Merry Christmas

May I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year.

Growing Season

I am a little behind on the gardening front but was a little surprised to see the daffodils and spring bulbs coming through and still my summer lobelia is flowering.

I will have to take my laptop to the Dr's as I am still having problems receiving comments.

So True

"You can't shake hands with a clenched fist"

mahatma Gandhi

Job Satisfaction

Not a great picture, this is an issue I have been dealing with for some time now, in my capacity as Chair of Conwy Drainage Group. This is a camera shot of the surface water drains in Winllan Ave in Llandudno. In this photo you can see a rock in the drains, which has probably assisted in the flooding of this area. The problem was not helped by cars driving at speed through the water and splashing it against some residents front doors. I hope the next down pour of rain, drains a lot quicker now this restriction has been removed.

That said we have a massive problem with silting in our drainage system in Llandudno and I will be pursuing the relevant agencies to tackle this issue and will be asking them to publish their maintenance schedules in order to tackle silting.

Worth mentioning that this drain had been pressure rodded 3 times up to this point and had quite a quantity of sand removed.

One of my Favourite Views

My Daughter is studying Photography and asked me for one of my favourite views, so today I drove her to one of my favourite spots.

Clean Streets

Very pleased to receive this award from The Association for Public Service Excellence (apse). This award covers the whole of the UK.

The last two years has seen Conwy recognised as having The Cleanest Streets in Wales (Keep Wales Tidy). I have said and will say that we strive for continuous improvements regarding Street Cleansing and I believe this award is recognising the improvements made to date.

My sincere thanks to all involved.

Ward Work Near Completion

Some months ago I applied for a grant to tidy up the Junction end of the Conwy Cob and was pleased to be successful. The top two pictures show the area as it was, overgrown and a litter trap. We also had anti social behaviour in this area, drinking, graffiti etc. To the left of the pictures you can see a concrete wall and below that is the A55, my fear was that an incident could happen here.

The grant has paid for a camera, you can just make it out on one of the lamp posts and landscaping. I feel the area is looking better and more open. This project will be completed soon with some planting of a couple of trees and a couple of bench seats. This project was supported by Conwy CBC's Environment and Regulatory Services departments, Welsh Government and North Wales Police. Thanks to all for supporting and making this area safer and greener.

Marl Ward Work

Quite a lot of work going on around my Ward at the moment and this is connected to The Llandudno Junction Regeneration Project. The photo of the new bin, which are being replaced throughout Junction is down by the New Asda, this area was overgrown and attracted litter, now re-turfed and looking a lot better.

Llandudno Junction is also having some new road signs, some of our pavement area's are being renewed, new street lights down by the Weekly News Roundabout and we have replaced the old galvanised railings in that area with new green powder coated ones.

Opposite Asda the retail unit shop fronts have been renewed and I am awaiting a new community notice board which will be placed by the little park just opposite the train station.

There are more works to come, but it is fair to say what has been achieved has taken time and has been supported by my Pensarn Council Colleague Meirion Hughes from day one and fully supported by my Ward Colleague Sue Shotter. It has been a great team effort to get to this stage, I also wish to thank the Council Officers for all their hard work during this ongoing project especially Tim Pritchard.

Today I also contacted probation services to help me with a few areas that are in need of a clear up.

Next week also See's a meeting with residents and a developer on my ward to address some concerns, Llandudno Junction Community Club, 23rd November at 6pm. Any issues regarding Albini House building site will be discussed and of course anyone who has an issue is welcome to attend.

A Day of Two Halves

This morning I spent some time with Allotmenteers from our new site in Tan Y Bryn in Rhos-On-Sea, assisting with a clear out, allocating new plots, we also gave them some of our "Conwy's best" Compost (Compost made from our Parks and Gardens).

This afternoon I spent some time with Senior and Junior members of our community in Llandudno Junction, organised by Conwy Youth Services. Our young people organised an event for their elders, bingo with prizes donated from our local business's, tea, cake and sandwiches made by our young people, a raffle and a dance show from Llandudno Junction's Crystal Jets.

I was proud to be part of this event, witnessing our young people look after and respect their elders. It really is the minority that spoil it for the majority.

My Thanks go to Tommy, Ronnie and Donna from the Conwy Youth Service, Yvonne from Tesco, Pete our PCSO, all the various business people in Llandudno Junction who donated prizes, Llandudno Junction Crystal jets for entertaining, my council colleagues Meiron Hughes and Sue Shotter, Conwy Town Council Mayor Anne Roberts and lastly but by no means least, our young people in Llandudno Junction. They really did our senior residents proud.

Recycle More 2nd Quarter Results

I received Conwy's first full quarter recycling figures today which included the new weekly collection service. I am very pleased to announce that residents in Conwy are now recycling 54% of their waste. I have to be cautious with this figure as this quarter is usually the busiest due to green garden waste.

This result is up 10% from last year and looks promising to hit the statutory target of 52% by 2012/13.

There is still more to do, we are working on introducing kerbside recycling in the rest of the County. Currently some rural areas do not receive this service and it is hoped that this can be resolved in late 2012. We estimate that there are around 5000 households not receiving this service and when they do it will give Conwy an extra 2% on top of our current figures.

The difficult challenge then is how to get to 70% recycling by 2025.

Well done to everyone who participates and of course our staff.

Conwy Food Festival

Popped over to Conwy yesterday and have to say it was probably the busiest I have ever seen the Town, in fact when talking to locals, this was one of their first comments.

There were also a few saying that the £7 entrance fee was a put off and they were not willing to pay it, one suggested a discount for locals. That said, the marquees were absolutely Jam Packed and in some instances too busy for my wife and I to go in.

Hopefully the weather will hold up for them today as I feel this will probably be one of the busiest feast's Conwy has seen. This event really shows Conwy off to its full potential. There were also lots of street entertainers which added to this event and lets not forget the food!!!

Believe it or not, with all the various stalls from all over Wales, I ended up going home with "Edwards of Conwy Sausages", well they are the best you know.

Well done to Jane Hughes and her team for organising this event!!

Still having problems with receiving comments.

Street Washing

We have been testing some equipment this week in order to tackle the chewing gum issue and as you can see the results are an improvement in the appearance of the pavements, this equipment does not use any chemicals, it uses heated water and there is also adjustable pressure.

Reality is that to take this forward I will need to work with different partners as this type of work is manually intensive. I have already had a business offer to pay for their frontage to be cleansed and I have asked to set up meetings with others. I will keep you posted.

On another note I am having problems receiving comments, hopefully this will be sorted soon.

Ward Work

Recently I asked the Community Payback Team for some assistance with a couple of "Grotspots" around my Ward and today spent a couple of hours with them addressing these issues.

Two areas of my Ward were cleared of overgrowth and Litter. Believe it or not, the photo above had a flattened Sofa in the scrub and about 8-10 bags of builders rubble.

The team also addressed some graffiti issues in some other locations around the Ward.

Feedback from residents is good and I have sent an email to the Area Manager in Probation Services thanking today's team. All in All a positive experience.

Colwyn Bay Water Front

This image is the latest from and courtesy of K2 Architects who have been appointed to design and deliver Colwyn Bays new watersport hotspot on the new improved Sea Defence on Colwyn Bays Promenade. http: www.k2architects.co.uk


This is work in progress and some things will change such as the beach, there will be more beach exposed at high tide than shown here by the steps (right hand side) and the Rock Groyne will connect to the improved Sea defences in order to hold the beach and act as a breakwater.

This work is scheduled to be complete around this time next year (Depending on Relevant Permissions), the actual sea defence work should be complete within a few weeks. There will be another event to update residents in the near future, probably in Eirias Park Leisure Centre. I will publish more regarding this event as soon as I have the information.

Ward Leaflet

Busy delivering our latest Ward Newsletter this week and meeting residents, it's hard work but feedback is good. Hopefully break the back of the delivery tomorrow.

Ysgol Aberconwy

Some final adjustments still to come but these results are not expected to change much either way.

Excellent Results from Ysgol Aberconwy.
I wonder if the BBC will cover this story??

Well done to all involved.

One for the Diary

Open Afternoon

COME AND MEET SOME OF THE WALTON CENTRE'S DOCTORS, NURSES,STAFF AND GOVERNORS WORKING IN NORTH WALES.


Colwyn Bay

Talk by consultant neurologist Dr Rhys Davies:
Dealing with a head pressure: the clinical neuroscience team

2.00-4.00pm Thursday 22 September Colwyn Bay Cricket Club, Rhos On Sea LL28 4LR

To book a place, please email: communications@thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk
or call the reservation answerphone: 0151 529 4188

This event is free: Included; Refreshments, Wheelchair access, Parking, short DVD about The Walton Centre and the Latest Newsletters.

Special Council Meeting 8th September

Special Council, Thursday, 8 September 2011 10.00 am


This is a really important meeting. The purpose of this meeting will be to discuss the NUMEROUS concerns that have been raised across the County in relation to the Local Development Plan.

I have received many representations regarding two plots of land in the Marl Ward and will make my and the Marl Ward Residents views known at this meeting.

The North Wales Residual Waste Treatment project

Waste Treatment Consultation

The North Wales Residual Waste Treatment project (NWRWTP) has been set up to manage residual waste (the waste which is left over after recycling and composting as much as possible) generated in the five local authorities, and reduce landfill as much as possible.


The Partnership is now undertaking a consultation process, where we want to hear your views on key aspects of the project. A series of drop in sessions have been organised across the partnership area for residents to come for an informal chat and ask any question you may have.

Conwy Drop in Session

Tuesday 30 August: Conwy Business Centre, Llandudno Junction 2-7pm

Aberconwy Election Result

My Congratulations go to Janet Finch Saunders AM for winning this seat, she worked hard and fought a clean fight.


Janet Finch Saunders Conservatives 6,888

Iwan Huws Plaid Cymru 5,321

Eifion Wyn Williams Labour 5,206

Mike Priestley Lib Dems 2,873

I raised the vote in Aberconwy for the Libdems by 5% and contributed to assist Aled Roberts in his election for one of the four Regional seats. I supported Aled to become our number one for the list and feel that he will make an excellent AM, Congratulations also go to him.

In the current circumstances with the national picture, I am happy with the result although would have liked a few more votes, I believe the Labour leaflet that I have posted on previously certainly cut my vote in Junction where they seemed to have concentrated on delivery.

Thanks to all that voted for me and also my team and especially my Agent Christine Humphries. Last but certainly not least thanks to my lovely wife Lorraine and my two girls for all their support, I am a very lucky man to have the three of you!!

MIKE

Labour Leaflet

A very sad side to the Election was seen this week with a leaflet being distributed by Labour supporters with a section regarding myself which is totally untrue.

I have sought legal advice and believe that they have committed an offence under Section 106 of the representation of the people act 1983. A letter stating this was handed to the Labour Candidate today at 11:50am stating that the article was untrue and asked that they immediately cease their distribution of this leaflet. They were still delivering this leaflet today at 3pm.


I have great difficulty with this Labour candidate now and how he will work as an Assembly Member for the people of Aberconwy when he distributes such misleading information. I have also been advised to report this to the police.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign.



Following the expensive reorganisation of the NHS in 2009, it has been revealed by a Freedom Information Request that top NHS executives who were moved into new jobs following the reorganisation have had their six-figure salaries protected for up to 10 years.



More than 120 former NHS directors and managers have been redeployed elsewhere in the health service and the Welsh Assembly Government following the changes negotiated with trade unions. But they will have their salaries, which are as high as £195,000 a year in some cases, protected for years.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign.

Official figures released in February revealed that Wales is still so poor that it may qualify for the highest level of European funding yet again, confirming that the Labour-led government has wasted opportunities to boost the economy of Wales over the last decade.

Since 1999, Wales has spent £5 billion on regeneration, which is the equivalent of £1,600 for every person living in Wales. European funding is aimed at lifting people out of poverty and boosting economic development and regeneration. Despite £5 billion being spent, Wales is still poor enough to qualify for another round of funding.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign



In Autumn last year, under pressure from Kirsty Williams, the First Minister was forced to reveal the £500,000 shocking cost of commissioning McKinsey to produce a report on the future of the NHS. The report was never published and was described by the Government as 'a little discussion paper' and ‘a compilation of slides’. The UK government spent just £46,000 commissioning a similar report from McKinsey.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign.

Since 2007, the Labour – Plaid Government has spent nearly £15 million on a computer project that is supposed to assist in development and delivery of policy however this expensive project has been branded by senior WAG civil servants as “a total waste of money”.

The IDEAS Programme is supposed to improve financial management across the organisation however it has resulted in civil servants criticising the programme stating that it undermines the role of specialists within the civil service and leads to greater inefficiencies.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign



Figures released by the Welsh Liberal Democrats last autumn revealed that many of the Labour-Plaid government's flagship Technium projects made massive losses. Freedom of Information requests revealed a loss in excess of £5.4 million since 2001.



The Technium scheme was a flagship government project founded in 2001 as an attempt to develop a series of sites where science and technology businesses could be nurtured.



Mike Priestley, Welsh Liberal Democrat candidate for Aberconwy said:



"Despite a number of individual successes, overall the Technium project has made losses of over £5.4 million. Some individual projects have made huge losses. Port Talbot has lost £2.2 million and so has Technium Cast in Bangor.



“The Technium project has been widely criticised, including by the Government’s own Economic Advisory Council. Welsh Liberal Democrats have argued for a much closer relationship with the universities to help create more organic clusters of expertise and innovation. Instead, the Labour-Plaid government ignored expert advice and have presided over a colossal waste of tax payer’s money.



“When every family, charity and business is making every pound stretch that little bit further, Wales needs a government that does the same. Labour and Plaid Cymru have turned waste, incompetence and inefficiency into an art form.”


“The Welsh Liberal Democrats are continuing to expose, on each day of the election campaign, examples of the waste and inefficiency of the Labour-Plaid government during their four years in power.”

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign

Back in 2009, the Labour-Plaid government came under fire from business leaders and politicians for spending more than £300,000 on staff “away-days” during the economic downturn.

Among the most expensive individual events, revealed by FOI were:

· an away-day for human resources staff at the Miskin Manor – a luxury hotel on the outskirts of Cardiff – costing £16,177

· a health department meeting to “improve effectiveness”, which cost the taxpayer £11,024.57;

· visits by members of the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service to the Falcondale Mansion Hotel, Lampeter, at a cost of £6,124.45.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign

It was revealed last October that Wales won just £570,000 worth of Tier One Olympic Contracts compared to £17 million for Northern Ireland and £22 million for Scotland. Freedom of Information requests placed by the Welsh Liberal Democrats revealed that there had been no written correspondence between the Welsh Ministers and the Olympic Delivery Authority in the last three years.

Welsh firms are missing out on multi million pound Olympic contracts as the Scottish and Northern Irish governments leave Wales trailing.

The Minister for Economy and Transport, Plaid Cymru's Ieuan Wyn Jones, wrote to his Northern Ireland counterpart bemoaning Wales' lack of success, stating 'The amount of Welsh companies who have successfully won business via the CompeteFor Portal is lower than we hoped'. However, Ieuan Wyn Jones had not written to the ODA himself.

A Good Day Canvassing

A great day canvassing today, really positive comments and we ran out of window posters. We usually take the posters for residents to place in their windows to demonstrate support, running out this morning was a first for us.

One thing that is coming out strong on the doorstep is that people want to know where the candidates live, that was not such an issue in the parliamentary campaign. I find this fact very interesting because only 2 of the 4 candidates live in the constituency.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign

A bridge too far? It was revealed last August that the Labour-Plaid government spent £190,000 on a bridge to help dormice to cross a by-pass near Pontypridd. Newport built a similar dormouse bridge for just £22,000.

Fixed Penalty Notices Dog Fouling

Last Month 5 FPN's were issued to people failing to pick up their dogs mess.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign

It was revealed last January by the Wales Audit Office that major road and rail projects in Wales have cost substantially more and took longer than expected to build.

The Wales Audit Office report into 18 major projects found the total cost rose from an estimated £366m to £592m, with final projects costing an average 61% higher.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign



More than £22m has been wasted by the Welsh Assembly Government on training teachers who do not go on to teach in Wales.

Figures released by the Welsh Liberal Democrats in August 2010 revealed that between 2004/05 and 2007/08, Wales trained an excess of almost 3000 teachers, at a cost of over £7500 per surplus teacher.

Commenting on the figures, Mike Priestley, Welsh Liberal Democrat Candidate for Aberconwy, said:

"At a time when budgets are stretched, it is wasteful and irresponsible for the Labour-Plaid government to spend taxpayers' money on teachers that Wales does not have vacancies to employ.

"With education spending already £604 per pupil less than in England, Wales can ill afford to be subsidising the English education system. In maths, for example, we have trained 133 teachers at a cost of £1.1 million who are not teaching in Wales at all.

"The Government were advised in the 2006 Furlong Report to cut the number of training places in half but this advice was ignored. The Education Minister stated in 2008 that she would be supporting a reduction of 50 per cent of training places in primary and 25 per cent reduction in secondary training places, but this saving has not taken place.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign



It was revealed last August that the legal cost of the Labour-Plaid Government's fight to challenges to its planned badger cull pilot was more than £57,000, with nearly £20,000 paid towards the Badger Trust’s costs.



The Labour-Plaid government’s badger cull order was overturned by the Court of Appeal as they said it was wrong to make an order for the whole of Wales when the Government consulted on the basis of an Intensive Action Pilot Area (IAPA) which only supported a cull on evidence within the IAPA.



The assembly government had to pay £57,000 for losing the legal challenges to its planned badger cull.

Waste Watchers

Last February, it was revealed by the Welsh Liberal Democrats that health bosses in North Wales had been taking advantage of a £1.1m subsidy for leased cars to run top of the range Jaguars, sporty Audis and BMWs. The Betsi Cadwaladr health board pays out £2m-a-year for a car leasing contract.

Some £940,000 of that is recouped from payments from staff who choose to top up the subsidy to run a higher specification vehicle than standard.

The list of leased vehicles, published under the Freedom of Information Act, contained a £24,000 Alfa Romeo costing £5,311-a-year; a £36,000 Audi costing £8,188-a-year; BMW 3-series Sport at £7,098-a-year; and four Jaguars, including an XF S-Luxury worth £39,000 and leased at £8,748-a-year.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign

It was revealed last month that the cost of running empty office space across the Labour-Plaid government estate cost over £1,200 a day. The total amount of vacant space within the Assembly Government’s administrative estate stands at 1,817 square metres.

The total annual running costs – including rent, rates, service charges, utilities, cleaning and maintenance – was £449,927 “as at March 31st 2011”. That’s up from £344,173 the previous year, when the total vacant space was 1,441 square metres.

Waste Watchers

WASTE WATCHERS


The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign.





In August 2010, it was revealed that the Labour-Plaid government had spent more that £400,000 in a year on external PR companies while employing 25 full-time PR and communications staff. A Freedom of Information request revealed the Labour-Plaid government used external PR firms from April 2009 to March 2010.

Waste Watchers

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will expose an example of the waste and inefficiency of Labour and Plaid Cymru in government on each day of the Welsh general election campaign

Last November, it was revealed that £3.5 million of Welsh Government money had been spent in the last three years on ‘climate change awareness’, rather than programmes that directly reduce carbon emissions. Grants include £20,000 over two years for an annual newspaper supplements on climate change and over £0.5 million a year to the Sustainable Development Commission and Cynnal Cymru.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats estimated that this money could have paid for around 1000improvements to homes in fuel poverty through the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme making an immediate impact on carbon emissions.

Nick Clegg Visits Llandudno Junction

We had a great day today with Nick Clegg coming to support my Welsh Assembly Campaign.

Nick told everyone that:

These are difficult times for people across Britain, but this week has shown that this can also be an opportunity to reshape Britain into a fairer, more equal and greener country.


Labour's financial legacy has left our country needing to borrow an extra £400million, every single day, just to get by. Labour also left us paying £120 million in interest on our debt each and every day - for that we could build a new primary school every hour.


Conwy’s share of the country’s debt now stands at a dangerous £3.92billion and something needs to be done.


But despite all this, Liberal Democrat policies coming into action this week are making a positive difference to people’s lives.


Over the last seven days in Conwy, thanks to Liberal Democrats:
42000 people are getting a £200 income tax cut - benefiting 23 million people across the country
2200 people have been lifted out of paying income tax altogether, with more to come
pensioners have been given an extra £4.50 a week – and those retiring from today will be on average £15,000 better off over their retirement.
Liberal Democrats in government will not stop there.


This week also saw Pensions Minister Steve Webb announcing that the Government will be introducing a simple, flat-rate state pension of £140 to replace the current complicated, unfair and means-tested system.


Business Secretary Vince Cable is cutting regulation to promote small business and create jobs.


Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne revealed that Britain will be hosting the 2012 Clean Energy Summit - putting Britain at the heart of the Green Energy Revolution.


The Liberal Democrats have entered government at one of the most challenging times for the country. We did not choose the moment but we have not shrunk from our responsibility to act in the national interest. We will not miss the opportunity we have to build a greener, fairer and more liberal Britain.


Nick was very well received by all and I thanked him for taking time out to support my campaign.

Dog Fouling Fixed Penalty Notices March

I have had a meeting this week with Regulatory Services and discussed various ways of tackling this issue, from Education to fining. I will feedback on this later as it was a very comprehensive and productive meeting.

Fixed Penalty notices issued 1st March to 31st March (Fines)

Dog Fouling 22
Dropping Litter 2

I can also confirm that there will be more activities in relation to tackling this type of problem in the near future.

Interesting Estimates

It is estimated that one in three households include a dog, with around 100,000 households in Conwy and Denbighshire, it is estimated that we have around 33,000 dogs.

Each dog potentially produces, a conservatively estimated, 100 grammes of waste a day, collectively around 3.3 tonnes per day or just over 1200 tonnes per annum.

So just the mindless minority not picking up after their dog is quite a problem.

Welsh Assembly Campaign

Well today see's the start of delivery of my first leaflet constituency wide and my team and I have been busy working on three other leaflets with maybe two more to follow.

We have our office up and running in Llandudno Junction and plans are now in place to step up our Welsh Assembly election campaign.

Quick Update:Dog Fouling

Spoke to our PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) today and he informed me that another morning was spent yesterday tackling dog fouling. A number of people were spoken to and I believe 3 fixed penalties were issued to people not picking up after their dogs. This was on the Deganwy to West Shore section of the cycle track. Varying excuses ranging from "I didn't see the dog do it"!! to, I was not paying attention as I had to text my friend.

Yesterday, I had a ward walkabout with my colleague Councillor Sue Shotter and as we were walking by the Weekly News, we witnessed 2 dogs doing their business as their owner walked ahead oblivious. It was pointed out to her that her dogs had made a mess and the embarrassed owner picked it up.

I will post more on this issue.

Welsh Spring Conference

Off to Cardiff for our Welsh Spring Conference tomorrow. One thing that I have noticed is the increased security, photo ID and passes in all sections of the building, I suppose this is the price you have to pay for being in government.

I will be proposing a motion to Conference and will blog this later on how it went.

Lot's happening locally, the fruits of our work should shortly be seen. Spoke to a resident today who at the Marl Ward Election voted Labour but confirmed support for me in the Assembly Election (That was good to hear). Other political party supporters are being very positive towards me for differing reasons. We have our plans in place and I am very grateful to my team for their support and dedication, especially Christine Humphreys my agent, She is an absolute star.

If people put their faith in me, I promise to repay them.

Charity Skydive

Doing some Computer Housework and came across these two pics of a charity Skydive I completed in aid of ClicSargent. What a great experience this was and one I would recommend to anyone who is looking for fundraising ideas. The plane landed before we did!

Celebration

Today I celebrate being on this planet for 45 years. This morning I was greeted by my wife and 2 girls, given a couple of Birthday presents and a mug of Tea.

The best gift for me was being part of that moment.

Nothing more to add.

Colwyn Bay Sea Defence

Should be an announcement early this week regarding this project, it may well be in the Daily Post on Monday.

Marl in Spring

Just come home from a very windswept walk around Marl Woods with my wife and "Jelly" the dog, it really is a walk to be recommended. The wild garlic is sprouting, wild Snowdrops and another week or so the Daffodils will be in bloom. The "Catkins" are also out and the lambs jumping around and chasing each other and playing in the fields.

I can remember as a kid, Marl used to be yellow and white with the daffs and snowdrops followed by the lush green of the wild garlic again followed by white as the garlic flowers. I really do enjoy this time of year.

Down side just had to bath the dog after she rolled around in some horse muck.

*"Cut The Crap"

* Title courtesy from Richard.

Just a short update regarding Dog Fouling and the minority of irresponsible owners who do not/refuse to pick up after their dogs.

6am this morning Police and the Council's Enforcement Team patrolled in Llandudno Junction. Feedback I have is that over twenty owners were observed and no offences witnessed, that said all were spoken to and asked if they carried bags, all did.

The team have informed me that most of the people questioned felt that this action was long overdue. I have asked that I be informed of fixed penalties issued in Conwy over the next few weeks in order to publish on this blog.

Memories

Funny things memories, I arrived home after 9pm last night after attending the Save our Civic Hall meeting in Conwy with a bag of chips for supper.

Up this morning just after 6am, girls off to school, dog and rabbit fed and the crow who screams out every morning around 7am. Chauffered the wife and her colleuge to work and then travelling home I started to grin and was remembering my eldest daughter at an early age one Christmas eve saying to my wife and I, "I can't wait for Father Christmas and his Radiators to come to our house". Still smiling as I write this!!

I wonder what triggers these memories off?

Cleanest Streets

Conwy has again been recognised for having the "Cleanest Streets" in Wales. This time we are joint 1st with Monmouthshire. This is a great achievement and I would like to thank all the staff in the Street Scene Department for their hard work.

Up to 150 streets and roads are picked at random and inspected independently by inspectors from Keep Wales Tidy. They look for Dog Fouling, Litter and Graffiti. Litter is set into 4 categories, smoking related litter (SRL), drinks, confectionery and fast food.

I am very pleased with this result as the staff have been working hard to catch up after the adverse weather.

We have a problem with irresponsible dog owners not picking up after their dogs and this has been worse lately due to, in my opinion, the dark mornings and early evenings. These irresponsible owners must feel they are not being seen so they can leave their dog mess behind.

I am Working with Cllr Philip Evans on an operation to tackle this very issue and very soon we will have a multi agency team cracking down on this. This team will consist of Environment and Regulatory Services in Conwy CBC and the Police. They will hit "Hotspots" and anyone caught leaving their dogs mess or littering can expect a fixed penalty.

If you have a problem regarding Street Cleanliness, please report it to our Environment Department on 01492 575337

Marl Ward Election Result

Congratulations to County Councillor Susan Shotter for a fantastic result in this election, we knew from the feedback on the doorstep that we were going to win, if the vote came out and thanks to the wonderful people of Marl, they did!!

Percentages as follows:

Turnout 31.3%

Susan Shotter Welsh Liberal Democrats 40.4%
Julie Fallon Conservative 28.1%
Mike Pritchard Labour 22.5%
Jason Landy Independent 9%

This is a Welsh Liberal Democrat Gain from the Tories. Sue in her acceptance speech acknowledged her opponents and thanked her agent Christine Humphries and all the team that assisted her in this great victory.

I feel This result has shook the Aberconwy Tories to their roots.

I look forward to working with Sue in the Marl Ward and representing the people of Conwy.

Well done once again Sue, a worker a winner!

Susan Shotter for Marl

I joined Sue on her campaign to become the next County Councillor for the Marl Ward yesterday. The weather was absolutely atrocious and we all got soaked, that said eight volunteers braved the severe conditions and residents appreciated the commitment from Sue's team.

Sue really is getting a positive response on the doorstep and when asked by residents, I was able to endorse her. I believe if elected Sue and I will be very effective for the residents of Marl and Sue really does look at the bigger picture, for example, she wants to scrutinise the Winter Gritting programme for instance.

I have been browsing some of the blogs and it really saddens me to see gutless anons having personal attacks on Sue and indeed the other candidates. Sue's campaign like all our campaigns, will not be drawn into the gutter and I believe that to be the right and proper way to conduct campaigns. You have to wonder what is wrong with these sad individuals.

Anyway feedback is positive from postal voters and there is still much to do, I will be able to assist Sue a little more this coming week but the rest of today is with the family, as we feel Sunday should be a day of rest and have never delivered or canvassed on Sundays. Full English (can't beat Edwards of Conwy) and time with the family, Sundays should not be more complicated than this!!

Marl Ward Election

A few comments on the blog regarding the candidates in the Marl Ward election next Thursday 20th January. I refuse to be drawn into criticising the candidates.

The only candidate I endorse is Susan Shotter, together I believe we would be an effective and hard working pair for the Residents of Marl and I believe the residents deserve this. I can say this because I know Sue and have worked with her for some time now, she is enthusiastic, keen, intelligent and like me wants to make a positive difference in the ward and the County, Sue is a peoples person who listens and that in itself is a quality, she also has a determination to help people.

I hope this clears up my view on the matter and why I endorse her.

Assembly Contact email

My Welsh Assembly campaign contact email address is mp4am@aol.com

Marl Ward Election 20/01/2011

We have been out today canvassing and delivering leaflets for the forthcoming election in the Marl Ward. Our candidate, Sue Shotter, is being well received on the doorstep.

Colwyn Bay Waterfront

I attended the public consultation event for the Colwyn Bay Watersports Hotspot Design Competition today at The Leisure Centre in Colwyn Bay. I was pleased with the turn out with over 300 people attending as of 4.30pm and the event continues until 8pm tonight, we have also had a positive response via the Web.

This event is an opportunity for people to have their say regarding the Promenade.

You can see the 6 entries here.
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