that the people of Denbighshire will not be the winners. The people of Denbigh? No, but doubtless the council will contend that the re-development will bring more trade to our local High Street just like when they sanctioned the building of the Safeway supermarket on the former Smithfield Market site. The council? Absolutely - every step of the way.

If Joseph Ablett came back to see these plans, I wonder what he would think? I wonder what he would say? The North Wales Hospital was so called because it served the people of North Wales. All of North Wales from Holyhead to Aberdovey to Bala to Chirk to Flint and everywhere in between. Even as I write, the vultures with money will be circling ready to make a fast buck out of the new homes. They will rent them for income or sit on them for a few years to make capital. From where I'm sitting, it doesn't read well and doesn't feel right. It is as though the founding principles and needs upon which the hospital was built count for nothing.

Acute bed space for the mentally ill in North Wales has seldom been more stretched. My family has known of acute cases where people with immediate needs have been placed on general medical wards. So how far have we come in the twenty years since it's closure? Has community care been the solution? Can anyone think of a more amazing monument of human endeavour so needlessly and wrecklessly abandoned in the name of progress? I've tried hard to think of one but I can't. I have though formed a clear view on the lack of principle underpinning a CPO. I am more opposed than ever to CPOs having seen them abused by so many councils in so many different places. I would struggle to think of a less democratic process if I tried.  

A Tale of Three Towns: What Denbigh can learn

In recent posts, I have chosen to focus on the current status of the high street where I live. I may be deluding myself, but the responses to the existing discussion strongly suggest that a core nucleus of people care passionately about our town. That is as good a starting point as any.

I received a really well worded response from someone this morning citing the strengths and weaknesses of the existing high street. The respondent made the point that high streets such as the one in Denbigh will ultimately become venues for local services such as cafes, hairdressers, nail salons, bookies etc. It was also pointed out how valuable it can be to have a local butcher. Instead of having to buy your meat pre-packed in the weight dictated by the large supermarket, the local butcher can supply your exact need. If you are part of a couple or living alone, this can be a massive difference. So, instead of buying 500g of minced beef in a plastic container, your local butcher can supply you with a lesser amount with far less packaging. In most of the arguments I've heard so far bemoaning the future of our high street, many people seem to overlook the mind boggling amount of plastic packaging foisted upon us by the large supermarkets. I detest it and also worry about it's impact on our environment. It takes up to a thousand years to degrade in some instances so sustaining such an approach is actually irresponsible.

Today, I intend to focus on two towns of comparable size to illustrate that the high street in Denbigh is faced with an opportunity rather than a threat. I will describe the first town to you. In 2001, it had a population of 9,458. This is very similar to that of Denbigh. It has a famous castle just like Denbigh. It has a well known supermarket on the periphery of the town centre just like Denbigh. It has limited car parking in the centre of the town just like Denbigh. It has a healthy quota of pubs just like Denbigh. It has a fair smattering of charity shops being run by a willing army of volunteers just like Denbigh. It has a small theatre just like Denbigh. It also has a predominance of independent shops which are extremely well supported by the local community. Like Denbigh it also has an area which has not had the rub of the green when it comes to jobs and opportunity. The town I refer to here is Ludlow.

On a recent placement which lasted for 15 weeks, I had the opportunity to observe Ludlow at close quarters. A number of aspects were immediately noteworthy. The first thing to note was the absence of empty shop premises on the main high street. The second was the large number of local shoppers on foot. They were enabled by large pedestrian areas in the town centre. It was very pleasing to see such a high ration of independent shops to multi national chains. There was no doubt that the former were in the ascendency in Ludlow. Aside form their impressive variety, their service to the public was wonderful to see. They did have a moderate sized Tesco but you always got the feeling that the Tesco remained secondary to the town centre. That was because planning for the Tesco was only granted with the town centre in mind. The local planners did not make life easy for the Tesco and have restricted the extent to which it can impact on their high street. They got the important bit right - they recognised the absolute importance of a vibrant high street with respect to the local economy which they serve. Their castle is of a similar age to the one in Denbigh but is utilised far more. It is the centre piece of most of their festivals and is situated right next to their highly prized daily street market which they have fought so hard to maintain. It is to their credit that they have done so because they now boast a thriving high street as a result. In other words, they have resisted too much change for the sake of change and sought to retain the character and strength of their high street.

Moving a little closer to home, the second town which I would like to highlight is also notable for it's thriving street market. At the time of writing, it too boasts a healthy high street with very few empty retail premises. Until recently, it has only allowed a moderate sized Tesco on the periphery in such a way as to maintain the integral strength of it's high street. Mold is down the road in Flintshire and the local council charged with the responsibility of sustaining the vibrant high street look as though they are now going to grant planning to a large Sainsburys as well. That aside, the town has held it's own even with the added threat of Tesco. The market is held twice weekly and is well supported and attended. As with Ludlow, the variety and quality of the independent shops is excellent even if the ratio of multi national chains is slightly higher.

It should not be too difficult for Denbigh to observe the towns I have highlighted and seek to emulate some of their more sensible strategies. Just because our high street has sported empty shops recently doesn't mean they can't be filled provided the will exists to support them and the shops themselves seek to offer all that is good about the independent sector; great quality and service. The re-introduction of a street market shouldn't even be open to debate in Denbigh and I would strongly advocate more pedestrian zones in the town centre. I would finally play the trump card all day long - Mold doesn't have a castle like Denbigh. Ludlow does and uses it for all it's worth. Denbigh should be doing likewise because many other towns would give anything to have such an obvious asset.

The forthcoming St. David's Day festival will be great for Denbigh and I'm really looking forward to going along to support the town. But the town needs this sort of event to be the norm - not the exception.

Lies, damn lies and statistics

The recent decision by my local Council to cease funding for Rhyl Sun Centre has provoked a great deal of criticism. How much of that is fair remains to be seen.

Seeking to defend their decision, the local Council cited the inability of the appointed (not for profit) management organisation to contend with a 2.8% reduction in it's subsidy. That amounted to £50,000 annually. It is open to conjecture how their proposed £10 million project for an Aquatic Centre now looks given the importance attached to £50,000.

Of course, the real reason for closure of the three sites in Rhyl and Prestatyn is perhaps as barn door obvious as it seems. The smoke screen speaks of ineffective management and infrastructure in need of repair and upgrade. Much has also been made of the "shelf life" of the sites in question. The latter tickles me because even a tent will last for decades if constructed and looked after properly. The former North Wales Hospital was built in 1848. Had it not been for a series of outrageous decisions since it's doors finally closed in 1995, I have no doubt it would be still be standing and ready for another century of public service. I was under the impression that building had progressed since the Victorian era but I stand corrected if that is not the case. Perhaps it is the decision making which has deteriorated since Victorian times rather than the actual construction?

Returning to the closures though, it is obvious that the real motive has been cost saving. For all the rubbish spun out regarding mismanagement and deterioration, closure of the three sites will immediately save the Council millions of pounds per annum when they are being asked to make savings - in common with just about every other council in the UK. To debate whether such cuts is right or wrong is fast becoming academic because they are clearly here to stay. What is not academic is to discuss the most appropriate areas for these cuts to take place. The management structure at my Local Council is mind boggling. When I worked in the Private Sector for the largest wholesale food supplier in the UK, the machine was meaner and infinitely leaner. Every penny spent had to be justified and accounted for and if cuts were made, they were invariably based on past performance. We had nowhere near the number of managers which the local Council employs. The same local Council has this week announced a £250,000 project aimed at attracting tourists to the town of Ruthin.

The same local Council also gave the thumbs up to Tesco a few years back and it's fair to say the effect on the local high street has been significant. So rather than pursuing the attentions of tourists who might only visit sporadically, would it not be more instructive to try and pursue the local residents who appear to have deserted their high street in droves? Or is this not the priority of the council? I can only comment on what I see in front of my eyes and the evidence to suggest that the local Council is serious about high street regeneration is currently a little thin on the ground.

In a mirror image of the situation unfolding in my County, the locals of Ruabon and Plas Madoc are fighting to try and overturn the decision to close Plas Madoc Leisure Centre. As in my home county, the story is depressingly familiar. Two perfectly adequate leisure facilities are being dropped in favour of a new centre. The rationale is doubtless the same - perceived cost savings. A good friend of mine has recently ascertained that the Council making that decision had been paying a staggering £40,000 per annum for the lease of a photocopying machine. That leisure site was being run by the Council - not an outside body. I'm no expert on photocopy machines, but I would suggest that I could buy a reasonably good one for a fraction of that amount!

When any of us seek to justify the money we are spending in our own lives, we usually have to think about the impact of those decisions on our families and loved ones. I would have thought the same principle would hold for the local council?

Time for new blood?

As the local council elections draw closer, I have taken time to reflect on where we are and where we might be five years hence. A cursory glance at the incumbent local councillors reveals one stark reminder as to how far we have to go. The most obvious feature of the current councillors where I live is their age.

While they all undoubtedly have experience of sorts from all walks of life, it is their age which is likely to be least attractive to the one sub section of voters most disenfranchised as I write. When local council elections were last held in Denbigh, just 591 of the 1,583 eligible to vote did so. Much criticism (justified in my opinion) was expressed when the new Police Commissioners were recently elected throughout the UK. The counter argument always follows that democracy is being played out irrespective of the turn out. I counter that it is not healthy to content ourselves with voter turn outs of one in three. Even with a half full glass and brimming with optimism, I know that this falls well short of our democratic aspirations. But why does it?

It does so because the current incumbents of public office have failed to engage with a significant proportion of the total electorate. Maybe people really have given up on the democratic process but maybe they haven't. Maybe it's time for younger candidates to come forward with a voice more sympathetic to the aspirations of their peer group. I would happily vote for a younger candidate if only to inject some balance for the existing cohort of councillors. Experience is a wonderful quality but it also comes with baggage. Experience warns us against risk. Experience urges us to play safe. Experience convinces us we have all the answers.

Youth comes with a different set of qualities. Failure is often something yet to be experienced. That is a massive advantage. Youth can see how something can work. Experience can see the pitfalls. Youth has the imagination to see beyond the obstacles. Experience can become too focused on the obstacles. I could go on but I hope my point is made.

If the forthcoming elections were to yield an influx of younger members, I'm sure the town would be the winner. In a recent group I set up exploring what it was that people would like to see on our high street to  make it more attractive and vibrant, I was overwhelmed with the number of responses. Sadly, those responses featured too few of the views and insights of our younger age groups. There is nothing I would love more than to see some of the under 30s become actively involved with THEIR town.

If the next elections are decided by the votes of three quarters of the electorate, we will have a better chance of being represented by a more age diverse subset of councillors. It is not that I have any misgivings about any of the current incumbents - I don't. I know how hard they all work often behind the scenes for little reward. I would just like to see a better spread of our community and witness the youth getting more involved. Those I've spoken to are brimming with fantastic ideas so let's try and engage them to take the next step. The energy of youth is a vital resource which I feel we are currently missing out on.

If we really want to see a vibrant high street in our local town, I feel passionately that we can only do so with the involvement of all age groups and we are currently missing out. In their seminal song "Teach your Children", Crosby, Stills and Nash recognised fully the symbiotic relationship between the old and the young. While the first part of the song urges parents to teach their children well, the second part provides the balance by urging the young to teach their parents well. It cuts both ways.

Mold: A great market town under siege?

In several recent posts I have highlighted some of the challenges facing Denbigh. It is the town where I live so understandably occupies my thoughts more than other towns. I have highlighted the need for the town to reconnect with it's roots and return to the high street. Unlike many similar sized towns, Denbigh has thus far only had to deal with the effect of one of the big four supermarkets. That has been quite enough as evidenced by the depressing numbers of empty shop units currently available. Still, this piece is intended to provide optimism and I still believe passionately that the local community can once more make their high street a vibrant place should they choose to support it in the way their forebears did.

Across the border in Flintshire lies the historic market town of Mold. Despite the presence of a very large Tesco store on the outskirts of their town centre, Mold has arguably maintained it's high street better than Denbigh. Most would agree that the presence of their twice weekly street market has been a vital factor in this. The current street market in Denbigh is a mere shadow of it's predecessors of yesteryear. The market in Mold though continues to punch above it's weight and provides an important focal point for visitors to the town. The way Mold has prospered is an example of what similar sized market towns can achieve if they get the fundamental basics right.

As I write though, Mold is on the verge of another battle. Not content with one large supermarket, the local council is weighing up the prospect of sanctioning another - directly over the road from the existing one! While I admire greatly the way in which Mold has weathered the retail storm up to now, I genuinely fear for the future of their high street should Sainsbury's be granted planning permission. It's hard to see how the decision makers can possibly justify the absurdity of such a move. I could be forgiven for thinking they don't even want a high street in their town centre. Should they choose to look at the high street of just about any town in the UK which has been subjected to this retail onslaught, they will see exactly what I mean. What chance the green grocer, the butcher, the florist, the newsagent, the electrical shop, the cafes? The list just goes on and on because the supermarkets are sustained by corporate greed. They don't want a slice of the cake. They want all of the cake. Their unrivalled buying power means they often get the whole cake while town centre businesses fall over like dominos.

I hope the local council doesn't give the green light to this latest move but if they do, I can predict with near certainty the future for the high street in Mold. At present, local people who frequent the street market catch up with old friends and have a chat. The market is a social hub which sustains community. The supermarket does not do this. People park up, fill their trolley and go home. If that were not true, there would not be a vacant retail unit on the high street in Denbigh. As I write, there are seventeen at the last count. I wonder how much evidence the local council would need to acknowledge the perils of their retail strategy?

A toxic partner

My local council has today stumbled on to their latest "strategy" for Rhyl. The once popular seaside town on our coast which entertained the Beatles 50 years ago has recently been subjected to a swathe of council cuts to key services principally in the leisure sector. As the location of choice for thousands of holiday makers for many years, the promenade at Rhyl now stands as evidence for what happens when local government get involved. All the evidence today paints a picture of a local council with no understanding of the sea front at Rhyl. They certainly show no signs of understanding what made Rhyl THE place to be for so many years for so many people.

Having erected the Children's Village in the late 1980s amid a fanfare of optimism, the then council (since renamed) assured everyone that it was money well spent. Even it's location beggared belief. Originally intended to augment the now rotting SkyTower, the new Children's Village was built nearby. It achieved several notable feats. It blocked the view of the sea (which had for decades been what people came to see!). It blocked an important access point to the sea. It has toilets for which visitors have to pay and it must rank as one of the biggest wastes of money in the history of local government in this part of North Wales. It still stands as a somewhat grotesque relic of a previous administration. Defiant to the last, they continue to resist calls for it's demolition. To do so would be to admit failure and so the impasse continues as Rhyl continues to receive a fraction of the visitors it used to enjoy.

Just recently, the now renamed council has just announced the closure of the nearby Sun Centre, Nova Centre and Bowling Centre. They have today hinted strongly that the future of the Pavilion Theatre is now also under threat. The former fun fair was demolished a number of years ago and has stood vacant ever since. It has the appearance of a town which has just been abandoned. In truth, it has.

The council today assures us that the best way forward will be a new Aquatic Centre being run by a combination of private sector and the local council. In all honesty, what kind of company in the private sector would seriously contemplate entering in to a business arrangement with our local council. Their CV in business in Rhyl reads like a car crash. Let's hope they won't be needed to organise any celebrations in the local brewery..

In truth, if the existing monstrosities along the sea front were just demolished, it would be a vast improvement on the current "vista". No matter how curious and forgiving the tourist, there's a limit to how many rusting, rotting dysfunctional buildings you can view. It would also have the added bonus of having even less need for local council involvement. Based on their track record over the last quarter of a century, that might not be such a bad idea.

I know it's radical but I wonder whether they've ever considered seeking the views and opinions of the people who actually live there or the people who visit. Maybe it's time for the people to reclaim their town from the ravages of local government before they build something else. I can but hope.

In the private sector businesses are judged on their performance. Enough said.  

Localism! But which version?

To be living in Denbighshire at the moment is to witness what happens when local government is given too much power without any recognised accountability. The Labour leader today pledged to back localism at the forthcoming local elections and beyond. But what exactly does he mean by localism? You won't be surprised to learn that several versions exist.

Miliband refers to a devolution of power from central government to local government. His was the government which did this more than any other between 1997 and 2010 so I suppose he simply intends to embark on more of the same. Nothing wrong with that per se except that it isn't always easy to see who is supposed to benefit. I had been under the impression that the winners were supposed to be members of the public. Where I live, that has recently become something of an aspiration rather than a reality. Whether our council is just typical of the national picture I 'm not sure but they currently seem intent on closing as many public services as they can. But maybe that isn't a bad thing either. As services become ever more scarce, people might have to divert their dependent gaze away from their local council and towards each other.

The latter broadly fits my understanding of localism. In the town where I live, there seems to be a simmering under current of people engaging with each other in terms of business ideas, social enterprise initiatives and ventures aimed at benefiting the local community. As I write, it's hard to gauge how big this group of people is but I've seen enough to know that it is growing. As people have become successively impoverished during the growing social inequality generated by our obsession with economic growth, they have understandably become more agitated. If you leave heat under a pan of cold water for long enough, the molecules become agitated and, in time, they begin to simmer. Eventually, they will reach boiling point.

I know many people who are contending with considerable heat at the moment and I suspect this is what is driving the local initiatives to which I refer. Whatever the source, the outcome is the key. We are fast approaching a straightforward choice between globalism and localism. In most communities, the former seems to be holding the advantage principally on account of its wealth advantage. For localism to seize back the initiative, it will just take sufficient numbers of local people with enough in common to forge their own route and turn their backs on globalism.

Before the old Gods were replaced by money, we know that most people existed by swapping goods and services through various systems of barter. In a piece last year, I highlighted the Spanish community of Marinelda to illustrate where I saw communities going in the years to come. Since I wrote that piece, my view has only been strengthened. I have never known so many ordinary people so utterly disinterested in the political system. I have every sympathy with them because the current system seems to have run out of ideas. Whether that political system is at a national or local level is largely academic because they are so difficult to distinguish.

It is said that the mobile phone giant Nokia fell from grace because it was being run by too many people from the same background with the same ideas and the same view of the world. Unable to consider alternative views, they were unable to cope with the threat of Samsung when it did come. The analogies are compelling. In a recent attempt to gain some insight in to what it was that local people would most want to see return to their high street, the leading response was very revealing. The majority expressed a desire for a dedicated market day. Hardly high tech I think you'd agree so what's the big attraction. Well, I would suggest it's people. There is nothing more basic or meaningful than real human contact and the street market is part of our heritage. This is the place where people come together to trade, to chat, to eat, to discuss and most importantly, to be with their fellow man. It will be interesting to see what my town will look like ten years hence. Will it be Tesco Express, Starbucks and Waitrose or will it return to it's ancestral roots? The people will decide...

A stroll through Denbigh

Yesterday I went to Denbigh Castle with my wife and six year old son. I had been notified of a story telling session which was taking place in the recently opened £600,000 visitor centre. I saw the notification on facebook courtesy of a very hard working local Councillor. Social media is not all bad it seems.

Being residents of Denbigh, we have permit cards which entitle us to free access to the Castle. These cards are worth their weight in gold so if you're a Denbigh resident, I would urge you to take some identification (with your address on) to the library and get your card. I remember being taken there when I was my son's age and few things in life could fire a young imagination quite like Denbigh Castle. Nothing has changed.

Yesterday was the first rain free day we've had in a while. I was expecting hoards of people to be there but was sadly disappointed. CADW laid on the event and it was absolutely brilliant. Delivered by a lady whose enthusiasm left you feeling weak, we heard stories of Owain Glyndwr and Chirk Castle. My son had the opportunity to try his hand at playing medieval musical instruments. It was tailor-made for inquiring young minds and was therefore all the more sad to see such a disappointing turn out of young people. We also had ample time to take in the breathtaking views of the town and the vale before making our slow descent down Love Lane in to the town.

We are local so know the town well. Had we been visitors to the area - and I noticed quite a few when we were at the castle - we would have wanted to wander around this ancient town perhaps in search of a cup of tea or coffee and maybe even a piece of cake. We would have been very disappointed. Making my way home, I took photographs of the current vacant premises in the town and posted them on the "Not available in Denbigh" facebook group. With over 200 members after just seven days, it seems as though there is an ever expanding nucleus of locals passionate about this great town. I shared the photographs to serve as a graphic reminder of the great possibilities for us all on our own door step. The first rule of business is to open your door and we only encountered Lynn at "Make the most of" just above Cawthrays. If half of the current vacancies were filled, it would give locals and visitors seven more reasons to use our high street. If mnore of the existing businesses opened their doors on a Sunday afternoon, I'm sure it would have an impact. Granted, it might take time but I'm sure it would be worth it for all concerned.

The suggestions for what would bring people back on to the high street continue to appear and I would urge everyone to keep them coming and spread the word. The more people engaged, the clearer the picture will be of what people actually want. That seems a good place to start. Some people have suggested that the name of the facebook group has too negative a connotation. I'm all ears. I think the group will be most relevant if the title and suggestions come from the local community - not me. I'm just somebody passionate about the town. I'm just one person. When a community gets together, anything can happen.

I am certain that the Castle can and should play a pivotal role in bringing people back. When you've visited Denbigh Castle, there's only one way to go - down. That is when the high street will benefit - if it is ready to do so. In one week, the suggestions have been excellent and I've noticed separate little groups emerging of like minded local people with a common vision for a particular business opportunity. How great is that?

Denbigh High Street: A response

I'm pleased to have had so many responses to my last piece. In general, many have expressed agreement with many of the points I made but I also respect the views of those who didn't. I don't pretend for a moment that Denbigh high street will miraculously transmogrify in to a bustling retail centre overnight because it almost certainly won't.

What I am saying is that the present state of affairs represents far more of an opportunity than many people seem to appreciate. I understand that some people working in the public sector will seek alternative employment within the public sector elsewhere when the proposed mergers actually take place. That is up to them and will doubtless be dictated by their existing financial outgoings. But given that all Welsh councils are to be subjected to these cuts, they will presumably have to commute to England to find similar employment - if indeed similar employment is on offer. Whatever our political views of the cuts, the cuts are going to happen and those working in the public sector will be faced with some tough choices. I am merely suggesting that some of those people might forego the prospect of expensive commuting hours in favour of a lifestyle change and choose to stay more local. It will almost certainly mean a cut in their income but will paradoxically result in a better quality of life.

Also, it is difficult to gauge the effect on the local economy of the existing council employees in Denbigh and neighbouring Ruthin. One thing is patently clear. Both sites are housed very close to the two supermarkets who have done so much to exacerbate the prospects of the local high streets. It would be entirely logical and reasonable to assume that the real winners with respect to the current numbers of council employees are Tesco and Morrisons - but I would gladly stand corrected.

Citing the plight of the high streets of Denbigh and Ruthin is not nostalgic per se. I see the argument in more pragmatic terms. Why would I want to spend the money on petrol or diesel to go to Broughton (or wherever) or pay a delivery charge for internet shopping if the same item is available locally? I am the first to concede that not all items are available locally but concentrate on those items that are. I would rather pay a little over the odds on the paper for an item which is the same price as the internet or Broughton in real terms. At least that way, I am supporting my local economy with a local person in a local job. I can't see what's wrong with that. It just makes sense because I live here and want the best town possible on my front door step. If more people saw it in these terms, we would gradually see an end to vacant retail units on our high streets. The chances of an item being unavailable locally would become less and less likely and we would live in a thriving economic area. It's just possible that this would also impact on house prices too! Even if it didn't impact on house prices, it would do something far more important; it would give the next generation more reason to stay local rather than pursuing their careers over the border. Given that the size of the public sector is only going to get smaller as the shock waves of the global recession are still being felt, it makes sense to start preparing for that eventuality now. It is not nostalgic to aspire to eat produce which has been reared or grown within the locality either. I'd far sooner eat an apple or carrot or a lamb chop from the Vale of Clwyd for so many reasons. For one thing, growing or rearing it would have sustained local employment. In addition, it would not have had to travel half way around the world to get to my house. It would also take us back to eating produce in season rather than year round because Tesco says we can. If that sounds old fashioned, it probably is now - and more's the pity.

I certainly advocate the emergence of local independent business. With no share holders to pay, independent retailers are frequently very competitive when compared with their multi-national cousins. That is why I'd far sooner see a local independent move in to the former Woolworths site than a national player such as Home Bargains or B and M. The natural site for either of the latter would surely be the site of the former Kwik Save.

Finally, the town centre revolution needed to breathe fire back in to towns like Ruthin and Denbigh has to be achieved with minimal or no council involvement. The purpose of this or any council is to augment local communities. Theirs is not to lead. That is the role of the local community. There must come a point when we begin to realise the absolute limitations of State control be it national or local. Only then will we finally rediscover our old community spirit.

We pay our money and we take our choice as the old saying goes. Never has this been more pertinent for the people of Denbigh and Ruthin. We all have a choice. It is up to us which decision we make but we need to remember the consequences if we choose not to support. As Rob Parkes said in his response, "If people make the effort to open shops in the town we either use them or lose them..... that is the fact of the matter, harsh but true".

Denbigh High Street: Use it or lose it!

So goes the old saying, "You can take a horse to water but you can't make him drink". Too true. This can easily be translated to the town where I live. Denbigh is like a template for so many other towns in our country today. A former market town whose ancient market is now the site of a supermarket. A supermarket sanctioned by the local council which has impacted far more on the town centre than they originally promised. A high street in extremis wondering how much longer it will be able to exist without life support. A quality selection of charity shops run by community volunteers. A quite staggering array of fast food shops. Two out of every five Denbigh residents work in the public sector. That is not only the highest proportion in the county of Denbighshire but is also one of the highest proportions of any town in the UK today.

News of the closure of Tiggs is therefore hardly surprising. I feel desperately sorry for the people who tried to make a go of it. We used the shop regularly and found the quality of the goods excellent and the staff fantastic. So why has it failed? What did they do wrong? I don't think they did anything wrong. Just like the plethora of pubs which also predominate our town, this shop was dependent on people walking through the door. That eventuality was ultimately dependent on local people using the high street. Going through the door of a pub or shop is one thing. Spending your money there is another. It is the latter which sustains local business.

If this piece sounds uncomfortable, I'm glad. If our high street is to have a sustainable future, people are going to have to be taken out of their comfort zones. I don't think Morrison's enjoys quite the same market share since the emergence of LIDL as a viable player. LIDL has just filled the long standing hole which emerged following the demise of Kwik Save. As many locals have said recently, Morrison's (like the other big supermarkets) is actually expensive. I am therefore amazed to see so many full trolleys whenever I have to go there given that we keep hearing about a cost of living crisis. Do a like for like shop in LIDL and see what I mean. The arrival of Morrison's killed our local green grocer although I'm pleased to see that the flower shop has since started to offer a few lines. The bakery which took over Alwyn Thomas' has also gone by the way side but again, not through anything they've done wrong. Once again, they were done for by Morrison's. I appreciate that the Co-Op is a factor in all of this but with respect, when was the last time you saw someone at the check out with a full trolley of shopping?

The shops on the high street can't just expect people to use the high street if they aren't good enough. But they are good enough and have been good enough. So why are the current 8,062 Denbigh residents turning their back on their own town? This does not include the 10,000 living in the surrounding villages who all need to use the town regularly. Is it because we don't have enough shops? Is it because we don't have enough well known national chains (only Boots and Holland and Barrett as I write)? Is it because parking a car is an issue? Is it because there's not enough choice to sit down and eat?

I think parking is an issue. Like it or not, we are firmly in the age of the motor car. People have become more sedentary. They aren't in the habit walking in the way they were years ago. Denbigh has an obvious problem. It is only flat for a very short distance on the top of town and there's really not a lot we can do about that. But consider this: It has had a borough charter since 1290 so why are the hills an issue now? Obviously, in those days people walked through lack of alternative unless they were sufficiently affluent to own a horse. So is the current factory ward car park sufficiently big, sufficiently well sign posted and sufficiently close to the main high street? I would argue that it is close enough for anyone. The current parking tariff of 10p for 30 minutes or 50p for longer needs to be abolished. There should be no barrier to people using the high street. The cost of employing someone to collect the current revenues is probably not cost effective anyway. If the existing tariff was removed, I wonder if the current car park would be big enough but that is a matter of conjecture. But one thing is for sure - it is not well sign posted.  That is not an issue for locals because they all know where it is. It is an issue for visitors though and a friend of ours recently complained about this when he came to visit. That said, I suspect the majority of current shoppers on Denbigh high street are on foot anyway since so many people live within easy walking distance. Also, I always see plenty of available car parking spaces whenever I walk through that way.

When I was little, people could park along the middle of the road on Denbigh high street and for the life of me, I don't understand why that was ever dispensed with. They could have changed the system to emulate the current arrangement in Bala where people can pull in on either side of the road. They could also have done the really bold thing and just pedestrianised the high street. I feel the latter could save the high street. It would not be beyond the wit of man to go back to the idea of a by-pass starting at Lenten Pool which goes to the Industrial Estate.

Many people I speak to cite the internet as being the biggest threat to our high street and all the latest figures do point to a continuing growth in internet transactions. In a way, you can see why. People can often get a better price on line without the need to use expensive petrol or diesel to go and collect their goods. That is true but internet transactions do lack in other areas. For one thing, you don't get a face to face contact. For all the power of the internet, nothing will ever be as vital and powerful as face to face human contact. It is human contact which drives community. Cheaper prices do not drive community as enticing as they might be. In the world before the internet, the majority of shop keepers made a living. Mostly, they did not make a fortune because that was not their motive for keeping a shop. Their motive was to make a living and become a vital cog in their local community. If high streets like the one in Denbigh are to thrive again, two things need to happen. The local people must once more appreciate the fact that the high street has more to offer than corporate supermarkets or the internet. For their part, the local shop keepers must realise that their realistic potential is to make a living rather than a killing. To do this, they need to supply the existing needs of the population they serve.

I referred earlier to the so called cost of living crisis. It is a fashionable expression which bemuses me. It refers to the fact that many people have less disposable income now than when the recession first took hold in 2008. I also appreciate that there are a minority whose income is now less than their outgoings and know from my own experience how difficult that can be. Seldom has the abilty to budget been more important than in today's competitive world. But for those who can and do budget, there are arguably more bargains than ever for the shrewd shopper. If we really are in the depths of a cost of living crisis, I can only say that I've never seen so many cars on the road which suggests that the "crisis" may not be as bad as we are led to believe. In my world, the car has long since become a luxury item reserved for essential journeys. If more people were prepared to compromise on how often they choose to use their car, I suspect their disposable incomes would improve.

The pubs in Denbigh were once the epicentre of it's vibrant community. Compared to the crowds I used to see at the weekend, the pubs have seen their trade diminish in recent times. There are two possible explanations. The first suggests that people are drinking less and yet all the evidence points to the opposite in the over 25 age groups. The second explanation is that drinkers are drinking at home first in a bid to save themselves the expense of a night out. Fair enough. The problem is that the pubs are fighting a battle on a far from level playing field. Until such time as the supermarkets are reined in with their offers of cheap booze, the days of the pubs seem sadly numbered. When the playing field is once more level, the pubs will once more thrive and by inference, so too will the community. When we've had too much in the pub, there is a willing crowd of witnesses (community) on hand to remind us after the event. At home, no such crowd is on hand and for many, that can be the start of the slippery slope.

Towns in other parts of the UK have resorted to all sorts of novel ploys in order to regenerate their town centres. There are some who have initiated a town centre loyalty scheme complete with their own currency and reward points but I have my reservations about that approach. If the community is strong in the first place, we should not need to incentivise them to use their local shops. Incentivising customers is the domain of the big supermarkets and has been instrumental in their success. Think about it. If their prices were fair in the first place, why would they be offering us rewards to shop there. Unfortunately, many use them for the convenience of being able to park and get just about everything they needed under one roof. That is understandable but what is not understandable is the premium in price they are prepared to pay for the privilege.

One of the biggest attractions to me about shopping locally is the human contact. I am able to find out about local events. I am able to find out about real local issues which affect all of us. I can satisfy myself that I am supporting a local person in a local job usually in the private sector. If more people took this approach, there would be more local shops employing greater numbers of local people. They would also be offering a wider range of goods.

News of a proposed merger between Denbighshire and Conwy councils will undoubtedly result in numerous redundancies. Instead of seeing this as a threat though, we should be seizing the opportunity. This means that there will be a greater number looking to fill the existing jobs. Competition is never a bad thing because it serves to improve the existing offerings of local businesses. If the town once more begins to recognise the unique advantages of having a vibrant high street - and the vibrant community which goes with that - more shops will emerge to fill the existing gaps. This would lead to even more job opportunities. There are items which I can't get in Denbigh currently but that does not have to remain the case. That can change if demand increases. Having a burgeoning independent sector is the mark of a successful modern town. Such towns bring in the tourists because they become shining lights amid the gloom of general high street demise. At present, just 1 in 7 Denbigh residents is employed in retail. That figure is obviously made up of both full and part time positions. But that figure could be significantly increased if more local people got behind the town. I've often heard local people bemoaning the trend in which our young people end up leaving the area due to a lack of employment opportunies but it doesn't have to be like that. If we do what we've always done, we'll get what we've always got.

I started this piece reflecting on the sad demise of Tiggs at the former Woolworths site. That premises is one of the biggest retail floor spaces in the town and we need to ask why Woolworths came to the end of the road. Although still missed by many, Woolworths was simply not supported by enough people. This was true of the people of Denbigh and just about every other town with a Woolworths branch in the UK. The point I make is that Woolworths was a big national player. We would be better served by an independent shop filling that gap preferably being run by a local person with a sound working knowledge of the local community. The location of Tiggs is also noteworthy because in many ways it is the start point of the Denbigh retail community if you are walking in to town from the Lenten Pool area (rumours of hoards of people walking in to town from Morrison's are yet to be corroborated!). All the more reason for the next occupier to be local and preferably supplying those goods currently lacking in the town. I've seen people suggesting national names like B&M or Home Bargains. Their product offering would certainly fit the bill but they are neither local nor independent. That said, either would be an improvement on yet another empty retail unit.

Any plans to breathe life back in to the high street in Denbigh ought to involve the one trump card the town has left to play. Although it has recently benefited from a new £600,000 visitor centre, Denbigh Castle is surely instrumental in bringing in visitors. I wonder if CADW could be doing more to promote this jewel in our crown? There is huge potential here and I don't think it has even been dented yet.

So what will become of Tiggs? In a way, I can apply the same question to the entire high street. Although it's an old cliche, if we don't use it, we'll lose it. Before we know it, the council will give planning consent to another of the big four supermarkets and the writing will be on the wall. In a piece last year, I cited three buildings which I consider vital to the rebirth of our once thriving high street. Nothing since then has altered my view. The cinema on Love Lane, the Church Institute and the Crown Hotel form a key triangle within which any regeneration will take place. I don't know if we'll ever have a cinema on Love Lane again (although the films at Theater Twm o'r Nant are excellent) but I see no reason why the other two buildings can't once more play an integral part in the life of our town. On a final note, I'm really pleased to see a conversation starting to emerge on social networks like this. This is a good first step because it shows that enough people actually care.  

Getting away with it

The worst kept secret in North Wales was revealed today. Denbighshire county council have hung the three leisure centres in Rhyl and Prestatyn out to dry. Although it is a somewhat crude analogy, it is said that a dog licks it's own bottom because it can. By a similar logic, our local council can pretty well do as it pleases. But think twice if you're considering protesting because a recent change to the law means that they also have the power to curb even a peaceful protest. Democracy?

In short, they have withdrawn funding to the not for profit company charged with running the three sites. They cite mismanagement and refer to the poor state of repair of the facilities. They decline to do anything about it themselves (there used to be a word to describe that sort of decision). Conveniently for the council, specific details of these alleged shortcomings are as yet thin on the ground but the residual £200,000 will be used to promote leisure, tourism and events for the coast. How does that sound to you? I'll be honest. Pending a statement from Clwyd Leisure (the not for profit organisation) on Wednesday, it seems like they've been sold down the river.

That same council has also announced the closure of the primary school in Llanbedr. Despite a previous call to the local community to express their reservations ahead of the forthcoming consultation process (foregone conclusion), they have announced the school will close at the end of August. This decision is odd because the same council has just granted planning permission for 70 new houses in the village. I would have thought the need for a primary school would be greater but perhaps I'm missing something.

The decision to cut Clwyd Leisure loose has been made just days after the council announced their plans for a new £10 million aquatic centre a stone's throw away from the existing sun centre. I wish I had a business which could afford to make decisions like that. I also wish I had a business which could afford to spend money like that with no accountability to anyone.

I know it's a long shot but I hope the Rhyl residents can find a way to come together to save the facility which has served them and countless thousands of holiday makers so well for so long. What galls me the most is the obvious waste of tax payer's money here. At a time when so many are whingeing about cuts, our local council seems happy to spend money like water. It just doesn't make sense and I find it morally wrong. Granted, the council will do as they please regardless of objections but that doesn't make it right. The most troubling aspect is the total lack of accountability. That is the country we now live in and the growth of this and other councils in recent times has created an out of control Frankenstein. A very sad day indeed.

A fait accompli in Rhyl?

The Machiavellian workings of Denbighshire County Council once more reared their ugly head today when plans were announced for a £10 million Aquatic Centre to replace the existing Sun Centre. Clwyd Leisure is the not-for-profit organisation which has been charged with running the Sun Centre with their funding slashed over the the last three years. In Council parlance, this translates to poor management at Clwyd Leisure. Convenient.

Putting aside the obvious hypocrisy of saying on the one hand that the Sun Centre must now make do with less money and then announcing a proposed £10million Aquatic Centre, the plans also include retaining the existing Sky Tower. This encroaches on pure comedy because the Rhyl Sky Tower has a "doughnut" designed to house people who can be elevated to the top of the tower to enjoy the view. That would be great if it actually worked. It is argued that the Sky Tower will augment the skyline for tourists visiting Rhyl. It will certainly generate conversation: "What's that tall structure?". "It's the Sky Tower". "What does it do". "Nothing". "Oh".

Given that the land where the Aquatic Centre is planned was previously subject to flooding, the Council has reached new heights this time. Meanwhile, if we meander along the front toward the Foryd foot bridge built at the small cost of £4.3 million, we find desolation. The site of the previous fun fair remains an eye sore and would be the only logical location for a project such as the Aquatic Centre - if indeed there was the demand. Not content with seeking to demolish the Sun Centre, the Council also aims to shut Rhyl Leisure Centre. If they funded the existing Sun Centre properly in the first place, this wouldn't even be under discussion. But this is now becoming a familiar tune. The Council has a hidden agenda and nothing is going to get in their way.

We saw this recently with their plans to close St. Brigids School in Denbigh. For the time being, the Council has been rebuffed but they will sit and wait for the protestors to simmer down before proceeding as they originally intended. A lion knows that if he waits until his prey is exhausted, the kill will be all the more easy.

I don't hear the Council making suggestions for the Children's Village but then I'm not surprised. The biggest waste of money in my lifetime would make the Council look stupid if they faced the music and closed it down. They don't need anybody's help to make them look stupid and are excelling given today's announcement. In the White Rose Centre, there is no toilet facility. In the Children's Village, you have to pay to use the toilet. The plans today for this wonderful Aquatic Centre make no mention of toilets but then that would be asking too much wouldn't it? How will the provision of toilet's impact on tourism? We all know the answer but the Council seems quite oblivious. If there is a facebook protest group, please send me the details and I'll join immediately. I, for one, will not make it easy for them to operate in this way.  

Denbighshire: Blame your way out of trouble?

Over the weekend, news broke that the not-for-profit company charged with running three major leisure facilities in Rhyl and Prestatyn had announced the potential loss of 77 jobs. Because Denbighshire county council announced they would issue a press release today, I refrained from writing about this pending their response. I needn't have waited.

Having had their budget cut by £50,000 (the total budget is £275,000!), Clwyd Leisure (the not for profit company involved) announced that it was just not financially viable to continue. Predictably, the council has responded with it's customary strategy of finger pointing. In addressing the announcement by Clwyd Leisure, the council cites the cuts it has had to accomodate elsewhere in it's leisure sector. If Clwyd Leisure goes in to administration, Denbighshire County Council has said it will support the redundancy threatened workers. That is a reassuring response for workers living in one of the unemployment hot spots of North Wales.

There is of course one aspect of this story which the council chose not to address. If the Clwyd Leisure administration is full of so many bad managers as the council would have us believe, why was the running of these facilities not managed by the council themselves? In their statement, the council referred to the great job they are doing with leisure centres elsewhere in Denbighshire. Why then have they selectively chosen not to assume control at the three sites in Rhyl and Prestatyn? Could it be that they knew that these facilities faced unsurmountable financial pressures?

The use of numbers to demonstrate the council arguments do not stand up to scrutiny. They refer to the £400,000 budget to run the other seven facilities within the county as against the colossal £275,000 to run the three sites in Rhyl and Prestatyn. Unless they really do believe us all to be even greener than we are cabbage looking, I feel the need to point out a few technical points. Rhyl and Prestatyn have the highest population in Denbighshire so I'm only surprised their budget has been so low. Rhyl and Prestatyn are also the main tourism draws for Denbighshire. Tourism brings in money to the county. It would be normal to invest more in these areas since they will play the biggest part in regenerating the economy of the county.

The bigger picture here is summed up by the comment of the council employee charged with the running of these facilities. "We do not fund failure" was his response. That comment is worthy of analysis. In truth, the three sites in Rhyl and Prestatyn are failing because they haven't been adequately funded. To say they don't fund failure when they have underfunded to cause the failure is actually laughable. In the private sector, such a response would not see out the day.

It is quite obvious here that the council has been harbouring a hidden agenda. Their counterparts in Wrexham have just announced the closure of two massive leisure facilities. Conveniently, they intend to replace them with one facility. That's fine but it will mean that people living on the Plas Madoc estate will be the losers since they will lose their leisure facility. This is a real shame because like the West End of Rhyl, Plas Madoc boasts one of the most socially deprived areas in the UK. Is there a theme here I wonder?

Rhyl has been systematically let down by the local council for a long time now and so the landscape on the front looks like it can look forward to another great site of dereliction in the near future. With the Rhyl Sky Tower (which can't ever be used again for health and safety reasons), the Sun Centre and Pavilion Theatre look set to augment the eye sore on the front at the West End as planners continue their interminable dithering about what to do.

Let's just stop and consider a really important point here. Why were there so many hotels and guest houses along the front in Rhyl and Prestatyn? Believe it or not, it is because they boast a long tradition of providing holidays for UK tourists. Actually, they still do although the business owners now have to contend with the decisions of the local council as well. Did I forget the Children's Village? Forgive me. If you take your young family there, prepare to be disappointed by the anticlimax and pray that you don't need to use a toilet because the local Council wants you to pay for the privilege. That's sure to have the tourists flooding in.

Rhyl and Prestatyn both continue to boast fine weather and fantastic beaches - not that you would know it from the way they are promoted by the local Council. The demise of Rhyl has broadly coincided with my life time. As a child, Rhyl was always packed with holiday makers and a vibrant town centre. The decision by the Council to allow a shopping centre with no toilet facilities just about sums up the decisions taken by the Council.

It is therefore clear that the Council will be quite happy to see the back of the Sun Centre, the Nova, The Pavilion Theatre and the North Wales Bowling Centre. My advice to the residents is to forge ahead without the Machiavellian Council. Use local fund raising. Apply for Big Lottery funding. Do what you have to do but do it without the Council because you will have a much better chance of creating something sustainable and enjoyable. I pray that the communities in these towns get together and react collectively. If they do, they will wonder why they ever came to rely on Council involvement in their affairs.

While this is a very sad day for all involved with the sites it must also be looked upon as a golden opportunity to break away from the Council whose prime function appears to be self preservation and blame.

A Medical Giant.

I've just learned of the sad death of Dr David Glyn Jones. Where do I start? First and foremost, DG was the man who saved my life. He picked up the fact that I was in kidney failure and got me to the right place with the minimum of fuss. For that alone I will always owe him a great debt. He is also the man who has inspired me more than any other to pursue a career in General Practice. Although he was just 62 years old, a life can't be measured in mere years.

After he retired as my GP, he continued to do some locum work and I would periodically bump in to him at my local Lidl. He was completely unpretentious and had time for all wherever he happened to be. He didn't finish work at 5.30pm because I don't believe he ever did finish work until last Friday. his consulting style was very relaxed and I always felt as though he was continually assesing me whenever I went to see him. He was clever at drawing people out and one instictively trusted him. No flash car, no flash clothes, no flash talk. Nothing flash about him. He was straight as a die and one of the most genuine people I've ever encountered. When my daughter died from meningitis, he was distraught because he had actually tried to get to our house before the ambulance came even though she wasn't even registered with him. When I decided to go abroad with Mindy after Thea died, we went with his blessing against medical advice because I hadn't long started immune suppression for my kidney transplant. He knew that there are occasions where medical advice takes second place to humanity. He made sure I had hospitals to go to en route and provided me with essential items which I might need.

His decision to leave General Practice was Denbigh's loss. He left due to the crippling mountain of needless paperwork which continues to dog our GPs as I write. He had little truck with the concept of a ten minute appointment and his mantra might have read, "It'll take as long as it takes but it'll be done properly". The funny thing was that I was never consciously aware of people in the waiting room getting fed up with waiting. Perhaps it was because they knew it would be worth the wait. I'm sure he made mistakes because like it or not, all doctors do. But he was absolutely straight with you and left you in no doubt when you left his consulting room.

I missed him when he left General Practice and feel really sad for his family now that he has gone. Having devoted his medical career to the people of Denbigh and the surrounding area, there seems little justice in his passing away so soon. For me, he will always be the man who allowed me to do what I'm doing today because without him, I wouldn't even be here. May he rest in peace.