Politicians visit environmentally friendly homes
A SEARCH by specialist divers for missing Avril Whitfield has been postponed after a key member of the team was injured.
They were due to scour a lake at a former clay pit in Caernarfon for a second time since the 57-year-old went missing from her home in the town on April 1.
But British International Rescue and Search Dogs (Bird) have been forced to postpone further searches for at least a month.
Rob Morris, joint leader of the Penmaenmawr-based team, said the lead member of specialists divers they brought in from Manchester suffered an injury not related to the search for Avril.
He said: “It’s going to be another month before he returns. They have completed the shallower sweeps of the clay pit but to carry out a proper search they need to bring more equipment.”
The Bird team were called back to carry out more searches after Mr Morris’ dog, a labrador bitch, sensed something was not quite right.
He added: “I am TWO local politicians felt honoured to be invited to visit and see tenants’ new environmentally friendly and affordable homes at Penrhyndeudraeth recently.
One of the tenants, Thea Jones, moved into her new Grŵp Cynefin home, one of eight houses at Isfryn, Penrhyndeudraeth, at a crucial time in her life.
“I was living in emergency housing at Porthmadog and had recently given birth to my baby daughter, Olivia,” Thea explains.
“Gwynedd Council arranged for Grŵp Cynefin’s housing officer to visit me and I was fortunate enough to be offered a new affordable home at Isfryn.
“Baby Olivia and I moved in when she was just five weeks old, and we’ve had a lovely summer here, settling into our new little nest.
“It’s ideally located for us, as my family only live ten minutes away in Blaenau.
“I’m delighted with the environmental benefits of the house and grateful to be offered such a lovely home for Olivia to develop and grow.”
The homes, four 3 bedroom houses and four 2 bedroom houses, have been developed to a high energy efficient standard, similar to the Passivhaus standard.
Dwyfor Meirionnydd AM, Dafydd Elis-Thomas with local Gwynedd Councillor for the area Gareth Thomas saw first hand how the environmentally friendly homes will assist in drastically reducing energy costs for the tenants.
The houses heat through dayto-day activities of the residents as specialist equipment in the attic rotates the internal air of the houses keeping the atmosphere clean, healthy and at the right temperature.
In addition as insulation levels are so high - timber framed quite a thorough person. I don’t like to walk away from any possibility.”
Police inspector Richie Green said the last reported sightings of Avril were near the town’s Tesco supermarket and Cibyn industrial estate, and they are still keeping an open mind about her disappearance.
A North Wales Police spokeswoman said: “Bird will not be undertaking further searches of the clay pit at the current time, but all lines of inquiry relating to Avril Whitfield are continuing.” structure, wall cavities filled with recycled newspaper and triple glazed windows; heating the buildings will be minimal.
Trystan Evans of Grŵp Cynefin explains: “We’ve also ensured that PV solar panels are placed on the roofs of the houses to create energy and the windows facing the south are larger than those to the north, so we capture the sun’s rays to assist with the heating. All in all, they should be very energy efficient homes, keeping living costs down for the new tenants.”
Welcoming the development, Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM said: “I welcome the substantial investment by Grŵp Cynefin at Stad Isfryn and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity of meeting some of the families and seeing their new homes. This new housing development by Grŵp Cynefin will ensure that families will have a safe and secure place to live in energy efficient and quality housing that meet their needs.”
Councillor Gareth Thomas said: “It was a great honour to be invited to see the new development at Isfryn and seeing local people settling into comfortable, affordable and energy efficient houses. The quality of Grŵp Cynefin’s houses at Isfryn is what we need to continue to strive towards across Gwynedd, ensuring local people’s housing needs are met.”
For further details regarding Grŵp Cynefin’s affordable homes contact 0300 111 2122, email taifforddiadwy@grwpcynefin.org or visit the website www.grwpcynefin.org