Areas of Denbigh Town and around Brookhouse Mill have historically been at risk of flooding. Flood management works have been deployed but the risk cannot be wholly eliminated.

The villages to both the west and east of Denbigh town suffer from the isolation and poor access to services common to rural areas. The wards of Llandyrnog and Llanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch along with Henllan display relatively high levels of deprivation in the access to services domain of the WIMD.

Nevertheless, examples of local action to build resilience and protect access to services can be found across the area.

Much of the Clwydian Range AONB sits within the Denbigh area with heathland and heather moorland providing habitats for rare plant and animal species. On the opposite side of the Vale Denbigh Moors and Hiraethog provide further upland habitats with the Llyn Brenig reservoir a significant water asset as well as a leisure destination and home to wildlife.

The Woodland Skills Centre is based in the heart of the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A range of courses are held in traditional crafts, bush craft courses and courses for youth and community groups as well as Mindfulness courses as part of the health and well-being programme. The Woodland Skills Centre is a community owned, not-for-profit Social Enterprise company.

Cae Fron Community Orchard has been developed with local groups to allow access and to plant an orchard using tree species of local provenance e.g. Denbigh Plum

In common with other rural parts of the county the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, that came into effect on January 1^st 2021, has created a period of uncertainty. Particularly affecting agricultural enterprises  who were previously in receipt of aid under the common agricultural policy. A new Agriculture Bill is set to be introduced in Wales, that will create a new system of farm payments that rewards farmers for their response to the climate and nature emergencies and supports them to produce food sustainably.

Across all of rural Denbighshire the energy efficiency and therefore long-term sustainability represents a potential risk. Homes outside of the mains gas network, older homes and those without modern insulation and heating systems present potential fuel poverty and environmental challenges.

In October 2019, work started on the first new council homes to be designed and built for the Denbighshire area in 30 years. The homes will be built on land above Tan Y Sgubour in Denbigh and are low carbon homes, certified to the energy-efficient Passivhaus standard. These homes will help meet the housing needs of residents by providing quality homes that are affordable as well as offering the highest levels of insulation to reduce energy consumption and energy efficiency to minimise carbon emissions and reduce household bills.

The town of Denbigh has similar rates of older people (over 65) as the county as a whole with some parts (notably Upper Denbigh) with a younger profile.

Figures on other protected characteristics are not available at a local level although rates of limiting long-term illness provide an indication of the proportion of people who are disabled. Rates of limiting long-term illness are high in Upper Denbigh and Henllan and in Denbigh Central, whilst in other parts of the Denbigh area they are typical of those across the county as a whole.

The Denbigh area has a range of significant heritage assets including the CADW managed sites, Denbigh Castle and town walls as well as the historic architecture of Denbigh Town, which can be visited as part of the successful open-doors scheme. Other sites of interest include Theatr Twm O’r Nant, Myddleton College, St Marcella’s Church , St Dyfnog’s Church and well at Llanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch, the Hillforts of Moel Arthur and Penycloddiau and the North Wales Hospital.

Work has been on going in recent years to find a solution for the former North Wales Hospital site so that the important listed buildings can be restored and the whole site brought back to a beneficial use including, employment, apprenticeships, housing and community use. Planning consents have recently been obtained. This information will be updated as necessary.

The Llyn Brenig Archaeological Trail is a celebration of Welsh culture and heritage. A new leaflet and Archaelogical Audio Trail Map has been developed and the project will contribute to the tourism offer in this area.

Denbigh is also a key cultural centre for the agricultural community playing host to the Denbigh and Flint agricultural show and the Denbigh Plum Festival.

The Denbigh area contains some of the highest proportions of Welsh speakers in the county with 38% of the population speaking Welsh. Denbigh also host the Welsh language provision for ‘late comers’ to the language offering an immersive education for primary age children to give them a start in the language.

Workshops with Ruthin and Denbigh residents, part of the Better Futures Wales project, identified four themes as being most important to residents. These tend to link into each well-being goal:

1. Place: making the most of assets and infrastructure to benefit the community and environment
2. The circular economy is a way of life
3. A collaborative local economy that enables environmental and social sustainability
4. A coordinated and cohesive community that celebrates and promotes diversity and equality

Issues such as access to personal finance services, rural transport, making the most of vacant properties for communal benefit, reducing waste, and valuing diversity were seen as particularly important to the above four themes.

Positive and Successful Experiences

County conversation workshop participants in a North Denbighshire focus group listed many positive experiences related to the local natural environment. They valued areas where there has been additional tree planting, waste lands have been developed into nature reserves and other areas that have been left to grow so nature can regenerate itself. They also valued good housing support, as well as the community support throughout the Covid-19 pandemic which seen communities come together to provide food, support and medication to those in need.

As part of the County Conversation, focus groups were held with all mainstream secondary school councils and the youth council. A theme common across all young people sessions was the positive impact of having access to local green spaces, beaches and scenery throughout the county. They enjoy that these areas are peaceful and calm with opportunities to spot wildlife. It was felt that there are a lot of good walking areas and outdoor spaces which were especially important as they are a free activity for young people to enjoy.

The young people we engaged mentioned the community spirit they have experienced is important. There were many other important aspects of the community that they valued. Some examples include:

• Community events
• Small well connected and friendly community
• Small and independent businesses
• Feeling safe in the community

Young people, particularly in the north of Denbighshire, expressed their enjoyment of a great selection of restaurants and tourism activities such as arcades within their local areas.

Future expectations

North Denbighshire residents envisioned a place where the council would increase its engagement with communities to enable them to be more resilient. Particularly in relation to the council supporting community profiles through assistance, encouragement and through financial support.

Participants said they expected to see more carbon consumption activities and said that the council should ensure economic initiatives that are more environmentally sustainable and supportive of the local area.

Some young people had ambitious and specific career aspirations such a being prime minster or working in the Bermuda Triangle finding new aquatic creatures. In the main, having a successful career featured as a high priority for all young people throughout this engagement. Some young people could see themselves progressing through education to university and others wanted to start their own businesses.

Whilst many could see themselves moving overseas, most young people envisioned themselves staying and settling here in Wales with a successful career and a happy family.

What needs to be done now?

Participants emphasised the need for active travel improvements. It was felt that having these facilities would have economic benefits to encourage people to shop locally rather than online which another pressure local towns and village are facing.

There was also a desire for more activities for older people, to prevent loneliness and isolation, which is felt to be common, and to encourage older people to get back into the community and contribute to the local economy.

Job creation and employment opportunities were a high priority for people.

Consideration was given to the fact that Covid-19 has changed the working styles in many organisations and it was felt that as more organisation are working flexibly, which in turn releases more office space, it was hoped these spaces could be repurposed into social housing or apartments.

Participants wanted to ensure water quality remains at a good standard throughout the county, eg river, sea, streams and fresh water provisions.

Throughout all focus groups that were held with young people, it was frequently mentioned that there are not enough activities for young people. Young people noted that when the weather is bad they struggle to find activities that are affordable, and they can often be labelled ‘trouble makers’ if they are seen in groups on the street with nowhere to go. Some ideas of improvements that were suggested include:

• More investment is needed in youth club’s facilities to make them more attractive to young people. As well as more organised events and better publicity.
• There is a lack of sport activities in general. One young person mentioned that the sports activities on offer are those that may be perceived as male activities e.g. football; and there is a particular lack in female sport such as gymnastics and netball.
• Investment and maintenance of local parks
• Reduce the prices of leisure centres to make them more accessible to young people and locals in the area, namely SC2.
• Utilise leisure centres for activities and clubs aimed at secondary school students as it is felt that there is a lot of young children and infants.
• More sports facilities and other types of equipment’s in outdoor spaces such as volley ball nets and racket sports.
• Reading cafes and healthier food restaurants for young people to socialise in
• Make better use of unused land in towns, a popular idea was an outdoor swimming pool
• Better cycle paths

Young people were enthusiastic about their enjoyment of cultural and community events and they wanted to see more arranged in their communities. Music events and other outdoor events were popular suggestions and it was suggested that annual events would increase tourism into areas. Pupils from one school agreed that there could be better use of events areas and facilities. An example was given of the site which the Eisteddfod is hosted on which isn’t used at certain times of the year. It was proposed that this could be used during these times for events and activities targeted at young people.

There was also a call for a number of environmental improvements across the county, including:

• More bins in the community. Specifically, those that are split into general waste and recycling
• Increase litter pickers to reduce harmful litter
• Biodegradable dog bag dispensers
• Less factories which cause pollution
• Increased environmental education in schools

An important point to note is that young people want to be involved in decision making. They expressed an interest in wanting to understand what the council does and to have the opportunity to have their voices heard within the local council.

Other common themes included:

• Increased employment opportunities for young people especially those with no experience
• Public transport improvements to support young people e.g. lower prices and better routes throughout the county
• Dog specific parks and fields
• Disabled young adult clubs
• Community safety concerns e.g. better street lighting and increased police presence
• Updated highstreets shops as there is currently a lot of charity shops

Risks and barriers to overcome

Participants recognised a tension between land needed for housing and some areas not wanting more housing. Although any new permissions should involve energy efficient technology.

Participants were concerned that a heavy public sector presence in the area, and job automation could pose a risk to local economic jobs and developments, and hinder the progress of other priorities to tackle employment for instance.