Shops plan for brewery site

Wrexham lager brewery has been partly demolished

The brewery which produced Britain's oldest lager could be replaced by a shopping centre and restaurant.

The Wrexham Lager site on the outskirts of the town has already been partly-demolished with the exception of the listed office building.

The brewery was closed in 2000 by its Danish owners Carlsberg-Tetley and the north Wales drink is now produced in Leeds.

A planning application has been sent to Wrexham Council by Swansea company Central Retail Limited and Carlsberg-Tetley.

They hope to turn the former brewery into space for new stores, a restaurant and a car park for 350 vehicles.

Concerns are also raised in respect of the extra traffic generated

John Marek Wrexham AM

However, councillors deferred making a decision on Monday and requested a site visit to study the plans more clearly.

A spokesman for the company behind the plans said it was too early to comment about the proposal.

Concerns have been raised that if the retail centre is given the go ahead it could have a detrimental effect on the amount of customers visiting Wrexham town centre.

Wrexham AM, independent Dr John Marek, has also objected to the scheme.

Wrexham lager is brewed in Leeds

"The application appears to be low grade and is largely a car park leaving the listed brewery isolated in the centre and rows of shops on two sides," he said.

"Concerns are also raised in respect of the extra traffic generated."

The transformation plans for the site follows the redevelopment of other areas of Wrexham, including Bridge Street.

£1.6m is being spent on the area to encourage more businesses to open.