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It maybe worth looking at under the regeneration fund,if the Council took on T.J.Hughes.They then move the Peoples Market into it, and turn the Peoples Market into a ground floor parking area.This maybe will link up the town to a certain degree,and the Council benefit from rents from tenants and also increase in parking.There maybe room for street entertainers in the new project,along with maybe the Post Office.Who knows,come on Wrexham Council get your thinking heads on.
@jimbow 13360 wrote:
It maybe worth looking at under the regeneration fund,if the Council took on T.J.Hughes.They then move the Peoples Market into it, and turn the Peoples Market into a ground floor parking area.This maybe will link up the town to a certain degree,and the Council benefit from rents from tenants and also increase in parking.There maybe room for street entertainers in the new project,along with maybe the Post Office.Who knows,come on Wrexham Council get your thinking heads on.
For the life of me I can’t see why the Council are needed here, except perhaps to broker a move. Problem is, they like the rents on the People’s Market and…whatever people think….I gather it could be used for little else
Agree with Alunh there is no need for the Council — if anything that would be a death knell for the project. Bring in private entrepreneurs with motivation to ensure the quality of the offering brings in regular occupancy and customer flow.
I had supported a TJ Hughes idea before but on current areas of footfall in the town it does not makes business sense to go to an are with low level with a view to increase the level for the benefit of existing businesses (sorry to those of you in the Henblas St area decamp now while you still have a business and move to the profitable areas).The arguments that have been put forward for the reason for shop closures and businesses failing is now wearing pretty thin. First it was car parking charges that caused a reduction in footfall (although no mention has been made of the high cost of public transport), then the Council, excessive business rates and rents.
We read repeatedly of the need for ‘entrepreneurship’ from certain contributors, a definition of which is ‘ a person who organises, operates and assumes the risk for a business venture’. That being the case, one would quite rightly assume that that person entering into the venture has done so, fully aware of the extent of the risk involved, ie all the outgoings that the business has to service before a profit can be made. It seems to me therefore, that the constant bleating is a sordid attempt to divert responsibility for the demise, to anyone other than themselves. As in the natural world, through a process of evolution, only the fittest and strongest survive.
As Adam Smith once said (and I know that some contributors are fans of his), and I paraphrase,
“Our merchants and masters complain much about the cost of high wages (and costs*) in raising the price and lessening the sale of goods. They say nothing concerning the bad effects of high profits. They are silent with regard to the pernicious effects of their own gain. They complain only of those of other people.”It may be worth remembering by many, that the general public do not owe any trader or business person a living and that they sink or swim by their own endeavours. It little short of iniquitous to even consider that subsidies should be forthcoming to support their private venture.
I think the term “Physician heal thyself” is more than appropriate in the context of the topic under debate.*my addition.
You sound like a harbinger of doom here Benjamin. I actually agree with you that entrepreneurs go into business with their eyes open and stand and fall accordingly. Unfortunately, people in business are not the only factor on the table and it is often the decisions made by 3rd parties that can have a huge effect upon outcomes. Those who write on here try to influence those outcomes (often in different ways) and this is their prerogative.
There are plenty of good people in Wrexham Council and if contributors are trying to catch their ear, good for them. Clearly, an individual who writes in that Car Parking charges have ruined his/her business may be exaggerating a point and it may be that there are many more factors to ponder on. Equally, for some, Car Parking charges may well be the rod that breaks the camel’s back. Businesses will prosper or fall in the margins and that is really all that those who write on here are trying to point out.
If, by the way, you want a clear cut example of how decision making can affect businesses, have a look at the consequences of the building of Wrexham’s inner ring road. Whilst this may have advantaged the town overall (and I have no clue if it has), that was the kiss of death for what was once a vibrant part of town, Pen-y-Bryn.
I quite agree with you Benjamin, no one should seek a subsidy from the Council of government to allow their business to prosper. Equally, the traders of the Markets should not have to subsidise Council services by paying over “market” rents for their units
Absolutely true that ” the general public do not owe any trader or business person a living and that they sink or swim by their own endeavours “.
Some that work in organisations with authority to make decisions having an influence on these people of commerce not only do not have to make the effort of swimming to avoid sinking but are in part reliant on the revenues from these traders to keep them dry in a nice comfortable boat.
I believe some of the disgruntled comments on Wrexham.com are caused by business owners not fully feeling their plight is taken as seriously as it might regarding calls for help on issues such as town parking charges, bus station congestion etc.
To use a slogan from one of our largest shops – its a case of Every Little Helps, rather than as could be thought about the current situation Very Little Helps.
Are we not all in it together, for example every time a shop closes does not WCBC lose revenue, or if replaced by a charity shop, have reduced revenue.
There must be a plan to encourage local entrepreneurs to fill these empty shops which in turn will provide money to the council and lets keep everybody in a job.
We all have friends and neighbours working at the council, we don’t want to see them on the streets, every time we lose a trader it risks jobs elsewhere too. I don’t feel some fully appreciate the urgency of improving the appeal of Wrexham town centre.
Full respect to Ian Lucas for braving his Wrexham.com Q & A, but his reply to a question about our town centre that he often brings people to Wrexham and they say it isn’t as bad as they were expecting ( ! ), or that nobody likes empty shops but he remembers the redevelopment problems of the 1980s are a little worrying – some of us weren’t even born in the 1980s. May as well say it was worse in the 1950s, except it probably wasn’t. At least back then parking wasn’t an issue.
No real sense of urgency there.
Certainly true that Wrexham Council need to talk Wrexham up as a destination and nobody likes doom mongers but not much point if the parking charges put visitors off.
At least they are having meetings…“The overall theme of the meeting was a desire to see an increase in linked up work, planning and budgeting between departments who work in and on the town centre. Another theme was to have a person heading and controlling such coordination.
Cllr Taylor asked the current Town Centre Manager Isobel Garner what her ‘scope’ was, with a view to seeing if she was able to take on the role of a ‘conduit’ to liase with all areas of the town centre and being ‘the person’ to manage.
The Town Centre Manager gave an overview of her position and responsibilities, saying that the query could be ‘investigated and explored further however the interaction was cut as Cllr Rogers said: “I dont think its fair to ask an Officer about their responsibilities like this”.
Cllr Taylor apologised saying he was not trying to put anyone on the spot. “Is Cllr Taylor simply trying to make a point that we currently have a Town Centre Manager but nobody is exactly sure what for ?
Shouldn’t they be strongly arguing issues on behalf of the town traders such as parking etc. We don’t seem to hear much about it if so.
So maybe this is not their role, in which case why is it not a fair question to ask exactly what is ?So quite right we don’t owe a living to local entrepreneurs, neither do we owe a living to council employees. Though if we all could work together with a common purpose ie making Wrexham Town Centre more appealing to visitors – maybe everybody has a better chance of staying in work !
One of the biggest down turns of Wrexham in recent years is the Monday Market, and whilst I appreciate that most contributors on this forum are shop owners/traders or whatever and may not be that interested in the once a week market, don’t you think think that a vibrant one day or two day as in Mold Market have a knock on effect with regards to trade to the rest of the town ?? or should I say footfall ! seems to be the in word at the moment :D:D
MP1953 as a very important point and that is all retailers potentially cross fertilize trade between their customers.
Even the Monday market traders are now voting with their ‘vans’ and going elsewhere– how many will be attending when the plant season is over as they currently occupancy a substantial space in Queens Square.
As soon as shops start converting to residential the better and then we can all move away from people being incensed about trying to get retail back into every shop.. Face it this will never happen in the current social context.@99DylanJones 13385 wrote:
MP1953 as a very important point and that is all retailers potentially cross fertilize trade between their customers.
Even the Monday market traders are now voting with their ‘vans’ and going elsewhere– how many will be attending when the plant season is over as they currently occupancy a substantial space in Queens Square.
As soon as shops start converting to residential the better and then we can all move away from people being incensed about trying to get retail back into every shop.. Face it this will never happen in the current social context.Hmm, so it seems people are not keen to spend money on parking, eating out or shopping in Wrexham yet you think the solution is to convince them to make the biggest purchase they will ever make in their lives?
Tell me what particular demographic do you picture living in ex-retail units in the town centre? Downsizing retirees? High earning professionals? Middle income working families? None of these would require a car of course? I’d imagine the kids would ‘grow up’ pretty quick watching the Saturday nightlife from their bedroom window in the old Burtons.
It seems however that a couple of developers may not share your enthusiasm. The much mooted development on the former Scotts Nightclub site is top of the Rightmove searches for Wrexham, closely followed by the almost forgotten proposed residential site further down on Rivulet Road.
The future of town centres has been clear for some time. Day to day convenience shopping has moved the outskirts (we’re very well catered for in Wrexham on that front) leaving the traditional centres to concentrate on non-essential leisure services mainly food, drink, entertainment and niche local outlets. To facilitate this at minimum you need:
• A coherent 1, 2, 5, 10 year plan outlining how parts of the town are to develop and connect with each other
• Maximise the potential of council owned properties to act as flagships to encourage private investment
• The council to liaise with landlords and potential businesses using the 1,2,5,10 year plan as a ‘pitch’ to underline that there is forward momentumNone of the above will happen without significant changes in mindset within certain areas of the council (I stress not all areas – there are very many hard-working, highly intelligent and capable people working in the Guild Hall and beyond).
My outside bet is that the ‘panacea’ will be Bodhyfryd Meadow – a new leisure and retail development on the site of the police station, law courts, Memorial hall and Crown Buildings.
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