What is Hwb Yr Orsedd?

Many of you no doubt will be asking the question what is Hwb Yr Orsedd. In a nutshell it is a project to create a community hub for the villages of Rossett, Burton, Lavister, Trevalyn and the surrounding area. The community hub will be located on the site of the disused public toilets in Rossett Park. A “not for profit” company, called Hwb Yr Orsedd Ltd, has been established by a group of local volunteers, to work with the community to develop the hub which will provide:

• A shared community space for groups of different ages and interests to meet, socialise and participate in shared activities.
• Somewhere for families to meet up with friends and enjoy a coffee while the children use the park facilities.
• A place that brings people together, reduces isolation and helps them form new relationships and support networks.

As well as a community space we see the hub being a focal point for delivering essential mobile services such as the library, bank and post office which can be difficult to access for those who need them the most, particularly the elderly.

Following an initial consultation with the community we set up Hwb Yr Orsedd Ltd to further investigate the possibility of bringing a new community space to the village. From this we then developed a business plan to ensure the hub was a viable proposition. Rossett Community Council (as owners of the land) agreed to lease the land to Hwb Yr Orsedd Ltd. Architects were engaged to produce designs for the hub. A further consultation was held in December 2021 where members of the public could inspect the plans and share their opinions. After the public consultation and taking into account local views and feeling, the
plans were revised to reflect concerns about the loss of green space through car parking (then a pre requisite for planning permission).

In November 2022 the application went before the council committee, with the planning committee opposing the existing application as it had no parking provision on site. After some debate the application was unanimously voted through by the committee.

To date on this journey, the volunteers and community of Rossett have embraced the idea and spirit of the Hwb Yr Orsedd and the Directors have been greatly encouraged by the strength of feeling within the community to realise this vision. The Board and supporters of the Hwb have engaged in a number of fund raising activities and are greatly encouraged by the support.

We want to ensure that the hub is developed for the community by the community. So please let us have your comments, thoughts and ideas either via our Facebook page or by email at [email protected].

We will be publishing more information and details of progress on Facebook so to ensure you are kept up to date please like and follow our page.