A SPECIAL meeting has been called in a bid to put the demolition of an old vicarage in Wrexham on hold.

Members of Wrexham Council’s executive board voted in favour of knocking down the property in Rhosddu, which is known as Centre 67, after meeting in private early last year.

The move was criticised by local councillor Marc Jones, who said Wrexham was in danger of losing part of its heritage.

With the demolition of the building imminent, Cllr Jones has now made a last-ditch attempt to save it.

Backed by his Plaid Cymru colleagues on the council, the party’s group leader has called an extraordinary meeting next month to consider a motion which asks for the demolition to be paused for six months.

Cllr Jones said it would enable a public consultation to take place on alternative uses for the property.

He said: “A demolition notice has been outstanding on the building for the past few weeks and scaffolding had gone up.

“I was hoping that this matter could have been discussed at the council’s annual general meeting but that was refused.

“In order to ensure that this important building wasn’t demolished without any say from the community, I and my fellow Plaid Cymru councillors asked for an extraordinary meeting.

“I’m glad that we’ll now have the chance to make the case to all 52 councillors and see whether this council values our heritage and history or whether they want to spend £50,000 on demolishing it.”

Centre 67 was last used in around 2005 and hopes were previously raised it could be be turned into a community hub.

Plans to tear down the property on Rhosddu Road, which is located between the Spar and St James’ church, were first discussed by the council in 2013.

Members of the former Labour-led administration later chose to give it a stay of execution to explore other options.

Speaking at a meeting in January last year, independent council leader Mark Pritchard said the latest proposals were a small part of a wider review of office accommodation and the authority needed to “move forward” with the plans.

However, Cllr Jones said the building was still structurally sound, despite being derelict for some time, and backed calls for it to be turned into a community space.

He said: “It’s about time the council worked with communities and not against them.

“I’m confident that people in Rhosddu will be able to develop a plan to re-purpose this building for the good of the community – whether it’s creating jobs or providing a service or both.

“I’ve already had many imaginative suggestions and, if this motion is successful, we’ll develop a plan that will put the building back to work.”

The motion will be discussed at a meeting which is due to be held on Wednesday, 23 June at 4pm.