wrexham 2025 town centre prospectus 1
2 wrexham 2025 town centre prospectus contents 04 the vision 07 the potential 10 the present 13 the future 16 the opportunity
3 Lifestyles are changing. Town centres must change too. For many decades, the driving force behind the evolution of town centres was retail. Pure and simple. But things have changed. Internet shopping, supermarkets and out-of-town developments have altered the way we shop. And although retail continues to be a major force, you can no longer build a town centre around shopping alone. The 1970s are never coming back. We have to look forward. We have to re-imagine the role of our town centre, and how it can evolve as a place of business, housing, education and leisure.
4 wrexham 2025 town centre prospectus the vision
5 This document spells out our vision for Wrexham town centre over the next decade. A town centre that without losing its identity will evolve in tune with 21st century living. Of course, turning that vision into reality won t be easy. We ll need a detailed master-plan, and we re working on that. But for the moment, let s set the scene and explain how you can keep up to speed with our progress. So what is our vision exactly? Here s the short version An attractive, distinctive and accessible 21st century town centre where people want to live, visit and invest. Sounds good. But how are we going to do it? This is how
6 wrexham 2025 town centre prospectus physical regeneration homes jobs & skills income reduction in poverty We ll help to create new and improved homes in the town so more people can live here. And more people living here, will mean more demand for day-to-day goods and services. Shopping. Entertainment. And so on. That will stimulate the growth of businesses, creating new jobs and skills in the process, generating income, reducing poverty and creating a better quality of life for local people. Simple. We ll also develop arts and cultural facilities, and broaden the night-time economy. Every town and city has a vision. That doesn t mean it s going to happen. But we have a big headstart. Wrexham has been awarded 10.5 million from Welsh Government to help turn this vision into reality. The money is part of the Vibrant and Viable Places regeneration project, and it shows that we re serious. We can do this. And to give investors confidence, we re embedding this vision in the planning framework of the emerging Town Centre Masterplan and Local Development Plan. So more people will come here for a more diverse range of reasons. Not just shopping. Pie in the sky? No way.
7 increased quality of life the potential Still not convinced about Wrexham town centre s potential? Consider this Our population is projected to grow more than the rest of North Wales put together between now and 2025. And consider this Between 10,000 and 13,000 additional homes will be built in the county borough by 2028. Our student population is expanding year-on-year (Glyndwr University is epic). Our night economy is probably the biggest in North Wales. One of Wales biggest music festivals Focus Wales is staged here, attracting over 5,000 people to the town. Sweet. Wrexham is expected to attract up to 1 billion of investment in the next three years.
8 wrexham 2025 town centre prospectus Where is Wrexham? North Wales. Bang on the border with England. In the UK Easy to get to? Yep. The A483 bypass plugs straight into the M56, M53 and M6 motorways. And one third of the UK population is within two hours drive time And? Liverpool and Manchester airports are just 45 minutes away by car Ok. You re easy to get to. But are you big? Yep. The biggest town in North Wales. And around 135,000 people live in the county borough. Tell us something interesting about youself. Cool. We ve got the third oldest professional football club in the world Thanks Smiley faces are not cool Oh
9 All of these things mean people. And a lot of these people if we get it right will rely on the town centre. For work, housing, leisure and lots of other stuff. For the right commercial investors, that equates to a market. Wrexham has huge potential.
10 wrexham 2025 town centre prospectus the present
11 Wrexham has seen some incredible investment over the past decade or so. More than 485,000 square foot of retail space has been created in the town centre since 2003. This includes the ultra-modern Eagles Meadow opened in 2008 and home to flagship stores like Debenhams, Next and M&S. Art is big too. Pop-up creative spaces like Un-Deg-Un and Galeri 3B have given new purpose to empty retail premises, injecting new life and energy into our high streets. Housing projects in Tuttle Street, Caxton Place and Grosvenor Road have created smart new living space. While the 15 million development in Hightown has transformed an important residential area.
12 wrexham 2025 town centre prospectus So already, we ve seen some great commercial development and creative use of town centre space and buildings. And although this document is about the town centre, there s been some major investment on the outskirts too. In 2013 a brand-new 83-bedroom Premiere Inn was built close to Glyndwr University, as well as impressive new retail units on Mold Road. We ve also seen huge investment in the university campus in recent years, including a new 40 million student housing complex and major improvements to the university-owned Racecourse football stadium. Another big investment was the 25 million Morrisons supermarket off Ruthin Road, which opened in 2011. All indicative of Wrexham s potential.
the future 13
14 wrexham 2025 town centre prospectus Like we say, we have a vision. We want to create a town centre that s built for 21st century living. A place where people can work, live, learn and enjoy themselves. We ll do this by encouraging new development in Wrexham. But where exactly? We re talking to key land and property owners to find out what their ambitions are, and if we can figure them in our plans. However, we ve already identified some key sites. Bridge Street Bodhyfryd
15 The key to success will be good communication and co-ordination between Wrexham Council and commercial developers and real estate owners. The public and private sectors working together? Spot-on. It makes sense. If we can build that relationship, Wrexham will get the investment it needs. And developers and real estate owners will make the returns they need to be profitable.
16 wrexham 2025 town centre prospectus the opportunity
17 We re at the start of this journey. But if you d like to keep up-to-speed with our progress and maybe even help us shape our plan get in touch. Maybe you re a developer or real estate owner interested in talking to us? Maybe you re an existing town centre business? Or an interested member of the public? Whatever angle you re coming from, we re keen to keep you posted. e: economicdevelopment@wrexham.gov.uk t. 01978 298752
18 wrexham 2025 town centre prospectus