Posted: Wed 25th Mar 2020

Wrexham Council suspends charges in its car parks “to support those delivering critical services and doing essential food shopping”

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Mar 25th, 2020

Parking charges in all council operated car parks is to be suspended for those providing “critical services” to the public.

In its daily briefing Wrexham Council said the suspension of charging in its car parks is “to support those going about delivering critical services and doing essential food shopping”.

It also hoped the suspension of the charges will support those who need to do “essential food shopping”, along with those who work in healthcare, social care, supermarkets and banks.

However members of the public are being reminded that they should not be travelling or leaving their homes unless it’s in line with the government’s instructions.

Also announced is the temporary suspension of home to school transport from Monday 30th March.

This is to reduce non-essential travel and to ensure social distancing of children.

Wrexham Council say the take-up of home to school transport has been extremely low this week, which has also contributed to the decision.

SEN (Special Education Needs) home to school transport will continue for children travelling to their usual facilities.

Other changes include:-

– The Planning Committee scheduled for April has been cancelled.
– Public footpaths remain open, but users must adhere to social distancing.
– Gas servicing of council houses will continue across the county borough.
– Call volumes to council phone numbers are extremely high. Please contact the local authority by phone only when it’s essential.

In their now daily statement, Chief Executive Ian Bancroft and Council Leader Mark Pritchard, said: “Please continue to keep your distance from one another.

“By staying apart, we’re saving lives, and helping to keep Wrexham as safe as it can be.

“We’re working hard to put in place measures to provide free school meals to children who aren’t in school at the moment.

“This is a huge challenge for councils across Wales and we’re looking into using some of our own premises to distribute ‘grab and go’ food bags which contain a packed lunch.

“We can produce sufficient numbers, we just need to find the most effective distribution method. We don’t want to crowd schools or create unnecessary gatherings, so will need to plan carefully.

“We hope to have something up and running by Friday and will communicate this to schools and on our social media channels as soon as possible.

“We’re also waiting for advice on the national voucher scheme, which is being explored by Welsh Government.

“All council-managed play areas have been shut since the start of this week to support social distancing.

“Despite this, we’re still getting reports of people using them. Please don’t. Our play areas are shut and the Government has made it clear that people should only be leaving their homes for very limited purposes.

“It’s difficult to physically close some play areas off, but where possible we’ll be taking measures to try and secure them.

“We’re only providing critical council services now. These are things we’ve identified as absolutely crucial to our communities and the running of the council.

“They include social services, advice on housing benefits, sheltered accommodation, schools (currently open to children of key workers and vulnerable children only), emptying bins, homelessness and other things that people depend on.

“The virus will continue to impact on our workforce, but we’re making plans to ensure we can continue to deliver these services.

“Call volumes to council phone numbers are extremely high – please contact us by phone only when it’s essential. This means we can provide a quick response to people who really need it.

“This is even more important as people with underlying health conditions receive letters over the next few days, and need to contact us for support.”

Please remember. You can now only leave your home for the following, very limited purposes:

– Shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible.
– One form of exercise a day – for example a run, walk or cycle – alone or with members of your household.
– Any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.
– Travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.

Please continue to keep your distance from one another. By staying apart, we’re saving lives, and helping to keep Wrexham as safe as it can be.



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