Work complete on ‘significant investment’ into new look town centre streets

The new paving in part of Wrexham town centre has been completed, alongside improvements to street furniture in the Queens Street and Hope Street area.

The upgrades to the 30 year old red brick surface are made of sandstone, porphyry rock (similar to quartz) and granite to “give a modern facelift” to the street and as always have divided opinion during the works – with some missing the classic brick, and others welcoming a more even modern flooring.

The completed phase was priced at £420k with a bid for funding to secure further investment in the town centre being made to the Welsh Government by Wrexham Council, although which areas of the town centre would be next in line to get similar upgrades are yet to be decided.

Cllr David A Bithell Lead member for the Environment and Transport, said: “We’ve significant investment in the town centre in order to support existing traders and to encourage new businesses to open in Wrexham.

“It’s important we have an attractive place both for shoppers and businesses and I am very pleased that the work has now finished and we can all enjoy the new look town centre.”

Below shows the transformation, from back when the sun was shining in early September to a slightly more overcast day last week when work completed ahead of a final clean up – that included drain suctions, jet wash and some snagging.

Some more comparison and building work shots:

The first event to be held on the new paving was the Continental Market that is on today as well as tomorrow, and appears set to become a regular fixture for the town. The market will be here between 10:00am and 5:00pm today and tomorrow.

Mayor and Town Centre Manager loving the continental market in town (on til Sat!) #bigsausage pic.twitter.com/QEr5nNabSn

— Wrexham.com (@wrexham) November 7, 2018

Cllr Terry Evans, Lead Member for the Economy and Regeneration said: “There’s a very busy period of events coming up for the town centre and the Continental Market is a very welcome addition to those events. I am sure we will see many visitors to the town centre over the coming days and weeks and I hope existing traders will welcome the extra footfall and the advantage it offers to their businesses.”

The works themselves took place around the public and nearby shops, meaning rather than the entire roadway being resurfaced at once, sections were completed to allow access to be maintained in what turned out to be a logistical chess match played out with barriers, signs and beeping vehicles.

Welcome to the Industrial Zone, this game is a physical and an automatic lock in. You have two minutes to get the crystal 💎 pic.twitter.com/njmT3ALGSD

— Wrexham.com (@wrexham) October 1, 2018