A view from Clwyd South’s Member of Parliament

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South Members of Parliament and Assembly Members to write a monthly article with updates on their work in their respective Parliaments and closer to home – you can find them all here.

In his monthly column for Wrexham.com, Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes writes:

I am delighted by the news that the UK government are helping people across Clwyd South get active by investing £9,398.57 into our grassroots sports facilities.

Chirk Youth Football club, which I recently visited to meet with Chairman Mark Evans and which is based at Chirk AAA, have received £5,832 towards floodlights and goalposts. Ruabon Rovers FC, based at The Recreation Ground, have received £2,605.60 towards a new storage container, whilst Penycae Football Club have received £960.97 towards the cost of ball stop netting.

Simon Baynes MP at Chirk Football Club on 26 th January 2024

One of the great privileges of my role as an MP to be able to host schools and young people from Clwyd South when they visit the Houses of Parliament.

It was fantastic to welcome Year 10 and Year 11 pupils from Ysgol Rhiwabon to the Palace of Westminster on the 9th February as part of their London trip, and to host the Trevor and Johnstown Cub Group during their visit on the 13th February.

Year 10 and 11 pupils from Ysgol Rhiwabon on 9th February 2024

During their visits, members of my team took both groups through Westminster Hall, St Stephen’s Hall, Central Lobby, and the chamber of the House of Commons.

The Churches of Clwyd South are an important part of our landscape and heritage.

They are at the heart of the communities they serve, and it is right that these historic buildings are preserved for worship, community events and tourism. I was therefore delighted that four churches in Clwyd South have together received over £12,000 in UK government funding from the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme since August 2022.

They are: St Tysilio’s Church in Llantysilio, St Mael & St Sulien Church in Corwen, St Dunawd’s Church in Bangor on Dee and St Deiniol & St Marcella in Marchwiel.

I was pleased to receive a recent update from Network Rail on works being undertaken to ensure that Ruabon station is accessible for all users.

1st Trevor and 1st Johnstown cubs in Westminster Hall on 13 th February 2024

Since my election in 2019 I have supported the efforts to secure funding via the UK government’s Access for All initiative.

Alongside representatives from Wrexham County Borough Council, I attended the online briefing from Network Rail on Thursday 1st February.

During the meeting, it was confirmed that a single option for the station has been identified which is to install new lifts behind the existing railway footbridge which will enable step-free access to and between both platforms.

An outline design will be completed by the end of March 2024 and a prior approval application is being processed by Networks Rail’s planning team.

The final decision on whether to grant funding for the Ruabon project will be decided soon by the UK government’s Department for Transport and will be part of the projects across the UK during Control Period 7 which will start on 1st April 2024 and end on 31st March 2029.

Simon Baynes MP at Ruabon Station

I continue to lobby the Department for Transport very hard to ensure funding for Ruabon Station in Control Period 7.

In Parliament, I was pleased to chair 2024’s first meeting of the Woods and Trees All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). During the meeting we discussed the launch of the Woodland Trust’s new Tree Equity Score in the UK, an advanced measure of tree cover in communities whereby each community is scored from high to low based upon their tree canopy cover and need for trees.

I was pleased to learn that most of Clwyd South has a particularly high tree equity score.

The United Kingdom has a historic and strong relationship with Czechia, and on 24th January I was honoured to have the opportunity to meet the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, Mrs Markéta Pekarová Adamová, during her visit to the Palace of Westminster. As the UK looks to the future, it is vital that we remember and respect friendships such as this.

Across the UK and in Clwyd South, grandparents play a key role in the lives of countless children.

Simon Baynes MP with the Quilt of Love and Hope in the Palace of Westminster on Tuesday 30 th January 2024

However, as many as 2 million grandparents do not have contact with their grandchildren in the UK and this can have negative impacts for both.

I was therefore honoured to attend the opening of the Grandparents’ Quilt of Love and Hope in the House of Commons in support of grandparents in Clwyd South who have been estranged from their grandchildren.

The Quilt of Love and Hope has been created by an estranged grandmother using patchwork squares from many grandparents to reflect their feelings about the loss of their relationship with their beloved grandchild/grandchildren.

I am proud to support this campaign to motivate legal, policy and practice change so that children have a right to know their grandparents.

As your Member of Parliament, my team and I are always here to provide advice and support – please email me at [email protected]. For updates on my work in Clwyd South and Westminster, please visit my website www.simonbaynes.co.uk.