Glyndwr University insists field in Wrexham will remain fenced off even if housing appeal is dismissed

A Wrexham university has insisted a field under its ownership will remain fenced off even if an appeal over plans to build houses on it is unsuccessful.

Controversial proposals by Glyndwr University to put 74 houses on the field in Rhosnesni were rejected in July 2019 amid widespread opposition in the community to the loss of open space.

The university later installed fencing and padlocked a gate to ensure members of the public could not access the land off Dean Road, attracting anger from residents as it was regularly used by children to play sports.

An appeal was also launched against the decision by Wrexham Council’s planning committee as the institution said it needed to sell the site to a developer to fund the £60m redevelopment of its main campus.

A hearing was held yesterday (Tuesday, 27 April) where planning inspector Hywel Wyn Jones, who has been appointed to rule on the case, questioned what the university would do with the land if he dismissed the appeal.

Acting on Glyndwr’s behalf, planning barrister Thea Osmund-Smith said: “The site is a pretty crucial part of the Campus 2025 programme.

“The university has considered its estate and sought to dispose of those parcels of land which it does not require to in order to raise finances for the university to increase its offer, to improve its facilities and to be able to attract more students.

“That of course has its knock-on effects for the number of staff that it employs from the locality as well.

“It certainly would not be looking to take this site back to its former use because that is of no financial benefit to the university.”

She added: “Picking up on some of the objections which have been made about the university thinking about profits over the community, that’s not the case.

“The university is a charity; it has charitable objectives which it has to fulfil and those are very much geared towards the provision of education and widening community benefits.”

When asked whether that mean the site would be kept as it is, leaving the grass to grow and restricting public access, the university’s director of finance David Elcock said: “Yes”.

The university has pledged to provide a football pitch on part of the land if the housing scheme moves forward.

However, local councillor Mike Davies said the area was given to the university by the council for educational purposes and should be handed back if it had no intention to use it.

He said: “I may be wrong, but I wasn’t aware that what a vendor was intending to do with the profits from the sale of land was anything to do with the planning application.

“40 years ago the land was gifted to the college by the council for educational purposes.

“They have said on a number of occasions they have never used it for educational proposals and they have no future use for educational purposes at all.

“Bearing in mind they had the land free of charge from the council, if they no longer need it then they’re perfectly welcome to offer it back to the council.”

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Davies criticised the university’s stance even further.

In a post on Facebook, he said: “We were very disappointed by Glyndwr’s attitude.

“When asked by the inspector what they would do with the land if their appeal was rejected, they replied that they would keep it locked up. Very community spirited of them.”

Other objections have been raised over the impact on traffic and the drainage system in the area.

Mr Wyn Jones will make a decision on whether to allow the university’s appeal at a later date.

By Liam Randall – BBC Local Democracy Reporter