PLANS for a £17m Wrexham business park which may bring thousands of jobs to the area have been unveiled.
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s and Chester-based developer Liberty Properties are behind the project just south of Ruabon on the Wynnstay Estate, adjacent to the A539.
The retailer and property developer have submitted a joint planning application.
If granted, Ruabon Business Park will feature a brand new Sainsbury’s store with petrol station and an office village eventually offering almost 500,000sq ft of floor space.
A public exhibition was held on Monday and Tuesday of this week at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Ruabon.
Wrexham County Borough Council has pencilled the site in for development for more than 12 years, having first granted outline planning permission for a prestige business park at this location in July 1995.
This was subsequently renewed on a number of occasions, most recently in June 2005.
The Sainsbury’s investment in the scheme has provided Liberty Properties with the funding to build the essential roadworks and infrastructure to realise the scheme.
Ruabon Business Park would be built in three phases. Phase one would create more than 400 jobs and would include a 33,000sq ft Sainsbury’s food store and petrol station and a state-of-the-art office village.
Phase two would provide 143,400sq ft of employment space which has the potential to provide 1,340 jobs. Phase three has the potential to house 267,000sq ft of employment space which equates to a massive 2,495 potential jobs.
Emyr Williams, director, Liberty Properties, said: “Our ambitious plans for Ruabon are aimed at rejuvenating the town’s economy and providing jobs for local people. The location is ideal for such a development.”
Vicky Shaw, Sainsbury’s regional development surveyor, added: “Together with Liberty Properties, we have carried out extensive research into the ‘need’ for a new food store in the area. Our findings highlight that many people currently travel to Wrexham, Oswestry or further a field to do their weekly shop and a new food store would reduce the need for these trips.”
