As you might already know, we’ve got plenty of events in Wrexham to commemorate the end of the First World War.
Earlier this week, our Armed Forces group – which represents and supports serving forces members and veterans alike – met to mark the start of the series of centenary events taking place in Wrexham, and to promote the associated booklet listing the events on offer throughout the county borough.
For a copy of the booklet, just click the image below:
Cllr David Griffiths, Armed Forces Champion for Wrexham Council, said: “It is right and proper that we commemorate all those from Wrexham who served during the First World War, and all members of the Armed Forces group felt it was only right that we meet as part of the centenary commemorations.
“And, of course, members of the group each represent associations and organisations which will have an interest in taking part in the upcoming events to mark the end of the First World War, and they will be able to spread the word of the events available among their respective organisations.”
The booklet and a number of events were funded by the Covenant Trust Fund.
The group also met to promote the Royal British Legion’s Thank You campaign, which encourages member of the public to express their thanks to those who fought in the War by learning about the generation which lived through it.
Do you have an interest in disability sport? Maybe you’re the carer, friend or relative of someone with a disability who might want to try out such sports for themselves? Or maybe you have a disability yourself and want to give sports a go, but don’t know where to start?
The insport Series, which celebrates disability sport, will hold an event at Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay, Conwy, on Sunday, October 21 – and people of all ages, at all ability levels and with any impairment are invited to get involved.
Officers at Wrexham Council have been involved in organising the free event, and people from across North Wales are encouraged to come along and try out as many of the sports on offer as possible.
There will more than 20 inclusive sports available to try out, including gymnastics, boccia, wheelchair basketball, rugby, tennis, cycling, archery and swimming.
Disability Sport Wales now offers over one million opportunities per year to disabled people across Wales. The insport Series, which travels across Wales, provides a perfect opportunity for people to try sports and find out more about the many local clubs that they can join.
Fiona Reid, CEO of Disability Sport Wales said “To have 24 Governing Body partners providing opportunities to over 700 school-aged children and young people, and 150 members of the community is a real testament to the strengthening philosophy of inclusion within Welsh Sport.
“This is one of a series of insport events across Wales, not only is it a great opportunity for families, individuals and groups to come down to a great facility and try out a range of activities with local clubs, it also opens up the opportunities for disabled children, young people and adults to glimpse their potential.
The insport series is a starting point to transform lives – whether that’s motivated by the fun of participating or the thrill of going on to compete.”
For further information, contact Mark Richards on 01492 575593 or by e-mail at Mark.richards@conwy.gov.uk for more information.
Following extremely successful performances of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, The Learning Collective return to Tŷ Pawb to host a weekly youth theatre every Wednesday night.
The youth theatre is led by Andy-Taylor Edwards. Andy holds a BA honours degree in Drama and is a qualified high school Drama teacher with 20 years’ experience of teaching young people. He has held the posts of Head of Drama, Director of Creative Arts and has led teaching and learning in a range of school senior leadership roles, including principal.
Tŷ Pawb’s popular Live Music Showcase returns for an Autumn season.
The new series moves to a weekly format and the autumn programme includes nine new artists, covering a range of music from piano recitals, vocal and small group ensembles featuring different instruments.
The concerts are FREE to attend, but a donation is recommended to help cover the costs of the concerts and supporting the development of live music in Tŷ Pawb.
Take a look at the line up to help you plan your next visit…
Thursday, October 25 HH Classical Duo (Harpsicord and Vocal)
Thursday, November 1 Elan Catrin Parry (Classical Vocal)
Thursday, November 8 Robert Parry (Piano)
Thursday, November 15 Jago Parkyn (Piano)
Thursday, November 22 Miriam Peake (Flute)
Thursday, November 29 Bruce Davies (Piano)
Thursday, December 6 Brian Heald & Lionel Clarke (Piano and Cello)
Thursday, December 13 Elin Bartlett (Harpist)
Thursday, December 20 Elias Ackerley (Piano)
For more information about Tŷ Pawb visit the website
As we approach the 100 year anniversary of the end of the first world war we have lots of events lined up both to commemorate this historic occasion and also to give you an idea of what life would have been like on the Western Front.
One of these takes a look at how the soldiers on the front line had to live. It was not long after the first shots of war rang out in Europe that soldiers on both sides had to resort to building trenches to protect themselves from enemy artillery.
The trenches became quite complicated with bunkers for storage and support trenches in case the main trenches were taken by the enemy. There were also communication trenches to allow movement between trenches and moving the wounded.
Have you ever wondered what life was like in these trenches?
If so there’s an opportunity on November 10 to find out what the soldiers had to contend with when a mobile trench comes to Queens Square. It provides a fascinating insight into life on the Western Front and will give us all something to relate to when we officially “remember” the following day at 11am – the exact time the Armistice was signed.
Alongside the trench you can also take a look at an (almost) original Bristol Scout Static biplane. It’s made up a big part of original parts and is the only flying example left in the world!
The displays are free and will be open between 10am and 4pm.
In the winter of last year, we launched a long-term project to encourage responsible drinking in the town centre.
We’ve worked with the Public Health Institute at Liverpool John Moores University to evaluate the data from people surveyed in the town centre, and worked alongside a number of partners to do a lot of important work.
In some of the results we’ve already gathered for the Drink Less, Enjoy More project, it looks as though the campaign has seen a fantastic start.
The research we’ve had back suggests that there has been a drop in the sale of alcohol to drunk people in Wrexham licensed premises – including pubs and clubs – since the campaign started, as well as a growth in the knowledge of the laws around the sale of alcohol to drunk people.
The campaign was first introduced in Wrexham in November last year, aiming to increase the awareness of the law around serving alcohol to drunk people and discouraging preloading before coming into Wrexham for a night out.
The main aims of Drink Less, Enjoy More are:
Increasing the awareness of the law around serving alcohol to, and purchasing alcohol for, people who are drunk
Supporting bar staff in refusing the service of alcohol to people who are drunk
Discouraging drinking too much at home prior to coming into Wrexham for a night out
Promoting responsible drinking in Wrexham
Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, said: “The Drink Less Enjoy More campaign is about encouraging people to think about and limit how much they are drinking during a night out, which could in turn stop them from getting into some dangerous situations later on.
“The campaign has had a positive impact on the night time economy in Wrexham and it will be great to see how we can build on these successes in the run up to Christmas and at key events during the year.”
As part of the campaign we worked with North Wales Police, Public Health Wales, the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), the Area Planning Board, Glyndwr University and Coleg Cambria to deliver:
A training session for all 26 on-licensed premises and another training session to all 26 heads of door security
2 training sessions with all University captains of sports and social clubs/societies
Police and the project coordinator visited all 26 licensed premises and provided them with framed posters and spoke to them about their duties with regards to the law around serving alcohol to drunks.
Surveys to people on a night out in Wrexham to gauge their knowledge of the law
Social media and news articles aimed at making people more aware of the dangers of being vulnerable due to drinking too much. As well as reminding people of the laws around buying a drunk friend drinks.
The campaign is modelled on a programme first implemented in Sweden and the approach combines partnership working, community mobilisation, training and law enforcement.
Alison Watkin, project coordinator said, “The project, so far, has been a success but we know there is more work to be done. Drink Less Enjoy More will continue in the run up to Christmas and we will be focusing on awareness raising and building on the successes of last year.
“Our aim is to continue to make Wrexham a safe place for a night out whilst making people aware of the dangers of drinking too much and becoming vulnerable.”
The full evaluation report was published at the North Wales Alcohol Conference and is available to view here
Back when we carried out our Difficult Decisions exercise in the winter of 2017, one of the proposals we put out to the public was charging for extra green bins – which was later implemented.
But a lot of you came back to us and send that in order to make better use of our resources, we could drop the amount of green bin collections during the winter, when demand for the green bins is traditionally low.
We’ve gone through the numbers, and the amount of garden waste people leave for kerbside collections tends to drop pretty dramatically in December and doesn’t pick up again until March, when people start doing more gardening in the spring.
As such we’re looking at dropping green bin collections down to just one a month during the months of December, January and February, rather than the usual fortnightly collections.
On October 23, a special meeting of the Executive Board will take place, and the possible changes to green bin collections will be one of the items discussed.
What about extra green bins?
If you’ve paid for an extra green bin, under these proposals they’ll still be collected the same time as your free green bin – the change in the amount of collections won’t affect that. You’ll still have all of your green bins emptied.
How would I keep an eye on collections?
If these moves are approved, we’ll be updating our MyUpdate e-mail alerts system to keep people in the loop as to when their green bins should go out during those winter months.
And we’ll put out plenty of notice via social media and our Wrexham Council News blog before the moves come into effect, to make sure people don’t miss the collection date.
It’s being hailed as the most successful opening night ever for the Wrexham Open!
Hundreds of eager fans made their way to Undegun and Tŷ Pawb on Friday to see the unveiling of a wonderful collection of works, mostly by by local artists with a few from further afield!
The Wrexham Open is North East Wales’ biggest open art exhibition. Any artist, amateur or professional, is able to enter. Any medium of art is accepted, from film to painting, photography and sculpture.
Close to 300 works by a total of 180 different artists were entered this year and are now on display across both venues.
£3,000 worth of prizes were also awarded to artists in four categories on the night.
Tŷ Pawb was the first destination for the evening.
Following some opening speeches from the Mayor of Wrexham (Cllr Andy Williams), Marja Bonada (Co-director of Undegun Arts) and Jo Marsh (Tŷ Pawb’s Creative Director), guests had a chance to wander the galleries and chat to some of the artists and staff involved with the exhibition.
Tŷ Pawb:
Then came an iconic moment – a lantern-lit walk to Undegun, the co-host venue for this year’s exhibition. Luckily, the wind and rain didn’t cause too much of a problem as these were LED lanterns! Each one was designed at a pop-up craft event at Tŷ Pawb.
Once the crowds had gathered in Undegun’s vast gallery space, the next part of the event began. The awarding of the prizes.
Four prizes were handed out in total. Entries were judged by Thomas Dukes, curator of Open Eye Gallery at Liverpool; Rabab Gazoul, founding co-director of Gentle/Radical, Cardiff; and Simon Job, winner of the 2017 Wrexham Open.
Here is the list of the winners with the venue where you can see their work:
Judges Prize – Lesley James – Opposing Views (Tŷ Pawb)
Socially Engaged Practice – Louise Short – Sunset Over Stanlow (Tŷ Pawb)
Lens-based Media Prize – Alan Whitfield – Marram Grass House (Undegun)
Young Person Prize – Gideon Vass (Undegun)
Huge congratulations to them all!
A fifth ‘People’s Prize’ award will also be given at the end of the exhibition. This is decided by a public vote, which anyone visiting the exhibition can take part in.
Undegun:
A “buzzing” atmosphere
With the prizes awarded, it was celebration time as the crowds enjoyed a party style atmosphere to end a wonderful night.
Marja Bonada, Co-Director at Undegun, said: “We were absolutely delighted and overwhelmed by the standard of the work in this year’s Wrexham Open, and also by the amazing turnout at the opening night.
“Undegun was packed with visitors, and the atmosphere was buzzing. It just goes to show how many creative people there are in the area, who deserve the chance to showcase their talents. We sincerely hope that people return to share their art with us, and enjoy the exhibitions we put on. The next one will be our Studio Holders Exhibition, which will be the first one of 2019.
“Huge thanks to all staff and volunteers at Undegun and Ty Pawb for working so hard to make it all such a huge success!”
An exhibition for all to enjoy
Jo Marsh, Creative Director at Tŷ Pawb, said: “We’ve been blown away by the wonderful support we’ve had tonight. The crowds just kept coming. We counted close to 300 people at Tŷ Pawb and there may well have been more who joined us at Undegun. It’s the most successful opening event we can recall for the Wrexham Open.
“It’s so important to make sure our exhibitions are accessible and enjoyable for everyone who visits. The Wrexham Open is a great showcase for the magnificent talent we have in the local area so it’s been brilliant for us to see so many new faces at both venues. We’d love to see as many people as possible coming to enjoy the show over the next couple of months.
“A huge amount of work goes into organising an exhibition on this scale and we are so delighted for the staff and volunteers at both venues. All the galleries look sensational.”
Lead Member for People – Communities, Partnerships Public Protection and Community Safety, Cllr Hugh Jones, said: “I’m delighted that that we’ve been able to put on such a hugely successful event to celebrate our local art scene.
“It’s remarkable to see such a range of styles and talent from artists of all ages and backgrounds in one exhibition. I think anyone visiting over the next few months will be hugely impressed. The quality of the works is outstanding across the board.
“Huge congratulations to the prize winners and to the staff and organisers at both venues for putting such an impressive show together.”
If you couldn’t make it here yourself, don’t worry, we captured it all on film for you:
Come and see for yourself!
The Wrexham Open is on at both Undegun and Tŷ Pawb until December 16 and is free to view so you’ve got plenty of time to come and enjoy these amazing works.
There will also be plenty of activities and events linked to the exhibition over the next couple of months.
The 2018 Wrexham Open Exhibition is hosted by Tŷ Pawb and Undegun, Wrexham, with the support of Wrexham County Borough Council, THIS Project, East Street Arts and the Arts Council of Wales.
Class 230 trains will be on the Borderlands line from Wrexham to Bidston in 2019,and journey time improvements will be seen as a result.
Plans are also in place to increase the service frequency from one to two trains per hour from 2021.
On the Chester-Wrexham-Shrewsbury Line, new diesel multiple units will be in service from 2022 ,giving greater capacity and more cycle spaces. The frequency of the Chester to Shrewsbury service will also double from December 2022. Sunday service frequency will also improve by 2025.
Cllr David A. Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport said: “We are very pleased to hear of Transport for Wales’ plans for the rail routes around Wrexham, particularly the increases in rail services on both lines, which we at Wrexham have lobbied for through our Strategic Transport Group.
“This, coupled with the planned cascade of good quality rolling stock, will result in some excellent improvements to the service. I am pleased our work and lobbying has paid off.
He added: “We also look forward to exploring the planned multimodal interchange at Wrexham General, and Transport for Wales’ commitment to improve accessibility and step-free access at stations.”
Other plans include the implementation of a Social and Commercial Development Plan for each station, supported by a network-wide investment fund to support community projects at stations.
All stations would see free Wi-Fi by 2020, and monitored CCTV by March 2023. They also plan to support the existing five Community Rail Partnerships and develop further partnerships throughout Wales and the Borders.
