A PETITION has been launched in opposition to plans to demolish the iconic Wrexham police station to make way for a supermarket.

Two years ago, supermarket giant Lidl bought North Wales Police’s landmark Bodhyfryd station in Wrexham town centre, proposing to demolish and replace it with a new store, cafe and 151 parking spaces.

The plans looked set to be given the go-ahead by Wrexham County Borough Council (WCBC), only for the application to be pulled from the agenda of the authority’s September planning committee meeting at the last minute.

But WCBC says the proposals will be discussed at its next planning meeting on March 2.

And now an online petition has been launched calling for "a better use for the old Police Station site."

The petition, which already has over 300 signatures, states: "We respectfully request that Wrexham CBC do not grant planning permission for the Lidl supermarket and drive through coffee shop at the old Police HQ site in Wrexham.

"We request that a tender is issued to developers to come up with a better use for the site that supports the Town Centre better and is in keeping with the new 'Transforming Towns' package, of which Wrexham has been identified as a priority town."

The 'Transforming Towns' package refers to £90m of additional investment in towns across Wales as part of a new government approach to transforming town centres.

"Developers could be invited to design a new location that complements the existing nearby leisure facilities and supports footfall into the Town Centre," the petition added.

The petition states that "original data supporting the demand for a new supermarket was from 2014".

"This data is outdated and predates the construction of 2 new Aldi supermarkets in the borough and the extension of the existing Aldi store at Plas Coch retail park," it states.

"It also predates the modernisation of the existing Lidl store on Salop Road. This Lidl is also approximately two minutes drive from the proposed new site, which is in close proximity to two existing large supermarkets, making it's necessity very questionable."

No alternative to the plans for the Lidl has been put forward by petitioners, but some of those who have signed it have called for a walk-in hospital, while others raised the idea of an indoor ski centre.

Most who have signed the petition say there are already more than enough supermarkets in the town.

A WCBC spokesman said the application will be discussed at the next planning meeting and so will not comment any further at this stage.

The petition is available at https://www.change.org/p/wrexham-cbc-a-better-use-for-the-old-police-station-site/c?source_location=petition_show