Wrexham secures £5m for cultural park and city-centre streets

Wrexham has secured £5 million from the Welsh Government towards a cultural park and improvements around Henblas Street, Chester Street and the former Hippodrome site. The government announced the allocation on 8 October. Wrexham’s share forms part of £10 million approved through Transforming Towns for regeneration across Wales.

What the scheme would provide

In its 9 October statement, Wrexham Council said it hoped work would begin before the end of this year. That remains an ambition rather than a confirmed start date. The council describes new paving, street furniture, trees and green spaces across the area. Plans for the former Hippodrome site include tiered seating, landscaping, a large outdoor screen and water features. The scheme forms part of the council’s planned cultural quarter and wider placemaking work. The funding announcement does not mean those facilities are open or the work has been completed.

The wider funding package

The remaining £5 million of the government’s programme supports projects in Brynmawr, Neath, Monmouth, Bala and Newport, alongside the South West Wales Placemaking Plan. The Wrexham allocation is therefore separate from the support for those other projects.

What remains to be confirmed

Wrexham Council says its project will also draw on other funding sources. Neither announcement gives a complete project budget, a confirmed construction timetable or an opening date. Those are the next practical details for residents and businesses to watch. The former Hippodrome cinema closed in the 1990s and the building burnt down in 2008, according to the council’s account. The current scheme would turn that site into a public space within a wider street-improvement project, rather than rebuilding the cinema.