New car park plans to ease traffic issues at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Plans to create a new car park to manage an increase in visitors to a World Heritage Site in Wrexham look set to be approved.

The amount of tourists drawn to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Trevor has skyrocketed in recent years to an annual figure of more than 350,000.

It follows the iconic 126-foot-high structure built by canal engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop joining an elite club of 1,000 heritage sites recognised by UNESCO in 2009.

However, the popularity of the attraction has led to issues with parking and traffic for residents living in the surrounding areas.

A planning application to create a new visitor car park with 195 spaces on the site of the former Flexys rubber chemical factory in Cefn Mawr is now due to go before councillors next week.

Members of Wrexham Council’s planning committee are being asked to delegate powers to the local authority’s chief planning officer to approve the development on Queen Street.

David Fitzsimon said in a report that the car park, which would include spaces for coaches and a footpath connecting to the Trevor Basin, would help to ease issues in the area.

The recommendation comes despite members of Cefn Community Council claiming it would only benefit car users.

Mr Fitzsimon said: “The development would enhance accessibility to the World Heritage Site, thus supporting tourism and the contribution it makes to the local economy.

“It would also enhance the quality of the environment within the vicinity to the World Heritage Site.

“The community council has commented that the development favours visitors arriving by car.

“However, given the location of the site and the limited options in terms of public transport, in reality, it is considered that a large proportion of visitors to the World Heritage Site would arrive by car.

“It is therefore necessary to cater for this demand in order to avoid the risk of high levels of on-street parking in the locality, which could give rise to both highway safety and residential amenity concerns.

“The proposed development does, however, significantly increase coach parking provision which would allow many more visitors to arrive by a non-car mode.”

A masterplan worth £41m was originally drawn up in 2020 to improve visitor facilities in the area surrounding the aqueduct.

A total of £13.3m was awarded from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund towards the project the following year, with money from other organisations taking the total allocated for the initial phase up to £15m.

Proposals for a new visitor centre and woodland activity area are also expected to be brought forward as part of the work.

Mr Fitzsimon said delegated authority was required for him to approve the plans to ensure the council meets the deadline for grant money to be spent.

He said: “This request is because grant funding for the project only secured until March 2025 and therefore the delivery timeframe is extremely challenging.

“A resolution to delegate the decision to the chief officer would improve the possibility of the application being determined well before the next meeting of the planning committee, which is not until September.”

A decision on the recommendation will be made at the committee’s meeting on Monday (July 22, 2024).

By Liam Randall – BBC Local Democracy Reporter