Wrexham Council has announced the rollout of new habitat installations to help combat insect decline in the borough.

The collection of bug hotels has been introduced in Ty Mawr Country Park and is backed by funding from the Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature grant, which aims to support nature and biodiversity schemes across communities.

According to the council, the installation of the hotels comes as an attempt to prevent habitat loss, which is one of the primary reasons for the UK’s decline in insect populations.

In a statement yesterday, the local authority confirmed that ‘messy areas’, rather than tidy gardens, are the most suitable habitats for insects. It said that bug hotels serve as both ‘an effective and visually engaging’ way of accommodating insects, while highlighting that insects are integral to the preservation of a healthy ecosystem and human survival.

‘The new bug hotels at Ty Mawr Country Park form part of large, eye-catching “Wrecsam” letters, set against the backdrop of the iconic viaduct. As well as supplying essential habitat, the installation is designed to raise awareness of insect decline and encourage visitors to think differently about wildlife friendly spaces’, the statement reads.

The move is part of a wider programme of biodiversity projects that the council is delivering through the Local Places for Nature funding, with the aim of creating more ‘resilient, wildlife friendly and welcoming’ county parks.

Lead member for Environment, Cllr David A Bithell, added: ‘The next part of the project will be to add various shrubs and plants around the installation as well as fill in the gaps in the letters with natural materials to make it a safe and comfortable habitat for our local wildlife.’