Category: Council Services

Our refuse crews have reported some new cases where they haven’t been able to access a street because parked cars were causing an access issue. So please consider how you park your car, especially on your collection day.

We know it’s really important for all of us in Wrexham to get our bins emptied and have our recyclables collected on time, and for most of us this happens pretty smoothly.

But if parked cars are preventing our crews from accessing your street, unfortunately they will have to leave without removing waste or recycling.

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Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “There are some recent instances where our vehicles haven’t been able to get to where they need to be, which has left some people disappointed as their bins and recycling haven’t been collected. It will only take one parked car or van to prevent us from collecting from an entire street, so we’re asking residents to please have a look at your street to check there’s enough room for our large vehicles to safely perform their duties. We collect from 64,000 households each week and it’s always disappointing when some miss out on their collections due to poor parking.”

Remember, our wagons are heavy and wide, so our drivers need to be certain they can safely travel down a street and manoeuvre without causing any damage.

You can help us avoid missing collections by taking extra care when parking your vehicles on your collection day. We understand that not everyone has a drive or a garage, and these people have no choice but to park on the street.

Take a look at the pictures below and you’ll see some of the problems our bin wagons and recycling vehicles have encountered due to parked cars/vans when trying to get to your properties.

All our vehicles are fitted with in-cab technology – including CCTV – that allows the crews to record any instances where bins have not been presented before 07:30am, or if there are access issues, which prevent our crews from making the collection.

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During lockdown, staff at Wrexham Council have been required to take on some large pieces of work for which staff teams had not previously existed. An example of this is the Coronavirus Childcare Assistance Scheme.

Welsh Government announced at the end of March that they would be funding childcare placements for some pre-school aged children of critical workers and those who were vulnerable. With just one week’s notice, the Prevention and Service Development Team put together two teams of staff, set up the scheme with all the necessary documentation, an online application process and a payment system.

No matter how mild your symptoms are, you should get a test for Coronavirus

Staff previously had nothing to do with childcare

One team of nine staff (seven of them borrowed from other social care teams, who had previously had nothing to do with childcare) processed all parent applications and set up the necessary placements in childcare settings to enable critical workers to continue to carry out their vital roles.

A second team of five received all the data, kept records and processed all the payments to make sure the placements all went ahead without a hitch. Staff stepped sideways and upwards to make sure all the necessary roles were covered.

Over 45 childcare settings delivering the scheme

Their quick work in putting this all in place saw 380 Wrexham children per week accessing these free (funded) places, with over 45 childcare settings delivering the scheme. The council teams have processed payments that have saved Wrexham’s critical workers over £500,000 in childcare costs.

Staff involved had to learn their new roles very quickly. They all worked extremely hard and collaborated brilliantly throughout the pandemic lockdown and delivered this very successful scheme to serve communities in Wrexham.

Every part of the scheme is important to make it work as a whole: competent management, good decision making, accurate record keeping and swift and correct payments.

“A fantastic achievement”

Cllr Andrew Atkinson, said: “All staff deserve thanks and acknowledgement for delivering this new service quickly and efficiently – every part has been excellent. What is all the more impressive is that staff were all working almost exclusively from home, with some caring for and, for most of it, home schooling their own children at the same time!

“This is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the commitment, dedication, adaptability and ability of council staff members and managers. Well done to all involved in ensuring that children remained safe in quality childcare whilst also allowing critical workers to go to work to carry out their essential roles.”

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From today our enforcement officers will start to issue fines for anyone who is found not parking correctly or legally, misusing loading bays or disabled parking spaces.

During the strict lockdown a small minority of drivers chose to park where they wanted including on pavements in loading bays and disabled bays.

No matter how mild your symptoms are, you should get a test for Coronavirus

As our streets were not busy enforcement didn’t take place as it was not a critical service at that time. But now that people returning to a more normal, albeit different, routine we can’t let this continue as we need to pay attention to public safety as Wrexham gets busier.

Last week officers were out and about offering advice to everyone found not parking correctly but from today parking tickets will be issued and you could find yourself having to pay up to £70.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Pritchard, said: “Please park responsibly and in designated parking areas only. Car parking in council run town centre car parks remains free until the end of September so there’s no excuse.”

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Today sees many pubs and restaurants across Wrexham open their doors for the first time in several months.

As with all sectors that are re-opening – they’re doing so with the safety of staff and visitors alike.

Not all pubs will choose to re-open or may re-open at a later date but those that do open have been given guidelines on what they must do to keep everyone safe.

No matter how mild your symptoms are, you should get a test for Coronavirus

These include ensuring social distancing and hygiene measures are put in place. You will also be asked to give some personal details so they are able to get in touch should they become aware of anyone testing positive.

Please do not go out if you are suffering even very mild Coronavirus symptoms. Get a test and keep everyone safe.

The move follows the opening of outdoor areas earlier in the month including beer gardens. The majority of those visiting establishments behaved in a sensible and safe way and we are encouraging everyone to return to pubs in the same way.

Visit pubs and restaurants safely

Cllr Terry Evans, Lead Member for Economic Development, said: “This is welcome news for those who run and work in pubs and restaurants as they prepare to welcome customers back through the doors. But please remember Coronavirus is still with us, in our communities and the easy testing centres that were in the Caia and Hightown areas last week serve as a reminder of this. Please follow all the guidelines that are in place for your safety and that of staff.”

Wrexham Town Inspector, Vic Powell said: “We’ll be out and about with licensing staff to make sure that everyone is following the correct procedures that are in place to keep everyone safe. I wish for customers of and those who work in licensed premises to enjoy the re-opening, to do so safely and to look after one another. Please drink responsibly and remember that the regulations set out by Welsh Government are there to safeguard you. “

There is a Public Spaces Protection Order in force so please do not drink in any public space in Wrexham.

Remember! If you use public transport or need a taxi to or from anywhere in Wrexham or Wales you will need to wear a face mask. Please make sure you have one or two handy in case you change your plans at the last minute. Drivers, including taxi drivers, have the right not to take you if you do not wear a mask.”

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You can now make a card payment over the phone if you want to continue to have your green garden waste bin emptied from August 31. To do so, please call the contact centre on 01978 298989.

We expect to be able to accept online payments shortly. We will let you know through our social media channels and this news blog when this becomes available.

As we were in lockdown it was decided that we would continue to empty all garden waste bins from April as the Household Recycling Centres had to close due to the restrictions about non-essential travel, but the paid for collections now start on Monday, August 31.

The charge is the same as before – £25 per green garden waste bin per-year. Anyone who has not signed up by August 31 will no longer have their garden waste bin(s) emptied.

No matter how mild your symptoms are, you should get a test for Coronavirus

If you’ve already paid, you don’t need to do anything

If you already paid for the garden waste service earlier in the year you don’t need to do anything…you will receive a full 12 months service until August 31, 2021.

Darren Williams, Chief Officer Environment and Technical, said: “Having confirmed the new start date of August 31, we’re now able to accept new payments from anyone who hasn’t already signed up for the service. Anyone who wishes to do so should call 01978 298989 to make a card payment.

“We will also be able to accept online payments soon and will let you know when this is available. We’ve managed to keep the charge as low as possible, £25 per garden waste bin per year, which is less than many other authorities in England and Wales. If you paid for the service earlier in the year you will automatically receive a full 12-months service from the new start date.”

I don’t want to have a garden waste bin anymore

If this is the case we’ll pick it up. You can visit MyAccount and either login or sign up to ask for it to be taken away. We’ll collect it, but it won’t be straight away so please be patient. If in the future you change your mind and wish to pay to have a green bin emptied you will have to buy a new bin if you’ve already sent yours back.

I don’t want to pay but want to keep my garden waste bin

That’s fine. You can keep hold of it for the future but we won’t empty it. If you do decide to pay for your green bin to be emptied in the future you also won’t have to pay for a new green bin.

We hope you will continue to have your garden waste bin emptied by us as we want to see Wrexham’s recycling rates continue to increase year on year, but times are really hard and we understand if you don’t wish to pay for this service.

How to get a test

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Some of you have been asking about our Mobile Library Service so we thought it would be useful if we gave everyone an update.

At this moment in time we are still waiting for guidance from Welsh Government regarding Mobile Library Services.

Our priority is to maintain staff and customer safety and this will remain our priority as we go forward in the coming weeks and months.

No matter how mild your symptoms are, you should get a test for Coronavirus

We appreciate that mobile library customers are keen to return and borrow library books. We are looking at how we can provide a safer ‘order and delivery service’ across the county borough. We would advise customers where possible to use Wrexham branch libraries

We will update you with further news via this news blog and the Library Facebook page.

We’d like to reassure you all that your library books are being automatically renewed, and you will not be charged any library fines.

If you would like to make a visit to a branch library please visit

www.wrexham.gov.uk/libraries for contact details

Until the Mobile Library Service takes to the road once again please take advantage of the 24/7 online services for all your reading needs. You can find them on the above link.

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The Council’s Audit Committee approved the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts, subject to audit, at the end of May and the Auditors are now working on them. Their audit will be completed in time for the next Audit Committee on the 24 September and the accounts will be available for inspection.

Earlier in the year on 1 May 2020 the Council considered its 2019/20 outturn report.  Last year’s overall budget was balanced with a very small underspend of £11k against a budget of £237m. However, it was reported at the time that there were pressures developing in certain Council services, particularly children’s social care and school and other transport related services.

No matter how mild your symptoms are, you should get a test for Coronavirus

The Chair of the Audit Committee, Jerry O’Keeffe, reminds electors that “From Monday 3 August 2020 to Friday 28 August 2020 (inclusive) between the hours of 9.30 am and 4.15 pm Mondays to Fridays any person interested, on application to the Council’s Chief Officer-Finance and ICT at Lambpit Street, Wrexham, may inspect and make copies of the accounts of the above named Council for the year ended 31 March 2020 and all books, deeds, contracts, bills and vouchers and receipts relating to them.”

At the end of the last financial year, the Covid crisis hit the country and since this date all Councils have been managing their budgets on a month to month basis. At a workshop this week, Members turned their attention to the current year’s financial situation and undertook some preliminary consideration to updating its Medium Term Financial Plans for future years.

As expected, some of the pressures at the end of last year are continuing and they are increasing as a result of the unprecedented Covid-19 situation. Service demand is increasing in the care budgets and the Council is considering how it priorities its limited resources to ensure that the budget is on target to balance in the current year.

It has commenced work on this so that decisions could be made early in the autumn but clearly it is going to be difficult and may involve some services being cut or stopped. The Council is working closely with Welsh Government and the Welsh Local Government Association to ensure that pressures as a direct result of Covid-19 related costs and loss of income are funded by Central Government.

At the moment it is unclear what the situation will be for next year. The UK Government has announced that it is undertaking a Comprehensive Spending Review.

Cllr Mark Pritchard, Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Finance, Performance, Health and Safety and Governance said “We are all under tremendous pressure in local government as a result of the pandemic. In Wrexham we are starting early to tackle the financial situation developing in the current financial year. Clearly all twenty two councils will need the support of Welsh Government in dealing with their Budgets and Covid-19 pressures and in preparing for a difficult period moving into next year.”

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