Demolition of former Wrexham care home could start next month

A prior notification of demolition has been submitted for a former care home in Wrexham.

Nant Silyn, located on Pont Wen in Caia Park, has been vacant since October 2015 when members of the then Executive Board voted in favour of decommissioning the site.

The 29 bedroom facility was the only council-owned care home in the county borough, however it was closed after being seen as “no longer financially viable or required”.

Now an application for prior notification of demolition has now been submitted to Wrexham Council, explaining: “Demolition is required to mitigate the risk or vandalism and fire and for the future development potential.”

The document continues onto say that the roof carvings and internal soft strip would be demolished by hand. It adds: “Existing block work material to be crushed and laid into the building footprint prior to receiving final treatment at a later date.”

In January Wrexham.com reported that members of the Executive Board had backed plans to use the site for social housing – with hopes that 12 units of specialist and adapted housing for older people and people with additional needs can be developed on the site.

Speaking at January’s Executive Board meeting, Leader of Wrexham Council, Cllr Mark Pritchard said: “We have ambitious and aspirations to build social housing in Wrexham.

“This is the first step on the ladder and we’re going to go on a journey. As and when we can and when sites come up we will now automatically now consider them for social housing subject to the availability of money and the Welsh Government.

“The biggest cost for anybody, whether it is a developer or ourselves is the land. But in this circumstance we own the land, so we have ambitions to build council houses and I hope this is one of many sites which come forward in the future.”

The document notes that demolition would begin in March 2018 and would be complete by June 2018.