THE Eagles Meadow redevelopment began a year ago but was originally announced along with the regeneration of Island Green and the other revamped areas of town.

It is the last piece of the jigsaw that is hoped will boost the town's economic prosperity.

'When this plan was first unveiled to councillors their jaws visibly dropped,' said Wrexham Council strategic director Paul Roberts.

'They were shocked by the radical vision put forward at the time and that has since been enhanced to bring this scheme.'

But with shop units in the town centre currently lying empty, does Wrexham really need any more shops?

'We are trying to address the needs of modern retailers,' said Will Robinson, of developers Wilson Bowden.

'For example, clothing retailer Next used to operate from 9,000 sq ft shops. Now they generally retail from 15,000 sq ft stores.

'All too often these days the high-end retailers do not move into city centres because they cannot offer the space. This development will offer the space.

'There will not be any 'pound shops' here either. You do not spend this kind of money on a development that will be filled with pound shops.

'We want to try to move away from the 9-5 economy and create somewhere that caters for the early evening or twilight market.

'We are also bringing the concept of city centre living to the town. The residential units will have their own separate on-site parking and although we cannot give a precise figure on what we expect to sell them for, we have used the nearby Gower Homes development as a guide.'

The Gower Homes apartments on Regent Street are currently on sale for upwards of £100,000.

Council leader Aled Roberts said that this scheme would right many past wrongs.

'There has been a lot of criticism of past decisions, like the flyover and the red railings at St Giles,' he said. 'But this development really does seem to sit well with the history of the town and the more modern areas.'

The plans have also been welcomed by Wrexham Civic Society.

In a statement they said: 'We are encouraged by what we see and support the development in principle. The design includes many of the attributes the Civic Society has been looking for in Wrexham.

'We are particularly looking forward to the Spanish Steps water feature.'