Apartment plans for “dilapidated” office space near town centre

Plans to convert “dilapidated” office space just outside of Wrexham town centre have been put forward.

The application for Unit C on Maesgwyn Road has been submitted by the applicants to ensure that the “vacant unit can become usable”.

It is the second application to be submitted for the former office space this year, with proposals to convert the space into a HMO refused by councillors over the summer.

As part of the plans submitted to Wrexham Council it has been proposed that the office space on the ground floor of the building is converted into three apartments with bicycle and bin storage.

These apartments would a one bedroom apartment with the remainder consisting of two bedrooms.

The office space it attached to “large commercial buildings”, which were previously home to the Wrexham tram depot, before becoming home to a bus depot. More recently the space was used as a body repair garage and workshop. The space being considered for conversion are part of a larger industrial unit which extends back towards the railway line.

In the proposal’s supporting documents the applicants state that the offices have been “targeted by vandals, smashing windows and graffiti has been painted on the walls within the workshop area.”

As a result of being vacant for several years and being subjected to vandalism, it is noted that the offices have “fallen into a state of disrepair”.

The applicants conclude: “We feel this planning application should be looked favourably upon as the intention to provide additional accommodation within the town centre ideally suited to young professional’s seeking work or employment in the area.

“The building is prominent to existing dwellings and is currently in a dilapidated state where vandals have targeted windows and walls within the building.

“At present the building is an eyesore to local residents, by allowing this conversion to take place the building will be revamped and be a secure building ensuring vandalism won’t occur.

“The planning department have previously granted apartments at the site, this proposal however affected the characteristics of the building.

“The proposal put forward will ensure the façade of the unit is retained, with parking as stated within the access section of this document an improved situation in terms of the buildings current use.

“The conversion will provide additional accommodation to the town, which is a recognised requirement for the county borough.”

The application will be considered for approval at a later date.