Work on Wrexham’s new Kop stand to get underway next month

Rory Sheehan, local democracy reporter

Work is expected to begin on construction of Wrexham’s new Kop stand at the Racecourse Ground on June 1 with hopes the new 5,500-seater stand will be ready for the start of the 2024-25 football season.

Renovating the Racecourse Ground was one of five pledges made by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney when they took ownership of the football club in 2021.

New floodlights have already been installed at the Racecourse Ground in the last few weeks after separate planning permission was secured for them last year.

Contractors working on the new Kop have set out the timeline in the management plan for the development.

Disruption

The proposals, lodged with Wrexham Council’s planning department by Morgan Sindall, set out how the site will be managed from taking deliveries to minimising disruption on the roads around the stadium during construction.

“The vehicle entrance gates on Mold Road will be recessed off the highway to prevent the delivery vehicles from obstructing the highway”, the construction method statement says.

“To prevent deliveries from trafficking through the town centre and residential areas, route cards will be issued to all supply chain partners and will provide a clear route from the A483 (from Chester and Oswestry direction) and the A534. Route cards will direct traffic on main roads only and will avoid the town centre and residential areas.

“The site will close at 2pm on matchdays during the week and there will be no working on Saturday matchdays. There will be no deliveries when the site is closed.”

Working hours will be 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.

Heavy and abnormal sized deliveries will be planned to ensure that vehicles do not cause congestion on the roads around the perimeter of site.

The statement adds: “The existing 2.4m high timber hoarding that currently surrounds the site will remain in place for the duration of the construction works. From its current condition, the hoarding will be upgraded with measures to ensure that it meets the requirements of a temporary works design.

“Damaged boards will be replaced, the external face of the boards will be re-painted and graphics will be installed to a portion of the hoarding, along Mold Road. A biometric turnstile and two sets of vehicle gates will control pedestrian and vehicle access in and out of the site.

“Vehicles will enter the site through manned gates off Mold Road, the site compound will provide a one-way system for vehicles to travel through and exit out of another set of manned vehicle gates on to Crispin Lane.

The Turf

“For a limited period, the site will extend to include The Turf Pub car park. Plant will be sited in this area to complete cladding works to the gable end of the stand. A secure fence line with gates will be erected to secure this area. There will also be a responsible person put in place to control the gates.”

The statement also explains that the contractors are in discussion with Glyndwr University about the possible use of a section of their large carpark adjacent to the stadium. They will encourage shared transport, crew buses and public transport to limit vehicles arriving to site.

Talks are also being held with Network Rail about entering in to a BAPA (basic asset protection) agreement, with the work taking place near to the rail line.

And the neighbouring community will also be kept in the loop.

The contractors say: “Morgan Sindall is aware of the need to promote and maintain relations with the local residents, businesses and university.

“Neighbours will be made aware of site telephone numbers, key contacts, construction activities taking place and working hours.

“This information will be updated and communicated to the neighbours along with regular newsletter drops to ensure all those in close vicinity of the project are made aware of the site progress and any factors which affect them.”