Changing Negative Perceptions Of Wrexham
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Posts
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I’m going to have a James Stewart moment here…….
The attempt by the Council to change the negative perception of the town reminds me of the young man who was suicidal and went to the Doctor. The Doctor suggested that he went to one of those positive thought gurus to transform negative into positive.
3 weeks later, having attended every session, the young man killed himself. In his suicide note he explained how he had done badly in school, done badly in work situations and was unemployed and had done badly in relationships. He needed guidance to actually improve these areas of his life so that he could get educated, get a job, keep relationships.
Positive thought in itself is of no value if the fundamentals are not addressed. The only thing that Positive thought in a vacuum did for the young man was convince him, positively, that he had nothing to live for.
We want fundamentals not gloss, substance not spin, strategy not platitudes, action not words
adam has hit the nail on the head. wrexham town does not offer much to anyone who wants more than the ‘poundland’ experience in life. there are some brave exceptions – perellis on town hill, the bwtri on regent street, the lemon tree and some imaginative little shops and cafes, often owned by immigrants. however, overall you can pretty well discount anyone from the old fashioned social groups A, B and C1 from choosing to spend their money in the town, when the offer in nearby towns and villages is so much more appealing. And those are the people with the lolly!!
Then you’ve got local ‘authors’ writing about how nice Wrexham is….
Quote ‘It is set in 2007, in a booze nation that’s feeling the pinch. It’s reflective of Wrexham today, a semi-autobiographical story set during the recession in a North Wales town. Incidentally for all you feminists, women are portrayed as ‘victims’ in some shape or form throughout, (bored housewives, suffering girlfriends, tarts, rape victims)’
https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Pregnant-Fish-Tale-by-Grant-Purcell/458747130874922@Y Ffin 7709 wrote:
adam has hit the nail on the head. wrexham town does not offer much to anyone who wants more than the ‘poundland’ experience in life. there are some brave exceptions – perellis on town hill, the bwtri on regent street, the lemon tree and some imaginative little shops and cafes, often owned by immigrants. however, overall you can pretty well discount anyone from the old fashioned social groups A, B and C1 from choosing to spend their money in the town, when the offer in nearby towns and villages is so much more appealing. And those are the people with the lolly!!
On evenings like these it’s even more apparent.
Funnily enough, in a moment of collective amnesia, we headed towards Pirellis on Saturday evening with visiting family. I dont need to describe the sights on offer. In the end we scurried the kids past the natives and headed for EM. Slightly more civilised atmosphere but the choices of Chicken & chips, Pizza or microwaved lasagne didnt blow us away. So we jumped in the car and went to the Pant.
And that’s the problem. We probably spent £150 in the end. We’d have loved to have been able to stroll around the centre on a balmy evening stopping for a few quiet drinks and finishing up with a decent meal..
Anyone that’s been out in Chester on a Saturday evening will confirm that it can be just as unsavoury however if you want to get away from it then you have plenty of options…
I’ve been reading the school threads with interest but what hasn’t been mentioned is what does Wrexham have to offer our kids if they do manage to make it through to become skilled, professional adults? When my own eventually drag themselves through Uni I don’t expect them to return to settle here after experiencing life in the big world. I’m not sure I’d encourage them to either..
Adam;7718 wrote:On evenings like these it’s even more apparent.Funnily enough, in a moment of collective amnesia, we headed towards Pirellis on Saturday evening with visiting family. I dont need to describe the sights on offer. In the end we scurried the kids past the natives and headed for EM. Slightly more civilised atmosphere but the choices of Chicken & chips, Pizza or microwaved lasagne didnt blow us away. So we jumped in the car and went to the Pant.
And that’s the problem. We probably spent £150 in the end. We’d have loved to have been able to stroll around the centre on a balmy evening stopping for a few quiet drinks and finishing up with a decent meal..
Anyone that’s been out in Chester on a Saturday evening will confirm that it can be just as unsavoury however if you want to get away from it then you have plenty of options…
I’ve been reading the school threads with interest but what hasn’t been mentioned is what does Wrexham have to offer our kids if they do manage to make it through to become skilled, professional adults? When my own eventually drag themselves through Uni I don’t expect them to return to settle here after experiencing life in the big world. I’m not sure I’d encourage them to either..
Spot on.
Some posts are pretending that the night life of Wrexham has changed as if is is a new phenomena to see drunks etc on the streets on a Saturday night.
I remember Ian Drury (of and the Blockheads fame) being interviewed on radio in the ’80’s in which he was asked what was his most abiding memory of being on the road. His answer was ‘Wrexham High St. on a Saturday night.
I would hazard a guess that many of the posts submitted on this forum are by people who were in late teens to early 30’s during that era, and were more than likely, to some degree, part of that culture.
And yes, collective amnesia does play a part in allowing us to forget that is what Wrexham has always been like and whatever good intentions are aired, it will not change.
Ponder on this for a moment and ask yourselves honestly, ‘was it ever, in my living memory, a genteel market town?
Values come with age and experience and youth is part of that learning curve.BenjaminM;7721 wrote:Some posts are pretending that the night life of Wrexham has changed as if is is a new phenomena to see drunks etc on the streets on a Saturday night.
I remember Ian Drury (of and the Blockheads fame) being interviewed on radio in the ’80’s in which he was asked what was his most abiding memory of being on the road. His answer was ‘Wrexham High St. on a Saturday night.
I would hazard a guess that many of the posts submitted on this forum are by people who were in late teens to early 30’s during that era, and were more than likely, to some degree, part of that culture.
And yes, collective amnesia does play a part in allowing us to forget that is what Wrexham has always been like and whatever good intentions are aired, it will not change.
Ponder on this for a moment and ask yourselves honestly, ‘was it ever, in my living memory, a genteel market town?
Values come with age and experience and youth is part of that learning curve.Not getting the thread title are you?
The nightlife in Wrexham is just a reflection of the wider British culture. It is not unique. Whilst I personally find it truly unpleasant, none of us should believe we have the right to deny it from those who thoroughly enjoy it. The problem, which is at the core of this and most threads on these pages, is that the balance is wrong. Our High street contains what little remains of our heritage however it is not able to be shared with the whole community – lost to cheap chain pubs, takeaways and tanning shops.
The development of a town is an organic process which evolves to reflect changes in society. However this organic process still needs nurturing. This is where our council steps in.
Take Queen’s ‘square’ as an example. Over the past couple of years there has been a bit of a mini café culture revolution thanks to one big national coffee chain. This could have been seen as an opportunity to foster a ‘zone’ of related enterprises. That in turn may have led to some more local producers to take part in the Monday market (maybe with a bit of financial incentive?), which may have led to one of them taking the plunge and setting up a permanent shop. Perhaps some out of town retailers would see an opportunity and think about developing the old Woolies basement. Maybe then there would funding available to help develop the rest of Lord street to encourage more cafes to meet the demand from market goers which has now become a Monday and Friday market… etc, etc, etc.
But no.
With no foresight beyond short term fixes what do we end up with? Cash Converters and a cheap meat shop. Oh and xmas decorations still hanging. Would you spend your retirement pot to open up the little tapas bar you’ve been dreaming of for years? Or would you look elsewhere?
My analogy may be a little stretched but my point is simply that as much as some of us would desperately like to see a rebalancing, it can’t be achieved without sensible, long term vision from our council.
I agree about Queen’s Square and with the close proximity of the bandstand on Llwyn Isaf , it would not take much to provide some music on summer weekends and encourage families to picnic and play games on the grass. Parents are always looking for free ways to entertain children during the long summer holidays.
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