Wrexham Council Proposes To Stand Alone & Not Merge With Flintshire Council

Wrexham Council, subject to Council approval on 24 September 2014, has confirmed its stance on the future delivery of services across the County Borough following two national consultations.

Workshops have been held with Councillors to go through the consultation documents issued by the Wales Government and The Welsh Local Government Association on the proposed changes for local government in Wales.

In their submission document called “What we believe is best for Wrexham” councillors have clearly stated their favoured position. This does not include a merger with Flintshire Council.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Neil Rogers did recognise strong collaborative working at local, regional and sub-regional level could ensure the best outcomes where certain services were concerned, for example the North Wales Adoption Service and the North Wales Regional School Effectiveness and Improvement Service.

Cllr Rogers said that Wrexham is a place of new ideas and thinking and had a lot to be proud of when it came to innovation and its vision for the future.

In his report to go to Full Council on the 24 September Cllr Rogers states: “Members agreed unanimously that the County of Wrexham should remain in its current form as it is large enough to stand alone. This is what we believe to be in the best interests of the people, the place and the economy.

“Several of the points in the consultation documents simply do not apply in Wrexham. Wrexham town is at the centre of the county and is the natural hub for the surrounding areas and a commercial centre for the region. Our performance against our Council Plan shows we are performing well for the people we serve. We have strong financial management and a clear direction for managing the financial challenges ahead of us. We are committed to reshaping our services whilst prioritising the most vulnerable and our front line services.”

Denbighshire Council have recently announced plans for a voluntary merger with Conwy Council, sparking debate as to when Wrexham Council would announce a decision as to whether or not they would merge with Flintshire Council.

In recent weeks there has been pressure from Flintshire Councillor, Bernie Attridge for an answer off Wrexham Council. Cllr Attridge recently took to Twitter say: “I won’t sit back and see the demise of Local Gov in Wales without a bloody fight! I’m in are you?”

Members will discuss the report on the 24 September at the Guildhall at 6.30pm.

Right decision or wrong decision? Tweet @wrexham with your thoughts!