Work to start soon on £400k town centre improvement projects

More than £400,000 of improvements will be made to Wrexham town centre – with work due to start early in spring.

The money, which will be spent on Queen Street and Hope Street, will be spent improving the paving, landscaping and installing new street lighting.

Improvements will also be made with new street furniture, seating and planters.

Works will begin in April to replace street lighting lanterns and the paving will begin in June and is expected to take 10 weeks to complete.

A selection of natural stone materials will be used to re-pave the areas which are in line with the Town Centre Masterplan. The existing litter bins will be replaced and the original bins will be moves to other places in the county borough.

Pedestrian railings and signs will be refurbished and seating will be replaced with the existing seating going to other areas of the county borough. LED lanterns will be fitted to street lighting columns with more ornate styling similar to other town centre areas.

Once complete, a total of £420,000 will have been invested in the town.

In July 2017 Wrexham.com reported that members of the Executive Board had unanimously backed proposals to allocate £270,000 to town centre improvements after a budget underspend.

Described as a “phase one of an ongoing town centre programme”, the funding has been provided from the Council’s Capital Reserve.

In October Wrexham Council announced an additional £150,000 to help top up the fund.

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “It’s excellent news for the town centre and we will be liaising fully with those likely to be affected by the works including the Town Centre Forum, the Town Centre Steering Group, businesses and elected members and works will be planned to cause as little disruption as possible to existing businesses in the area.

Cllr Terry Evans, Lead Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, added: “The planned works are in a key part of the town centre and will be welcomed by businesses and visitors alike.”

The works have also been welcomed by Alex Jones owner of the Bank and Chair of the Town Centre Forum and Sam Regan, owner of the Lemon Tree Hotel and Chair of the Wrexham Destination Management Board.

A joint statement released by the pair, says: “We welcome this news and will be liaising with the Council on a regular basis on the works and everyone will be able to see for themselves how it is progressing.

“They will also play an important part in attracting new businesses into the town centre.”