news.wrexham.gov.uk

Category: Council Services

What’s on the agenda this month?
The July Executive Board agenda is now available online and there’s some interesting items up for approval.
Firstly, there’s the Annual Social Services Director’s Report which reviews the performance of both children’s and adult social care and gives an update on the improvement priorities for 2019/20. There’s some excellent examples of how their work is improving the lives of people across the county borough and is well worth a read if you have the time.
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Second up is the exciting Mold Road Corridor Master Plan which sets out the vision for the future development of the Racecourse and surrounding areas. You can read more about this here.
Next will be a report about the Welsh Football Museum following the support of Welsh Government that the Welsh Football Museum be located at Wrexham Museum. The report asks members to look at a design scheme to sensitively design an extension to the current building. If it all comes to fruition it is anticipated that visitors would be in the region of 80,000 per year. There’s more about this here.
The results of the consultation to increase pupil numbers at Barker’s Lane Primary School will also be presented to the Board and they are asked to recommend an extension to the current building to accommodate a further 105 pupils. The first year of increase would be September 2020 for Nursery and Reception classes.
Finally members will be asked to approve plans to address the issue of long term empty properties across Wrexham through the use of enforcement and assistance. There’s more about this here.
The meeting is open to the public and takes place on Tuesday, 9 July at 10am in the Guildhall. It will also be webcast and you can find out more about this here. You can take a look at the whole agenda here.
To take part in the Council Plan consultation, just click here
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July 5, 2019
Looking for some family fun this summer? Take a look at this…
It’s that time of year again when the school uniform is tossed to the bottom of the laundry bin for a few weeks and families everywhere slap on some shorts and sunglasses to go out on the hunt for some summer fun!
Now is the ideal time to get down to Tŷ Pawb – Wrexham’s arts, community and markets hub!
We’ve got a summer programme absolutely overflowing with events and activities for all ages!
So what’s happening?
Download the full guide here
Visit the Tŷ Pawb website here
July 5, 2019
How these recycling stars brought the Premier League trophy to Wrexham
We never thought we’d hear Wrexham and Premier League trophy in the same sentence 😉
Well, thanks to the incredible Clywedog and Taff class (Year 3) at St Mary’s Primary school, this was made possible on Friday, July 5, as the school received a visit from the famous trophy in reward for the class winning Sky Ocean Rescue and the Premier League’s Plastic Pollution Challenge.
You may remember our blog from a few weeks ago, telling you about how the class visited Sky Studios in London to present a news report about their recycling pledge ‘Think and Reuse’.
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They were competing against nine other schools to become overall national winners and their presentation clearly made a big impact as they were chosen ahead of the other schools.
“Deserving champions”
Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport said, “I was really impressed when I learnt of the work of St Mary’s Clywedog and Taff class across Wrexham, which led to them being invited to Sky Studios to make their recycling presentation.
“And therefore it’s no surprise that they were then crowned overall winners. They’re fantastic – a credit to Wrexham – and if anyone of us needs any inspiration to recycle, they should look no further than these deserving champions.”
As well as the Premier League trophy, the school were also visited by Plasticus (the Sky Ocean Rescue whale), plus some other special guests.

Think and Reuse
The class had previously been spreading their ‘Think and Reuse’ message across Wrexham by asking local cafes to put their ‘Refill not Landfill’ recycling posters in their shop windows.
Rachel Acton, Headteacher at St Mary’s said: “We’re so proud of our Year 3 children who are educating our school community with their pledge ‘Think and Reuse.’ It’s so important that our children understand their responsibility to look after our planet and they, alongside our Eco Committee, are truly leading the way.”
“It’s wonderful to think that through their work, the children have been inspired to think of new initiatives to improve recycling facilities in the school and to educate all members of the school community, including the catering staff.”

Think and Reuse put into action
The whole of St. Mary’s have now taken on the ‘Think and Reuse’ pledge. In future events such as discos and sports days, single-use plastics will be avoided. A ‘no plastic lunchbox challenge’ has been introduced encouraging children and parents to think, “Do I really need plastic packaging?”
School assemblies about the alternatives to single-use plastics have also taken place. The children are also in the process of making plastic bottle greenhouses and the school has introduced a crisp packaging recycling scheme.
What do the children say?
Here’s some great quotes from some of the children from St Mary’s
Cali: “I think it’s so important to reduce and recycle plastic as it’s our world and we need to protect it.”
Eric: “We’ve learnt so much about recycling in our plastic topic and I think we should try and teach everyone how important it is and why.”
Austeja: “We want people to think before they buy plastic. Do they really need to buy it or can they use a reusable item such as a bag, lunchbox or bottle instead?”
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July 5, 2019
Bringing empty properties back into use
At its next meeting Executive Board members will be asked to agree a way forward to bring empty properties across the county borough back into use, including using assistance and where necessary enforcement.
The plans, if approved, will only be used to bring problematic long term empty properties and land back into use as often owners are willing to work with us to make use of various loan schemes to improve their properties.
Bringing long-term empty is an increasing priority for ourselves and Welsh Government and we have previously secured funding from the Welsh Government to tackle this issue throughout the county borough through initiatives such as the Houses into Homes and Vibrant and Viable Places schemes. While the Vibrant and Viable Places scheme has formally come to an end, loan funding continues to be used to support the regeneration of Wrexham Town Centre and totals £2.5m via the Empty Property Loans and £500,000 via Empty Property Acquisition loans.
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Additional funding has also been secured through the Welsh Government’s
Town Centre Loans to support third parties in obtaining, refurbishing and redeveloping properties within Wrexham town centre. Properties outside of
the town centre will be able to secure Houses into Homes funding and
may also need alternative sources of funding to be confirmed on a case by case basis.
Executive Board meets on Tuesday, July 9 at 10 am and the meeting will be webcast. You can take a look at the full agenda here.
To take part in the Council Plan consultation, just click here
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July 5, 2019
Facing the challenge of Ash tree disease
An increasing number of ash trees across Wales are suffering from ash dieback disease and some of our trees here in Wrexham are showing early signs of being infected with the same disease.
It’s caused by a fungus that is spread by spores that can land on the leaves and the fungus can then spread into the branches and stems of ash trees causing the trees to eventually die.
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Ash dieback is a Europe-wide problem and the worst case scenario suggests that up to 90% of ash trees are expected to die from it. It has the potential to be a big problem for landowners and councils across the UK who have ash trees on their land as those trees near people, property, power lines and roads, will need to be dealt with before they become dangerous.
Lead member for Environment and Transport, Cllr David A Bithell said “We are not sure yet how rapidly infected trees will dieback, we will manage this in the same way we manage other diseased trees, based on risk and priority. Obviously the scale of this disease, potentially affecting 90% of our Ash tree population means we will be dealing with a large number of trees and there will be an impact on the environment and resources. We have an excellent record of replacing trees that have to be felled due to disease and we will continue to do this when necessary with appropriate replacement trees.”
Ash makes up around 5% of the urban tree population in the county borough and is common in rural hedgerows verges and woodlands. Ash dieback disease was first recorded in Wales in 2013, but has now spread throughout the country.
“How can I help?”
In areas such as parks and gardens, you can help to slow the spread of the disease by removing and disposing of infected ash plants and collecting up and burning (where permitted), burying or composting the fallen leaves. This will break the life cycle of the fungus.
Remember you can help stop the spread of tree pests and diseases by taking some simple precautions:
- Make sure your shoes and boots are clean before you visit the countryside
- Make sure any vehicles are cleaned regularly preventing any build-up of mud especially around the wheels and wheel arches
- Keep to the hard tracks where practical
- Take note of any signs or instructionsTo take part in the Council Plan consultation, just click here
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July 5, 2019
Pupils scoop awards for their eco-friendly designs
Earlier this year, we tasked schools to design a school packed lunch, which was both healthy and didn’t involve any single-use plastics.
The theme of the competition was “eat a rainbow”, and we wanted schools to be creative and colourful when designing the lunch – as well as keeping it healthy and plastic-free.
Our Healthy Schools Team and our Recycling Team – in partnership with the Caia Park Health Team and Wrexham Dietetic Department – have taken a look at the submissions, and presented pupils who put together the winning submissions with prizes and certificates.
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The categories were split between Reception to Year 2, and Year 3 to Year 6.
Among the winners was Caitlin Griffiths, a Year 6 pupil at Barkers Lane Community School, Wrexham.
Caitlin is pictured below with Catherine Golightly, our Waste Strategy Officer, and Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport.
Also winning in the Year 3 to 6 category was Ysgol Bryn Tabor pupil Evie Jones, pictured below.
Cllr Bithell, said: “I was very pleased with the standard of entry across all schools – everyone who took part clearly put in a lot of effort to make their designs colourful and informative.
“As well as ensuring schools are healthy places, we also want to make sure that they can contribute to our recycling targets, and anything we can do to encourage pupils to be more aware of reusable and sustainable cutlery and packaging, the better.”
To take part in the Council Plan consultation, just click here
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July 4, 2019
Next steps for football museum plans
Earlier this year, we welcomed an announcement by Welsh Government that Wrexham Museum was the preferred option to house a Welsh national football museum.
The announcement was made in May by Dafydd Elis Thomas AM, the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism.
Since then, we’ve taken a look at some of the changes that might be needed at Wrexham Museum so it can house the national football collection.
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Some extension work would be required to make sure the museum can welcome an estimated influx of more than 80,000 visitors per year.
With that in mind, we’re taking a look at what’s needed in order to take the work to the next stage, lining up with the phases of work outlined by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
We’re looking at taking the plans to RIBA Stage 3, meaning we’ll be looking to appoint a design team of specialist architects and designers, who will work with us and our partners over the next few months to develop detailed designs for what the museum will look like, both inside and out.
A report on what we need to do next will be presented by Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety to members of our Executive Board on Tuesday, July 9.
If you’d like to follow the discussion, you can do so by watching the live webcast here.
To take part in the Council Plan consultation, just click here
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July 4, 2019
Social Service Director’s Report – Our review of social care
It’s very important that we know how we’re doing when it comes to social care.
When people think about the council and what we do, they often think about the really visible stuff – things like emptying bins, fixing potholes, schools and lots of other services that touch our day-to-day lives, and are tangible across communities.
But our Social Services work is a great example of the less obvious stuff. They’re services that are less visible to people who don’t need them – but make a massive difference to the
people who do.
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Our social care teams do a lot of very important work – a lot of the things they help people with are complicated and difficult. They help people with major life challenges, while also having to deal with constantly shifting demographics and resources.
But they continue to make a difference to lives throughout the Wrexham County Borough, and take on board the views and experiences of those they help.
With the above in mind, each year our Director of Social Care has to create a report reviewing the services.
The report is an annual review of everything we’re doing across the board in terms of Social Services – both for children and adults.
Part of the report looks into the views of those in care and their carers, taking a look at a number of surveys which we’ve put to key groups during the last year.
The report is also there to measure the performance of our services, when set against six different outcomes outlined in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act (2014).
These are:
1. Working with people to define and co-produce personal well-being outcomes
  that people wish to achieve.
2. Working with people and partners to protect and promote people’s physical and
  mental health and emotional well-being.
3. Protecting and safeguarding people from abuse, neglect or harm.
4. Encouraging and supporting people to learn, develop and participate in society.
5. Supporting people to develop safely and to maintain healthy domestic, family
  and personal Relationships.
6. Working with and supporting people to achieve greater economic well-being,
  have a social life and live in suitable accommodation that meets their needs.
As well as putting the report together, it’s also open to discussion by councillors to make sure they’re aware of how our services are operating, and can comment or suggest any changes they feel need making.
The report went to scrutiny committee last week, and will now go before our Executive Board.
Members on our Executive Board will look at the Director’s Report at their next meeting on Tuesday, July 9 – you’ll be able to follow the live webcast here.
To take part in the Council Plan consultation, just click here
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July 4, 2019
Fancy renting a council garage?
We have over 2,000 garages in Wrexham County Borough, available for both our tenants and non-council tenants to rent (although council tenants are given priority when applying).
Currently we have garages available for rent in the following locations:
Cartrefle, Queensway, Smithfield, Whitegate and Wynnstay, Pontfadog, Rhosymedre, Acton, Bryn Offa, Stansty, Rhosnesni, Rhosddu, Little Acton, Hightown, Maesdre, Overton, Penley, Maelor, Gwersyllt, Johnstown, Penycae, Ponciau and Southsea.
What can I use the garage for?
You can use the garage to store a private motor vehicle, motor bikes, bicycles, trailer tents, and for other storage (as long as there are no flammable items).
How much does renting a council garage cost?
The weekly charge for council tenants for the year April 2019 – March 2020 is £8.08, with four rent free weeks. The charge should be paid weekly with the property rent.
Non-council tenants are charged £118.72 inc. VAT quarterly.
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Can I rent more than one garage?
You may be allowed to rent more than one garage if you’ve kept up your rent payments. You’re allowed up to two garages if there’s a long waiting list, and up to three garages in a low demand area.
How can I apply for a council garage?
You can either apply online or ask for a paper application form at your local housing office.
What happens after I’ve applied?
In some areas garages are in low demand and you could be offered a garage straight away, otherwise you‘ll be placed on the waiting list.
Garages are offered to the applicant who’s been on the waiting list the longest first. Council tenants are given priority when applying, however if there are no council tenants that need the garage, non-council applicants are then considered in application date order.
When you’re chosen for a garage, we’ll send you a letter to confirm this. We’ll also send the garage conditions of tenancy which you’ll need to sign, once you’ve signed you can pick up the keys.
What if the garage needs repairs?
If you’re renting a council garage, repairs are carried out by our housing services. You’ll be recharged for any damage to the garage caused accidentally, deliberately or because of neglect by you or other members of your household, visitors, pets or contractors hired by you.
Want more information about garages near you? Just get in touch with your local estate office.
Get the latest info on scams, product recalls and other public protection issues.
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July 4, 2019
Gresford roundabout – final weekend of works
Following the successful completion of the first phase of the works on the Gresford roundabout and adjoining side roads, the second closure will take place on Friday, July 5 at 8.00pm through to 6.00am on Monday, July 8 2019 during which period the roundabout will be closed.
This will complete the works at this location with normal access to the roundabout being available from Monday, July 8. Motorists are advised to allow additional travelling time during the closure period as some disruption is inevitable on any alternative routes.
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Cllr David A Bithell Lead Member Environment and Transport said that although there was some inconvenience the new resurfacing will be a significant benefit to all roads users when completed next weekend.
You can read about changes to the Arriva no 1 service here.
July 4, 2019