Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at centre of Wales council spat

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FT Desk

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have been told to "get their act in order" by a local Welsh council after they constructed a Wrexham training facility without permission.

Since the Hollywood stars completed their takeover in February of 2021, Wrexham have undergone a remarkable transformation. The club was playing in the National League at the time, but went on to win three successive promotions: reaching the EFL in 2023, League One in 2024 and the Championship in 2025.

That made Wrexham the first club to achieve three consecutive promotions through the English football pyramid.

Their progress has continued off the pitch too, with major investment in the squad, training facilities and the Racecourse Ground, while the club's international profile has soared through the Welcome to Wrexham documentary. Their social-media following and commercial value have increased dramatically, turning a struggling non-league club into a global sporting brand, with many fans in the United States picking Wrexham as their club after watching the doc.

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This week, the club have been forced to make a public apology after they opened the doors to their new training complex in Colliers Park HQ in Gresford one week before a committee was set to meet to discuss planning permission.

A planning application was launched in August when construction was already underway.

Gresford community council’s planning committee chair, Councillor Mike Morris, said: “I do wish that people would get their act in order and not put in retrospective applications just because it suits you — which, at the end of the day, [is] what it came down to.

“You wanted to do it in the summer, and you know the fact you’ve had good results, and you know the football club is doing very well, we all applaud that, but it’s no excuse for not following the procedure properly.

“It’s no different to any other retrospective application. So it will be a matter for members to consider whether they are going to support it or not, and that will come out in the debate.”

Wrexham’s chief strategy officer, Aidan Miller, said Wrexham offered a “sincere apology”.

“The club sought to undertake the works during the summer off-season period, when activity at the site is significantly reduced, allowing construction activity and associated impacts to be managed effectively and within the site footprint,” he said.

“The club recognises that planning permission would ordinarily be secured before development commences, and we sincerely apologise to the committee and local residents.

“Notwithstanding this, throughout the development of the project, the club has sought to act responsibly by selecting an established sporting location, making use of existing infrastructure, and designed a proposal to minimise impacts on neighbouring occupiers and the wider community.

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“The club has engaged fully and thoroughly with the planning process, including undertaking pre-application consultation, engaging with statutory consultees, and responding to matters raised in relation to parking, highways and phosphate mitigation.”

Wrexham just missed out on the Championship playoffs last season and have started the new campaign in underwhelming fashion, with just one victory from their opening seven games.

On Friday evening, they suffered a 6-0 defeat by West Ham.