Heritage group raises concerns about condition of listed former school building

Liam Randall, local democracy reporter

A council has been accused of neglecting a listed former school building by allowing it to fall into disrepair.

It follows a local heritage group raising concerns about the deteriorating condition of the Groves School, located on the edge of Wrexham city centre.

Members of Save Our Heritage Wrexham have voiced their dismay at the current state of the former grammar school on Chester Road.

Demolition

The school has been closed since 2005 and was previously earmarked for demolition by the local authority.

However, it was listed by the Welsh Government in 2016 following a community campaign to protect it.

Several proposals to redevelop the building have been brought forward over the years, including plans to convert it into a new primary school or medical training facility, but none have successfully moved forward.

The council is now being urged by the heritage group to take action to revive the old school amid claims it has been left to rot.

‘Despair’

In a post on Facebook, a representative for the group said: “I have contacted the council again about the Grove Park school building and grounds because every time I pass and see it become so neglected and overgrown, I cannot help but feel despair over the situation.

“The history is rich, the heritage is huge, and the way grade II-listing has been all but ignored is astoundingly unjust.

“It’s almost as though permission has been granted to let it fall into decay and I fear this is being allowed to happen on purpose.

“Surely there is something that can be done to save it from gradual destruction.

“It is fair to say that such a prestigious building could and indeed should become part of Wrexham as a city which embraces its past and allows it to cohabit with its future.”

Feasibility study

The council previously conducted a feasibility study to look at the possibility turning the building into a primary school.

However, it was decided that the estimated £11.5m refurbishment costs were too high.

In 2023, it was shortlisted as a potential location for a new National Contemporary Art Gallery for Wales, but plans for the facility were shelved by the Welsh Government in July this year to fund existing cultural institutions.

Wrexham Council has been approached for comment on the building’s future.