North East Wales (Welsh:Gogledd-Ddwyrain Cymru) is anarea or region ofWales, commonly defined as a grouping of theprincipal areas ofDenbighshire,Flintshire, andWrexham County Borough in thenorth-east of thecountry. These principal areas comprise most (excludingColwyn, and parts ofGlyndŵr) of theformer administrative county ofClwyd. It is bordered byConwy, andGwynedd, inNorth West Wales to the west,Powys, inMid Wales to the south, theEnglish counties ofCheshire, andShropshire to the east, and theIrish Sea, andDee estuary to the north. It is the more urban, densely populated, and industrial part of thenorth Walesgeographic region, centred on the city ofWrexham and the towns ofRhyl andPrestatyn, and the conurbation ofDeeside. The region's close links withNorth West England in general andMerseyside in particular (together as the "Mersey-Dee" economicsub-region) are crucial to the region's economy.
TheClwydian Range and Dee ValleyArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located in the region. Other attractions include historical buildings such asChirk Castle, andErddig in Wrexham, valley towns such asCorwen andLlangollen, and thePontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site.[1]
TheNorth East Wales Metro is a transport improvement project for the region. It is in concept, a multi-modal system with a combination of bus, heavy rail and light rail services linking major settlements and employment areas of the region, with hubs located in Wrexham,Chester and Deeside, in addition to further connections toLiverpool.[2] The economic strategy for the region is for the further integration of North Wales, withNorthern England, as part of theNorthern Powerhouse project. The main roads in the area are theA55,A494, andA483.
On 22 November 2023, Wrexham and Flintshire were announced to be part of a "North East Wales Investment Zone".[3]
The term North East Wales is used by theWelsh Government in theWales Spatial Plan[4] and theBBC.[5] Some rarer definitions of North East Wales, only included Flintshire and Wrexham. It is mostly used as a regional grouping of local authorities.
TheNorth East Wales NHS Trust existed from 1 April 1999 to 1 July 2008, when it merged withConwy & Denbighshire NHS Trust to form the North Wales NHS Trust (nowBetsi CadwaladrLHB).
In 1963, in a review of local government in Wales, theLocal Government Commission for Wales proposed a single North East Wales "administrative area" containingDenbighshire,Flintshire andMontgomeryshire.[6]
In April 2013, it was announced that a major review was to be undertaken into the organisation of local government in Wales. A report on the findings was released on 20 January 2014. It recommended that the number of councils in Wales be reduced, through mergers rather than through boundary changes, from the current 22 to either 10, 11 or 12. In November 2015, a draft local government bill, presented by theWelsh Government, contained two proposals, a 8 and 9 local authority model.
As part of the proposed eight local authorities model, the 3 existing local authorities of North East Wales, would be combined into one authority, spanning all of North East Wales and therefore most of the former county of Clwyd. Although, no name was proposed for this county.[7]
The alternative proposal, a 9 local authority model, applies to a part of North East Wales, in which Denbighshire would be merged westwards with Conwy instead, leaving the remaining council spanning only Flintshire and Wrexham.
In January 2017, the proposals for local authority mergers were formally dropped following the publication of awhite paper, with the number of councils to remain at 22, unless two or more local authorities wish to pursue a voluntary merger. Instead, proposals for the formation of regional bodies to encourage better collaboration between existing local authorities, was put forward.
A subsequent 2018green paper made the case for a reduction in the number of local authorities from 22 to 10 and suggested three possible approaches; a system of voluntary mergers, a phased approach with authorities merging in either 2022 or 2026 or a comprehensive system of mergers to occur in 2022. In relation to North East Wales, it followed the earlier 9 local authority model, with Conwy-Denbighshire and Flintshire-Wrexham.[8]
TheLocal Government and Elections (Wales) Bill, 2019, lacked any provisions on restructuring local councils but did contain mechanisms that would allow two or more authorities to merge on a voluntary basis. It also aimed to create a framework for joint regional coordination between local authorities. The bill was enacted in 2021.[9]
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