North East Wales facts for kids
North East Wales (which is Gogledd-Ddwyrain Cymru in Welsh) is a special area in Wales. It includes three main parts: Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wrexham County Borough. This region is in the north-east corner of Wales.
North East Wales shares its borders with Conwy and Gwynedd to the west. To the south, it meets Powys. On its eastern side, it borders the English counties of Cheshire and Shropshire. To the north, you'll find the Irish Sea and the Dee Estuary.
This part of Wales is more busy and has more towns and industries compared to other areas. The city of Wrexham is a major centre, along with towns like Rhyl, Prestatyn, and the group of towns known as Deeside. North East Wales has strong connections with North West England, especially Merseyside. These links are very important for the region's economy.
You can also find beautiful nature here, like the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley which is a special area of natural beauty. There are also many interesting historical places to visit, such as Chirk Castle and Erddig in Wrexham. Valley towns like Corwen and Llangollen are also popular. Don't forget the amazing Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site!
Getting Around North East Wales
The North East Wales Metro is a big project to improve transport in the region. It plans to connect major towns and work areas using buses, trains, and even light rail. Key transport hubs will be in Wrexham, Chester, and Deeside. There will also be connections to Liverpool.
The plan for the region's economy is to work even more closely with Northern England. This is part of a larger project called the Northern Powerhouse. The main roads that help people travel around North East Wales are the A55, A494, and A483.
In November 2023, Wrexham and Flintshire were chosen to be part of a "North East Wales Investment Zone." This means they will get special support to help businesses grow and create jobs.
How We Use the Name "North East Wales"
The name "North East Wales" is used by the Welsh Government in their plans for Wales. The BBC also uses this term. Most often, it refers to the group of local councils in this area.
Ideas for Local Councils
For many years, there have been discussions about how local government in Wales could be organised better. Sometimes, ideas have come up to merge some of the local councils.
Back in 1963, there was a suggestion to create one large "administrative area" for North East Wales. This would have combined the historic areas of Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Montgomeryshire.
More recently, in 2013, a big review looked at how local councils in Wales were set up. The report suggested reducing the number of councils from 22 to a smaller number, like 10, 11, or 12. This would happen by merging existing councils.
One idea was to combine the three local councils in North East Wales (Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wrexham) into one large council. This new council would cover most of the area that used to be called Clwyd.
Another idea was to merge Denbighshire with Conwy to the west. This would leave Flintshire and Wrexham to form their own combined council.
However, in 2017, the plans to force councils to merge were stopped. Instead, the idea was to encourage councils to work together more. Later, in 2018, there were new suggestions to reduce the number of councils to 10. This brought back the idea of Conwy-Denbighshire and Flintshire-Wrexham merging.
Finally, a law passed in 2021 allows councils to merge if they want to. It also helps them work together more easily on regional projects.
