WORK to demolish Wrexham’s landmark divisional police headquarters begins this weekend and one person who won’t be sad to see it go is North Wales’s policing chief, who says it’s past its sell-by date.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones, a former police inspector, knew the building well from the mid-1980s when he moved to a police house in Coedpoeth from Abergynolwyn in Gwynedd and he was briefly stationed there.

But he says it has outlived its time and has been superseded by the new Eastern Division Headquarters in Llay and a new town police station in the former Oriel Gallery, near Wrexham Library on Rhosddu Road.

He said: “I can’t get very sentimental about the old HQ. It’s the people that I remember and who make the workplace and not the building.

“It was a part of Wrexham’s skyline for so long and I suppose it will be the end of an era when it comes down on Sunday but although many say they will miss it, I won’t. I always thought it was a bit of a dump.

“When I was first in Wrexham and for several years afterwards there were police stations in many of the villages around the town but the HQ did have the custody cells.

"The community beat managers worked from there and I did my CID training there, while it even had a social club and there were dances and gigs there.

“When Wrexham football matches and internationals were on at The Racecourse and there was a fair degree of violence and confrontation, we would be briefed there and in those days there was a much heavier police presence at matches and some big games took place.”

Since then it has been superseded by the opening last year of the UK’s most modern police station, the new eco-friendly, state of the art £21.5 million Divisional HQ at Llay.

The new complex houses 350 police officers and staff, with 32 cells, canteen facilities and two gyms as well as locker rooms and garages, has an 80 kilowatt solar array on the roof and rainwater harvesting while smart LED lighting ensures energy use is 50 per cent lower than the old building.

Mr Jones added: “As far as working conditions are concerned Llay and the new station at the Library are far better and are fit for purpose in the 21st century in a way the old HQ wasn’t.

“The cells didn’t come up to standard by the end and Llay is far better for everyone concerned and has been brought up to the mark as far as Covid is concerned.

“Wrexham certainly hasn’t lost anything by moving the divisional HQ to Llay and Flintshire has gained because it’s only 300 metres across the border.

“I still think it’s a shame that no-one came in to buy the site to build something that would benefit the town such as a leisure facility but Lidl made the best offer and when you are dealing with the public purse that’s what you are obliged to accept.”

The former police station will be brought down using a controlled explosion by Total Demolition Services at 8.30am on Sunday, November 1.

A number of road closures will be in place and members of the public have been urged to stay away.

A Wrexham Council spokesman said: "We know many of you would love to witness this historic event but due to the current fire break restrictions we’re asking you to stay away - it will be recorded and shared on media so we’ll all be able to see how it went."

Visit https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/ on Sunday for the latest coverage of the demolition.