Parking plans for World Heritage Site approved

Plans to create a new car park to manage a rise in visitors to a World Heritage Site have been given the green light.

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Trevor, Wrexham built by canal engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop, attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The iconic 126-foot-high structure is part of a group of 1,000 heritage sites recognised by UNESCO, including Egypt’s pyramids and Stonehenge.

However, the popularity of the attraction is reported to have caused problems with parking and traffic in surrounding communities, leading to rows between tourists and residents.

Application

A planning application to create a new visitor car park with 195 spaces, including coach bays, on the site of the former Flexys rubber chemical factory in Cefn Mawr was discussed by councillors this week.

Proposals to give officers powers to approve the scheme were backed by Wrexham Council’s planning committee as politicians said they hoped it would alleviate the issues faced by residents.

Speaking at a meeting at Wrexham’s Guildhall, Llangollen Rural councillor Rondo Roberts (Ind) said current parking facilities were inadequate to cope with the amount of visitors.

He said: “It’s the busiest visitor attraction in Wrexham with around 500,000 visitors.

“It has been the bane of my life since I became a councillor in 2017, because of the anti-social parking, and the disrespect for local communities.

“I feel that this application will take a major step forward in addressing a lot of the issues. The infrastructure wasn’t built for that number of visitors.”

He added: “One of the major issues I’ve had over the years is buses parking on Gate Road in Froncysyllte.

“There’s 15 bus companies nationwide using this route to bring visitors there and it gets quite nasty at times with the local residents.”

Cllr Roberts said problems with parking were so bad that some people had even called for the aqueduct’s UNESCO status to be removed.

He asked if the council could take steps to ensure coach companies use the new car park on Queen Street in Cefn Mawr, instead of parking in Froncysyllte.

Concerns

Concerns were raised by some councillors over potential land contamination issues due to the site’s previous use as a chemical factory.

However, they were told no chemical production had taken place on the area land put forward for parking.

Cllr I David Bithell (Ind) said: “I know this site very well as I did my apprenticeship there and it goes back over 100 years in terms of having a chemical factory there.

“I think it’s a fantastic development for the aqueduct and the visitors.

“As long as there are safeguards in place for hazardous materials, I will support it.”

A masterplan worth £41m was 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 for the first stage of works up to £15m.

Further proposals

Proposals for a new visitor centre and woodland activity area are also expected to be brought forward.

Community leaders also asked for footpaths and transport links between Cefn Mawr and the Trevor Basin to be improved during Monday’s (July 22, 2024) meeting.

Cefn West councillor Stella Matthews (Lab) said: “There’s a lot of thought being put into this and I’m quite supportive as a local member.

“I understand there is to be another planning application looking at the pathways up to the village.

“I would ask officers to be mindful that the application needs to be brought forward as soon as possible. I think links back into the village are important.”

The request from planning officers for delegated authority to approve the proposals was said to be necessary to ensure the council meets the deadline for grant money to be spent.

The recommendation was unanimously approved at the end of the debate.