This year, staff from the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) will be tackling the increasing problem of camping and littering on the “Pancake” on Castell Dinas Brân. In recent years, the number of overnight parties being held here has increased dramatically, and the litter that is left is requiring more and more resources, from the AONB team, Council employees and local residents.
South Countryside Officer, Rhun Jones says “Castell Dinas Brân is the best used countryside site in Llangollen. It has over 30,000 visitors a year, many of them from overseas, and often one of the first things they see as they enter the site is a sea of tins and bottles, many of them smashed. There are scorch marks on the grass from campfires, and we often find clothing and tents left there as well. This area is well used by people with children and dogs, so there’s a very real risk of injury.”
In response to the problem, the AONB team will be working in partnership with the Police, the Council’s Enforcement Team, Llangollen Town Council, Keep Wales Tidy and the Llangollen Tidy Town Team.
Llangollen’s Community Beat Officer, PC James Lang explained “this is an issue of anti-social behaviour, and as such, we will be responding to reports of parties on the Pancake and moving people off the site. If anyone sees any anti-social activity, we would urge them to contact the Police by dialling 101 and we will do our best to attend”
Gareth Jones, from Keep Wales Tidy, says “we know that many local people are very attached to the site, and many already collect rubbish from there all through the year, and we are very grateful for their help. Keep Wales Tidy runs a “Litter Champion” scheme, where we provide equipment and insurance for those individuals who wish to help in this way. If anyone is interested, they can contact me on 07824 504796, or come along to the Spring Clean on the Castle on 2nd March”
A representative of Llangollen said ‘ It’s very disappointing to see such an attractive area of land, in what is now within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, being vandalised in this way and we are grateful to Denbighshire’s Countryside Services staff and other agencies for their efforts in cleaning up the area, as well as local individuals who help out from time to time. We would urge anyone who sees such irresponsible behaviour to report it immediately to the Police’.
Rhun Jones says “this is very much a partnership approach to the problem, and we would like to encourage local people to get involved. We’re holding a volunteer event on Friday March 2nd to “spring clean” the castle, and hope that people will join us. We’ll be meeting on the Pancake at 10am, and people are welcome to come for as long as they wish. If you can’t get involved on that day, but would like to help, you can always call into the office, behind the Tourist Information Centre, or call on 01978 869618 – and please don’t forget, if you see a problem on the Castle, please contact the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Team, or let the Police know on 101.”
