Wrexham County Borough Council

History

Wrexham County Borough Council was created in 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. The new county borough of Wrexham covered all of the district of Wrexham Maelor and a small part of the Glyndŵr district, both of which were part of the county of Clwyd. On 1 April 1996 the new Wrexham County Borough Council took over the county-level functions previously performed by Clwyd County Council and the district-level functions from the two district councils, which were abolished.

On 1 September 2022 the county borough was awarded city status, but the council continues to style itself "Wrexham County Borough Council".

In November 2023, a councillor's annual basic salary was £17,600, with the council proposing an increase of 6% to £18,666.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 1999. Since the 2022 election the council has been led by a coalition of the "Independent Group", comprising 21 of the independent councillors, and the Conservatives. The council's one Liberal Democrat councillor joined the administration in December 2022.

The first election to the new council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows:

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Wrexham is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:

Composition

Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to August 2025, the composition of the council was:

Of the independent councillors, 21 sit as the "Independent Group" which also includes the one Liberal Democrat councillor, two form the "Progressive Independent" group, and the other three do not belong to any group. The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since 2012, elections have taken place every five years. The last election was 5 May 2022.

Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in notes column.

Premises

The council is based at the Guildhall off Rhosddu Road in the centre of Wrexham, overlooking the open space of Llwyn Isaf. The Guildhall was built between 1959 and 1961 for the original Wrexham Borough Council. It subsequently served as the headquarters of Wrexham Maelor Borough Council between 1974 and 1996, when the current Wrexham County Borough Council was created.

Electoral divisions

Main article: List of electoral wards in Wrexham County Borough

The county borough is divided into forty-nine electoral wards returning fifty-six councillors. There are 35 communities in the county borough, some of which have their own elected council.

Notes

References

• County Borough of Wrexham (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998
• The County Borough of Wrexham (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021

References

1. "Council minutes, 20 May 2025".
2. (23 December 2024). "Wrexham Council appoints new interim Chief Executive". The Leader.
3. {{cite legislation UK. (1994)
4. "Crown Office {{!}} The Gazette".
5. (2023-11-16). "Wrexham councillors discuss recommendations for six per cent pay increase".
6. (11 May 2022). "New mega Independent Group joins forces with Conservatives to run Wrexham Council". Wrexham.com.
7. (14 December 2022). "Wrexham's only Welsh Liberal Democrat councillor joins Independent Group". Wrexham.com.
8. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
9. "Council minutes, 1 April 1996".
10. "Council minutes, 21 May 1997".
11. "Council minutes, 6 May 1998".
12. "Executive Board minutes, 16 May 2000".
13. "Council minutes, 17 May 2000".
14. "Executive Board minutes, 1 June 2004".
15. "Council minutes, 23 June 2004".
16. (10 March 2005). "Wrexham council leader resigns". BBC News.
17. "Council minutes, 9 March 2005".
18. (17 May 2011). "Lib Dem AM Aled Roberts quits as Wrexham council leader". BBC News.
19. "Council minutes, 18 May 2011".
20. (4 May 2012). "Vote 2012: Wrexham council leader Ron Davies loses seat". BBC News.
21. "Council minutes, 23 May 2012".
22. (3 September 2014). "Chaos at Wrexham Council: Ten councillors including leader quit Labour party". The Leader.
23. "Council minutes, 24 September 2014".
24. "Gwersyllt North councillor leaves Plaid Cymru group on Wrexham Council".
25. "Plaid Cymru lose second councillor in eight days as Offa representative leaves group".
26. "Plaid Cymru ask defected councillors to hold by-election and challenge Welsh Labour to “publish defamatory allegation in full” - Wrexham.com".
27. "Councillors by political grouping".
28. "Wrexham". Thorncliffe.
29. (2015-06-02). "Welsh unitary councils".
30. {{cite legislation UK. (1998)
31. (2022-05-05). "Election results by party, 5 May 2022".
32. {{cite legislation UK. (2021)
33. {{Coflein
34. (November 2020). "Review of the Electoral Arrangements of the County Borough of Wrexham – Final Recommendations Report". [[Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales]].
35. "Electoral arrangements for Wrexham {{!}} Wrexham County Borough Council".
36. "Wrexham Council Elections 2022".
37. (2022-05-05). "Election results by wards, 5 May 2022".
38. (November 2020). "Review of the Electoral Arrangements of the County Borough of Wrexham – Final Recommendations Report". [[Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales]].
39. "List of Standardised Welsh Place-names".