Coleg Cambria to acquire The Groves
“At last we have found a solution for The Groves,” said Wrexham County Council Leader Cllr Mark Pritchard as he motioned this week to approve terms to dispose of the 11-acre former high school site to the college.
Coleg Cambria, whose Yale campus is located across the road from The Groves site in Wrexham, has declared its intent to use the site to expand its offering in the city. The county council will now have the land evaluated (the last valuation exercise was in 2019) and agree terms for the deal.
The Groves has had a storied past.
“White elephant is an understatement,” Pritchard said at the county council’s cabinet meeting.
The school closed in 2006 and was used as council offices until 2012. Since then, it has been largely vacant.
Over the years the property has been used as a “political football,” to use Pritchard’s words. It was the subject of a back-and-froth listing battle – ultimately claiming historic protection status.
There have been multiple projects proposed for the plot, including putting in new schools on the site, building a medical training facility, or transforming it into an arts gallery. None of these came to fruition.
In the meantime, the council has had to make repairs to keep it wind and watertight. Security has been brought on to keep it safe from vandals.
A deal with Coleg Cambria will see new life brought into the site – and an expensive asset taken off the books of the council.
“Going into the future, I’m really pleased that we got a partner who is willing to invest, regenerate the site, and bring it back to use,” Pritchard said.
Excellent news, there’s been a long standing risk of the building accidentally catching fire and all that open space being filled with more new builds, this is a great use for it that should preserve the site.
By John Smith
Look forward to Coleg Cambria procuring the architecture gig to the open market…??
By Anonymous