[Adam]

The decent chain restaurants (such as Zizzi, Carluccio’s, Loch Fyne, etc) will look at both the demographics of the town and the success of any competitors in the vicinity. There are currently no (what I would classify) decent chain restaurants in Wrexham.

Then you have the independents. They have the advantage of looking past the statistics and through local knowledge would know that a significant proportion of locals travel out of the area for good food. It would still however be a real leap of faith to start up something in the town and if it was my house being re-mortgaged then I’d probably prefer to set up somewhere more established too.

I can’t imagine any of the up-market chains taking a punt on Wrexham any time soon so it’s left to the private landlords (such as Eagles Meadow) to make attractive enough for 1 or 2 to set-up. Then hopefully, that might create the momentum needed to persuade others.

[Adam]

A tad of-topic but reading the Leader article about the public consultation on the future of Mold town really exposes what an utter farce the arts-hub process has been. Every Mold resident has been contacted and invited to drop in sessions to develop and comment on future plans. The arts-hub consultation was a blackboard in the market entrance to scribble on.

http://www.oldleaderlivestory.co.uk/news/154464/share-your-thoughts-on-how-to-take-mold-forward.aspx

Worse still has been the master-plan consultation which aside from the ridiculously loaded on-line questionnaire, on the 27th and 28th of Oct there were two unadvertised drop-in sessions in the library foyer where you could speak to a panel of planning officers.

Roll on the Flintshire merger..

[Adam]

Thanks for the open responses to my questions.

The issue of drug/alcohol service users being actively transported to Wrexham from other areas is something that perhaps many members of the public as well as struggling business owners may not be aware of.

Perhaps this is topic that The Leader and/or Wrexham.com would be able to investigate further..?

[Adam]

The dramatic increase in anti-social behaviour and groups of drug/alcohol addicts around the town is undeniably linked to the increase in service providers during the same period, in particular those around the Grosvenor Road/Rhosddu area. As a reminder, within the space of a few hundred yards we have:

– Champions House (Grove Road)
– CAIS (Grove Park Road)
– Community Drugs and Alcohol Service (Rhosddu Road)
– Wrexham Conflict Resolution Service (Grosvenor Road)
– Ty Croeso (Grosvenor Road)
– TASS (Grosvenor Road)
– St Johns Project (Chester Road)

In addition to these, there has been an equally noticeable increase in HMO properties facilitating drug/alcohol/crime rehabilitation, again, mainly concentrated around the Rhosddu area but not exclusively. On trips in to the town centre over the past 3 months my family and I have witnessed:

• General Drug/alcohol abuse around Rhosddu, Waterworld, Llywn Isaf
• 3 Intoxicated men collapsing on the pavement in front of whilst crossing from the old Groves school to St Johns House
• Urinating against the Guild Hall in Llwyn Isaf – 3 occasions
• A man defecting at the front of the Ebaneser Chapel before scurrying off to join the rest of the group gathered behind it.
These were just examples of incidents witnessed during the day time. I wouldn’t consider walking near these areas after dark any more.

To steer you away from a generic ‘we’re doing all we can’ response, perhaps you can provide specific answers to the following:

1. Can you confirm whether drug/alcohol abusers are being transported to Wrexham from neighbouring towns to take advantage of the types of services listed above?
2. Have you previously had, or do you now intend to have, an active advisory role with planning officers and the planning committee when applications for drug/alcohol service providers are being considered?
3. No doubt you are personally frustrated (and I would hope, a little embarrassed) that your foot patrol officers continually pass by well-known trouble spots such as the Peace Gardens, Ebaneser Church, Llywn Isaf, without making any effort to tackle the anti-social behaviour. Can you confirm that you have an action plan for these areas, considering that some are literally within 50 yards of the police station?
4. Finally, did you make any contribution to the development of the recent town centre master plan, in particular how achieving a permanent solution to anti-social behaviour in the centre links in with the desire to create and prosperous to economy where people aspire to work, shop and socialise?

Regards,

Adam

[Adam]

Of course the other popular Council retort is “there is no demand in Wrexham for quality ______” (insert as appropriate).

Which is plainly silly because just the other evening I witnessed a large colony of smart, middle-class 30-somethings moping around High street searching for anything that wasn’t cooked and packaged 5 months ago on an industrial estate..

There again, as my butcher says, nobody in the area eats fish as he doesn’t see the demand for it..

[Adam]

Frankly I’m more concerned that lead members could spend £100k on opposing consultant reports..

http://www.olddailypostlink.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wrexham-council-spends-more-100000-9183885

[Adam]

You could always set up a consultancy and have the council pay you for your opinions…

http://www.sell2wales.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY082521

http://www.sell2wales.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY082891

[Adam]

[quote quote=94018]The roofs used in Cabot Circus in Bristol are actually quite effective. Really just stop the rain, but still open air. The most critical aspect is the lack of integration with the town centre. An improvement would be if it felt like an extension of High Street, but that is a difficult task.

Two key things the new owners should do:
1- Buy out the lease of the car park. Come up with a system where-by customers get free parking when buying something from the centre, and in doing so introduce a time/ticket system with barriers rather than pay and display (the council insisted on this at planning which was crazy). This will cost them money, but ultimately their competitors have free parking so to survive they need something radical.

2- Incentivise new stores – I don’t have the answers on this one, but they need to increase the quality of the tenants, increased footfall would help, potentially from point 1.

[/quote]

Completely agree.

2 points:

I’m not sure I’m quite as enthusiastic as Kevin Critchley claiming that this is a vote of confidence of Wrexham town, I’d prefer to ask why the current owners have decided to sell. Sounds somewhat like an estate agent shielding a damp patch while pointing at the ‘period’ artex ceiling. Let’s assume however he knows something we don’t and the potential buyers have some great plans..

The point about Broughton retail park is even more relevant now work has officially begun on the new M&S food and Primark outlets. Sifting through the silly facebook comments, there is a real demand for more quality outlets, specifically food orientated. I think a new mid-range restaurant chain (i.e. Zizzi, Wagamama, Prezzo etc) could inject some enthusiasm back into the centre..

[Adam]

[quote quote=93009]Welsh nationalists openly hostile to English speakers for generations.
Welsh nationalists tell English speakers they aren’t welcome for generations.
Welsh nationalists open pub in minority Welsh speaking town and are shocked when it closes due to low patronage.
You couldn’t make it up.

[/quote]

Put you down for a tenner then..?

Alert – Saith Seren faces closure – find out how SSiW is trying to help

Tell you what Saith Seren, if you offer quality locally sourced food and drink in a pleasant, welcoming atmosphere I will exchange those goods for a suitable monetary value which you can put towards your overhead costs. Sounds crazy I know but may just work.

Otherwise I’ll just keep going to the Pant. That’s Welsh isn’t it?

[Adam]

For what it’s worth, the minutes below seem to suggest 80% relief was granted, unless I’m reading it wrong.

https://www.wrexham.gov.uk/MinutesData/ExBoard/ex13052014m.htm

Completely agree Alun about the ‘pub’ setting. A real shame as the retrofit carried out previously was pretty tasteful. The arrival of the fruit machine and the Sky Sports screen, however innocuous, did really set out the stall for the clientele it was aiming for.

[Author]

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