Flintshire high street revival plans ignore Buckley, councillor claims

Flintshire is helping Buckley Town Council develop a long-term action plan, a council boss said

One of Flintshire's largest towns is being left out of plans to revitalise the county's high streets, a councillor has claimed.

The council's plans aim to stop the declining state of high streets as people increasingly shop online.

Dennis Hutchinson accused Flintshire County Council of having "no interest" in regenerating his home town Buckley.

Cabinet member Derek Butler denied that but claimed councillors from other towns "seem to know what they want".

Work already carried out has included the reopening of Holywell High Street to traffic for the first time in 25 years, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Proposals are being put in place to create a Business Improvement District in Mold, where local firms pay into a kitty to fund neighbourhood-boosting ideas.

Lloyds was the last bank in Buckley town centre

Mr Hutchinson said Buckley town centre needed help, especially since its last bank closed in February.

"We have become the forgotten town as far as Flintshire is concerned," he told members discussing the blueprint.

"For some time now there has been absolutely no interest in the regeneration of Buckley town centre."

• Town centres plan calls for fewer shops

• New move to redevelop town centre

• Town centre master plans drawn up

Mr Butler, who is responsible for economic development in the ruling Labour group, said Flintshire had supported Buckley Town Council in developing a long-term action plan to attract more businesses.

However, he added: "There seems to be a lot of ideas with some people wanting to expand north of The Cross and some people wanting to expand around the Tivoli area.

"The problem with Buckley is the precinct area, and you've got to get something there.

"There's tangible work that we've done in Holywell and Mold in particular, but we're working wherever we can even though our resources are really limited."

Mr Butler agreed to attend a meeting in Buckley to resolve the situation.