Reviewing Local Discretions which are available as part of the scheme.

Wrexham Council has a track record of making cuts - £33.8m in the last five years and nearly £60m since the economic crisis began in 2007/08. Over 3/4 of these have been achieved with minimal impact on the majority of the public and without having to drastically reduce the range of services we provide. 

However we are now at the stage where we are having to reduce these services (i.e. a tipping point). The money that UK and Welsh Government gives to us (which is about 3/4 of our entire funding) is already below the Welsh average per person, alongside this we have kept our council tax low and we are now facing increasing demand for services such as children and adult's social care. 

We have been lobbying the Government, along with other Welsh Local Authorities, for a fairer proportion of their overall budget. But unfortunately we found out in early October that we have not received enough funding to allow us to meet all of our budget pressures for 2019/20, and leaves us with budget risks for 2020/21. Therefore we have to find an additional £9m this year to balance our books. In addition, we cannot afford to take our eyes off the future, as even if we do everything we are proposing in this document, we anticipate we will still need to make further cuts of around the same amount in in 2020/21.

In October and November 2018, Wrexham County Borough Council asked the public of Wrexham to take part in the ‘Difficult Decisions’ consultation, to inform the decisions we had to make in order to contribute to the estimated £9million we need to save in 2019/20.

The consultation involved a survey and a market stall event. A number of individuals and groups also submitted letters/emails of response. 3,350 people took part in the consultation in all , and we would like to thank all those people and groups who took part.

A really important part of any consultation is feeding back to the participants about what has happened since they gave their opinions, and what effect their views have had. This process of feedback is about being able to show where your views have directly impacted on a proposal, and also explaining when there are times where we could not do everything suggested by the public (and explaining why).

So, we are now presenting this ‘You Said, We Did’ report to show you the final decisions that have been made about each of the proposals presented for consultation.

If you want to read all of the details about the proposals the Council made, and the results of the consultation, you will find a full report here.

Wrexham County Borough Council (along with all other Welsh Local Authorities) is required under the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 to produce an Integrated Network Map setting out a 15 year programme of improvements. The public consultation is to inform the development of the Integrated Network Map will be undertaken during 2018. The feedback received from the consultation will be used to help inform the development of the Integrated Network Maps.

Wrexham County Borough Council is preparing the Local Development Plan (LDP) which will replace the current adopted Unitary Development Plan. The LDP will be a long-term land use and development strategy focused on achieving sustainable development and will:

• guide development for housing, employment, retail and other uses;
• set out policies that will be used to decide planning applications; and
• safeguard areas of land requiring protection or enhancement.

Wrexham County Borough Council needs a housing strategy to respond to the challenges of providing housing and has a clear framework which sets out the forthcoming direction of housing in Wrexham County Borough.

The Local Housing Strategy 2018-2023 will provide information on current provision, demand and main influences as well as outline what is required for the next five years. The strategy will consist of three parts. A one page strategy will deliver the headlines of what we want to achieve, further detail will be provided in an accompanying booklet which is a continuation of the one page strategy and an Action Plan which will detail the actions, targets and measures of how the Council will achieve the commitments outlined in the strategy.

The Strategy may need to be reviewed during its lifetime in order to respond to any changes in  legislation, funding and resources which cannot be predicted at present.

This strategy is not a stand-alone document and reflects the priorities in Wrexham County Borough Council’s Plan. Both the Council Plan and the Local Housing Strategy support and are underpinned by a  number of themes in current legislation. We recognise that a housing strategy is not just about “bricks and mortar”. It is about regeneration, prosperity, aspirations, economic growth and supporting people to live in their homes and communities.

The Local Housing Strategy will follow three themes:

• More Housing More Choice
• Improving Homes and Communities
• Better Services to improve people’s lives

This is one of a series of local planning guidance notes, amplifying local development plan policies and reflecting national guidance in relation to developments affecting Great Crested Newt (GCN)  Triturus cristatus populations.  This guidance note is intended to provide advice and guidance to developers, land owners, members and other local authority council officers when assessing development proposals involving, or in close proximity to GCN population, together with other material planning considerations.  

The purpose of the draft revision Local Planning Guidance Note 5: Houses in Multiple Occupation is to set out criteria for how proposals for houses in multiple occupation (HMO) will be assessed so that smaller/more affordable units of accommodation can continue to be developed whilst at the same time trying to avoid over concentrations of HMOs in specific areas. The guidance also sets out the important planning requirements for HMOs, including minimum external areas for large HMOs.

In parallel with the proposed up addition an update to Local Planning Guidance Note 16: Parking is proposed.

The draft SPG seeks to provide clear and easy to understand guidance to raise awareness of the AONB and improve the quality of development and landscape design in and around the AONB. When approved by each of the Local Planning Authorities the SPG will be a material planning consideration in determining planning applications and appeals.

We've been working on a plan that we hope will shape the present and future of the county borough of Wrexham.

It's really important we get it right. That's why we've worked hard to involve you every step of the way, and now it’s time to ask for your views on the plan that we’ve drafted. 

Local Councils have less money to spend on services because Government (UK and Wales) are giving us less money in our budgets every year.  Wrexham Council has already saved around £18 million in the last three years, and we think we’re going to have to find another £13 million over the next two years. Overall, we have had to make savings of £52 million since 2008.

We want to be able to deliver good services to you, and we’re always looking for ways to get better at what we’re doing.  We are working hard to become a more modern organisation and to make sure that we have the right staff and services in place to meet the needs of local people. 

We are trying to make savings which don’t affect the public in a bad way, but as we have less and less money to spend every year, it’s getting harder.  We are also given new responsibilities by Welsh Government every year, which all cost money and time (e.g. changes in Social Services).

More than 3,700 people took part in the consultation and gave their views about the proposals we made, as well as making some suggestions of their own.

We'd like to thank everyone who took part for their time.

The results from the consultation were presented to Elected Members in order to shape the decisions they made about Wrexham County Borough Council's budget for 2018/19.

The 'You Said, We Did' report details what decisions have been made about each of the proposals presented for consultation.