Council Watcher
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Margaret you must be one of the lucky residents to have a Councillor that actually holds a surgery — there is nothing mandatory for a Councillor to provide an Annual Report — you can check against you Councillor to see if they have written anything at http://moderngov.wrexham.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1 it shows their report if any and declaration of interests etc.
Fully agree that citizen engagement is vital in the future — with people being elected on 15 – 20%- of their potential electorate in an area is really poor. Anyone elected needs to have links to all their respective citizens in their wards.
Interesting Margaret mentions Councillor surgeries – only about a third actually do this the same as submitting an annual report on their activities.
Change is in the wind- lets hope it blows in the right direction.In addition to previous item I would like to know why Clr Neil Rogers was so reluctant to go on record that the Henblas Street toilet improvements are costing circa £100k due to ‘commercial reasons’ — this at a time when their own Council reports state-
The upgrade of Henblas Street convenience would
take between 8 and 12 weeks and cost in the region of £100,000, potentially funded
from the capital reserve, created as part of the 2013/14 revenue out turn.From the reluctance to even give a guide expenditure would imply that they have gone over budget in excess of the original £100k
Clr Rogers also needs to know that the Council web site also lists all (or is supposed to) payments over £500
https://www.wrexham.gov.uk/english/council/financial/council_payments.htmWhy hide something that is in the Public domain?
Apathy is the cause of so many failings in society with people turning a blind eye to so many things. We just don’t seem to realise that every vote has a value can can make a difference- our elected representatives can always be brought to account during each election time.
I hope in next years Local Government election ‘Save Wrexham’ or other group will surge forward and knock some of the existing Councillors off their perch in the Guildhall. It’s time for change make sure you are part of it and we can start moving to being proud of Wrexham again.
I thought we were referring to brining people into Wrexham many of the ‘attractions’ listed are out of town- visiting Chirk Castle for instance could be the primary attraction – secondary visits have to be really appealing and I refer back to my original point about what are the USPs in Wrexham — A cinema in Eagles Meadow is not a USP>
The comparisons with what happened in Rhyl is quite misleading. The research for Rhyl shows the influx of what used to be DHSS claimants was as a direct result of the holiday flat-let trade crashing due to changes in the style of holidays that people took. Cheaper holidays abroad, holiday camps etc.
This left the landlords with a massive number of voids and the way the housing benefit system worked meant that it became financially very attractive to take in DHSS claimants. There was no need for any planning changes as the properties were already designed for living. In Wrexham the change of commercial property to residential would have to be on a case by case basis and require planning consent and in most instances would be low numbers.There is still the fundamental issue of many businesses in Wrexham not meeting the needs of potential customers living in the area.
What are the added USPs to attract potential customers from outside of the area into town –
1. St Giles one of the Seven Wonders of Wales –
2. ??
3. ??Can anyone fill in the ??
Your last comment is the most relevant change that could occur — the Council and traders could establish a Cooperative mutual for the benefit of all. The joint management would have a greater impact than any bit if tarting the building with a coat of paint as everyone would genuinely be working together in the same direction.
In Wrexham it often feels like people arrive at a station and end up sitting on two trains and taking pot luck as to whether their train leaves to the left or the right — the only certainty is that everyone does not seem to want to go on the same journey. There is a need to abolish the choice have one train and everyone get on it to one destination – Business success for the whole town.. just make sure their is a good driver.So the Council aspire to invest in the two market buildings — what investment in time and finance will the stall holders commit. There is a clear need for many of them to learn about marketing, product selection, display, internet sales etc to make sure that what goes on to improve the building fabric can then draw in an increase in footfall.
There is a significant need to attract a broader age range of customers as many are older people who have grown up with markets.
I have not seen any research reports outlining any information on why people coming to Wrexham do not shop at any of the markets. Without fully understanding the potential customer base a retailer wont have the knowledge about what products and services to provide.
The retailers who are running a ‘lifestyle’/ ‘hobby’ stall really need to think about their future and those who are supposed to be advisers need to give some home truths about the future of some of the stalls.Lynne the figures don’t surprise me – the Council have a history of d’creative’ accounting — just ask those who took over Plas Madoc Leisure Centre and the level of recharges and ‘inappropriate’ costs that had been attributed to that Centre to justify closure.
Cllr Jones and Wilson seem pleased with their nice new signs banning drinking, drugs etc in Rhosddu Park and Cemetery-
Sorry it is not working- what about the drink related health scare yesterday lunch time that required an ambulance to take someone to hospital.
Signs are one thing but what about action to enforce when will this happen.. we need more than photo opportunities.
