Speaking at Wrexham Council’s Lifelong Learning scrutiny committee, Bangor-is-y-Coed Cllr Robert Ian Williams (Ind) spoke of his fear for the building’s deterioration while the public still awaits a long-term plan for it.

Cllr Williams said: “I have been writing to various bodies, Cadw, the Minister for Arts, Dawn Bowden (MS).

“She kindly wrote back to me and is very concerned. She says the building must be kept and must be preserved.

“I seem to be knocking my head against a brick wall when it comes to the council. You’re discussing what could be done with it but the immediate problem is its preservation because talking about its future is like arranging deckchairs on the titanic – that school is in peril.

“We’ve now been told by a member of the civic society that there is buddleia in the masonry which could be destructive to the building.

Cllr Robert Ian Williams. Source - Wrexham Council (Image: Wrexham Council)

“I feel very strongly about this as that was the school where I started my teaching career, I really do want to save that building and I want to put it on record that I have heard from the Minister in Cardiff and Wrexham Council should be preserving that building.”

The Groves School on Chester Road closed its doors as far back as 2006 and plans for its future have become as a long-running saga as the building on the edge of the town centre remains derelict 16 years on.

Several proposals to give the site a new lease of life have fallen through over the years including, in 2014, plans to create a new college campus for Coleg Cambria. That did not come to pass and the college has since significantly redeveloped its Yale and Bersham campuses.

Wrexham Council, which owns the building, then planned to demolish it to make way for two new schools but was prevented from doing so after the Welsh Government stepped in to list it in August 2016 after an appeal by campaigners.

The council also previously conducted a feasibility study to look at the potential for bringing the school back into use for education.

But it said refurbishing the building would be too expensive, with an estimated cost of £11.5m to turn it into a primary school, later declaring it surplus to requirements.

Last year, a bid by healthcare company Apollo floated the idea of turning the school into a medical training facility only for progress to stall because of coronavirus travel restrictions.

In the summer, council leader Mark Pritchard (Ind), revealed news could soon be forthcoming on its future use, but there has been no further update since then.

In response to Cllr Williams, Queensway Cllr Carrie Harper (Plaid), who chaired the scrutiny meeting, assured him that the task and finish group responsible for looking at the Groves had raised maintenance issues.

She said: “The Groves task and finish group has been reconvened and I can assure Cllr Williams that the local members have raised the issue of maintenance of the site. We will keep track of that.”

Cllr Harper encouraged Cllr Williams to raise any concerns with council leader Cllr Mark Pritchard who is also lead member for assets.