N E W S L E T T E R Cymdeithas Ddinesig Bro Porthaethwy

Menai Bridge and District Civic Society Dates for your C Y L C H L Y T H Y R diary: More details on page 3. Lectures held monthly at 7.30pm in the lounge of the War Memorial Community Autumn / Hydref 2015 Page/Tudalen 1 Centre, Water Street on Fri- day evenings, apart from those marked with * that are afternoon meetings starting at Summer Events 2.30 p.m. and our Annual Dinner 19th Sepember GARDEN PARTY - see enclosed. 25th September. Peter Simpson - The Life & Times of the 7th Marquess of Anglesey by Peter Simpson 30th October. Dr. Mike Roberts - Undersea Anglesey, How and Why is the School of Ocean Sci- ences mapping large areas of sea bed around .

*27th November. Sgt. Dewi Evans - Rural Crime in . *11th December. David Price - The Bishop of Bangor's Palaces on the Menai Straits. *22nd January 2016 James Grant - Royal National Lifeboat Maritime Museum. Photo N. Kneale Institution at local and national level. 26th February Maritime Museum and the Copper Mu- ANNUAL DINNER. Guest seum - also in Amlwch where the scale of the speaker Michael Tree - Welsh Country Houses: A Personal Odys- mining and its impact is entertainingly pre- sey sented and supplemented by guides who can 18th March. Bob Morris - The Crystal Palace Exhibition and its add that special extra local knowledge. links to two Welshmen, the poet Our main trip this year was in June to Bodel- Talhaiarn and Owen Jones, ‘the 'Our Lady Star of the Sea & St. Winefride' RC Church. wyddan Castle, near Abergele and then on to apostle of colour’. Photo N. Kneale Plas Teg - a Jacobean Mansion being restored 22nd April. ANNUAL GENERAL MEET- by its owner, Cornelia Bayley. ING - speaker to be arranged Most Society Newsletters carry a report of the Bodelwyddan houses the North Wales outsta- outings and activities of their members, and ours tion of the National Portrait Gallery. In part- Inside this in no exception. What I do find exceptional nership with the local Authority they have re- Issue though is the range and quality of 'visits' we stored the property to its Victorian splendour Summer Events 1 manage to pack in during the summer! So far (although the house itself dates back to 1490) this year we've had a talk from Benjamin Lee, and provided a 'real' setting for some of their Civic Trust Cymru 2 who set up as a Chocolatier in the Town prized collection. (continued page 4) whose enthusiasm for chocolate was matched Recent Programme 2 by ours in sampling his notes wares (also see page Future Events. 3 2); visited 'Our Lady Parking Star of the Sea & St. Winefride' RC church Conservation 4 Amlwch, Grade II* Listed and described as 'one of Britain's most Contacts 4 avant-garde churches - stunning restoration project by the congre- gation and community; explored, nearby the Bodelwyddan. Photo L Moyle

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CIVIC TRUST CYMRU and NATIONAL NEWS “Our future, your future On April Historically it was the Societies who together created The 1st 2015 The Civic Trust for Wales Civic Trust as a national support for their work. The Civic became Civic Trust Cymru. The change Trust (a UK body) was created but on December 10th in organisation allowed us to become a 1964, The Civic Trust for Wales was established to reflect Charitable Incorporated Organisation, the increasing interest in the distinctiveness of the built a new organisational structure created environment in Wales. We know that some Societies feel a by the Charity Commission and one that protects our little cut off from the Trust, and we are in the process of Trustees from liability. All the assets and liabilities of The trying to change this. We have recently held new regional Civic Trust for Wales have been transferred over to Civic meetings in North Wales, South East Wales and South Trust Cymru, and in around a year’s time, once all loose Wales Central and will be arranging meetings for societies ends have been wrapped up, The Civic Trust for Wales in West Wales, South West Wales and Mid Wales in the will be formally closed. With the creation of Civic Trust next few months. We are looking forward to meeting you Cymru we now have a new Board: Lyn Owen (Chair), all. Meetings will in the future be held, at a minimum, annu- Peter Cope (Vice Chair), Siarlys Evans (Vice Chair), Ed- ally. From these meetings we are looking for one or two ward Jenkins (Treasurer) Mary Wrenn as Director of the representatives to sit on a Civic Society Group, the Chair Royal Society of Architects in Wales, Sian Cook and Tre- of which will have a seat on the Board of Civic Trust for Thorpe...... Cymru. We hope that this approach will facilitate stronger Civic Trust Cymru: what now? The various changes links and information sharing between yourselves and us, have provided us with a good nudge to consider our rai- and vice versa. We hope that the creation of these regional son d’etre, and to encourage us to consider what our focus meetings will help societies to network and share knowl- is and should be, and what we can do better and how. edge and expertise amongst themselves as well. Civic socie- The Trust’s new Board has had one meeting and has a lot ties come in all shapes and forms and we encourage and of energy and enthusiasm for the Trust’s future work. We support this. The aims and objectives of Civic Trust Cymru, are fortunate to be funded by Cadw. This funding allows as defined in our constitution, specify our area of interest us to do work for you as the characterisation work and to be broad: planning, architecture, geography, history, Secretariat of the Wales Heritage Group. We are aware natural history as well as the “…preservation, protection. . that we need to seek other funding to be able to expand ...... ” our remit and to make the Trust more resilient and ro- This extract comes from the latest on-line Bulletin bust for future years and aim to start doing this this year. of the Civic Trust Cymru which will be made avail- Due to the funding from Cadw we are able to continue able to members. For those who receive their the following core work: 1. You, the civic societies Newsletter by e-mail it will go to you direct. Copies around Wales. Civic societies represent an invaluable will also be available at our meetings. Unfortu- resource in the shaping of Wales’s communities and nately at 30 pages long it is too expensive to print places. Civic Trust Cymru’s primary role is to be an um- multiple copies. brella organisation and provider of support for this re- We are affiliated to Civic Trust Cymru and look forward to markable network of informed, enthusiastic and passion- seeing it develop in its new role. ate local people, development and improvement of fea- tures of historic and public interest in Wales”. Liz Moyle

RECENT PROGRAMME NOTES After the formal April 18th Anglesey Conservation Forum - see part of the meet- report on page 4 of this Forum organised jointly by ing Benjamin CPRW (Anglesey Branch and Menai Bridge Civic Society. Lee, the April 24th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - also Chocolatier see page 1. Our President, Anthony Tavernor, wel- and Patissier, comed members to the meeting and reports on activities told us of his ad- and accounts for the previous year were received and ventures in grow- accepted. We have between 80 – 90 paid up members. ing his thriving The existing Committee and Officers were re-elected; business and however Mr Selwyn Williams stated that he needed to dedication to stand down, due to the pressure of work. He was making the best thanked for his knowledgeable contribution over the chocolate he can years. It was noted that Miss Iola Prytherch is Assistant available locally. Treasurer. Concern was expressed at the unsafe state of Visitors are al- the Market Hall, what is happening to the Bowling Green ways welcome to his shop. and the closure of the Tourist Information Office in Llan- Benjamin Lee Photo N. Kneale fair PG.

SUBSCRIPTIONS. Have you paid your subscription for this year? Completing a Gift Aid form adds value for us and doesn’t cost you anything. Autumn / Hydref 2015 Page/Tudalen 3

FUTURE EVENTS 25th September. Peter Simpson - The Life & Times of Lectures held monthly at 7.30pm in the lounge of the 7th Marquess of Anglesey. the War Memorial Community Centre, Water 30th October. Dr. Mike Roberts - Undersea Anglesey, Street on Friday evenings, apart from those How and Why is the School of Ocean Sciences mapping marked with * that are afternoon meetings starting large areas of sea bed around Wales. (Follows on from the at 2.30 p.m. , the Garden Party and our Annual Dinner. If any member would like help with transport to presentation at the Conservation Forum) get to meetings please let Jane know . We will try and put *27th November. Sgt. Dewi Evans - Rural Crime in you in touch with someone who can give you a lift. North Wales.

Sept. 19th Saturday. 2.00 - 5.00p.m. *11th December. David Price - The Bishop of Bangor's Garden Party at Plas Cadnant in aid of Civic Palaces on the Menai Straits. Society funds. (not part of season ticket scheme). Music *22nd January 2016 James Grant - Royal National Life- from Menai Bridge Senior Band, light refreshments. boat Institution at local and national level. Garden advice and plant stalls by Medwyn Wil-

liams, Philip Brown, Jo Davidson, Flora Art demon- 26th February ANNUAL DINNER. Guest speaker stration by Carole McKenna of Florabundance, Por- Michael Tree - Welsh Country Houses: A Personal Odys- trait Sketches by Val Hopkins, Traditional uses for sey Plants by Rhiannon Môn Jones, Gardeners’ Punch 18th March. Bob Morris - The Crystal Palace Exhibi- tion and its links to two Welshmen, the poet Talhaiarn and and not least the Gardens themselves. All by kind per- Owen Jones, ‘the apostle of colour’. mission of our President, Anthony Tavernor. Cost £7 per person, special reduced rates for children, £1. 22nd April. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - speaker to be arranged Tickets available from Awen Menai, John Hughes Menai Bridge, Plas Cadnant or use the booking form. Jane Cherrett Rhun ap Iorwerth AM has kindly agreed to open the event.

Our Support Your High Street Campaign. Parking in Menai Bridge High Street. The Welsh Government Anglesey County Council said that, “ Steps to tackle celebrates the valuable contri- traffic chaos in an Anglesey town will be taken after years of bution our busy high streets complaints by drivers”. At their meeting Anglesey council- make to the Welsh economy, lors approved plans to remove five parking bays from Menai as well as the vital role they Bridge High Street to improve the flow of traffic. The move play in community life by pro- comes despite the concerns of some traders, with the local moting this campaign. It is a branch of the Federation of Small Businesses warning that key action in the Vibrant and removing the parking bays would hit local trade. But plan- Viable Places Regeneration ning committee members gave the thumbs-up to the plans Framework, the aim is to en- backed by Huw Percy from the authority’s Highways De- courage people and communi- partment. Speaking at the meeting, Cllr John Griffith said he ties to use their local high streets. The campaign will con- did not think the removal of five spaces would have a major tinue this year with High Street Week taking place 19 to 26 impact on local trade. September and a new feature - the High Street Heroes Also welcoming the proposals was Cllr Lewis Davies, a for- Awards. Voting for the High Street Heroes Awards has mer teacher at Menai Bridge's Ysgol David Hughes. He said: now closed (as of August 10th) and the winners will be “I have made this daily commute for a number of years, and announced during High Street Week.The shortlist of final- can say with some certainty that this has been a long term ists will be reviewed by a panel of judges. The winners will problem both in terms of road safety and congestion. be announced during High Street Week, 19–26 September “There are plenty of parking grounds in Menai Bridge, and 2015. accidents will happen here unless action is taken. I welcome that this is being brought in front of us today.”

The View of your Committee about the High Street and Parking. The Committee has discussed the issue of Parking in Menai Bridge many times over the years and most recently in light of the recent campaign. Members had very different views, and no not related to whether they lived in the town or outside it. Whatever our individual views about the Parking Bays , all were agreed that trading on the High Street should be monitored to see if there is any detrimen- tal effect, the speed of traffic along the High Street should also monitored (as this is what the Menai Bridge Town Council objected to, I presume they have this in hand?), free parking availability in Council Car Parks, if only for a limited period, should be promoted (following the unintentional success elsewhere in Wales), further analysis of traffic flow and peak times be given (that on the Council Website only gives average daily flow). Parking problems doesn’t mean it’s time to have a go at the George V Recreation Ground again either! Sort out the mess that is the Market Hall Site first; it’s a disgrace to the Town and presumably a continuing danger.

Mynedfa Ynys Mon - Gateway to Anglesey Page/Tudalen 4

NOTES ON THE ANGLESEY CONSERVATION FORUM 2015 "Conserving Anglesey's Environment - Progress or Decline?" Covering such a wide and potentially controversial topic in a morning was always going to Anthony Tavernor Esq. be a challenge but those presenting and speaking at the Conservation Forum rose to the Llywydd/ President occasion. David Lea-Wilson chaired a lively, packed and informative meeting, organ- ised by CPRW - Anglesey Branch and Menai Bridge and District Civic Society. Liz Moyle Efan Milner, Anglesey ANOB Officer; Dr Mike Roberts, Centre for Applied Marine Cadeirydd/Chair Sciences; Chris Wynne, North Wales Wildlife Trust; and Alex Turrell, Environmental

Maureen Parry-Williams Practices - National Trust each spoke of their own and their own organisations' experi- Ysgrifennydd/Secretary ences over the past 20-30 years. It is a pity no representatives from the County Council or Farmers Union of Wales were able to attend; we would have welcomed their input. Jane Cherrett As you might expect they presented a mixed picture ranging from outstanding success Ysgrifennydd (Red Squirrel protection and re-introduction on Anglesey, Sandwich Terns at Cemlyn), to Cymdeithasol/ climate affected Common Spotted Rockrose numbers (this rockrose is Anglesey's County Social Secretary Flower), and the worry of the unknown impact of the cumulative effect of development on our 'Energy Island'. So the answer to the question posed is progress - yes, and de- Renata Hufton cline - yes! What was regarded as success 30 years ago, species/habitat conservation, Trysorydd/Treasurer remains but is now increasingly overlaid with concerns for community involvement and Iola Prytherch appreciation, driven by funding changes, organisational changes and chasing grant aid re- Trysorydd Cynorthwyol/ lated to policy changes. How do local government agencies and voluntary organisations Deputy Treasurer respond to these changes and to the plethora in planning legislation? With increasing frustration it would seem. Socio economic drivers are replacing conservation needs, and Liz Moyle a generation of skilled staff are being lost. Golygydd Cylchlythyr/ A quote attributed initially to the Roman General Petronius and now to Charlton Ogburn Newsletter Editor Jr. (!) in Harper's Magazine sums it up nicely, "We trained hard, but it seemed that every

Norman Kneale time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn Ffotograffau/Photos later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, ineffi- ciency, and demoralization." CONTACT LIST There were very pertinent questions about the impact of Wind Turbines and allied infra- Newsletter contributions - structure, about the proposed nationally imposed plan for Wylfa B but one of the most Maureen Parry Williams telling comments for me came from Alex Turrell, almost as a throwaway-line; about the Tel. 01248 440668 energy saving work at Plas Newydd, "The best way to save energy is not to use it". Booking activities for At Plas Newydd they have reduced electricity costs by 50%, and introduced local power events and outings - generation via a heat pump, cut out unnecessary heat loss, etc. Local knowledge, local Jane Cherrett generation and local savings. Tel 01248 713440 On Anglesey our landscape, the wildlife and farming it sustains will be changed inevitably, much change being brought about to meet national aspirations for large scale power sup- County Councillors : ply and structure that is deemed an outdated model; expensive, dangerous and inefficient Alun Mummery, Meirion Jones and Jim Evans by many in the rest of Europe. Liz Moyle

Town Council : (Continued from page 1) On to Canolfan Tysilio, Menai Plas Teg, a Jacobean Mansion Bridge near Mold. An "elegant eccentric- ity" built in 1610 for Sir John For all correspondence Trevor. The staircase is believed please contact the to have timbers from a ship of the Secretary, Spanish Armada. Sir John Trevor Mrs Maureen Parry- Williams, was Surveyor of the Queen's Ships Tyn y Coed, Newborough, under Elizabeth I, was knighted in LL61 6PY 1619. Two more John Trevors followed, all holding high office. The house is supposedly haunted but when we visited what most impressed was the sheer scale of the work undertaken by Cornelia See our Website at Bayley. It is a gem and without www.menaibridge her Wales would have lost one of its finest nothing really can beat seeing for yourself. civicsociety.org.uk Jacobean mansions. Plas Teg was recently Society members will remember for a long featured on TV on , 'Obsessive time their welcome to Plas Teg and to the Cleaners/'. You can Grand Hall, stunning! still view this on catch up TV but Liz Moyle