Plans to demolish former Wrexham police station to build supermarket receive go ahead

PLANS to demolish Wrexham’s former police station to make way for a supermarket and drive-thru coffee shop have been given the go ahead.
Retail giant Lidl applied to knock down the high-rise structure at Bodhyfryd in August 2018 to replace it with a new store measuring 1,325 square metres.
It follows the closure of the North Wales Police base last year, which saw officers move to a new £21.5m building in Llay.
Councillors have now approved the scheme despite 365 people signing a petition calling for a better use to be found for the site.
Consultants acting on behalf of rivals Asda, who have a store over the road, also submitted objections amid concerns about the impact on traffic in the area.
However, a Wrexham Council planning officer said the overall increase in vehicle movements would not be significant.

Speaking at the start of a meeting held to decide the proposals yesterday, David William said: “As far as the capacity of the highway network is concerned, the transport modelling suggests there is adequate capacity within both the roundabout serving the development and neighbouring roundabouts.
“It’s important to note that given its previous use as a divisional police headquarters, the actual overall increase in traffic movements is less than five per cent.
“Generally, anything less than five per cent is not considered to be significant from a local highway authority perspective.
“I do believe that the highway concerns have been addressed and as you can see the application has been with us for a significant amount of time.”
Some objections were raised over the demolition due to the building’s significance in the town’s history.
But an earlier attempt to list the building failed, as Cadw said it did not meet the criteria.
Another issue raised was the potential danger of pollution to pupils at Alexandra Community Primary School, which is opposite the site.
Cllr Paul Jones, who represents the area the old police station is based in, also said there was a belief that Wrexham already had too many supermarkets.
He said: “I would like some feedback on something that comes up on a regular basis, which is the concern that there is a saturation of supermarkets within Wrexham town centre.
“Also, with the drive-thru coffee shop and people queuing up to use it, the increase in pollution and whether that will have an impact on the pupils who attend Alexandra Primary School.
“It may be outside the remit of this planning committee but I’d like some feedback on that as well please.”
In response, officers said Lidl had successfully demonstrated the need for the new supermarket based on the findings of a retail assessment conducted by the council.
They added the volume of cars using the drive thru was unlikely to have an impact on pollution.
At the end of the debate, planning committee members unanimously voted to support the proposals.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter