Glyndwr University says it is “committed” to allocating part of Dean Road field for recreational space

Wrexham Glyndwr University has said it is ‘committed’ to making land in Rhosnesni available for sports and recreation purposes.

Last week an application to designate land at Dean Road, Rhosnesni as a town or village green failed at a full meeting of Wrexham Council.

The application followed a campaign by local residents against plans to sell some of the university owned land there for a housing development, which Wrexham Glyndwr gained planning permission for in 2021 to help finance its Campus 2025 revamp.

Councillors were told that if they granted village green status to the land, although there would be no right of appeal, they could be at risk of being taken to a judicial review.

This followed a public inquiry, after which a Welsh Government inspector recommended the village green application must fail – due to public access to the land having only been by the university’s permission since 2011.

Members followed the recommendation and voted to refuse the application, but with an amendment to keep talking with the University regarding the rest of the site not earmarked for development. Part of the land is currently used by Borras Football Club.

Whilst welcoming the decision of the inspector and the council, the university has now moved to reassure the public that it is committed to allowing sport and recreation to continue at the site.

They added that the sale of some of the land will allow it to invest in state of the art facilities for its nursing and healthcare courses.

A spokesman for the university said: “The University welcomes the council’s decision to accept the independent inspector’s recommendation to refuse the Town and Village Green application for the Dean Road site.

“We are committed to progressing our plans for disposal of the site and investing the proceeds in the further development of our main campuses.

“This will be excellent news for our students, for instance those on our new Allied Health and Nursing programmes who need state of the art training facilities.

“The university is also committed to making part of the Dean Road site available to the council and maintained for the use of sports and/or recreational purposes, as per our original planning decision in May 2021.”

By Rory Sheehan – BBC Local Democracy Reporter