‘Brutal’ Debate Over Proposed Wrexham & Flintshire Merger Rages On

“We are capable to stand alone and become part of a bigger Wrexham.” That was the message sent out by the Leader of Wrexham Council yesterday.

The ongoing debate on the future of Wrexham County Borough Council raged on yesterday at the monthly Town Centre Forum meeting, with Council Leader Mark Pritchard reiterating the Council’s stance on the proposed merger with Flintshire County Council.

Speaking at the Town Centre Forum yesterday Council Leader, Mark Pritchard said: “I think the minister has made a massive mistake showing his hand and saying that Wrexham will become Greater Flintshire and I won’t support it.

“We have a history of being protective of what we have and I think he has upset a lot of people. I think Cardiff want to reduce the authorities and micromanage and that is not the way we need to go forward. We want Wrexham to be prosperous and stand on its own two feet.”

Cllr Pritchard also raised concerns on the funding of the merger and the funding of elements such as redundancy packages for staff.

The debate surrounding the proposed merger of Wrexham and Flintshire has been ongoing for several months, with Wrexham Council voting in favour to stand alone as an authority.

The proposed merger of the two neighbouring authorities follows the publication of the ‘Williams Commission Report’ last year, which recommended that the number of Councils in Wales are reduced from 22 to just 10, 11 or 12.

The 105 page report states: “Change must be implemented quickly and decisively, with full commitment and strong leadership at all levels. Current structures are simply not sustainable, and the choice is between allowing them to decline further or of reforming them now.”

Reference was also made to a meeting held between Cllr Pritchard and Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services.

Speaking about the meeting, Cllr Pritchard said: “It was a brutal, blunt meeting as I think they are doing things half baked. With Wrexham I won’t be told what to do by Cardiff, we live in a democracy and I don’t want to be micromanaged by Cardiff bay.

“For me its all about Localism and I take offence from any minister or politician telling us what to do in our town. The bluntness is we are capable to stand alone and become part of a bigger Wrexham.

“I asked the Minister where the location would be and he couldn’t tell me. We wouldn’t want offices in town to close down and move to Mold. We don’t know what’s going on and they are keeping us in the dark.”

However concerns a potential merger would have on local businesses in Wrexham were also raised.

Chairman of the Town Centre Forum, Nigel Lewis said: “From the business communities point of view, it needs to be done in a proper and professional manner.

“If it does happen, we can’t manage Holywell from Wrexham. It is suddenly a huge area and from a a business community point of view all we see is the same people, in different layers in a different organisation. We need to see what it means to us.”

Cllr Pritchard added: “I can assure you we have a mandate and we will fight vigorously with it, this is important to us.”

There is an ongoing debate regarding the potential Wrexham / Flintshire merger on the Wrexham.com Forums. You can view and take part in the discussion here…