NewRisingSun
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How can CADW state that “this building as it does not survive in a condition which clearly displays its original design concept and use of the parabolic roof form”. The greatest part of the original concept was the parabolic roof itself which survives intact and complete, as far as the other alterations go many would seem reversible. Many other buildings have had historical alterations, I think as always with CADW and other heritage bodies they have issues with modern and recent additions being unworthy of listing, age is always revered (how many building have remained completely unaltered during their lifetime). Although I do agree with them that the refurbishment did take away from the building to a degree the overall concept remains and is a landmark of Wrexham. If this building is demolished you can be sure lots of people will be wondering why in the future, hopefully people will rally round to try and save it before it becomes another vegetable market, or any other if the long list of interesting buildings we have lost in Wrexham. And look at what replaces them.
I agree with some that we have to move on and new building is a good thing, the problem in Wrexham is the lack of vision. Any new building is guaranteed to be a forgettable shed like all the others, which far from adding to the townscape have gradually eroded it. Would Wrexham dare to build anything as forward looking and exciting as Waterworld again…not likely.
Surely even if the majority of the building is contaminated the facade could still be retained as demolition would still require decontamination. Seems like knocking it down is simply the cheapest option.
Also are two retail units really a benefit to the town when there are so many empty units already?
I havent had a chance to read the application or look at the extra photos. Often good designs are let down by cost cutting etc. It would be nice for Wrexham to have some good and exciting modern architecture but it seems that a generic template of size and style gets used whatever the setting; like eagles meadow which apart from the view to st Giles could have been placed in any town.
Questions should be asked before a development goes ahead. So many people say how could they build this eyesore etc or complain about how bad a space is after its built. I’m just saying a redevelopment opportunity should not be wasted like so many in Wrexham which are poorly designed. I have an interest in the built environment, renovation of the old buildings down penybryn and brook street area could make this a nice part of town.
The architecture looks very uninspiring, for a start its out of scale with the surrounding buildings. The fact that there are car parking spaces out the front not only makes it look a bit rubbish but means that it isn’t a very convenient pedestrian area. If more thought was put into the design, the materials, scale and landscaping I wouldn’t mind, but designs that add little to the street are a wasted opportunity.
With regards to the prison, won’t most of the jobs be offered to the employees of the other prisons that are being closed, therefore having little benefit to local jobs?
Also with the Brymbo development I have been involved in fighting, we have been trying to make the point that allowing building on green barrier land here will have consequences for other areas in Wrexham, but I agree that most people are not concerned unless it affects them directly.
Do they ever look into these cases afterwards to see if it was a good investment or not, and to if lessons could be learnt in the future? It seems that the money just disappears and nobody ever considers the impact this has.
The Brymbo Enterprise Centre is an interesting case, it received £3.4 million in Urban II European funding but had to be bailed out by a loan from Wrexham more recently. It was meant to be a training centre amongst other things to get people the skills to get back to work. My question would be wouldn’t the money have been better spent on the link road to enable the construction of the ’employment’ area of the steelworks site. Maybe once that was done some of the money could have renovated one of the old steelworks buildings into a similar centre.
People in the area particularly in Tanyfron have no idea what the centre actually does and therefore nobody attends it for its stated purpose. At the moment it just appears a glorified gym and conference centre.
@Adam 4659 wrote:
What’s your concern with people moving here whilst commuting elsewhere? I live in Wrexham but commute outside to work. Should I move?
I apologise if I offended you or any other commuters, but that was not my intention. What I am trying to point out is the active encouragement of migration of people to the Wrexham area. Natural migration is a good think and creates the diverse mix of people we have in Wrexham. However, in Wrexham I am concerned at the current over-development, the effects of which we can already see with traffic and pressure on services like hospitals. We do not have the infrastructure to support the housing targets being set down by the Welsh government. The active seeking of people to move from other places can only put these services under greater pressure
I am also concerned that Wrexham is forced to do this because of a lack of will to build the necessary housing in Cheshire etc so people do not have to commute. Surely not commuting is better for health and the environment. The current plans are not sustainable, a buzzword which the government uses a lot in its planning policy Wales document, but does not follow. Similarly, they are actively seeking to bring in skilled people. You can either see this as a good thing to encourage more businesses to come here or it prevents the local workforce in some very deprived areas (which have received European funding) from being able to access these jobs and therefore be lifted out of a circle of poverty.
