We recognise the importance of a clean, attractive and sustainable environment on the well-being of our communities, and for all those who live, work and visit Wrexham County Borough. Effective and resilient environmental services are vital in ensuring our city centre and communities are well cared for with highways that are in a good condition and well maintained.
To deliver this our open spaces and areas which are visible and accessible to communities will be managed appropriately for their intended use, and kept safe and clean. We will respond quickly to clean up dog fouling, littering and fly-tipping in our communities, and will work proactively to reduce the volume of these by using evidence to identify ‘problem locations’, engage with communities to change behaviour, and take enforcement measures where appropriate. We will focus on delivering efficient Streetscene services, in line with our service commitments, improving our use of relevant evidence to ensure that our resources are deployed most effectively.
We know that our highways infrastructure plays a fundamental role in supporting a range of other council services and ambitions; including access to services, flood defence, the hosting of services/utilities, employment and economic connections. We will ensure that highway related assets are safe and fit for purpose, through regular inspections and maintenance in line with our policies.
In improving our environment we will ensure that the Climate Emergency, one of the most important issues of our time is at the forefront of the decisions we make. We declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency in September 2019 and in response have developed a robust Decarbonisation Plan to ensure that we collaborate with our partners and our communities to develop and decarbonise our environment, and pursue our net-zero ambitions.
Our approach will be based around changing the way we deliver our services, leading by example, and involving our communities to make real change. We will develop sustainable ways for people to get around, and within the next fifteen years we will create more opportunities for walking and cycling for local journeys to become the norm. We will focus on the energy we use in our council-owned buildings and properties and how we can continue to generate renewable energy.
We remain committed to managing waste and recycling, both in order to meet our statutory recycling targets, but also in support of tackling the climate emergency. We will continue to work with residents and communities to promote and provide opportunities for re-use and recycling, and reducing waste. We will collect all recycling and household waste from residents when it is presented correctly, and aim to respond quickly and efficiently to any missed collections.
Through our Decarbonisation Plan we will also work hard to ensure that the move to tackle climate change is integrated throughout our council services. For example, increasing awareness around reducing emissions and achieving net-zero in new build schools; or within our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint through the delivery of our modern council working environments.
Wrexham County Borough will be a place that our communities are proud of, with a diverse range of open spaces which are accessible, well managed and sustainable whilst offering maximum opportunities for positive environmental impacts. By restoring and protecting our local green spaces, we will improve and enhance people’s well-being as well as improving our environment.
Our Priority Outcomes; what we want to work towards:
*indicates a Strategic Equality Objective
- All communities and council-owned play areas are kept clean, tidy and safe for our children and young people to play.
- The council responds to reports of dog fouling and littering by identifying ‘problem locations’, and utilising a range of behaviour-change and enforcement measures.
- Reports of fly-tipping on council land are reduced and responded to by ensuring a timely response to clean-ups, as well as using evidence to identify ‘hot-spots’ for deployment of CCTV cameras.
- All recycling and household waste is collected when it is presented correctly, and where we miss any collections, we will aim to respond quickly and efficiently.
- Our highway related assets are safe and fit for purpose, through regular inspections and maintenance in line with our policies.
- Wrexham County Borough is a place with a diverse range of open spaces which are accessible and well managed.
- A County Borough that is becoming more resilient in planning for the effects of climate change through effective flood risk management and maintenance programmes.
- The council is making progress towards achieving Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2030 through the implementation of the Decarbonisation Plan (2021-2030). We consider carbon emissions and opportunities for carbon sequestration (capturing, removal and storage of carbon from the atmosphere) in all our decisions.
- The council is a strong community leader, with developed communication and engagement plans which share best practice, and promote community and individual behaviour change. We work actively in partnership regionally and locally with schools, communities and our own workforce to seek opportunities to work collaboratively, share ideas and raise understanding about our decarbonisation work.
- Transport & Mobility: The council has a modern and environmentally responsible transport fleet, supported by increased high-quality infrastructure, which allows us to be a leader in low carbon emissions vehicles. We will consider our requirements to travel, and ensure that sustainable travel options are in place to help reduce our overall carbon emissions.
- Wrexham’s transport infrastructure meets the needs of its residents and the economy, with improved public transport services and sustainable options for travel and parking in and around the City Centre, Wrexham Industrial Estate, and across the rural communities, and in support of Wrexham as a significant visitor destination
- Buildings: The council will be reducing its demand for energy, as we make more of our buildings low and zero carbon, and continue to increase energy efficiency. We will be reducing our emissions year-on-year from our schools, offices, libraries, community centres etc.
- Procurement: We actively prioritise carbon reduction and zero emissions through more responsible and sustainable procurement, and where possible by supporting local and regional suppliers and businesses.
- Land Use: The council is committed to ensuring that land within the County Borough is used and maintained in a sustainable manner for the benefit of biodiversity and the decarbonisation agenda, through its own asset management and through its regulatory functions.
- All households in Wrexham are supported to be actively engaged in working towards zero waste, through a combination of waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.
This Priority contributes directly to the following Wales Well-being Goals:
- A prosperous Wales
- A resilient Wales
- A healthier Wales
- A Wales of cohesive communities
- A globally responsible Wales