Do you live in, work in, or visit Wrexham on a regular basis? If so, have your say on the priorities for transport improvements in the western area of the city through completing our survey and/or inputting details on our interactive map.

Wrexham County Borough Council (WCBC), in conjunction with Transport for Wales, Welsh Government, and Ambition North Wales, are looking to identify transport improvements required in the western area of Wrexham to improve local connectivity and to support delivery of employment growth.

Within this area of Wrexham, as illustrated below, the land located between Moneypenny and the A483 is under WCBC ownership and forms part of the North Wales Growth Deal as ‘Western Gateway, Wrexham’. The North Wales Growth Deal is an agreement between the Welsh Government and the UK Government to provide more than £1billion investment in North Wales over 15 years (to 2036), generating over 4,000 new jobs, and £2.4billion into the economy. This includes an investment of £9million at the Western Gateway site, which could contribute up to £120million to the regional economy and develop 8,000sqm of land suitable for businesses. However, to facilitate a high-quality employment development at this site, transport improvements are required to improve access by all modes.

To achieve this, WCBC has commissioned WSP to undertake a WelTAG study to identify and develop measures in support of developing the Western Gateway site, whilst also improving local connectivity.

What has been considered to date as part of the project?

WCBC has been working alongside WSP, Transport for Wales, Welsh Government, and Ambition North Wales to identify the key transport issues in the local area. The following issues have been identified to date:

• Significant local congestion surrounding the Western Gateway site during peak times. This is particularly focused around the Wrexham Maelor Hospital and access to and from the A483 via both Junctions 4 (Ruthin Road) and 5 (Mold Road);
• Safety concerns at A483 Junction 4 (Ruthin Road) due to congestion in the local area causing significant queueing at the junction;
• Poor bus reliability due to congestion on the surrounding highway network;
• Direct bus services only provide access to a small number of locations, such as Wrexham city centre, Brymbo, and New Broughton;
• Poor connectivity towards Wrexham General Station from the Western Gateway site, particularly on-foot, by cycle, or by wheeling;
• Disjointed active travel routes towards Hightown / the southern area of Wrexham;
• Poor active travel linkages towards locations to the west of Wrexham, including Coedpoeth and Gwersyllt;
• Severance for journeys on-foot, by cycle, and by wheeling caused by the presence of the A483 and developments in the local area; and
• Parking issues associated with the Wrexham Maelor Hospital site.

What is being considered at the Western Gateway, Wrexham?

There are currently no detailed proposals in place for the Western Gateway site. However, the site is under the ownership of WCBC, and it is intended to come forward as a high-quality office-based development site which can be accessed effectively by sustainable transport modes.

In terms of vehicle access, it is currently proposed to provide a new link road through the site between Ruthin Road in the west and the Moneypenny Roundabout in the east. This would serve as the primary form of access towards the Wrexham Maelor Hospital from the A483 Junction 4, replacing the need for people to travel along the south-western end of Croesnewydd Road.

To avoid the potential for people rat-running along Croesnewydd Road after development of the Western Gateway site, it is proposed that the section of Croesnewydd Road between the Western Gateway Signals and the housing to the south is pedestrianised. Access will however be retained along this section of Croesnewydd Road for emergency service vehicles and potentially local bus services.

A summary of the current proposals is illustrated below.

Why are we engaging with the public?

We want to understand in more detail the key problems and challenges which local people face when travelling in the local area. We are also interested in the local priorities for transport improvements in the area, as well as public views on the proposals being considered at the Western Gateway site.

Have your say online.

We would be grateful if you could spend a small amount of time in responding to our survey and set out any specific issues and opportunities using the map function below.

The engagement period is now open and runs until March 21^st, 2025.

Have your say in-person.

If you would prefer to speak to us and feedback in person, members of the project team will be available in the following locations on the dates outlined below.

• Wrexham Maelor Hospital – Main Entrance (Croesnewydd Road, Wrexham, LL13 7TD) – Monday February 17^th, 11:00-18:00.
• Plas Pentwyn Community Centre (Castle Road, Coedpoeth, LL11 3NU) – Wednesday February 19^th, 14:00-19:00.
• Clywedog Leisure and Activity Centre – Reception (Ruthin Road, Wrexham, LL13 7UB) – Wednesday March 5^th, 16:45-20:00.

Paper copies of the feedback forms in Welsh and English will be available at the drop-ins, or these can be picked up during the engagement period from deposit locations at Wrexham Library (Rhosddu Road, Wrexham LL11 1AU).

Contact the project team.

If you have any questions related to the project, we have provided a list of frequently asked questions to the right. If you find your question has not been covered within these, or would like to raise any feedback not covered by the survey and map function, please feel free to contact the project team by:

• Email: PorthWesternGateway@wsp.com
• Post (FAO: Western Gateway – Transport Team): Wrexham County Borough Council, Abbey Road South, Wrexham, LL13 9PW

What will happen after the engagement period closes?

All suggestions received will be considered in the development of the Wrexham Western Gateway WelTAG study. This will help inform the design of measures that could provide the greatest benefit to the local area, both in terms on enabling development at the Western Gateway site and for local transport connectivity.

Once complete, WCBC will consider the next steps for implementing the identified measures alongside Transport for Wales and Welsh Government.