Wrexham looks to become newest City in North Wales

Wrexham Council have unveiled two ambitious applications that could see the town become a city, and then also becoming a City of Culture.

Cllr Mark Pritchard Leader of the Council said, “Both these opportunities provide a real opportunity to demonstrate locally, regionally and nationally the ambition that Wrexham has to properly fulfil its role as the major urban centre and heart of North Wales and in doing so provide significant benefits to local residents.”

The Council is encouraging local representatives, local stakeholders and communities to “be positively part of this process over the coming months to support work that is critical to the economic recovery of the town and surrounding areas”.

The council added, “Both these potential opportunities can provide significant benefits to Wrexham. Identifying and sharing the details of these benefits with stakeholders over the coming months would be a key part of the work on these projects.”

Cllr Terry Evans Lead member for Economic Regeneration said, “Economic recovery is a priority over the coming months and these two opportunities will help show the confidence we all have in Wrexham and it is this confidence that creates the environment for investment in the area.”

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety said, “Wrexham has a strong track record in this area having undertaken a year of Culture in 2011 and has rich cultural assets including Tŷ Pawb, the oldest international football ground in the World and a World Heritage Site to name a few, we want to celebrate with local residents the unique culture of Wrexham and the City of Culture 2025 provides a unique opportunity to do this.”

The Council last bid for City Status in 2012 as part of the Queens Diamond Jubilee Honours with the process back then costing around £20,000 and today’s new bid announcement has been hinted at previously.

The Council note, “Maximising economic benefits for Wrexham at a time of recovery from Covid 19 is critical to the future success of Wrexham. Key pieces of work that will be required include, working with economic specialists to identify the benefits and any disadvantages associated with city status; engaging with stakeholders about these benefits to gain their views; identifying a key set of stakeholders who would work with the Council on advocating the bid.”

The closing date the City Status bid is December 2021.