North

How could my husband have travelled two hours-plus?

Madam,

It is with increasing concern and fear that I hear about the threats to the provision of our health care by Hywel Dda Health Board.

My late husband had experience of the services provided by various departments at Bronglais, but mainly by the well-regarded colorectal and oncology teams.

They did everything they could to help my husband, but sadly, in his case, they weren’t sucessful.

Throughout his illness the staff, at all levels, were considerate and caring during a very difficult time.

Whilst I’m sure there are many people who have had similar experiences, I feel it is relevant to draw attention to the difficulties that some patients may face.

During his illness my husband attended 42 outpatient appointments, seven visits to A&E (mostly in the early hours of the morning) and 72 days as an in-patient. We live in south Gwynedd, some 25 miles north of Bronglais, and in good conditions the journey to Bronglais takes around 40 minutes by car. My husband was tolerant throughout his illness but there were times when he found the additional ordeal of a 40-minute journey to and from hospital very difficult to bear.

I cannot begin to imagine how he could have coped had he had to travel to Carmarthen – an additional hour-and-a-half.

We need Hywel Dda to maintain a “fit-for-purpose” health service giving consultant-delivered care within a reasonable time-span (the “golden hour”). Bronglais needs improving (new operating theatres) not down-grading.

I make a plea to those in the decision-making positions at Hywel Dda to try and empathise with the patient’s experience and not to put into place a health care system where accessibility is intolerable and detrimental to the patient’s well-being.

Welsh toilet closures affect everyone

Madam,

Your report ‘Forum backs councillor’s toilet campaign’ is not just good news for older people like me, within a stone’s throw of 82, but as forum chairman Rev Martin Riley said: “Toilet closures affect everyone, especially the elderly and the proposal to close toilets has to be reversed at a local, county, and national level.”

Llais Gwynedd councillor Louise Hughes, who you pictured outside one of the public loos under threat of closure, is to be congratulated for the tenacity with which she has conducted the campaign against their closure. She has recently taken her concerns over loo closure to the Welsh Assembly Government Health Committee which ruled in her favour that public health was compromised by the closures.

Previously she had cycled all the way down to Cardiff Bay noting the loo condition and provision on the way, to put the matter before the Assembly.

I saved former St Mary's church from demolition

Madam,

Following Miss Rees’s letter of last week relating to the former church of St Mary’s at Talyllyn, I feel compelled to reply. I purchased this property in a sealed bid arrangement with the estate agents, not knowing at the time that Miss Rees and a friend had also bid for it. It seems my offer was the greater one and Miss Rees’s hopes of buying the church as a visitor centre were dashed. She has since purchased another chapel in the valley for this purpose. She was previously the caretaker/keyholder of the church for many years but as the congregation dwindled the church authority made the decision to sell it. I was told by locals that if the church had failed to sell, one of the options the church authority had considered was to demolish it to avoid the expense of its maintenance. Since the purchase, I have spent time and money maintaining the property. The roof was leaking in several places, plaster had fallen from the walls, guttering was down - like-for-like repairs were numerous. I feel that for the church building to survive it needs to be offered a change of use to tourism, be it on a very small scale. I was advised that an area at the west end of the main assembly room would be acceptable for a small interior change to accommodation, the design to complement the existing interior. Apart from the removal of those seven sets of pews there is to be no change. The main church remains exactly as it is. The vestry is the same, all but a small kitchen area. Without going into detail, many of Miss Rees’s complaints have been addressed, whilst others have been incorrectly reported. With reference to the gated access to the rear of the church,. it was my efforts that reopened that and I have secured the gate to protect the property; there are no restrictions to accessing the graveyard. What does the future hold for this building without these changes? How would it be sustainable? For the one or two in the valley who have complained, there are many who have offered their support. In the meantime Miss Rees can rest assured that I am in constant contact with not only the Snowdonia National Park Authority but also CADW, CCW, The Ancient Monuments of Wales, The Environment Agency, The Highways Department and ecologists, to name a few.

If CCTV catches bridge crossing offenders I shall rejoice!

Madam,

The last sentence of Jason Humphreys’ “Four accidents on bridge in a week!” letter (Cambrian News, 19 January) implies that I oppose the Britannia Bridge CCTV installation. In reality I welcomed it in a letter published on 27 October. Level crossings are inherently dangerous and this one has special features increasing that danger. If CCTV catches motorists ignoring red lights I shall rejoice with Mr Humphreys. My argument concerns cyclists.

Mr Humphreys frequently suggests they run the risk of getting wheels caught in the rails. But a trip to half a dozen British cities, not to mention the Netherlands or Belgium, shows cyclists coping with much more complex rail layouts than the short length of plain track across the bridge.

I suggest we suspend this needlessly personalised correspondence until Mr Humphreys can show CCTV footage of an accident to a cyclist using the bridge cycle track. As that track crosses the railway lines at right angles, readers can expect a long and welcome silence on this point.

Long list of changes revealed

Madam,

I feel I must supplement the information that appeared in last week’s Cambrian News regarding the current planning application involving St Mary’s Church, Tal-y-llyn. Yes, local residents are disputing the developer’s latest planning application to convert the listed 15th century church into a self-catering unit. But here’s the rub: the owner’s previous planning application to convert the historic church into a residence was refused by the Snowdonia National Park, but Mr Mathews has gone ahead and partly destroyed the interior of the church. Mr Mathews claimed that he is “maintaining” the church and acting “sensitively”, and admits only to removing a few pews while actually he has committed a long list of changes during the partial construction of a house interior.

To prove it, I quote from the National Park Enforcement Officer’s list of breaches:1. He has removed seven of the 19th century pews (where are they?). 2. He has applied wood cladding to the walls to window height, has created a part-raised floor supported by plinths, installed brass double and single electric sockets, erected a wooden screen across the church which has been attached to the ancient cross beam and to new side timbers, with new door; items have been fixed to the tiled floor of the church; installed a stained timber fire surround with over mantle and a timber boarded hearth fixed centrally to the west gable; re-positioned the 13th century font.3. In the vestry, a wooden screen has been erected across, and a kitchen in-stalled comprising a corner, double base and sink units with ceramic tiles above, also electric sockets and fluorescent light strips, a false wooden fire surround and raised timber boarded hearth. 4. Externally, there has been the removal of a historic slate plaque with unique verse, and installation of plastic water barrels. Furthermore, in transgression of a public right of way to the back lichgate, Mr Mathews has erected a pad-locked gate on the access.

Don’t forget that we are talking here of a Grade 2* listed church of Celtic origin and part of Meirionnydd’s treasure trove of history and heritage, and therefore a building of great intrinsic economic and cultural value to the county and to Wales. Welsh churches of this calibre are of far greater visitor value to their communities than a mere self-catering unit could ever be. Those are ten a penny. I hope that this clarifies the situation somewhat to a confused public who must be wondering what all the fuss is about!

Mr Mathews is under instruction from the Snowdonia National Park to undo and make good any work carried out without permission and to restore the church to its former character. In my view, until that work is done, any planning application on his part is worthless. Justice has to be done and must be seen to be done.

What about a Bailey bridge?

Madam,

Re: Dyfi Bridge.

There have been many reports in the Cambrian News about the discussions on the bridge. Discussions on strengthening of the bridge, widening of the bridge, a second bridge, where the second bridge is to be built, and the cost.

Yet now, in your 12 January issue, we read the bridge has not been included in the National Transport Plan for 2012 to 2015. Surely there are ways of overcoming the constant damage being done to the ancient graded bridge? In the short-term we need traffic lights allowing a single flow of traffic; and a weight and width restriction with exception for emergency vehicles and buses.

During the Second World War if there was a problem getting across a river the Army would put in place a bailey bridge. If this short-term measure was applied, the bridge could be on the Pennal side of Dyfi Bridge and there could be a one-way-flow crossing, over the bridge, turning left for Pennal and right for Corris, making a large roundabout.

This would also be a great comfort to those poor residents who are breathing all the exhaust fumes and have the inconvenience of vehicles waiting outside their front doors.

School planning document makes alarming reading

Madam,

I think sincere thanks are due to Rhys Owain at the Snowdonia National Park Authority for uploading a readable version of the planning application for the new school in Llanegryn and its appearance on the website on Saturday morning, 7 January. However, the document makes rather alarming reading, both in terms of its misleading statements and cavalier attitude to the health of pupils and neighbours by Gwynedd County Council.

The claims for carbon appear to show a net carbon dioxide saving for the school through the use of solar panels and a biomass boiler of 22 tonnes per annum. At the same time it admits that the extra pupil miles generated by the school will be 660 miles per day or 132,000 miles per annum, generating an additional carbon penalty of about 30 tonnes per annum. In my mind 30 minus 22 is a net penalty of 8 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The new school will be a net polluter not a net saver.

Of much more concern, however, is the failure to follow the published guidance for planning applicants’ duties when considering a biomass heating system, especially in school situations and in close proximity of neighbours. Biomass boilers can be a good thing generally but they do produce harmful emissions some of which are carcinogenic and it is the duty of the council to satisfy the Planning Authority that their proposals do not adversely affect air quality. The guidance requires a full specification of the boiler, the chimney stack, the storage and the movement of fuel delivery lorries at the school to be submitted with the application.

Biomass boilers emit a continuous plume of smoke during operation, they require a high chimney stack which needs placing so as the plume of smoke will not ground in the school play areas or adversely affect neighbours.The council has not provided any information on any of these matters in their application. This is probably because the high stack and its plume will spoil their attempts to make the school fit sympathetically in the landscape.The overall impression will be an industrial site with a constant plume of smoke.

Four accidents on bridge in a week!

Madam,

In your 8 December issue of the Cambrian News, Reginald Dawson preached from his Llandudno pulpit that cycling accidents at Britannia Bridge were “very rare”. Prior to a meeting with our MP, directors of the Ffestiniog Railway and others in October to discuss the issue, I spoke to someone who actually spends a lot of time near the bridge and asked him if he would attest at the meeting.

His reply was that he didn’t need to because CCTV had been installed and that there had been four acci-dents during the previous week and that one victim had suffered a broken elbow. When I raised this at the meeting, I was told that the CCTV had been installed to “monitor wiring” and would therefore be of insufficient quality to be of any use.

Now that better CCTV has actually been installed, that will be used, quite rightly, to catch motorists who ignore the red stop lights, I very much hope that Mr Dawson will never have to witness something that will put him off eating his or any other person’s words.

Trust speaker spoke English in virtually all-Welsh meeting

Madam,

Permit me to refer to the public meeting held at Ysgol Glan y Môr, Pwllheli, on Friday, 30 December, to protest against certain closures proposed by the Betsi Cadwaladr Hospital Trust to Ysbyty Bryn Beryl, Pwllheli.

The school hall was full to overflowing, with every seat taken, and people standing several deep at the back. By far the majority present were Welsh-speakers from Pwllheli and Llŷn and Eifionydd.There were also some non-Welsh speakers present. One could sense the anger and frustration of the assembled crowd throughout the meeting, ably chaired by Cllr Michael Parry, Mayor of Pwllheli.Simultaneous translation facilities were available, with headphones for those unable to understand Welsh. The interpreter was Ms Eleri Morris, a trans-lator of deep and lengthy experience who, as usual, performed her duties to perfection. The equipment (head-phones etc), which is very expensive to hire and maintain, worked well. This expense was borne by the conveners of the meeting, not by the Betsi Cadwaladr Trust. Virtually every speaker - and there were many, all councillors - spoke in Welsh, the mother tongue of most. There were also Welsh learners, who spoke in fluent Welsh. No-one had dif-ficulty with translation or comprehension.The chief spokesman for the Trust, its chief of staff, Dr Olwen Williams, who spoke on several occasions, had opened her remarks in Welsh. She is apparently from this area, and her Welsh is perfectly fluent. After what I can only call tokenism, she spoke only in English thereafter, throughout the two-hour meeting. That she should do this, in a virtually all-Welsh meeting, in a virtually all-Welsh area, I found discourteous in the extreme. In the context of this meeting, it was demeaningly patronising. It also had the indirect effect of manifesting a lack of sympathy with the views of the audience.

I attempted to raise the matter as a Point of Order during the meeting, but the Mayor had been compelled (by the Trust in advance) to agree that only elected councillors had a right of audience, and I was prevented from doing so.

I therefore sought out Dr Olwen Williams after the meeting, introduced myself, and expressed the above views to her. Her only “excuse” was that Welsh was her second language. I told her that was also true of other speakers, who had made a point of speaking in Welsh.

Still waiting on response about planned school

Madam,

Some weeks ago I invited councillors Gethin Williams and John Pugh Roberts to provide assurances, through your columns, that the proposed area school at the site of the existing Brithdir School will have first-class indoor and outdoor facilities.

I am still waiting, with somewhat bated breath, for their response. Since no such response has been forthcoming, am I to assume that the proposed school will not have such facilities?

I have been told, and I stand to be corrected if I have been misinformed, that the intention is to knock the two small existing classrooms into one in order to create a hall come canteen.

Anyone who is familiar with those two rooms will fully realise that the result of such an exercise will be to create a long, dark, medium-sized room, totally unsuitable for use as a school hall. I have also been informed that the existing school yard, which is barely adequate for 40 children, will be curtailed in order to accommodate road improvements, resulting in an even smaller yard for 80 children!

It seems to me that Gwynedd Council is intent on spending £1.6 million (or even more, I suspect) in trying to create a site which will match what already exists at Rhydymain.If your readers (and Gwynedd council-lors) would like to compare the sites, they can do so by using Google maps and Street view – the respective post codes are LL40 2AS (Rhydymain) and LL40 2RH (Brithdir).

I have read the responses of Gwynedd Council to concerns expressed by governors, teachers and parents in the affected area and found them to be full of “get-out-of-jail” cards - for example, “An appropriate car park will be provided and this should alleviate the risk of accidents… At the moment there is only a conceptual and initial design... the Authority will do everything in its power to ensure that all the needs of the school users are met... It is foreseen that there will be a new car park and various play areas, including a suitable playing field.”

They seem to think that the Brithdir site works on the same principle as Dr Who’s Tardis, i.e. is 10 times larger than it actually is! It irks me somewhat that two councillors whose local schools are not affected by the proposed closures have been so influential in this whole process.

It also irks me and many other taxpayers in the area, I suspect, that common sense has not prevailed. Let us hope that this lack of common sense is taken into account come the next local elections.