By Sarah Atherton

MP for Wrexham

Broken Windows Theory states that small acts of disorderliness lead to bigger ones. If one person drops litter in an area, others are encouraged to do the same. Conversely, small virtuous acts, such as picking up a bit of litter from the ground, encourages people to take pride in their area.

The pandemic has most certainly cemented a love of nature and green space in many people’s hearts and minds. We all love where we live, and when I look around Wrexham I have so much pride in some of the initiatives that are taking place by people to show how much they love our town. There are many ways that we can do this. Working with the Council and developers, I’m campaigning to reduce congestion around the Crown Crossroads in Llay by making sure the planned improvements to the junction go ahead. Currently, the infrastructure at this junction is not fit for purpose, negatively impacting nature and people’s lives, which is why I am working with stakeholders to make sure these upgrades go ahead.

Around Ty Gywn lane, Garden Village, I’m working with the Welsh Government to protect residents from the visual and noise pollution resulting from the Wrexham bypass. Following the felling of roadside trees, the pollution from the bypass has now increased – impacting the tranquillity of this residential area of Wrexham. That’s why I’m lobbying the Welsh Government to install better roadside protection.

Last week, I met with the Council to discuss litter and fly -tipping in Wrexham. Having organised litter picks myself and heard from numerous constituents about the amount of unsightly litter in the town, I am acutely aware of the issues this is having on the attractiveness of our town centre. I was pleased to learn about the Councils initiatives to keep Wrexham clean which include installing CCTV as well as more regular patrols from the street scene team. I am especially thrilled that the Council has appointed a dedicated officer specifically to tackle dog fouling, littering and fly-tipping. .

I will continue to work closely with the Council to support their work in this area, to ensure our parks and streets are clean and looked after. The actions of the Council show that they are taking this matter seriously, so let’s make sure that we are as well. This will ensure that Wrexham continues to be a great place to live, work and socialise.