Community Delighted With Centre’s ‘Modern & Stylish’ Kitchen Refurb

Users of a local community centre have praised a council contractor after they donated a new kitchen to the building.

Garth and Trevor Community Centre received the kitchen from Wates Living Space Maintenance, a contractor currently working in partnership with Wrexham Council on its ongoing kitchens and bathrooms replacement programme.

Wates Living Space Maintenance has recently carried out work in the Llangollen Rural ward, which includes the Garth, Trevor and Froncysyllte area.

The ‘modern and stylish’ refurbishment has been welcomed by Chair of the Community Centre Committee, Joyce Evans who noted that the previous kitchen was ‘at least 20 years old and was badly in need of refurbishing’.

Local Member for Llangollen Rural, Cllr Pat Jeffares said: “Myself and Joyce are delighted after successfully negotiating the new kitchen with project manager Lee Wilbraham of Wates.

“The kitchen is a very big financial help to the committee of the Community Centre and I would like you pass on my thanks to Wates for the way the workmen who fitted these kitchens and bathrooms carried out this work.

“I have nothing but praise for them and how kind and helpful they have been.”

Wrexham Council are investing a record £54m in housing improvement work in 2016/17. This is to ensure all its properties achieve the Welsh Government’s Welsh Housing Quality Standard by the 2020 deadline. The £54m includes a £7.5m Major Repairs Allowance grant which the Welsh Government awards to local authorities to support them achieving the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

All contractors working on Wrexham Council’s housing improvement programme are now required to commit to ‘Community Benefit’ schemes. As well as refurbishing community facilities, this can include hiring local workers, taking on apprentices and purchasing supplies from local businesses.

Wates Living Space Maintenance Project Manager, Lee Wilbraham, said, “We are proud to work alongside Wrexham Council on the housing improvement programme. We’ve developed a great relationship with the Council and the local tenants while we’ve been working in this area and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to contribute to this community by improving the centre’s facilities.”

Lead Member for Housing, Cllr Ian Roberts, added: “We want to ensure that our local communities and economies are able to benefit as much as possible from the massive investment we are making in housing improvement work. Community facilities all over the County Borough have been improved thanks to these schemes and they provide a very valuable boost to local groups who often rely heavily on donations and volunteers to keep their services running.”