PLANS to turn a 300 million year old fossil forest into a global tourist attraction have taken a step forward after proposals for a new discovery centre were submitted.

Brymbo Heritage Group is aiming to transform the former Brymbo Iron and Steelworks site near Wrexham and conserve the nearby fossil forest, which is a major site of geological interest.

The group has now submitted a planning application for a discovery building showcasing some of the fossils which have already been discovered..

The first version of the building will consist of three shipping containers containing laboratory equipment.

By 2019 the trust is hoping to double it in size to improve viewing access, before a full size facility covering the entire forest is built by 2030.

A spokesman for the group said: "Our planning application for the fossil forest discovery building went in on Friday.

"It’s for the first of the versions of a building over the fossil forest that we hope to realise over the next ten years with a small one to start with, growing and adjusting based on what we find.

"It’s not pretty, but it will do the job we need doing. The first stage building will be a rectangular box based around three shipping containers with two at one end and one at the other.

"We’ve bought the first of these three containers and started to kit it out with lab equipment and many of the loose fossils we’ve already uncovered."

In February 2017, Wrexham Council’s executive board agreed to support the trust’s proposals for the developments and also committed the support of council officers to the planned developments.

Shortly after gaining council support, the project attracted nearly £2 million in funding from the Big Lottery Fund’s Create Your Space programme, allowing the project to kick-start its Roots to Shoots initiative, which looks at ways of making use of other former industrial open spaces around the village, as well as securing three new jobs.

The trust has invited anyone interested in finding out more about the plans to attend its next open day on Saturday 11th August.