Former Wrexham police station demolition is approved

The police station closed in January 2019 after more than 40 years as a divisional base

Plans to demolish Wrexham's former police station to make way for a Lidl supermarket and drive-through coffee shop have been given the go-ahead.

The 10-storey 1970s block at Bodhyfryd closed in 2019 with officers moving to a new £21.5m divisional base in Llay.

An attempt to have the property listed as historic failed, and 365 people signed a petition urging a better use.

Planners also rejected claims from rival supermarket Asda that a new store would create too much traffic.

Councillors were told that given the site's previous use as a divisional police headquarters, the increase in traffic would be less than 5% and not considered significant.

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One member had raised concerns about the risk of pollution to pupils at a nearby primary school, and asked if there was a need for another supermarket in the town centre.

In response, officers said Lidl had successfully demonstrated the need for the new supermarket based on the findings of a retail assessment conducted by the council.

They added that the volume of cars using the drive-through coffee shop was unlikely to have an impact on pollution.

The planning committee voted unanimously to approve the scheme, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.