Wrexham Council Leader & Council Merger Decided This Week
The new Leader of Wrexham Council and the new members of the Council’s various committees and boards are to be revealed on Wednesday.
Earlier this month it was revealed that 10 Labour councillors would be leaving the group and would instead join Wrexham’s Independent Democratic Group.
On Wednesday a Full Council meeting will be held to announce the new layout of Wrexham Council, with current Deputy Leader Mark Pritchard expected to take over the role as Council Leader from Councillor Neil Rogers.
The self-appointment of Deputy Leader/Vice-Chair of the Executive Board will also take place during the meeting.
The Council Leader position is paid £47,500 a year, with the Deputy getting £33,460. Executive Board Members with Lead Responsibilities get £28,780 each.
Along with the self-appointment of the Leader / Deputy Leader, the recent changes to Council parties means certain committees need to be rearranged so they are ‘politically balanced’ – particularly with regards to the Executive Board.
At present the members of the declared Council groups are as follows:
Independent – 20 seats
Labour Group – 13 seats
Wrexham Independent Group – 8 seats
Conservative Group – 5 seats
Liberal Democrats – 4 seats
Plaid Cymru – 2 seats
The report states that the new Executive Board layout will consist of four members of the newly formed Independent Party, two Labour councillors, two Wrexham Independents, one Conservative member and one member from the Liberal Democrat Party.
Also on the agenda is a: “Consultation Response to Welsh Government ‘Devolution, Democracy and Delivery White Paper – Reforming Local Government’ and WLGA discussion paper ‘An Alternative Approach to the Williams Report.”
Last week Wrexham.com reported that Wrexham Council would not be participating in a voluntary merger with Flintshire County Council at present.
In a statement released last week it was revealed that Wrexham Council have no plans to merge with Flintshire Council and instead would rather ‘stand alone’. The announcement follows the news that Denbighshire Council are looking voluntary merger with Conwy Council.
The Full Council meeting report (page 79-90) states: “Members felt that they were effectively being consulted on one option and during the workshops were unanimous in their view that a merger with a neighbouring authority was not in the best interest of the people of Wrexham. Members believe that as the biggest town in North Wales, and growing by a predicted 18,000 people over the next 15 years, a merger would be detrimental to its continued growth and prosperity.
“The status of Wrexham as the largest town in North Wales, and the County Borough’s advantageous geographical location affords it a similar status to other Local Authority areas in Wales which have a city/ town at the centre of the County. It would therefore be advantageous for Wrexham to keep its independence as a County.”
The new layout of Wrexham Council, proposals to keep Wrexham separate form Flintshire County Council and several other reports will go before the Full Council on Wednesday. The full agenda items can be found here.
For those who want to attend the Full Council, the meeting will take place at 6:30pm on Wednesday evening. Alternatively, you will be able to watch the meeting from the comfort of your own home – as the meeting is set to be broadcast online.
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