SCHEMES to kick-start the building of a new Kop stand for Wrexham FC and a development to bring much-needed jobs to the town have been ignored by the Assembly Government.
Wrexham Council submitted two key bids for financial backing under the Strategic Capital Investment Fund (SCIF).
One was for £2 million towards the £5 million cost of the new stand at the Racecourse ground, and the other was for £10 million towards the cost of the planned Western Gateway scheme in Ruthin Road to create fresh jobs.
But both have been turned down flat, with finance minister Andrew Davies announcing earlier this week that a total of almost £120 million would go to 10 successful bids, none of which were from North East Wales.
Among these is an art gallery in Swansea which will pick up £3.5 million.
Wrexham Council leader, Cllr Aled Roberts, is furious about what he describes as a ‘snub’ for the region.
He raged: “North East Wales, which includes Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire, has not got one penny of this money.
“It is hard to see the strategic importance of projects such as the art gallery in Swansea.
"It seems there is one law for north of Wales and another for the south.”
Wrexham FC chairman Geoff Moss said he was ‘bitterly disappointed’ that the Racecourse project would not be supported.
He added: “We are hoping to create a stadium of regional significance.
“I have to agree with Cllr Roberts that North Wales seems to be treated differently to the south.”
Haydn Taylor, of Wrexham FC Supporters’ Trust, said: “The money from the Strategic Capital Investment Fund was needed to kick-start the new stand scheme.
“I believe Wrexham has been snubbed by the Welsh Assembly Government.”
A Welsh Assembly Government spokesman said: “Much of this funding is for pan-Wales projects, for example the £30m for affordable housing which will be spent across Wales.
“Other projects we are supporting which will benefit the whole of Wales include the Children’s Hospital, eco-lighting for monuments, and strategic co-ordination centres.
“SCIF is only one way in which the Welsh Assembly Government funds capital projects in Wales – individual government departments continue to use capital funding to deliver on our One Wales commitments.”