Upgrade for church facilities thanks to donation from council contractor

A local church’s facilities have been upgraded thanks to a donation by a council contractor.

GM Jones Ltd installed a new toilet/washroom and carried out improvement work in the vestry area of The Church of St Marcella in Marchwiel.

The work was carried out, free of charge by GM Jones Ltd, a contractor that has recently been installing new kitchens and bathrooms in council owned homes in the Marchwiel area.

This is part of Wrexham Council’s modernisation programme to ensure they achieve the Welsh Government’s Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2020.

Contractors that carry out housing improvement work for the council are required to contribute to the local economy through Community Benefit schemes.

This can include taking on modern apprentices, employing local workers and refurbishing community facilities.

Heather Row, Church Warden, said: “I’d like to thank GM Jones and Wrexham Council for enabling this work to happen.

“We are all very pleased with the work that has been carried out. The new toilet area has been refurbished and the vestry has had a facelift.

“It all looks beautiful and it will be a great benefit to the use of the Church and the many popular community events that take place here, in particular the regular fortnightly coffee mornings we hold on Tuesday mornings, and the fund raising events.

“I would like to encourage anyone interested in joining us to speak to members or see our notice board for details.”

GM Jones Ltd has worked in partnership with Wrexham Council since 2013. Since then they have installed well over 600 kitchens and/or bathrooms in council owned homes.

They also carry out other works such as asbestos removal and reroofing. They have a satellite office in Llay where they employ a number of locally based staff and modern apprentices.

Local Councillor for Marchwiel, Cllr John Pritchard, said: “I’m delighted that the kitchens and bathrooms programme has now been carried out in Marchwiel and it’s good to see that our local church has also been able to benefit from the investment made in the work.

“GM Jones has done a top class job refurbishing the tolet and improving the vestry and I’m sure everyone who attends the numerous popular events here will be very pleased.”

Over the next 12 months Wrexham Council is investing £56.4m on a housing modernisation programme. This includes a £7.5m Major Repairs Allowance grant – awarded by the Welsh Government to help us achieve the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

The investment has led to a number of successful community benefit schemes, including over 60 apprentices who have been taken on by council contractors. Over 70 staff have also been given full or part-time employment and more than £63,000 has been donated as cash or in-kind to organisations or projects within Wales.

Lead Member for Housing, Cllr David Griffiths, said: “This is the third year in a row we’ve broken the record for investment on improving our social housing stock.

“We’re modernising tenants’ homes across the county borough and it is vital that as much of this investment as possible is pumped back into our local economy and communities.

“I’m delighted that local facilities and businesses are benefitting from this investment, particularly the voluntary organisations that often rely on donations to keep their services running. It’s also good to see modern apprentices and locally based staff being taken on by contractors.”

More information on Community Benefits and the Welsh Housing Quality Standard is available on the Wrexham Council website.