A view from Wrexham’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.

Today, Wrexham’s MP Sarah Atherton writes…

Over the past month my office and I have continued to assist the residents of Wrexham with the issues that are affected all people during this pandemic. However, the past few weeks have been more difficult for many residents as we have seen floods and snow on top of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking of the Coronavirus, Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board is focusing on administering the vaccine to Groups 3 & 4, meaning that all over 70s should have been vaccinated by mid-February. However, invariably when you see an operation of this scale being undertake, things may get missed. So if you are in a priority group and have not received a letter confirming your appointment, you should contact the Betsi Cadwaladr vaccination booking centre on 03000 840004. This is only for people in the priority groups aged 70 and over and should not be used by others.

Betsi Cadwaladr has also advised that should you receive an invitation to a vaccine appointment at a vaccination centre and a local GP surgery you should not call the 03000 number above to cancel either appointment. Any duplicate appointments will be captured by the booking system, and the vaccines team will make sure that no vaccines go to waste by utilising a standby list.

The Local Vaccination Centre at Glyndwr is now vaccinating one person per minute, eight hours a day, six days a week

The Local Vaccination Centre at Glyndwr is now vaccinating one person per minute, eight hours a day, six days a week

Overall, this is all good news. 13 million people across the UK have been vaccinated, meaning that if current trends continue we may well be at a point where life can start to return to normal over the next few months.

Coronavirus, though, isn’t the only plague to have attacked our town this year. Many in our more rural communities were affected by floods in the wake of Storm Christoph in January. I visited Bowling Bank with representatives from the Council to see how residents houses had been devastated by flood water and was pleased to see residents and Council talking over practical and immediate remedies that would mitigate the effects of any future floods. I later visited Holt with representatives from Cheshire West Council after residents had raised concerns with me about the structural integrity of the Farndon Bridge. I pressed the need for works to be carried out in case any future floods attack the bridge and I am pleased that the Council has agreed to carry out structural works beginning this Spring.

Sarah Meeting Flooding Victims at Bowling Bank

Finally, I took Wrexham Council’s highways officers to see the effects of flooding in Rossett, along Darland Lane. The Council was aware of the issue here and we have agreed on a plan to protect the houses along Lon Pippin, although this may take a matter of months so I would ask residents to bear with us.

But the first two months of 2021 have not all been doom and gloom. Our Town celebrated this week at the news that Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds completed their takeover of AFC Wrexham. Though the deal was never in any doubt, it was a joyous day to see that pen had been put to paper and, three months out from the end of the season, the possibility of playoffs and promotion is too exciting not to think about. Hope is never a bad thing. And with the vaccine rollout progressing as it is, perhaps there are more reasons for hope than we have had in a little while.

As always, if there is anything I can do to support Wrexham residents please don’t hesitate to contact me on the details below:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 2719 4885 | 01978 291742
Post: Office of Sarah Atherton MP, 65 Regent Street, Wrexham, LL11 1PF

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South Welsh and UK Parliament representatives to write a monthly article with updates on their work and closer to home – you can find them all here.