Trevor Basin Masterplan amongst three Clwyd South projects to receive £15m from levelling up fund

The Member of Parliament for Clwyd South has welcomed the announcement that the £15 million Levelling Up Fund Bid for Clwyd South has been successful.

This bid was sponsored by Simon Baynes MP and is a cross-county project, developed by Wrexham County Borough Council and Denbighshire County Council. Three inter-connected projects will ‘level-up’ the current deficiency of visitor infrastructure across heritage sites resulting from a lack of any significant investment from the UK or Welsh Governments to date.

The news was announced in the Budget by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP in the speech earlier this afternoon.

The three projects include, firstly, the implementation of the Trevor Basin Technical Masterplan which will ensure the World Heritage Site realises its full potential on a national and international level to attract visitors and catalyse economic growth in neighbouring communities.

The second project is mainly focused in Denbighshire and supports cross-border visitor connectivity in the Dee Valley at the Horseshoe Falls, The Four Great Highways and Plas Newydd in Llangollen; Wenffrwd to Llangollen Active Travel Corridor including the old Railway Line and Chirk.

The third project will focus on the Corwen area, creating a new and improved Western Gateway to the Dee Valley and World Heritage Site. This project will improve visitor connectivity and infrastructure, Corwen town centre assets and the area between the railway station and car park, including a new platform canopy. It will also enhance the visitor experience with onward linkage to Llangollen and Cynwyd, effectively creating a new, improved and complementary visitor entry point to the World Heritage Site.

Simon Baynes MP said: “The three projects – the Trevor Basin masterplan, the investment in Llangollen and Chirk and the proposals for the Corwen area – greatly benefit from being already well developed and therefore eminently capable of being executed by 2024.

“The projects are of considerable environmental importance and closely inter-connected, not least due to the Llangollen Canal and Heritage Railway which run along the Dee valley, which will therefore multiply the benefits arising from investment by the Levelling Up Fund.

“This £15 million bid also underlines the longstanding co-operation between Wrexham County Borough Council and Denbighshire County Council which is proving such a dynamic force for investment and improvement in the Clwyd South constituency.

“The success of this bid reflects their professionalism and welcome desire to improve all aspects of our lives in Clwyd South. And I am very grateful for the strong commitment and support of my colleague, Sarah Atherton MP, for championing the Wrexham area, both locally and in Westminster.

“The projects included in the bid are of equal benefit to residents and visitors alike. They are strongly supported by their local communities and in many cases have already been the subject of extensive public consultation.

“Given that Wrexham and Denbighshire are among some of the least prosperous areas in Wales, this bid will not only provide jobs and a much needed economic boost to Clwyd South but also improve the well-being of our residents by widening access to recreation, outdoor and other amenity activities.

“They will also celebrate the amazing history, language and culture of our part of Wales and bring them to a wider audience.”

Detail in the spreadsheet for the “First Round” and “round 1” of successful bids – Clwyd South got a ‘win’ but Wrexham constituency not yet (both bids headed up by Wrexham Council) – with indication of a second tranche or round of funding – so fingers crossed for the Gateway £ pic.twitter.com/16eYBvfYrl

— Wrexham.com (@wrexham) October 27, 2021

Wrexham’s own bid was conspicuously absent, from both the speech and the treasury statement, with no specific mention of constituencies in the ‘Red Book’.