Posted: Mon 6th Jul 2015

Fresh Lease of Life For Street Following Second Town Centre Clean-up

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Monday, Jul 6th, 2015

Over 40 volunteers took to the streets of Wrexham yesterday to participate in the ongoing clean up of the town centre.

The team which brought together representatives from the Council, businesses, the voluntary sector, the local MP and the education sector used jet washes, brushes and lots of elbow grease to brighten up Lord Street.

Forum members are also working with landlords of shops to tidy them up and to try and bring vacant properties back into use via a range of initiatives.

Working in conjunction with Wrexham Council Street Scene Team and Keep Wales Tidy, the Forum’s aim is to create a clean, vibrant street environment where more quality and varied businesses will wish to set up, so helping to achieve its objective of making Wrexham Town Centre a great place to shop, work, live, eat and play.

lord street clean up 2

Nigel Lewis, Chair of the Wrexham Town Centre Forum said: “We have recognised that as well as attracting visitors, Wrexham needs to focus on its core offering which is a convenient community based town, whose primary audience is the people who live in and around Wrexham.

“Since taking over as Chair of the Town Centre Forum in December, we have already come a long way – membership of the Forum has grown significantly; we have engaged more businesses and local people from all parts of the community; and we are starting to see a real community spirit.

“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported our clean-up today with time and materials and in particular Shan Rogers and her team from the Co-op; Stewart Williams and his team from McDonalds; and County Cllr Phil Wynn and Matt McHale from La Baguette who co-ordinated the volunteers and the supplies. I also want to say a special thank you to Paul A who is currently homeless and who helped us non-stop all day.

“The Coop food have been amazing in their support for Wrexham. We were amazed today in that not only did the Co-op provide a donation for paint and materials, provide refreshments but also the manager from each of their 18 shops in the Wrexham Area came along to help. McDonalds provided five staff and a manager and it’s amazing to see brands like these joining in with local businesses.

“The town centre clean-ups are becoming a regular feature alongside the very successful Wrexham Street Festivals which are attracting large numbers of people into the town centre. It’s been a fantastic weekend in the town centre with today’s street clean following on from yesterday’s Wrexham History Fair, Queen’s Square exhibitions and Martin Rees Jewellers 30th anniversary celebration.

“I feel optimistic about the future of Wrexham. All sorts of local people are now starting to pull together to change things and to make Wrexham a town we can all be proud of.”

painted-bench

The clean up initiative is the second to have taken place in the Town Centre, with a clean up of Hope Street and Regent Street taking place in May. A Wrexham Street Festival has also been launched to help attract shoppers and visitors back into the town and show them what Wrexham has to offer.

Ian Lucas MP said: “The street clean up brought lots of people together willing to help. It was impressive to see the number of who wanted to get involved, help out their local community, and have some fun at the same time. They all deserve a great deal of thanks – and so does Nigel Lewis, the Chair of the Town Centre Forum, for the work he has done.”

Potential Conservative Candidate for the upcoming Welsh Assembly Elections, Andrew Atkinson added: “It was a fantastic turnout and we got lots done. The Co-op brought every Wrexham manager, McDonalds provided a team as well as help from Keep Wales Tidy and Wrexham Council.

“We had lots of local volunteers but special thanks must go to Cllr Phil Wynn and Matt McHale from La Baguette who did a lot of work before and on the day.

“These clean ups help us to put the pride back into our town and make it the best it can be. We will keep working at it and we are already planning the next one.”

lord-street-cleanup

After the last street clean up a number of comments were posted online and while praising the hard work and effort put in by the volunteers, some questioned if such activities should be completed by the Council. Others queried what their Council Tax was spent on if volunteers were cleaning the streets in the town centre.

Wrexham.com queried with Wrexham Council on the terms of the help they provided, and why the town and its ratepayers have to rely on volunteers to get such work done

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for the Environment and Transport, said: “We are working with the Town centre Forum to support their initiatives to clean the town centre and this is the second event that has taken place that we have been happy to support with four members of staff and machinery. The Town Centre Forum and its volunteers are willing to work in partnership with ourselves which we appreciate during these difficult financial times. The majority of the work undertaken at these events is not normally undertaken by Streetscene staff on a regular basis.”

For more information about the regular clean-ups and Wrexham Street Festivals or to discuss how to get involved in the Town Centre Forum’s activity to revitalise Wrexham town centre, email [email protected]



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