Wrexham Bid For Vibrant And Viable Places Fund

The Council Executive Board have approved an application that could see a £30million investment to the town.

The application will be put forward to the Welsh Government for a fund that could see regeneration activities in and around Wrexham Town Centre and the Caia Park and Hightown Communities First Cluster area.

Launched in March 2013,  the Welsh Government believe “Everyone in Wales ‘should live in well-connected vibrant, viable and sustainable communities with a strong local economy and good quality of life.”

Cllr Neil Rogers said: “It is all about creation of a prosperous Town Centre. If we are successful with this bid this is just the first phase. the second phase would come around November.

“There is a huge opportunity if we are successful.”

Key officers from Wrexham Council have drawn together a Programme of Activities that ‘seeks to support the vision of Wrexham Town Centre to be a prosperous Town Centre’. The programme itself was drawn up in 40 working days, with Cllr Rogers saying “It took a lot of time and effort.”

The proposed programme of projects seeks to address needs by improving 770 homes, along with creating an additional 110 new affordable homes. 60 properties that are currently empty will also be improved.

It also aims to attract £12.88 million private sector investment into housing and vacant properties.

Alongside this it is hoped that the investment would create 480 opportunities for local residents to participate in skill building training. Around 70% of which are expected to be secured by residents of Caia Park and Hightown Communities First Cluster. It is also estimated that 264 entry level jobs will be created, with 135 expected to be secured by residents of Caia Park and Hightown Communities First Cluster.

One item on the list focuses on creating a 30 new business and investing £1.2 million in the town centre markets.The investment in the markets is expected to support an increase in occupancy by 10%.

The topic of the Town Centre markets were addressed in the Town Centre Forum meeting this morning, with the issue of the closure of TJ Hughes impacting the footfall to the People’s Market.

It was suggested in the meeting that TJ Hughes could be opened as a form of shopping arcade, along with possible incentives with the landlord to help generate footfall to the town and back to the markets.

The recommendation to go ahead with the bid was supported by members of the board, with Cllr Bob Dutton congratulating the work and adding: “Hopefully the Welsh Government will realise we need support to get things going if they recognise the importance of it.”

The full report can be found here…