RESIDENTS are uniting to fight against their village being chosen as a location for more development, including a 12 pitch traveller site.

Wrexham Council is due to finalise its Local Development Plan (LDP) next year, marking out which sites across the county can be developed over the next 15 years, and which can be protected.

Consultation on the document will take place from April 9 to May 31 this year before the LDP is set in stone by the Welsh Government.

A packed public meeting at Llay Miners' Welfare Institute saw county councillors, Cllr Bryan Apsley and Cllr Rob Walsh spell out the importance of residents voicing their concerns for the future of their village.

A number of sites in Llay are set to be included in the plan, and along with Brymbo and Hanmer, the village has been chosen as a possible home for a new gipsy site.

Land off Pont Y Capel, at Alyn Waters Country Park has been earmarked for this potential development and has left residents up in arms.

Cllr Bryan Apsley urged them to make their various concerns known about the proposals on planning grounds.

He said: "The main problem is the roads, the school, the doctors, the infrastructure isn't good enough and we could have more houses to contend with on top of the 365 being built on Gresford Road."

Despite being thrown out by Wrexham Council planners, a 365 home development on Gresford Road in the village was granted by the Welsh Government's planning inspectorate in 2016.

Cllr Rob Walsh said the lack of an LDP in place for Wrexham since 2012 had made the village vulnerable to developers, and that having one from next year would offer more protection.

But he said more pitches for travellers would have to go somewhere in the county as part of that plan.

He said: "Planning-wise it has been made clear that Wrexham must find land for 24 traveller pitches throughout the county.

"If that doesn't happen, the LDP fails. Brymbo and Hanmer are the other options. I've been told the reason they like Pont Y Capel is due to the pavement along Llay New Road, the bus stops nearby, and because the leases are easy to terminate and not renew.

"Llay has been unfairly hit in recent years. There has been the Gresford Road development, the parking charges at Alyn Waters country park which could see Llay United FC leave the village, and the Wat's Dyke bus route has gone.

"People in Llay are cheesed off. We've got to take a stand on planning issues. Why is it always Llay that seems to be hit? The village can't take any more.

"The traveller community could be a help to us, as how do we know this is where they want to go?"

One resident asked why areas such as Rossett, Holt, Gresford and Marford had not been considered for the site, rather than Llay.

Cllr Walsh said: "Lots of sites have been looked at in Wrexham. The honest answer is that I don't know how much council land there is there, as opposed to private sites.

"If private sites became available, that would reduce the number of pitches needed."

Jane Lloyd, from the HACK horse sanctuary based at Alyn Waters said there were fears they could be turfed off the land, adding horses would have to be re-homes, or even "shot" if they had to move.

She added that there is clear evidence of badger setts at the site.

The meeting closed with Llay Community Cllr Dennis Owen urging villagers to work together.

He said: "We've been pushed around so many times. We've got to fight this as a community.

"We are Llay. We're proud of living in Llay and we have to preserve it for future generations."

Another public meeting about the LDP is scheduled to take place in the village on April 4 at the Llay Royal British Legion.