Changing Negative Perceptions Of Wrexham

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  • #58171

    Adam
    Participant

    @Alunh 3135 wrote:

    The negative attitude to Wrexham will not be countered by the expenditure of £20,000 on a marketing exercise. Though there is something in the local culture that appears negative about a whole range of things, those who slate the town can base their position in well documented thought. The recent work by the New Economics Foundation and the recent All Party Committee on Markets would both find Wrexham a classic example of a lack of joined up thinking. Eagles Meadow could and should be an out and out success story. It does bring people to the town. Unfortunately the geniuses who designed it located it in such a way that it has altered footflow patterns. This has adversely affected the rest of the town and has adversely affected the traditional town centre and, in particular, the Independent and Market sector.

    The pattern of development is very much what the NEF have noted in a typical Clone town scenario. To counter, the Council has to develop a finely nuanced response based around multiple response strategies. This might mean selective pedestrianisation, it might mean rent reviews for Borough owned properties (like the Markets), it might mean better signage. The town has to be locked back together, traversing made easier and more user friendly, etc

    ..and yet the Grosvenor shopping centre does not affect footfall in Watergate St, the Darwin Centre (Shrewsbury) does not have a negative impact on the (many new) independants in Dogpole.. Etc, etc..

    On paper, contrary to yor opinion, EM is superbly connected to the centre of Wrexham with it’s main walkway leading from the High St – who’s very name is in common language used to describe the shopping centre of a town. Yet Wrexham’s High St is anything but. Long since lost to the cheap pubs, tanning salons, cheap pubs, Polish Deli’s, cheap pubs, takeaways and cheap pubs.

    Interesting to see last year the old Barclay’s building being spruced up for rental/sale. Looks rather smart. Wonder if it’s had any interest..

    #58141

    thewayneinspain
    Participant

    There’s a big difference in distance between watergate st/grosvenor centre and eagles meadow/regent st.

    There is also a big difference in cover from the elements from grosvenor centre to watergate than eagles meadow to regent street.

    There is also a hell of a difference between the domestic product of chester and wrexham as well as the percentage that are employed by public organisations.

    I have no idea how,but the challenge is how to make people want to walk in the rain & wind from one part of town to the other.

    #58172

    Adam
    Participant

    @thewayneinspain 3142 wrote:

    There’s a big difference in distance between watergate st/grosvenor centre and eagles meadow/regent st.

    There is also a big difference in cover from the elements from grosvenor centre to watergate than eagles meadow to regent street.

    There is also a hell of a difference between the domestic product of chester and wrexham as well as the percentage that are employed by public organisations.

    I have no idea how,but the challenge is how to make people want to walk in the rain & wind from one part of town to the other.

    Those with a grudge against EM will continue to blame it for everything from socio-economic decline to their persistent genital rash. That’s fine. My point is straightforward to grasp however. Wrexham High St is directly connected to EM (with 3m visitors last year apparently) and yet it is a barren wasteland in shopping terms as there is no collective “ownership” of the street or indeed any kind of top-down coordination. When you add this to multiple private landlords with no vested interest other than a quick buck you end up with a chaotic ensemble of tat. Only the collective input of traders, communities, civic societies and councilors can address this.

    #58142

    thewayneinspain
    Participant

    @Adam 3143 wrote:

    Those with a grudge against EM will continue to blame it for everything from socio-economic decline to their persistent genital rash. That’s fine. My point is straightforward to grasp however. Wrexham High St is directly connected to EM (with 3m visitors last year apparently) and yet it is a barren wasteland in shopping terms as there is no collective “ownership” of the street or indeed any kind of top-down coordination. When you add this to multiple private landlords with no vested interest other than a quick buck you end up with a chaotic ensemble of tat. Only the collective input of traders, communities, civic societies and councilors can address this.

    but high street was not old retail hub of the town, regent st was.

    And this is where the problems lie for the town, the challenge is to change the mindset of the locals that they will want to walk between the two in the wind & the rain.

    Now they used to travel between the two once a week on a monday, but what previous generations were happy doing, the more impatient latter ones are not. Yes i know that regent st is not great for protection fromthe elements.

    I would agree however that the collective brand image of high street is alot worse percieved than ever before… more pubs and the smoking law are probably part of that image problem as well as the types of shops.

    #58190

    zinger
    Participant

    Eagles Meadow, if built where Island Green is might have made more sense. Yes, Next & Debenhams have external doors to the outside world beyond Eagles Meadow but onto what? A stream of traffic which has to be negotiated to collect your car from anywhere but the overpriced Eagles Meadow car park. When parking is limited to time, you choose to go to one place or the other. The people who design these places have no interest in keeping town centres alive. That is the difference between the Grosvenor Centre in Chester & Eagles Meadow in Wrexham. The Grosvenor Centre was built to fit in with the City. There are doors out of shops & boutiques as well as the entrances from the Centre onto the main shopping streets. They don’t need to build new precincts for Debenhams, Next etc because they got it right the first time.
    The Monday Market was busy because people came in from out of town, used the reasonably priced/free car park, shopped for fresh produce & bargains, popped into town to do their posh shop & have lunch, then into Asda, to get their weekly groceries before going home. It was a once a week, all day treat.

    #58173

    Adam
    Participant

    @thewayneinspain 3144 wrote:

    but high street was not old retail hub of the town, regent st was.

    And this is where the problems lie for the town, the challenge is to change the mindset of the locals that they will want to walk between the two in the wind & the rain.

    Now they used to travel between the two once a week on a monday, but what previous generations were happy doing, the more impatient latter ones are not. Yes i know that regent st is not great for protection fromthe elements.

    I would agree however that the collective brand image of high street is alot worse percieved than ever before… more pubs and the smoking law are probably part of that image problem as well as the types of shops.

    Seems your memories of High St don’t extend back as far as mine.

    It’s clutching at straws to imply that the centre suddenly explodes in to a Bacardi-advert-style, multi-ethnic explosion of colour and joy on a sunny day.

    EM is coordinated by a management team with the aim of maintaining a pleasant, civilised area to visit. The rest of the town has no such coordination.

    What’s very encouraging however is that there are a growing number of people who care enough to debate the issue on a forum such as this. Perhaps it’s the start of something…

    #58143

    thewayneinspain
    Participant

    @Adam 3149 wrote:

    Seems your memories of High St don’t extend back as far as mine.

    It’s clutching at straws to imply that the centre suddenly explodes in to a Bacardi-advert-style, multi-ethnic explosion of colour and joy on a sunny day.

    EM is coordinated by a management team with the aim of maintaining a pleasant, civilised area to visit. The rest of the town has no such coordination.

    What’s very encouraging however is that there are a growing number of people who care enough to debate the issue on a forum such as this. Perhaps it’s the start of something…

    it’s not the drinking but the fact that the drinkers are now smoking outside.. or to put it another way its just one percent of the smokers from the pubs that tarnish the image during the daytime.

    people are not making the journey between the old hub and the new hub that’s the problem. Revenue in the old hub is recycled locally more than the new one because it has more home grown independents meaning the town’s domestic product is lessening.

    #58200

    angryShopper
    Participant

    @thewayneinspain 3151 wrote:

    it’s not the drinking but the fact that the drinkers are now smoking outside.. or to put it another way its just one percent of the smokers from the pubs that tarnish the image during the daytime.

    people are not making the journey between the old hub and the new hub that’s the problem. Revenue in the old hub is recycled locally more than the new one because it has more home grown independents meaning the town’s domestic product is lessening.

    Citation needed, can you prove wrexham has a high number of smokers? and that these smokers create a bad image? where is the survay data that people stood / standing at the front of a bar having a fag is bad?

    Believe me do not go to paris if the pavement cafe style and smoking pisses you off

    #58191

    zinger
    Participant

    Adam, we do have a town centre manager by the name of Isobel Watson if WCBC website is to be believed. To be successful a town should have lots of short cuts from one area to the other to join it together.

    #58144

    thewayneinspain
    Participant

    @angryShopper 3154 wrote:

    Citation needed, can you prove wrexham has a high number of smokers? and that these smokers create a bad image? where is the survay data that people stood / standing at the front of a bar having a fag is bad?

    Believe me do not go to paris if the pavement cafe style and smoking pisses you off

    more than happy to reply to this, once you have provided proof to the 20 unproven accusations you have made on this website.

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