The First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, recently arrived in Denbighshire to visit several projects within the County.
Whilst on her visit, the First Minister visited both Rhos Street and Pen Barras schools, the Buttermarket in Denbigh and Greengates farm in St Asaph.
Rhos Street & Pen Barras Schools, Ruthin –
The First Minister’s first stop was to Rhos Street and Pen Barras schools, which opened on their new site in April 2018 thanks to a £11.2 million investment through the 21st Century Schools Programme.
Funded by the Welsh Government (£8.64m) and Denbighshire County Council (£2.59m) the schools had historically shared a site prior to the move. However, the previous site was not purpose built or designed to accommodate both schools which resulted in a few constraints.
Completed in 2018, the project won a national award for Offsite Project of the Year in 2019 from Construction Excellence Wales and now delivers a modern teaching and learning environment for 525 pupils.
On the visit, the First Minister toured around the award-winning site which boasts state of the art facilities both schools’ headmasters, before interacting with teachers and excited pupils and enjoying a performance from Rhos Street and Pen Barras’s choirs respectively.
Buttermarket, Denbigh –
On her visit to the Buttermarket in Denbigh, the First Minter learned of the recent redevelopment of the historic building that has been transformed into a much-needed community space in the town.
The renovation was funded through a variety of sources, including the Shared Prosperity Fund, the Community Facilities Programme, Clocaenog Forest Wind Farm, Brenig Wind Farm, Freeman Evans Trust, Bernard Sunley, Garfield Weston Foundation and contributions from key local organisations, including Vale of Clwyd Mind, Gwrp Cynefin and Denbigh Town Council.
The building is owned and operated by Vale of Clwyd Mind, which has recently relocated its head office to Denbigh. This move enables the organisation to expand its mental health services across Denbighshire, providing essential support to the community.
In addition, the building now serves as the new home for Denbigh Museum, Denbigh Community Archives, Menter Iaith Sir Ddinbych and a community Cafe. Together along with Vale of Clwyd Mind, these organisations will support a wide range of voluntary activities, delivering vital services to the local population and fostering greater collaboration among third-sector organisations.
Greengates Farm, St Asaph –
Finally, the First Minister visited Greengates Farm in St Asaph to see the Tree Nursery which strives to support and nurture Denbighshire’s natural plants and trees.
The site, which spans 70 acres, grows trees and plants which will eventually be planted back out into the countryside and community to boost biodiversity.
On a tour of the Tree Nursery, guided by Joal Walley, Lead Officer, Ecology & Biodiversity at Denbighshire County Council, The First Minister explored the polytunnels which host seedlings and saplings of Denbighshire’s natural biodiversity, and was given some of the history of some of the rarer native species such as the Black Poplar Tree and The Wild Service Tree.
The site is currently undergoing development which see a nature reserve created on the 70-acre facility, which will strive to further support local biodiversity and helping nature recovery, as well as permissive pathways, which will be created to allow visitors to access and enjoy the site and a raised viewing area will also be developed.
This work has been funded by the Welsh Government, through the Local Nature Partnerships Cymru ENRaW project and Local Places for Nature grant. The work is also funded by UK Government.
Paul Moore, Chief Executive Officer for Vale of Clwyd Mind said:
“It was a fantastic opportunity to welcome the First Minister to The Buttermarket to talk about the redevelopment and the planned services moving forward and how we all collectively aim to work together to make a difference to help real people in our community”.
First Minister, Eluned Morgan said:
“It was great to visit Denbighshire and see some of the excellent projects the Welsh Government, the local authority and partner organisations have supported in the area – including fantastic new schools, a community hub and a local project to support nature. Well done to everyone involved in delivering on these projects, which are so important to local people, and I look forward to visiting again.”
Councillor Jason McLellan, Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Economic Growth & Tackling Deprivation said:
“It was a pleasure to have welcomed the First Minister to Denbighshire and to have shown her how each of these projects are excelling thanks to fantastic collaborative works.
“The success of these projects and the continued support from the Welsh Government and UK Government, shows the confidence they have in Denbighshire County Council to continue to deliver projects that will benefit Denbighshire, whether it’s improving education standards, supporting the community or improving biodiversity in the County.”
