There’s further good news for the town centre today as Techniquest Glyndŵr announce it has secured major funding of £2.5 million from the Inspiring Science Fund and Welsh Government in conjunction with ourselves. This will contribute to the overall project cost of £2.8 million
It means the Wrexham based science centre will finally be able to realise its long-held dream of moving to the town centre into the empty former TJ Hughes building.
The move will enable the Science Centre to make use of the much larger premises to offer an ambitious programme of science events and a much wider selection of interactive exhibits to the public and schools from across North Wales and North West England.
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£750,000 has been secured in partnership with Wrexham County Borough Council from the Welsh Government’s Targeted Regeneration Investment Programme will enable acquisition and refurbishment of this key property. The £1.75million funding awarded comes from the ‘Inspiring Science Fund’ and is intended to boost greater engagement and interest in science and technology amongst under-represented groups across the UK.
The bid for funding had the support of several key agencies in Wrexham including Wrexham Glyndŵr University and ourselves as we support the regeneration of the town centre.
The plans outlined in the bid have also received widespread public support, demonstrated by the large numbers of local people who visited the temporary science centre pop up over the summer months when it was open during Wrexham’s series of monthly street festivals.
Local businesses in the town centre have also expressed their approval for the proposal to create a new town centre attraction which they see will help with the long term economic future of the town.
Many have been backing the #MyTQG campaign over the last year and everyone from local government, businesses and the public have been right behind it.
Techniquest Glyndŵr are now looking to local industry to support them financially and in kind as they work hard over the next two years to develop the site and even more exciting projects.
The award of the funding begins an intensive 12-month period during which the town centre building will be purchased and converted into a fully operational science centre to replace the existing centre on the Plas Coch Campus of Wrexham Glyndŵr University.
Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Pritchard said: “This is excellent news for Techniquest Glyndŵr and the town centre. It will really open up this part of town once again and I would like to both congratulate staff and thank them for their hard work in securing this funding. The development will be part of the town centre regeneration which will see the Henblas Street and Chester Street areas brought into residential and retail use. With an announcement expected soon about the former BHS store the future is looking bright for this area of town.”
Scot Owen, Techniquest Glyndŵr Centre Manager said: “We’re thrilled to have secured the future of Techniquest Glyndŵr within the heart of our community here in Wrexham. This move has been part of our vision for quite some time and now we’re able to actively begin to put our plans in place.
Techniquest Glyndŵr is committed to Wrexham and the town centre community, which goes hand in hand with inspiring young minds through STEM subjects. Having somewhere so embedded within the community will only be a positive for all.
We now continue to look forward in what is a very exciting time for both ourselves and Wrexham as a whole, with a fantastic opportunity to create something special for our region.
Lynda Powell, Director of North Wales Science said: “This is absolutely great news – for Techniquest Glyndŵr, for Wrexham town centre, and for STEM in North and Mid Wales.
“This funding will help secure Techniquest Glyndŵr in a key town centre location – one which is seeing a range of private and public sector investment. The development will be a key part of the regeneration of our town centre.
“It means that Wrexham Glyndŵr University can continue extending the community work it has been doing with its portfolio of science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses. That work is an investment in our regional skills base that has been has developed alongside industry partners, and it will help to boost our economy for years to come.”
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