Wrexham County Borough

Wrexham County Borough
Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam
Borough and Principal area

Wrexham County Borough shown within Wales
Coordinates: 53°03′N 3°00′W / 53.05°N 3.00°W / 53.05; -3.00Coordinates: 53°03′N 3°00′W / 53.05°N 3.00°W / 53.05; -3.00
Sovereign state  United Kingdom
Constituent country  Wales
Preserved county Clwyd
Established 1 April 1996
Administrative HQ Wrexham
Government
 • Type Principal council
 • Body Wrexham County Borough Council
 • Executive TBA (council NOC)
 • Leader Mark Pritchard (Independent)
 • Mayor Alan Edwards
 • Chief Executive Dr Helen Paterson
 • MPs Susan Jones (L)
Ian Lucas (L)
Area
 • Total 193 sq mi (499 km2)
Area rank 10th
Population (2016)
 • Total 136,700
 • Rank 10th
 • Density 700/sq mi (271/km2)
 • Ethnicity 97.6% white
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) British Summer Time (UTC+1)
GSS code W06000006
ISO 3166-2 GB-WRX
NUTS 3 code UKL23
ONS code 00NL
Website www.wrexham.gov.uk
Pontycysyllte canal boat aqueduct on Wrexham's outskirts – A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Wrexham County Borough (Welsh: Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is a local government principal area centred on the town of Wrexham in north-east Wales. The county borough has a population of nearly 135,000 inhabitants. Around 63,000 of these live either within the town of Wrexham or in the surrounding conurbation of urban villages. The remainder live to the south and east of the town in more rural areas, including the borough's large salient in the Ceiriog Valley. The area has strong links with coal-mining.

The county borough was formed on 1 April 1996. Borough status was inherited from the town of Wrexham, granted over 150 years ago. Most of the area was previously part of the district of Wrexham Maelor – with several communities coming from Glyndŵr – in the county of Clwyd.

The area includes a portion of the eastern half of the historic county of Denbighshire (although not forming part of the principal area of Denbighshire), and two exclaves of historic Flintshire: English Maelor and the parish of Marford and Hoseley.

Government

The region is governed as a unitary authority by Wrexham County Borough Council. Most offices of the council are situated within Wrexham town centre, around Llwyn Isaf and the Civic Centre around Chester Street. The headquarters of the organisation is at the Guild Hall, Queens Square.

Assembly members

Constituency Assembly member Political party Electoral region Assembly member Political party
Clwyd South Ken Skates Labour Party North Wales Janet Haworth Conservative Party
Wrexham Lesley Griffiths Llyr Huws Gruffydd Plaid Cymru
Mark Isherwood Conservative Party
Aled Roberts Liberal Democrats

Members of the European Parliament

Wrexham County Borough forms part of the Wales constituency, which elects four members to the European Parliament using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

Constituency Member of the European Parliament National political party European political party
Wales Jill Evans Plaid Cymru European Free Alliance
Nathan Gill UK Independence Party Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe
Kay Swinburne Conservative Party Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists
Derek Vaughan Labour Party Party of European Socialists

Schools

Top performing Secondary Schools in Wrexham County Borough (5 GCSEs, grades A*-C, according to the latest inspection report by Estyn). All Schools English speaking unless stated:

Twinning

Wrexham is twinned with the German district of Märkischer Kreis and the Polish town of Racibórz.

The first twinning was established on 17 March 1970 between the former Kreis Iserlohn and Wrexham Rural District. Its early success ensured that, after local government reorganisation in both countries in the mid-seventies, the twinning was taken over by the new councils of Märkischer Kreis and Wrexham Maelor Borough Council and, in 1996, by Wrexham County Borough Council.

In 2001 Märkischer Kreis entered a twinning arrangement with Racibórz, a county in Poland, which was formerly part of Silesia, Germany. In September 2002, a delegation from Racibórz visited Wrexham and began discussions about co-operation which led to the signing of Articles of Twinning between Wrexham and Racibórz in March 2004. The Wrexham area has strong historical links with Poland. Following World War II, many service personnel from the Free Polish armed forces who had been injured received treatment at Penley Polish Hospital. Many of their descendants remain in the area.

See also

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