A former chapel which underwent a £1m renovation is to go under the hammer later this month.

The former Ebenezer Baptist Chapel in Cefn Mawr is listed for auction on March 23 with a guide price of £100,000.

The original chapel was built in the late 1800s but stood empty for many years before being converted in 2008 into a community centre by Wrexham County Borough Council.

However, the project encountered financial difficulties because of a lack of visitors and the former Baptist chapel closed its doors five years later, in 2013.

The property, which was originally built in 1873, has since been described as a ‘white elephant’ in the community after becoming a target for vandals.

It was put up for sale in 2019 and Plas Kynaston Canal Group expressed an interest in buying it with the aim of converting it into a tourist information and arts and crafts centre.

One of the problems during its time as a community centre was the lack of parking spaces but the group’s proposal involved the construction of a cable car system linking it to the Windborne Gate car-park. It was also hoped to establish links with the UNESCO-listed Pontcysyllte aqueduct.

Talks with the Canal Group failed to make further progress, resulting in the property now being put up for sale once again.

Bidding on the Pugh Auctions on-line sale will be between March 23 and 24.

The auctioneers’ information states: “Believing to date back to the late 1800's and having undergone an extensive renovation programme in recent years the property has been used most recently as a community centre and offers a wide variety of potential future uses, subject to gaining the necessary planning consent."