SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, is calling on his constituents to take part in a consultation about services in Wrexham.
Mr Rowlands is encouraging people to share their views and help shape the future of Wrexham libraries and community resource centres.
He said: “I welcome the news that local people are being given the opportunity to have their say on how they see the future for their libraries and community resource centres and I would urge everyone to either fill in the survey or attend a local roadshow.
“These are much valued local services and it is important that residents take part in the consultation and make sure that Wrexham council is fully aware of their feedback.”
Like most other councils, Wrexham is under huge financial pressure and finding it increasingly challenging to balance its budget. Therefore is rethinking the way it delivers some of its services, including library services and community resource centres.
Wrexham Council manages 10 branch libraries, a homelink library and a pop up library, and five community resource centres.
The library service provides books, digital resources, study space, and access to groups and social activities for all ages. Resource centres provide space for local community groups and activities.
Councillor Beverley Parry-Jones, Lead Member for Corporate Services, explains: “As a council we’re facing a budget gap of around £28 million over the next two years, so we need to re-consider the services we deliver – and how we deliver them – if we’re going to meet this challenge.
“As part of this, we must make a saving of at least £185,000 from our operating budget for libraries and community resource centres.
“We haven’t taken any decisions yet, but we do have a range of options that we want people’s views on. We want to know what people expect from their library service and resource centres going forward, and we want to work with organisations and communities who might be interested in helping to run some of these services.
“So please take part in our consultation, and share your thoughts and ideas – we really need your input.”
Councillor Mark Pritchard, Leader of the Council, said: “I’d like to encourage people to take part in this consultation, so please spare some time to share your views and ideas.
“This is just a consultation process and no decisions have been made at this point in time.”
As well as taking part online, you can also pick up paper copies from libraries and resource centres or attend one of the council’s roadshows at the following venues:
- December 5 – Cefn Mawr Library 3pm-5pm
- December 6- Ruabon Library 2pm-4pm
- December 7 -Wrexham Library 11am-1pm
- December 10 – Holt School Community Room (LL13 9DJ) 11:45am-1pm
If you have any questions, need help to take part or want a copy of this information in a different format or language, please contact Wrexham Libraries and Community Resource Centres Consultation, Wrexham Library, Rhosddu Road, Wrexham, LL11 1AU, Tel: 01978 292090
Email: [email protected] . The closing date for the consultation is January 19 2025.
