1 week Ago By R T
A small number of councillors have probed the councils’ Economic Prosperity Strategy for 2025–2028 — and while the tone was largely constructive, members raised pressing questions about long-term funding, performance measurement, and the inclusivity of the city-centred focus. Led by Andrew Harradine and Amanda Davies, council officers presented a detailed update on the city centre, arts, and culture components of the proposed strategy. This month’s meeting followed an earlier session in November that focused on regeneration.
They described the approach as “incremental,” saying the strategy is being reverse-engineered: “We’re trying to identify those building blocks that councillors feel are the most important parts...
and then find the right data, the right statistics, the right resource information.” “That sets us up to say, right..
. This is how we’re going to improve prosperity in the county borough.” Tŷ Pawb, the council’s flagship but loss-making ‘jewel in the crown’ of Wrexham, featured heavily in the session with its dual role as an arts centre and market noted, while Davies, who also leads Wrexham’s City of Culture 2029 bid, called the venue’s sustainability “key to the economic plan.
” She emphasised, “We want to do what we are doing here, attracting people in, and when they get here, giving them something to do. That’s the whole point.” While members praised the ambition, several voiced concern about the weight placed on city-centre assets.
Councillor Dana Davies said: “This report is full of Tŷ Pawb...
but we’re missing The Stiwt and the National Trust. They deliver a lot of arts and culture outside the city.” Others raised concerns over a city-centre focus, and Officers clarified that the City of Culture bid is county-wide: “It’s absolutely key that all partners and schools are engaged.
Once the [UK Government’s] Expression of Interest is released, we’ll be going public with those partnerships.” A major theme of the meeting was funding insecurity. Councillor Andy Gallanders, unable to attend in person, submitted written questions highlighting the risk of overreliance on time-limited grant funding for non-statutory services like arts and culture.
Davies acknowledged, “Arts and culture are struggling. UK and Welsh Government funding has been reduced. That’s why our 2029 bid is about legacy.
We must show how arts and culture will develop and sustain over 10 years.” “From a Wrexham perspective, as I say, it’s all about legacy, and we need to make sure that we as part of the culture team are liaising with Welsh Government and UK Government for funding aspects, to make sure that that comes through to deliver cultural regeneration with it, within Wrexham itself” Harradine added: “The entirety of regeneration is non statutory, with the exception of some aspects of the library service. Our function is to attract and secure external funding.
That’s the only way we can operate.” He noted that the council has been successful in securing large grants but warned, “We do need a certain amount of money to ensure there are enough bodies in place to do that.” Lead Member Cllr Nigel Williams confirmed the events budget had “taken a slight hit” this year but stressed that “the general public expects a certain level now,” highlighting the council’s success in bringing major events like the Tour of Britain and, most recently, the international Lexus Open tennis tournament to Wrexham later this year.
He added that some extra grant cash could help, “I have asked all the departments to apply for SPF grants this time, so hopefully we should hear in May, if they’ve been successful. Touch wood, fingers crossed, they will be.” A recurring concern from councillors was how success would be measured.
Cllr Dana Davies said bluntly: “Numbers of loans, numbers of grants, numbers of newsletters — those are not measures of success. Those are outputs.” She called for benchmarking against key performance indicators such as employment rates, average earnings, arts participation, and GVA (Gross Value Added), arguing: “You can’t pull the levers unless you know what levers you need to pull.
” Harradine agreed, admitting it’s “still very early days” but said tools such as social value assessments are being trialled to better understand impact. “We also need to get under the skin of lived experience..
. sometimes it’s about creating the wider conditions for success,” he said. Several councillors raised concerns that some communities may be left behind – with a view shared by one that not all residents feel the city centre is “for them,” especially those in surrounding neighbourhoods or from younger generations.
“We’re losing people. We need to ensure that all communities are brought with us,” he said. Davies responded, “Our aim will be that we will identify a percentage of residents across the county that traditionally don’t engage with cultural activities” “The whole idea is exactly as you say.
If our if our residents are not engaging, the question is, A. why aren’t they engaging? B. what can we do to make sure that they do engage? And then we evaluate, which is absolutely key.
” Harradine reinforced that equity would be embedded in the final plan through equality impact assessments and wider consultation. He noted the limits of some government funding streams, which are often “place-based” and city-centre specific, restricting how resources can be allocated across the county, noting of some grants “..
.particularly the regeneration ones are Town Centre focused or city, whatever the parlance may be, we can’t use those in a sort of equitable spread across wider areas”. Councillor John McCusker struck a more light-hearted but pointed tone when discussing tourism: “You know where the vape shops are — you’ve got flashing lights, or the local barber, whether they’re legal or not” and contrasted it to Ty Pawb and other places.
In response, officers and the Lead Member pointed to recent improvements, including the launch of new interactive digital boards on Lord Street and High Street and the expansion of visitor maps. The meeting was also told of behind-the-scenes work with international travel media, such as a visit from a major German newspaper planning a feature on Wrexham. “There’s far more to Wrexham than just the football,” he said.
“And we’re showing people exactly what a beautiful county we live in.” The committee appeared clear, while the strategy’s current draft reflects ambition, it needs sharpening and perhaps moreso now than ever before due to the wider budget cuts. As the council officers put it: “There are lots and lots of things that we can do.
What are the things that have the biggest impact? Because, we will not be able to do everything forever. We will have to be a little bit more tactical in terms of what are the things that really make the difference.” Get notified about news from across North Wales.
