Category: Featured

We know that as summer weather gets hotter, many people start thinking about getting fit – and you might be one of them.

With that in mind, our partners Freedom Leisure – who run our leisure and activity centres at Waterworld, Chirk, Gwyn Evans and Queensway, and five dual use centres – will shortly launch an offer to help people tackle fitness during the summer.

Summer Shape Up

From July 1, all Freedom Leisure facilities will run the annual get-fit Summer Shape Up campaign for a limited period.

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During the Shape Up, you’ll have the chance to try out all five leisure and activity centres, three swimming pools and more than 100 classes across 30 days – for just £25.

And even better – all those who sign up to Summer Shape Up will be entered into a random prize draw to win an extra month on the scheme for free, with six winners to be selected; so there’s even more incentive to sign up!

For full terms and conditions, take a look here.

When it comes to getting healthy, not everything works for everyone – and we’re not all after the same results.

Some people are after the ideal beach body, some are looking to gain muscle mass, and some have a particular aspect of their health that they’re looking to improve.

And many just enjoy the break being at the gym, in the pool or attending a class gives them from the daily grind.

That’s why we want to give you the chance to try things out and see what works for you.

“Try it out”

Cllr Andrew Atkinson, Lead Member for Youth Services and Anti-Poverty, with responsibility for Leisure, said: “We know that a lot of people, for a multitude of reasons, can be put off from going to the gym or taking part in any kind of organised fitness effort – even though they’re keen to get fit and take part in exercise.

“There’s plenty on offer at our Freedom Leisure sites, and we want to give people the opportunity to trial a few things and see what works for them.

“The Summer Shape Up will be a great opportunity for them to try it out and see if there’s anything they’d like to take part in longer-term – and it will help towards keeping fit for summer.”

Andy Harris, Freedom Leisure Area Manager, said: “This pass is not only incredible value at £25 for 30 days free and unlimited usage of all five centres in Wrexham, but it is also a great summer purchase!

“During the summer people often decide they want to start exercising and this pass gives them a great-value way to get going – and 30 days is more than enough time to make real changes to your body and fitness levels. Returning students can also take advantage of the offer.”

Get in touch

For more information on the Summer Shape Up, get in touch with us at

Waterworld: 01978 297300

Chirk: 01691 778666

Gwyn Evans: 01978 269540

Queensway: 01978 355826

Or follow this link to register your interest here.

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Our Wrexham Council CCTV team has helped police make a staggering 30,000 arrests.

The team has reached this impressive figure by operating and monitoring over 80 cameras positioned in and around Wrexham.

“It helps us to do our job”

Inspector Paul Wycherley, North Wales Police said: “Wrexham’s CCTV helps us do our job every day. We have the live feeds on our desktop computers, we are always connected and have two dedicated town centre officers and four PCSOs who are all connected to the CCTV.

“In the last few weeks alone, CCTV has helped us to locate missing people, drink drivers and make arrests after a large public disorder incident on High Street. The quality of the staff in CCTV control are what makes the real difference, they are of a very high calibre and are well equipped and well trained.”

Helped reduce crime by 56%

Since the team was set up in 1996, it has assisted in over 30,000 arrests. And, not only has it assisted in these arrests but, since the introduction of the CCTV in the town centre together with the development of the town centre police team, crime in the first year of operation reduced by over 56%! This resulted in a national award for the team in 1999.

The partnership has grown from strength to strength with the CCTV team working in partnership with local police officers to help monitor large events, like the recent Stereophonics gig, to football matches as well as the towns night time economy.

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“Exceptionally successful”

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety said, “We are lucky to have such a dedicated CCTV team based in Wrexham County Borough. It is instrumental in assisting partner organisations to make arrests and keep Wrexham streets safe. CCTV and incident response work hand in hand and have been exceptionally successful in reducing and deterring crime in the county borough.”

CCTV can help reduce the fear of crime as well as make people feel safe. They are also a great source of live information. You can follow their Twitter account (@TCCWcmCCTVWxm) for traffic updates, large events, public safety and crime prevention information.

The team, made up of seven members of staff, also monitor alarms for all council buildings and run 24 hours a day seven days a week.

Want to know more?

Take a look at the frequently asked questions

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It’s not some bizarre joke.

The answer is – our new fleet of Housing Repair vans!

We’ve had 78 new panel vans and six flatbed pickups for our Housing Repairs team, and seven pickups for our estate caretaking team, which will help our operatives carry out repairs for our customers across more than 11,200 council houses

Our previous fleet was a mix of Ford Transits, Fiat Forino and Vauxhall Corsa, and had been on the road for some years – with some of them having served us for over 11 years!

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Due to the age of some vehicles in the old fleet, breakdowns were frequent and we often had to rely on externally hired vehicles to get things done.

A lot of the work the repairs team has to do has become larger, especially when working on void properties, meaning they need better and more reliable transport to ensure targets are met.

Better-presented vehicles

With a new Housing & Economy senior management team in place, approval was gained to upgrade the fleet and bring all of our Housing Repair and caretaker vehicles up to a more reliable, better-presented professional standard.

The new MAN vans are the first major contract in the light commercial sector for our new local supplier AN Richards, of Froncysyllte and the MAN vehicles are new to the market, the company having only started manufacture of the light commercial vehicles back in September 2017

Johanna Cooke, AN Richards company secretary said: “As a family run local business, AN Richards are extremely proud to be supplying these vehicles to Wrexham County Borough Council’s housing repairs service.

“The contract is not only important to us, but also for MAN as the manufacturer and we are looking forward to ensuring the working relationship is a success.”

“Important we have a serviceable fleet”

Cllr David Griffiths, Lead Member for Housing, said: “Our Housing Repairs team provide a round-the-clock service 365 days a year for all council tenants – whether that’s at council houses or in sheltered housing.

“As such, it’s very important that we have a serviceable and reliable fleet across all of our estates.

“We want tenants to know and feel that they’re getting a good professional service from us. Part of that is in presentation, and these new vans certainly tick that box.

“I’d like to thank AN Richards for their work in supplying us with the new fleet, and I’m especially pleased that we’ve been able to source the new vehicles through a local company.”

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Did you know that here in Wrexham we have 850kms of public rights of way? And if you use them regularly you might have something to say about our new Rights of Way Improvement Plan.

This Plan clearly sets out what’s important for us to do and how we can continue to maintain and invest in them given the current financial pressures facing all local authorities at the moment.

We’re currently asking your views on the Plan and would appreciate it if you would take the time to take a quick look and email your comments.

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The Plan is available here and details of how to respond.

Since we first published our Plan in November 2007 substantial improvements in the accessibility of the public rights of way network have taken place.. In surveys, ease of use of paths has improved from 39% in 2007 to 77% in 2016 due to sustained investment in stiles, gates, bridges and finger posts using grant aid from the Welsh Government.

A total of 1726 lengths of paths received work, 177 bridges and bridge crossings were repaired, 713 new kissing gates, 528 stiles were installed or repaired and 1053 finger posts are now in place identifying rights of way.

The new plan seeks to work closely with Community Councils and to encourage a much greater involvement in improving rights of way by local people.

It’s priority will be to continue to improve the existing rights of way system before major additions are made to the network.

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We all use public rights of way and they are essential for connecting our communities with the countryside.

“We are prioritising our work on maintaining the existing network and making sure our paths are accessible for those with impaired mobility. This will be a challenge with reduced funding but officers and myself are committed to maintaining and improving the existing public rights of way for everyone to use.”

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Here’s a great chance to improve your artistic skills with the help of an expert!

In this exciting new venture, tWIG (the Wrexham Independent Gallery) and Tŷ Pawb have joined forces to bring you a series of free community drop-in workshops.

The workshops are open to everyone, from novice to expert!

Every Tuesday afternoon throughout the summer, we’ll be bringing you tutor-led art sessions, covering skills such as drawing, painting techniques and collage making.

tWIG’s experienced tutors will be on hand to teach, help, devise and share techniques in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

All the sessions will be run on a drop-in basis so there’s no need to book and no need to stay – so why not come along and join in the fun?

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So what’s on at each session?

July 3- Keith Evans – ‘Mark Making’

A wide variety of drawing materials and surfaces will be provided and workshoppers will be encouraged to experiment with mark making in a variety of ways and mediums.
Keith will provide guidance, help and tuition as required.

First timers and experts are all welcome to come and make something!

July 10 – Keith Evans – Paint

We will provide a range of paintsand surfaces for people to try out. Workshoppers will be encouraged to experiment with different media types, hopefully developing one or more experiments into something meaningful!

Keith will demonstrate the use and characteristics of various mediums, touch upon colour theory, mixing, etc. as required and encourage workshoppers to develop their skills.

July 17 – Jacqui Blore – Folk Art  

Jacqui will demonstrate simple techniques that overcome the ‘I can’t paint’ mentality in newcomers and inspire the more experienced to take a fresh look at their work.

She will work in a variety of mediums using line and simple shape to create work in a ‘folk-art’ style to produce simple, fun, easily recognisable pictures. Jacqui will also demonstrate simple methods of creating paintings without brushes by the use of string art, simple transfer techniques and basic printing.

July 24 – Dawn McGuire – Texture

Dawn will demonstrate simple abstraction, the use of colour to create mood and effect and how to incorporate texture and pattern to create either representative or abstracted work.

She will use a variety of media, both artistic and found, to create these effects. No matter what level of expertise you have, this session will make you think and work in a different way.

July 31 – Liz Metcalfe – Collage

Liz will work in paint and mixed media, including collage techniques and stamping to demonstrate and help create an incredible range of imagery, from realism to complete abstraction.

Whatever your skill set, you will create something different with this inspirational tutor.

August 7- Keith, Liz and Jacqui – Exhibition

This will be a wide-ranging session incorporating all of the above and probably more! We shall attempt to create a range of images culminating in an impromptu exhibition.

Attendees of previous sessions will be encouraged to return to this session as well as newcomers.

How to get involved

• The workshops take place every Tuesday from 1.00pm-3.30pm
• They are free, drop-in workshops – no need to book, just turn up!
• For more info call tWIG on 01978 292093 / 07813845989 or email twigwxm@gmail.com

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