POTHOLE Land – the Glyn Ceiriog ‘attraction’ that gained international attention due to the state of its roads – has officially closed after Wrexham Council undertook road repairs.
Councillors denied that they had reacted to the viral social media campaign however – insisting works were scheduled to take place in mid-January before the mock theme park came to prominence.
Pothole Land – encompassing the roads around Glyn Ceiriog which have seen huge gaping potholes open up after a winter of heavy rain, ice and snow, was liked and shared hundreds of times across Facebook, X, Instagram and Tiktok and attracted the attention of news outlets and broadcasters from across the world.
Some of the worst potholes in the area have now been filled in, but Wrexham Council leader Mark Pritchard cautioned against the idea that ‘going viral’ was the way to get things done in the county borough.
“We don’t cave in to pressure – if we did you’d have anarchy,” he said. “We have a reinstatement programme for potholes based on depth and priority.
“We have changed the priority list, where previously a higher proportion of funding was committed to strategic roads, now we have made it 50/50 between strategic roads and community roads.
“That does mean not all strategic roads will be done but we have to get the balance right.”
According to Wrexham’s deputy leader Cllr Dave Bithell the works carried out were on the Environment department’s schedule.
“It is difficult getting the balance right but the works in Glyn Ceiriog were planned,” he said. “It’s an area that has suffered landslides, adverse weather, floods, there are ongoing issues in Glyn Ceiriog that we are trying to solve but it’s not nice for anyone.
Cllr Pritchard admitted seeing the humorous side of the campaign, but said he had to take it seriously.
“I do sympathise with the local member Cllr Trevor Bates and the residents of Glyn Ceiriog as I sympathise with lots of residents across Wrexham who’s roads are not what they should be.
“I think all of us understand that we simply don’t have enough money. Subject to the budget which will be announced shortly we are looking to invest more in our roads but it is what it is.
“It would be lovely instead of a temporary fix if we were able to resurface some of these roads completely, but we haven’t got the money. So we do the best we can.
“A lot of things across Wales have been neglected because of financial circumstances and roads are one of them.
“Pothole Land may have closed but it could open up again with the inclement weather we have to deal with. But I’d like to thank the Environment Department for all they do, working tirelessly to maintain our roads on a day-to-day basis.
“The answer isn’t with the local council. The answer is with central government. Westminster and Cardiff need to fund us correctly, that’s the answer.
“We’re caught up in the middle of this because we don’t have the right amount of money.”