Funding boost to help reduce empty properties in Wrexham city centre

Wrexham Council has been award £500,000 in funding to help tackle empty properties in the city centre.

The local authority is one of five across Wales to receive a share of £8 million as part of the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns Loans (TTLs).

The programme supports local authorities with town and city centre regeneration projects and has allocated more than £73m since its launch in 2014 and has brought over 600 units back into use.

As part of its application Wrexham Council requested £500k to extend the available loan funding for the City Centre to specifically repurpose and improve properties and reduce the amount of empty properties present.

Tackling empty properties is a central pillar of the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns programme, and this loan funding will be used alongside the main regeneration grant programme worth £100m (over three years), the £43m Property Loans programme, and a range of enforcement tools on offer to support local authorities across Wales.

Minister for Climate Change, Julie James, said: “Our Transforming Towns Loans programme allows councils to support projects that revitalise town and city centres to help create a sense of place and vibrant high streets for their communities.

“With the ambition of making communities sustainable over the long term, the programme aims to improve the quality of life, job opportunities and economic growth for the people who live and work in and around those towns.”

Cllr Nigel Williams Lead Member for Economy and Regeneration said: “This is fantastic news for the city centre and will support a number of empty buildings to be revitalised and reutilised, in turn providing job opportunities for local residents along with growth to the local economy.

“We are grateful to Welsh Government for their continued support of Wrexham.”

To find out if you’re eligible for a loan please go online at: Town centre improvement loans | Wrexham County Borough Council