NEW WALES First Minister Mark Drakeford and North Wales Minister Ken Skates have spoke of their plans to improve parking and transport in Wrexham.

Speaking at the Salvation Army in Wrexham, the First Minister and the North Wales Minister spoke about the parking issues at Maelor Hospital, as well as ways of improving transport links throughout North Wales.

One issue that is a constant source of attention at the Maelor is the congested car park. Parking at hospitals in free in Wales and there are suggestions that this could be contributing to the issues.

Mr Drakeford suggested looking towards other hospitals in Wales and how they operate their car parks.

Mr Drakeford said: "I think there are practical ways in which you can continue to have free parking at hospitals which is really important to us.

"The fact that parking is free sometimes means it can be abused, we know that, people that aren't using the hospital leaving their car there for all sorts of other purposes.

"In other parts of Wales there are successful experiments in which you can have a system where for example you get four hours. If you're there for longer than four hours you simply report it to the ward that you're on and you get more time free as well.

"It's a problem I'm very familiar with in my own constituency. The problem is solved with an imaginative way of dealing with things, we need to learn those lessons from other parts of Wales that are facing similar problems.

Mr Skates is also the Minister for Economy and Transport, and suggested that the upcoming improvements to Wrexham public transport network could help improve congestion at the hospital.

He said: "It's also worth reflecting on why people drive and park there and it's often that they don't have access to affordable public transport. For that reason we've developed a partnership with Wrexham Council and Transport for Wales to redevelop Wrexham General station.

"We have a new franchise agreement in place that will provide more services and we're looking at a radical reform of local bus services to ensure they better suit the needs of passengers rather than the desire of people to generate maximum profit.

"The transport hub will go a huge way to making sure there is a provision for a convenient, timely public transport and it will also ensure the train services will be better integrated with bus services as well, so people won't feel like the have to drive into Wrexham when they're coming to work.

"It gives people a good alternative to the private vehicle."

The improvement in public transport is one part of the Welsh Government's commitments to North Wales.

Speaking of the transport infrastructure in North Wales, Mr Skates added: "One of the key roads for this region is the A483. It's hugely important, not just in terms of connectivity within Wales, between Wrexham and Deeside, Mold and other parts of Wales but also between Wales and England.

"So what we've done is introduced what we call a national transport finance plan. A number of schemes for the A483 to relieve congestion and to ensure connectivity is improved.

"It's also worth stressing again that we wish to see significant improvements of public transport as well, to local bus services, rail and also active travel routes, giving people the opportunity to walk and cycle to and from work.

"We're looking at the moment at the potential to extend Transport for Wales' remit to take on delivery of other functions, potentially bus service management and active travel as well.

And finally the First Minister spoke about the importance of having Ken Skates as North Wales minister: "I think it's very important. I started working when Rhodri Morgan became First Minister and in the Welsh Assembly there was nobody from North Wales in the cabinet.

"Now we have ministers in the Welsh Government who are from North Wales and that gives a bigger opportunity again to have someone who is able to take a cross government view of all the things we can do, identify those particular things that are important to people in North Wales and be able, not just as an individual, but to use the machinery of the whole government to bring people together, focus on that issue and to make sure that we're doing everything that we're able to in the Welsh Government to address those issues that make a difference and matter most to people.

"A country like Wales is very different. The challenges people face in some parts of Wales are not the same as in other places. We're a diverse country geographically, sometimes places can feel far away so part of the job of the Welsh Government is to glue Wales together, to make all parts of Wales feel like issues that matter to them matter most to us.

"I used to say a few times during the leadership campaign that I want to lead a bread and butter government, a government where people know what matters most to them matters most to us and having a minister for North Wales is part of that bigger effort."