A view from Wrexham’s Member of Parliament

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

Over the past few months, many constituents have contacted me to share their concerns about the Welsh Labour Government’s introduction of a default 20mph speed limit on restricted roads (roads in residential or built-up areas) across Wales.

To gauge residents’ opinion on the policy, I launched a Wrexham Transport Survey. Unsurprisingly, this policy, costing the taxpayer £32 million, was unpopular with residents: 94% of respondents disagreed with the Welsh Government.

In June this year, I made a Freedom of Information request to the Welsh Government for an analysis of the cost to introduce a 20mph speed limit on roads in Wrexham. The Welsh Government confirmed that this would cost a staggering £361,500.​

In addition to highlighting my concerns with the 20-mph policy, which I feel will unnecessarily slow Wales down, freeze growth rather than encourage it, and risk worsening emergency response times, I have also met with North Wales Police and discussed the operational difficulty of enforcing the policy.

Like many residents, I remain deeply concerned by proposals to ask firefighters to enforce speed limits, especially as the North
Wales Fire and Rescue Authority is currently consulting on the provision of fire service emergency cover for Wrexham.

Two of their proposals would see Wrexham lose one out of the two full-time appliances (fire engine) and a reduction in firefighters.

I have grave concerns over these proposals.

I have launched a petition to oppose these proposals on my website and have been pleased to see so many people sign and send a strong message that we do not want to see a reduction in Wrexham’s Fire Services.

To sign the petition, please click here. My response objecting to reducing the current service level will be shared on my social media and website in the next few days.‌

Following two years of dedication to resolving the Welsh Government’s detrimental phosphates policy, including countless meetings with Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Dwr Cymru and raising the issue in the House of Commons, it is pleasing to see things are now moving in the right direction. It has been difficult to get an update from NRW on progress made towards resolving the Wrexham planning application backlog caused by phosphates.

However, NRW have confirmed that both the Gresford and Five Fords Wastewater Treatment Works have now been granted Environmental Permits.

This means that Wrexham Council can now start determining planning applications served by these Treatment Works. This will allow Wrexham to progress as a city after two and a half years of stagnation due to Welsh Government policy.​

To see everything that I have done on the issue of phosphates, please click here.‌

At Bellevue Park in Wrexham, the UK Government and Lawn Tennis Association are investing close to £15,000 to refurbish the tennis courts to support a new generation of players to get into the sport.

The works include repainting the courts and installing a gate access system to allow the courts to be booked through an online system.

I was pleased to see during a visit this week that the gate access system has already been installed and other renovations are in full swing!​​​‍‌

On Tuesday 15th August, I was really pleased to welcome the UK Government Paymaster General, Jeremy Quin MP, to the Job Centre and Service Centre on Grosvenor Road to discuss the work of the DWP in Wrexham, as well as the UK Government’s Places for Growth agenda – which aims to relocate Civil Service jobs outside of London and bring opportunities to towns and cities across the UK.

The announcement of 270 new jobs at Wrexham Job Centre is excellent news for our community and demonstrates the UK Government’s commitment to Wrexham as we continue to develop as a city.

If you are a Wrexham resident in the current Wrexham constituency boundary and need my help with any issue, please don’t hesitate to contact me by emailing [email protected].​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​