Wrexham County Borough Council

Wrexham County Borough Council (Welsh: Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is the governing body for Wrexham County Borough, a principal area with city status in north Wales, covering Wrexham and the surrounding area.

Wrexham Council Cyngor Wrecsam
Type
Type	County Borough
History
Founded	1 April 1996
Preceded by	Clwyd County Council Wrexham Maelor
Leadership
Mayor	Beryl Blackmore, Independent since 21 May 2024[1]
Leader	Mark Pritchard, Independent since 24 September 2014
Chief Executive	Ian Bancroft since August 2018[2]
Structure
Seats	56 councillors
Political groups	Administration (31)   Independent (21)   Conservative (9)   Liberal Democrats (1) Other parties (25)   Labour (16)   Plaid Cymru (7)   Independent (2)
Length of term	5 years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Guildhall, Wrexham, LL11 1AY
Website
www.wrexham.gov.uk

History

Wrexham County Borough Council was created in 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. The new county borough of Wrexham covered all of the district of Wrexham Maelor and a small part of the Glyndŵr district, both of which were part of the county of Clwyd. On 1 April 1996 the new Wrexham County Borough Council took over the county-level functions previously performed by Clwyd County Council and the district-level functions from the two district councils, which were abolished.^[3]

On 1 September 2022 the county borough was awarded city status, but the council continues to style itself "Wrexham County Borough Council".^[4]

In November 2023, a councillor's annual basic salary was £17,600, with the council proposing an increase of 6% to £18,666.^[5]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 1999. Since the 2022 election the council has been led by a coalition of the "Independent Group", comprising 21 of the independent councillors, and the Conservatives.^[6] The council's one Liberal Democrat councillor joined the administration in December 2022.^[7]

The first election to the new council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows:^[8]

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1996–1999
	No overall control	1999–present

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Wrexham is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:^[9]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Warren Coleman		Labour	1 Apr 1996	21 May 1997
Malcolm King		Labour	21 May 1997	6 May 1998
Neil Rogers		Labour	6 May 1998	17 May 2000
Shân Wilkinson		Labour	17 May 2000	23 Jun 2004
Neil Rogers		Labour	23 Jun 2004	9 Mar 2005
Aled Roberts		Liberal Democrats	9 Mar 2005	18 May 2011
Ron Davies		Liberal Democrats	18 May 2011	6 May 2012
Neil Rogers[10]		Labour	23 May 2012	2 Sep 2014
		Independent	2 Sep 2014	24 Sep 2014
Mark Pritchard		Independent	24 Sep 2014

Composition

Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was:^[11][12][13]

Party		Councillors
	Independent	23
	Labour	16
	Conservative	9
	Plaid Cymru	7
	Liberal Democrats	1
Total		56

Of the independent councillors, 21 sit as the "Independent Group" which also includes the one Liberal Democrat councillor. The other two independent councillors do not belong to any group.^[14] The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since 2012, elections have taken place every five years. The last election was 5 May 2022.^[15]

Year	Seats	Independent	Labour	Plaid Cymru	Conservative	Liberal Democrats	Notes
1995	51	11[lower-alpha 1]	33	0	3	4	Labour majority controlled
1999	52	15[lower-alpha 2]	26	0	4	7	New ward boundaries.[16]
2004	52	20[lower-alpha 3]	19	0	3	10
2008	52	20	11	4	5	12
2012	52	19	23	1	5	4
2017	52	26	12	3	9	2
2022[17]	56	23	14	9	9	1	Independent / Conservative coalition controlled. New ward boundaries.[18]

1. Includes three candidates elected as Independent Labour.
2. Includes five candidates elected as Independent Labour.
3. Includes one candidate elected to represent Forward Wales.

Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in notes column.

Premises

The council is based at the Guildhall off Rhosddu Road in the centre of Wrexham, overlooking the open space of Llwyn Isaf. The Guildhall was built between 1959 and 1961 for the original Wrexham Borough Council. It subsequently served as the headquarters of Wrexham Maelor Borough Council between 1974 and 1996, when the current Wrexham County Borough Council was created.^[19]

Electoral divisions

Main article: List of electoral wards in Wrexham County Borough

Electoral divisions in Wrexham County Borough from May 2022

The county borough is divided into forty-nine electoral wards returning fifty-six councillors. There are 35 communities in the county borough, some of which have their own elected council.

Electoral wards for Wrexham County Borough Council

Electoral ward (2022–)	Welsh name (if applicable)[18][20]	No. of councillors [20][21]	Communities and community council wards[lower-roman 1][20][21]	Councillor elected in May 2022 election[22][23]
Acrefair North	Gogledd Acre-fair	1	Cefn (Plas Madoc community ward and Acrefair and Penybryn community ward)	Paul Blackwell (Labour)
Acton and Maesydre	Gwaunyterfyn a Maes-y-dre	2	Acton (Acton Central, Acton Park and Maesydre community wards)	Becca Martin (Plaid Cymru) Corin Jarvis (Labour)
Bangor Is-y-Coed	Bangor-is-y-coed	1	Bangor Is-y-Coed Willington Worthenbury (Willington and Worthenbury wards)	Robert Ian Williams (Conservative)
Borras Park	Parc Borras	1	Acton (Borras Park ward)	Debbie Wallice (Conservative)
Bronington and Hanmer	Bronington a Hanmer	1	Bronington (Bronington, Iscoyd and Tybroughton community wards) Hanmer (Halghton and Hanmer community wards)	Jeremy Alexander Newton (Conservative)
Brymbo		2	Brymbo (Brymbo ward and Vron ward)	Paul Rogers (Independent) Gary Brown (Labour)
Bryn Cefn		1	Broughton (Bryn Cefn ward and parts of Brynteg ward)	Beverley Parry-Jones (Conservative)
Brynyffynnon		1	Offa (Part of Brynffynon and Offa community wards)	Phill Wynn (Independent)
Cartrefle		1	Caia Park (Cartrefle ward)	Ronnie Prince (Independent)
Cefn East	Dwyrain Cefn	1	Cefn (Parts of Cefn community ward, and Rhosymedre and Cefn Bychan community ward)	Derek William Wright (Labour)
Cefn West	Gorllewin Cefn	1	Cefn (Part of Acrefair and Penybryn ward, and parts of Rhosymedre and Cefn community wards)	Stella Matthews (Labour)
Chirk North	Gogledd y Waun	1	Chirk (North ward)	Frank Hemmings (Labour)
Chirk South	De'r Waun	1	Chirk (South ward)	Terry Evans (Independent)
Coedpoeth	Coed-poeth	2	Coedpoeth	Krista Childs (Labour) Anthony Wedlake (Labour)
Dyffryn Ceiriog		1	Ceiriog Ucha Glyntraian Llansantffraid (or Llansanffraid) Glyn Ceiriog	Trevor Raymond Bates (Independent)
Erddig		1	Offa (Erddig ward and part of Offa ward)	Paul Anthony Roberts (Conservative)
Esclusham		1	Esclusham (Bersham and Rhostyllen wards)	Mark Pritchard (Independent)
Garden Village[lower-roman 2]		1	Rhosddu (Garden Village ward)	Andy Williams (Independent)
Gresford East and West	Dwyrain a Gorllewin Gresffordd	1	Gresford (East and West wards)	Jeremy Kent (Conservative)
Grosvenor		1	Rhosddu (Grosvenor ward)	Marc Jones (Plaid Cymru)
Gwenfro		1	Broughton (Gwenfro ward and parts of New Broughton and Brynteg community wards)	Nigel Williams (Independent)
Gwersyllt East	Dwyrain Gwersyllt	1	Gwersyllt (East ward and parts of South ward)	Tina Mannering (Independent)
Gwersyllt North	Gogledd Gwersyllt	1	Gwersyllt (North ward)	Emma Holland (Plaid Cymru)
Gwersyllt South	De Gwersyllt	1	Gwersyllt (Part of South ward)	Peter Howell (Plaid Cymru)
Gwersyllt West	Gorllewin Gwersyllt	1	Gwersyllt (West ward)	Annette Davies (Plaid Cymru)
Hermitage		1	Offa (Hermitage ward)	Graham Rogers (Labour)
Holt		1	Holt (entire community) Abenbury (part) Isycoed (part)	Michael Morris (Conservative)
Little Acton	Acton Fechan	1	Acton (Little Acton ward)	Bill Baldwin (Independent)
Llangollen Rural	Llangollen Wledig	1	Llangollen Rural	Rondo Roberts (Independent)
Llay	Llai	2	Llay	Rob Walsh (Independent) Bryan Apsley (Labour)
Marchwiel[lower-roman 3]		1	Erbistock Marchwiel Sesswick	John Pritchard (Independent)
Marford and Hoseley	Marford a Hoseley	1	Gresford (Marford and Hoseley ward)	Beryl Blackmore (Liberal Democrats)
Minera	Mwynglawdd[lower-roman 4]	1	Minera Brymbo (Bwlchgwyn ward)	Jerry Wellens (Labour)
New Broughton		1	Broughton (Parts of Brynteg and New Broughton community wards)	Claire Lovett (Independent)
Offa		1	Offa (Part of Offa community ward and Brynyffynnon community ward)	Katie Wilkinson (Plaid Cymru)
Overton and Maelor South	Owrtyn a De Maelor	1	Overton Maelor South (Penley and Bettisfield wards)	John Bernard McCusker (Independent)
Pant and Johnstown	Pant a Johnstown	2	Rhosllanerchrugog(Johnstown community ward and Pant community ward)	Steve Joe Jones (Independent) David A Bithell (Independent)
Penycae	Pen-y-cae	1	Penycae (Eitha ward)	John Conrad Phillips (Independent)
Penycae and Ruabon South	Pen-y-cae a De Rhiwabon	1	Pen-y-Cae (Groes ward) Ruabon (South ward)	Alison Tynan (Independent)
Ponciau		1	Esclusham ( Pentrebychan ward) Rhosllanerchrugog (parts of Ponciau North, and Ponciau South wards)	Paul Pemberton (Independent)
Queensway		1	Caia Park (Queensway ward)	Carrie Harper (Plaid Cymru)
Rhos		1	Esclusham (Aberoer ward) Rhosllanerchrugog (Rhos ward; parts of Ponciau North and Ponciau South wards)	Fred Roberts (Independent)
Rhosnesni		2	Acton (Rhosnesni community ward)	Mike Davies (Independent) Andy Gallanders (Plaid Cymru)
Rossett	Yr Orsedd	2	Rossett (Allington and Burton wards)	Hugh Jones (Conservative) Ross Edward Shepherd (Conservative)
Ruabon	Rhiwabon	1	Ruabon (North ward)	Dana Davies (Labour)
Smithfield		1	Caia Park (Part of Smithfield ward and part of Whitegate ward)	Paul Williams (Plaid Cymru)
Stansty		1	Rhosddu (Stansty ward)	David Bithell (Independent)
Whitegate		1	Caia Park (Part of Whitegate ward and Abenbury ward)	Brian Paterson Cameron (Labour)
Wynnstay		1	Caia Park (Wynnstay community ward and parts of Smithfield community ward)	Malcolm Christopher King (Labour)

See also

• Mayor of Wrexham
• List of places in Wrexham County Borough
• Wrexham Maelor Council (pre-1996)

Notes

1. All wards listed in this column are referring to the community electoral wards for their respective community councils. These wards are within the brackets following the name of the community. Many community wards share names with current and former county borough council electoral wards.
2. "Pentre Yr Ardd", with "Yr" capitalised in source, was a name suggested by Wrexham County Borough Council for the electoral ward.^[24] However, this recommendation was not applied, English name "Garden Village" is used in Welsh, following the Welsh Language Commissioner's standardisation policy,^[25] as the commissioner stated they have no evidence of a used Welsh name for the settlement.
3. The Welsh name Marchwiail was proposed by the LDBCW to be the name for the ward in both Welsh and English, but rejected by the Welsh Government in July 2021. The ward would be known as Marchwiel in both Welsh and English.
4. Initially proposed as Y Mwynglawdd by the LDBCW, rejected by the Welsh Government in July 2021 for Mwynglawdd.

References

1. Randall, Liam (22 May 2024). "Wrexham: Beryl Blackmore elected as mayor for next year". The Leader. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
2. Wright, Harry (24 May 2018). "Ian Bancroft appointed as new Wrexham Council chief executive officer". Wrexham Leader. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
3. "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 19, retrieved 12 July 2023
4. "Crown Office | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2022. THE QUEEN has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 1 September 2022 to ordain that the County Borough of Wrexham shall have the status of a City.
5. "Wrexham councillors discuss recommendations for six per cent pay increase". The Leader. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
6. "New mega Independent Group joins forces with Conservatives to run Wrexham Council". Wrexham.com. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
7. "Wrexham's only Welsh Liberal Democrat councillor joins Independent Group". Wrexham.com. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
8. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
9. "Council minutes". Wrexham County Borough Council. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
10. "Chaos at Wrexham Council: Ten councillors including leader quit Labour party". The Leader. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
11. "Gwersyllt North councillor leaves Plaid Cymru group on Wrexham Council". Wrexham.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
12. "Plaid Cymru lose second councillor in eight days as Offa representative leaves group". Wrexham.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
13. https://www.wrexham.com/news/plaid-cymru-ask-defected-councillors-to-hold-by-election-and-challenge-welsh-labour-to-publish-defamatory-allegation-in-full-254767.html
14. "Councillors by political grouping". Wrexham County Borough Council. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
15. "Welsh unitary councils". Elections Centre. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
16. "The County Borough of Wrexham (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1998/3142, retrieved 5 November 2022
17. "Election results by party, 5 May 2022". moderngov.wrexham.gov.uk. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
18. "The County Borough of Wrexham (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2021/1113, retrieved 5 November 2022
19. "Guildhall, Queen Street (23380)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
20. "Review of the Electoral Arrangements of the County Borough of Wrexham – Final Recommendations Report" (PDF). ldbc.gov.wales. Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales. November 2020. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
21. "Electoral arrangements for Wrexham | Wrexham County Borough Council". www.wrexham.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
22. "Wrexham Council Elections 2022". Wrexham.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
23. "Election results by wards, 5 May 2022". moderngov.wrexham.gov.uk. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
24. "Review of the Electoral Arrangements of the County Borough of Wrexham – Final Recommendations Report" (PDF). ldbc.gov.wales. Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales. November 2020. p. 12. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
25. "List of Standardised Welsh Place-names". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 26 December 2021.

• County Borough of Wrexham (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998
• The County Borough of Wrexham (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021

External links

• Official website
• Wrexham.com's coverage of local elections including candidate Q&As