THE leader of Wrexham Council has hailed the potential benefits of a major growth bid which could inject a large amount of money into North Wales.

The North Wales Growth Bid is expected to enable investment of £1.3 billion in the region, including up to £300 million which would be funded by both the UK and Welsh governments.

Negotiations between all parties have been ongoing and it is understood an announcement could be made next month once Westminster reveals its annual budget.

In total, up to 5,000 jobs could be created by the bid and Cllr Mark Pritchard believes Wrexham is in a positive position to reap the rewards

He said: “The benefits that this growth bid can give to North Wales are absolutely fantastic.

“The money is in the region of between £200m to £300m  and if we can draw that down from both governments, it will be wonderful news for North Wales as a place and a region.

“We’ve done very well as a place as Wrexham and I’d expect nothing else.

“We’re in a good place and our schemes have been supported and endorsed.

“This isn’t just about funding, this is about devolved powers as well.”

Leading councillors in Wrexham will be presented with an update on the bid at a special meeting on Tuesday, October 23, where they will be asked to formally endorse the proposals being put forward.

They are also being recommended to allow the council leader to agree heads of terms with both governments.

A similar endorsement is being asked for across the five other authorities in the region.

The bid is comprised of 17 business cases to improve infrastructure in areas, including digital connectivity, transport, skills, adventure tourism, and land and property for commercial use and housing.

Wrexham Council’s chief executive Ian Bancroft said: “This is the type of thing we should be doing collaboratively. It’s about economic growth.

“The aim is to increase the value of the North Wales economy from £13.6bn to £26bn by 2035, so that’s doubling the size of the economy.

“Now if we achieve that what we will see is a reduction in poverty, we’ll see an increase in employment, we’ll see sustainable jobs for the future moving forward.”