A business leader sprang into action after hearing about plans to redistribute surplus goods from retail giants like Amazon to struggling families in Wrexham.

Caroline Platt, the Managing Director of family-run Platts Agriculture in Llay, is leading the push to launch North Wales’ first multibank operation, aimed at providing essentials like clothing, bedding and toiletries.

She revealed the idea to galvanise Wrexham businesses and charity organisations came during a charity trek in the Himalayas with Cherrie Bija, chief executive of the Faith in Families charity which runs the Cwtch Mawr multibank in Swansea.

After returning home, she arranged a meeting of members of Wrexham Leadership Alliance and local charities with Cherrie to outline the benefits of a multibank and took a group to Swansea to see Cwtch Mawr in action.

Among them were distribution and warehousing firm McCarthy Group’s Managing Director Mike McCarthy and his wife, Louise, Chief Officer at AVOW in Wrexham Dawn Roberts-McCabe, and Chris Buchan, head of community and third sector policy at Welsh Government.

As a result, a successful trial run has taken place with surplus goods from major retailers being transported to Wrexham and distributed to five local charities by the McCarthy Group.

The charities supported were Caia Park Partnership, EYST Wrexham, UareUK, We Are Plas Madoc and Wrexham Foodbank.

According to Caroline, the successful pilot had shown how much of a difference a North Wales multibank hub could make, both to families struggling to cope and to the environment.

She said huge volumes of brand new goods were not being used despite many households going without basic essentials.

The next step would be securing sustainable funding so the  operation could expand and support families across the region,

Caroline said: “For us at Platts, our goal is use the power of collaboration to create a logistics and distribution plan to enable surplus goods donated from Cwtch Mawr to reach communities across our region, delivering real social value where it matters most.

“It is about having proper school uniform and shoes that fit and to be able to get a good night’s sleep because they have got clean bedding and are able to have toothbrushes and toothpaste.

“These are basic hygiene products but it gives them huge confidence when they go to school, they are not bullied, they are not excluded, they feel valued at a very young age.

“I am particularly grateful to Mike and Louise McCarthy for their enthusiastic and heartfelt support and Dawn McCabe-Roberts and Chris Buchan for their backing and invaluable insight, along with Wrexham MS Lesley Griffiths who is championing this amazing opportunity.”

Caroline said the Welsh Government is keen to have a multibank hub established in North Wales and urging Wrexham Council to match-fund the start-up costs.

She added: “We hope to present to Wrexham Council information about our positive run with the pilot and hopefully receive their backing.

“Funding was given to set up the Cwtch Mawr warehouse by Welsh Government and Swansea Council along with local housing associations Pobl, Beacon and Caredig.

“Cherrie set a team up and they basically receive donated goods from the National Multibank and Amazon and they work with in excess of 120 charities in the Swansea area to redistribute the goods to people in need.

“The items are from Amazon’s suppliers and are goods like school shoed which have been returned for whatever reason – sometimes only because the box is slightly damaged.

“The multibank concept is not only a sustainable solution but also has a huge social value in our communities, so much so that in the last 12 months Cherrie’s social return value is £26 million.

“Just a couple of weeks ago they just delivered their millionth item to the community.”

Mike McCarthy said: “Replicating this operation in Wrexham in support of families and children who are experiencing tough times is our way of giving back to the community.

“We are committed to supporting the project on an ongoing basis by providing transport to bring the goods to our depot and deliver it to the local charities on our smaller vehicles.

“What’s great is that people in Wrexham are pulling together to make this happen and Wrexham Leadership Alliance are really good at bringing businesses and the community together.

“Caroline has been excellent in galvanising people – she’s a human dynamo.”

Equally enthusiastic is Dawn Roberts-McCabe from AVOW who said: “We absolutely need a multibank hub here because we have many areas of multiple deprivation – it would be life-changing for some families.

“Many families are living from pay check to pay check and we also have pockets of poverty where families live in affluent areas but are really struggling.

“Caroline brought AVOW in at the early stage to help identify charities who were willing and able to take part in the pilot project.

“AVOW will continue to support the multibank expansion to North Wales by connecting more charities into the project in the new year.”

Wrexham’s Member of the Senedd, Lesley Griffiths is a keen supporter of the multibank venture.

She said: “The original multibank was opened in Swansea in 2024 by former First Minister, Mark Drakeford and former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.   I visited and saw for myself just how impactful the model is.

“With the cost-of-living crisis hitting families hard, I believed establishing a multibank hub in North Wales, and more specifically in Wrexham, would be an extremely worthwhile endeavour.  It will help those struggling to make ends meet access essential goods and support easily in one place and I commend the work of everyone.”

Cherrie Bija said the Swansea multibank had made a huge difference to the lives of families in need.

She said: “We’re called Cwtch Mawr. We want to give people big hugs, to ensure people are loved and valued and have the essential products for their daily lives.

“We want to send that hug up to North Wales and the multibank hub will only succeed if it is a collaboration of all different sectors including businesses, local authorities and the Welsh Government.”

John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager of Amazon, added: “Cwtch Mawr does incredible work in Swansea and is helping to make a real difference in people’s lives. We’re a proud partner of the Multibank, and this new pilot in Wrexham will help more families across Wales get the support they need.”