WREXHAM folk are satisfied with the services the council provides.

That's the verdict of this year's People's Panel, a group of 600 residents of the county borough.

Wrexham Council carried out a survey of the panel to see in which areas people think the council needs to improve.

The People's Panel is consulted by the council and its partner organisations, including Wrexham Local Health Board, North East Wales NHS Trust and North Wales Police.

Individuals on the panel are anonymous to the agencies and every year a third of the panel is replaced, enabling other residents to take part.

Wrexham Council asked the panel about access to information, leisure and sports provision and transport in the county borough.

Three-quarters of the panel said they have received or noticed the council's Connect magazine which is sent to every household twice a year and contains information about the work of the council and its services. Almost all the panel felt the information was useful, or fairly useful.

Two out of three panel members have access to the internet and almost half of those have visited the council's website for either a general enquiry, requesting information, to make a planning application or to apply for a job vacancy.

When asked about leisure centres, two in three indicated they were satisfied with the activities provided; the top leisure destination was Waterworld, closely followed by Plas Madoc and Gwyn Evans.

Panel members were also asked how they got about the county borough. Almost half travel to work by car but more people would prefer to be a car passenger, use the bus or walk.

'The views of the People's Panel are a valuable source of feedback for us,' said Wrexham Council Leader Aled Roberts. 'It is very encouraging to see our publication Connect and our website have been so well received by residents.

'Access to our services is a priority for us and we will take on board the comments and feed them back to the departments concerned.'