“Genuinely exciting moment for Wrexham” – First Minister

The First Minister has said public investment is a “catalyst” to draw in private investment, an both will be needed “if the ambitions that there are around the Wrexham Gateway and for the future of the city are to be realised”.

The comments came at a Scrutiny of the First Minister session held at Wrexham University.

John Griffiths MS – who represents Newport East – raised questions around the topic at a session with the First Minister in North Wales about Wrexham and economic development.

Mr Griffiths asked, “We’ve all followed the amazing story of Wrexham football club recently and the Hollywood owners, and the success that they’ve had. Indeed, in Newport at Newport County FC, we look forward to renewing rivalry with Wrexham in the coming season.

“But I just wonder, First Minister, what work the Welsh Government is doing with partners to look at how that success of Wrexham football club can be built upon, given the worldwide reach that it’s had, really, in the United States and elsewhere in terms of the recent events, the potential for tourism and economic development more generally.”

The First Minister Mark Drakeford said, “Well, Wrexham has been in the spotlight internationally in a way that would have been very hard to have imagined only a few years ago. It’s an astonishing success story of the football club but of its owners as well, who I think have shown a genuine commitment to Wales beyond what you would have expected as owners of a football club to show.

“We’ve been very lucky to have had their help in a series of events in the United States itself, and, of course, Wrexham are on tour in the United States over this summer, so there’ll be further opportunities to cement that relationship.

“The football museum I think is one of the ways in which directly we will be able to take some advantage of that. It’s the product of a previous budget round agreement between the Government and Plaid Cymru. It’s moved ahead significantly with over £5 million-worth of further investment in the latest round.

“I was able to call in at the football museum stand at the Urdd Eisteddfod in Llandovery. It was staffed by incredibly enthusiastic people full of ideas about how that museum will operate. The word ‘museum’ sometimes is misleading, isn’t it, because it makes people think of very conventional ways of displaying the history of an area. They have ideas far beyond that—interactive stuff celebrating the wider heritage of the Wrexham area, the diversity of the local population, and so on.

“I think it will be a very exciting opportunity. It will certainly add to the magnet that will draw people into Wrexham.

Then Wrexham Gateway will support that, the developments at the football ground itself, the return of international football to Wrexham, which has allowed the FAW to play its part in additional investment as well, and the interchange—the rail-bus interchange to make public transport an integral part of all of that.

“I think it’s a genuinely exciting moment for Wrexham, and we must hope that the strength of the local authority will be fully harnessed in making sure that those possibilities are realised.”

Elin Gwynedd, Welsh Government’s Deputy Director for North Wales, told the meeting, “I thought it might be worth committee knowing that we’re also hosting events in the Wrexham football ground, so, most recently the North Carolina contingent came over to learn about tidal energy and the wind energy that we’ve got. Also, a lot of them were from universities, where we could link them into Glyndŵr University, Bangor University. So, very much looking to harness globally, but certainly the Americans are very interested.”

John Griffiths MS followed up, “It’s very good news. Just in terms of that Wrexham Gateway project, First Minister, obviously the Racecourse ground is very much involved in that, so it sits very well with the recent developments at Wrexham football club. But is there anything you can say in terms of timescales for the work that’s involved, and also whether the local authority are having any success, or how they might be supported to have success, so that the public-private partnership that’s necessary for the project to have its full benefit comes about?”

The First Minister replied, “I think that the Kop stand development is due for completion in time for the 2024-25 season. That’s not far off, so there are some reasonably short-term timescales for part of the Gateway project. The Welsh Government does work with the local authority but also with the university here as well to make sure that additional private investment is crowded in by the public investment.

“I always think that is the way to try to think of public investment. I’ve never believed those people who say that public investment crowds out private investment. Used smartly and properly, public investment is a catalyst to draw in private investment, and that is what will be necessary if the ambitions that there are around the Wrexham Gateway and for the future of the city are to be realised. The local authority is a key partner in that, so we work alongside them.”