Thursday 25th February 2010 £4.5m regeneration scheme moves a step nearer
A £4.5m scheme to regenerate Blaenau Ffestiniog in Gwynedd is moving
closer to reality after a four month detailed design and planning. The
scheme to regenerate the town centre will submit formal planning
applications in May.

The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Welsh
Assembly Government and Gwynedd council. Gwynedd councillor Gwilym
Euros Roberts said: "The concepts were warmly welcomed welcomed by
local residents during the consultation in 2009, and I look forward to
seeing them being turned from a vision into reality." North Wales

Monday 1st February 2010 Bat bridge for A487
Very soon you’ll be able to drive along the A487 bypass in Groeslen
near Caernarfon and see the bat bridge. No, this has nothing to do
with the caped crusader, it’s not that kind of bat bridge. Instead
it’s a facility to mitigate the danger to the rare horseshoe bats as
they fly from hedge to hedge across the busy road. The bridge is in
fact a section of net stretched between poles that creates a corridor
to fool the bats into thinking that they are following a line of
vegetation. The idea is to encourage them to fly high enough to clear
the traffic.

A spokeswoman for the Gwynedd Bat Group agreed with the thinking
behind the bat bridge, saying: "Bats such as this follow a very
specific route," said Sarah Cartmel, secretary of the Gwynedd Bat
Group. "They usually follow hedge and tree lines, so even the removal
of a hedge will disrupt their flight." North Wales

Friday 22nd January 2010 North Wales aims to boost tourism
Plans for greater investment to turn north Wales into one of the top
five visitor destinations in Britain have been unveiled. The aim is to
pump funding into outdoor activity and to create the wow factor for
visitors. Good service and better facilities are part of the plan to
push north Wales devised by Tourism Partnership North Wales to break
the £2bn barrier by 2015.

Heritage minister Alun Ffred Jones said: "I believe it can make an
even greater contribution in future and is a sustainable sector which,
properly managed, will continue to thrive for generations to come. To
achieve its full potential, then all involved in tourism need to agree
where it is heading and work to a common agenda." North Wales

Wednesday 20th January 2010 £60 if your trolly goes off
Wrexham council, fed up with the financial burden of returning
abandoned shopping trollies to their rightful owners, has decided to
put a £60 charge on each one they send home. The council executive
voted to approve the levy to try and recoup the cost of returning
something like 50 trollies to the supermarkets each month.


Chief environment officer John Bradbury said that wayward shopping
trolleys had always been a problem for Wrexham: "Abandoned trolleys
have always been an issue for the council and have historically been
dealt with on an ad hoc basis.” In a report he also noted that
shopping trollies finding their way into drains and culverts could
prevent a flooding risk North Wales

Wednesday 6th January 2010 Students go naked to save Treborth Botanic Garden
The world famous Treborth Botanic Gardens on the banks of the Menai
Straits has been forced to take extraordinary measures to fend of
financial problems. The cash-strapped gardens have even released a
calendar featuring students of Bangor University posing nude in the
gardens to raise cash. The gardens, which are owned by the University,
were first developed in 1960 making this year the 50th anniversary.

Curator Nigel Brown said: "The students came up with the idea
themselves and booked the garden for the weekend, and I left them to
get on with it. They do a fantastic job of supporting the garden, and
this calendar is just one of a lot of events to celebrate its 50th
anniversary," North Wales

Wednesday 30th December 2009 Snowdon walker injured after ice sheet slide
A mountain walker had to be airlifted from Tryfan in Snowdonia when he
sustained serious injuries by deliberately sliding down a 150ft ice
sheet. The 23-year old from Stockport was taken to Glan Clwyd Hospital
in Bodelwyddan to be treated for head injuries and a cut to his leg.
His female companion was also airlifted from Tryfan after sliding
about 50ft and suffering a suspected broken ankle. It has been
reported that the pair decided to slide down the sheet as it was
“easier than walking” and were on the mountain without the correct
equipment.

Chris Lloyd, of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue team said: "People
should remember the weather is very bad on these mountains and they
should have the right clothing and the right equipment and the right
experience." North Wales

Tuesday 8th December 2009 Calls to discuss the future shape of the North Wales coast
Plans to protect the coast of North Wales may include input from the
people living there if calls for their views are heeded. Anglesey,
Conwy, Denbighshire and Flintshire councils are all asking for the
public to add their input to plans being drawn up to cope with climate
change and rising sea levels.

"Climate change is happening and this inevitably means that sea levels
will rise and that coastal communities are placed at greater risk of
flooding from the sea," said Meic Davies, from Environment Agency
Wales.

"We must agree how we can adapt, control, improve and generally
prepare the area for dealing with tidal flooding over the next 100
years." North Wales

Tuesday 24th November 2009 The coral reefs of Denbighshire
It might not be an area synonymous with a tropical climate and coral
reefs but the weather hasn’t always been typically Welsh in
Denbighshire. Recent finds of 350 million-year-old coral are thought
to come from a time when parts of Denbighshire were under water. An
ancient scenario suggested by experts includes corals, sponges and
prehistoric creatures long since extinct on Earth.

The coral was found by volunteers who were working in an old quarry to
extend the Mount Wood path from Smithfield Road to Groes Road. The
work is part of efforts funded by the Cadwyn Clwyd rural regeneration
agency. The coral is now on display at the Denbigh Library and Museum. North Wales

Thursday 10th September 2009 Top Man U star takes caravan holiday
Rio Ferdinand has surprised critics of the high spending antics of premier League footballers by taking a weekend break at a Welsh caravan park. The Manchester United and England footballer turned up at the Haven Holidays park unannounced according to a spokesperson from the company.

Other guests enjoying the facilities at the Presthaven Sands resort were quick to capitalise on the stars appearance, along with his fiancée Rebecca Ellison and their young two sons. the ever-present paparazzi, meanwhile, were nowhere to be seen having been outfoxed by the football superstar. Ferdinand, who missed England’s recent World Cup Qualifying win against Croatia, was staying in one of the resorts top-of-the-range, luxury caravans. North Wales

Tuesday 8th September 2009 Trouble on the A470
The A470 was closed again last week between Mallwyd and Tabor in
Gwynedd after a landslip swept away part of the carriageway. The
closure, the second in four years, has led to calls for an upgrade to
the road to solve the problem for good.

Gwynedd councillor John Pughe Roberts has suggested that more money
needs to be spent on the road, a claim countered by the Welsh Assembly
Government who say everything is being done to prevent future slips. A
spokesperson for the Welsh Assembly said regular inspections were
being carried out on the stretch of road and that improvements to the
drainage in the area had been carried out as water was the main cause
of the slips. North Wales