You may have noticed that some building works have started on Crown Buildings on Chester Street in Wrexham town centre.
This work is part of an exciting new project to transform the ground floor of the old building into Wrexham’s new ‘Community Health and Wellbeing facility.’
With the help of funding from the Welsh Government, the space will provide integrated health, social care, third sector and community services. The aim is to make it easier for people, families and carers of all ages to access information, advice and support.
Wrexham’s Community Health and Wellbeing facility is a partner project between Wrexham Council, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and AVOW. It will build on, rather than duplicate services that are already available in Wrexham town centre and other local areas.
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The space will act as the central location for a range of accessible facilities, allowing people and families with wide ranging support needs to become more involved with community services as well as having easy access to preventative information and advice.
The facility aims to form links with other agencies and support routes in order to provide a range of information, advice and support for people, families and carers.
The upper floors of the building will become a base for social care staff helping to deliver children’s and adult’s services, as well as becoming the new location for our Education and Early Intervention Department.
Cllr Mark Pritchard, Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Assets said, “This new Community Health and Wellbeing facility will make it easier for people, families and carers to access information, advice and support. The design proposals are important as they will significantly improve the building’s energy performance, with the focus being on a ‘fabric first’ approach to improve the overall thermal efficiency of the building envelope. There will also be photovoltaic panels on the roof area to reduce carbon emissions and further improve the building’s carbon footprint.
“It’s an exciting project which will have a positive impact on the community and transform the old building into a space which will make a difference to the lives of people living and working in Wrexham.”
Cllr Andrew Atkinson, Lead Member for Children’s Services said, “This is a really exciting project which will benefit everyone in Wrexham. It will provide better access to professionals for the public and a more flexible and agile approach to provision. Children and families will also benefit from better access to improved facilities in a town centre location, promoting equality by ensuring that people with specific needs can access the same town centre facilities as all other families.”
Cllr Joan Lowe, Lead Member for Adult Social Care said, “Wrexham’s Community Health and Wellbeing facility will be a great addition to Wrexham Town Centre, it will provide support for people who need advice or information about a wide range of topics. It will make it easier for people to access information and advice in one place as well as providing a site where partner organisations can work seamlessly together to give the best possible care and information to anyone who needs it.”
Cllr Phil Wynn, Lead Member for Education said, “This is a great opportunity for Wrexham with Children Services and Education co-located in one building which will provide improved access for children and families to the support services we provide. As a child of the sixties I am pleased Crown Buildings will be given a new lease of life as the building is an understated example of 1960’s construction”.
Cllr John Pritchard, Lead Member for People, Youth Service and Anti-Poverty said, “This is a fantastic collaboration project and the services delivered will reach out to everyone, of all ages, in Wrexham. The building will also make these services much more accessible. It’s very exciting and I can’t wait to see the services improving people’s lives in the area.”
Karen Evans – Assistant Director Community Services, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board – says the development of the Community Health and Wellbeing facility in Wrexham will provide new opportunities for people to access health and wellbeing information, advice and services in a holistic way.
“We are delighted to be working collaboratively to design the environment and service offer within the facility and look forward to providing health and wellbeing services here in the near future.”
John Gallanders- Chief Officer AVOW – Association of Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham, is very pleased that the Third Sector have been given an opportunity to be involved with the development of the Community Health and Wellbeing facility.
“The involvement of the Third Sector will ensure that there is a holistic support linked very closely with the Local Authority and Health Board for people needing a broad range of help. With so many things affecting people’s lives having a single point of contact will avoid revolving doors. AVOW will over the next few months be contacting Third Sector organisations who could be part of the service provision.”
The design proposals will significantly improve the building’s energy performance, which has been a key driver for the scheme from the outset. Working closely with the contractor and their designers the focus has been on a “fabric first” approach to improve the overall thermal efficiency of the building envelope to reduce carbon emissions.
The roof area will be fully utilised to house a substantial array of photovoltaic panels, which will further improve the building’s carbon footprint through on-site renewable energy production.
Once complete the building will be brought up to an estimated ‘B’ rating which would demonstrate a significant reduction in carbon emissions and performance comparable with many new build projects.
The works will take up to 18 months to complete with Wrexham Community Health and Wellbeing facility hoping to be open to the public in early 2022.
