Hightown is a

suburban area A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, in

Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is a county borough, with city status, in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east and south-east, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the nort ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The

Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway The Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway was a railway line that ran from Wrexham in North Wales, to Ellesmere in Shropshire, England. The line opened in 1895 and closed in 1962, except for a residual goods service which itself closed in 1981. The line ...

used to have a station known as Hightown Halt. The north-western parts of Hightown towards St Giles' Church near Salop Road were once a separate hamlet called Wrexham Fechan () until it was eventually reabsorbed by the then growing town. The Travellers Rest, Wrexham (geograph 6141671)

The Travellers Rest, Wrexham (geograph 6141671)

There is a

military barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

called

Hightown Barracks Hightown Barracks is a military installation in Wrexham, Wales. History The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style and completed in 1877. Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localis ...

in the suburb. Until 2011, the suburb was home to the "Hightown Flats", five blocks of five-storey

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

built in 1970 of the Napier Square and Gatefield estates. The complex contained 181 flats and maisonettes, as well as five bungalows and 26 four bedroom houses. The flats were known for safety issues, such as poorly lit corridors, and vandalism such as graffiti and abandoned furniture. The area around the complex was associated with

antisocial behaviour Antisocial behavior is a behavior that is defined as the violation of the rights of others by committing crime, such as stealing and physical attack in addition to other behaviors such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disrupti ...

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

, and

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

. The complex was demolished by

Wrexham County Borough Council Wrexham County Borough Council () is the governing body for Wrexham County Borough, a Principal area of Wales, principal area in North Wales, north Wales, covering Wrexham and the surrounding area. History Elections take place every five years ...

in 2011 for re-generation, with locals supporting demolition as the only option to regenerate the area.

References

{{Wrexham Areas of Wrexham