#hafodmorfacopperworks — Public Fediverse posts

SWANSEA: Landore Park and Ride set to move across the road — as funding approved for design study of new Alamein Road site

The Landore Park and Ride is set to move — but not far. Funding has been approved through the Regional Transport Fund for a WelTAG stage 2 study to look at design proposals for a new facility on Alamein Road, just across from the existing site.

Alamein Road is an industrial estate immediately opposite the Swansea.com Stadium — placing the proposed new Park and Ride right at the heart of what is rapidly becoming one of the most intensively developed parts of Swansea.

Alamein Road – a small industrial park opposite the Swansea.com Stadium
(Image: Google Maps)

A WelTAG stage 2 study is the Welsh Government’s standard process for developing detailed design proposals for transport schemes. The funding covers that design work only — no planning application has yet been submitted, no decision has been made, and no opening date has been set.

The Landore Park and Ride has been serving Swansea since at least 2002 and has become an established part of the city’s transport network. Parking costs just £1 a day for a car and up to four passengers. The site is served by the number 52 bus, operated by First Cymru and subsidised by Swansea Council, which runs every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday linking the site to Swansea railway station, Kingsway and the bus station.

Park and Ride bus entering Swansea Bus Station

However, the service has been struggling. A report before the council’s scrutiny programme committee earlier this year revealed the combined operating budget for Swansea’s two park and ride sites — Landore and Fabian Way — was £693,300 in 2024-25, but income was only £89,637 — a drop from £100,734 the previous year. Cheap city centre car parking was identified as one of the reasons for the low take-up.

The report also noted that capacity at the Landore site had already been reduced due to development work nearby — and that alternative locations were being explored. That process has now resulted in the Alamein Road design study.

Landore’s existing Park and Ride site next to Penderyn’s Distillery
(Image: Google Maps)Alamein Road – just opposite the existing park and ride site in Landore
(Image: Google Maps)

The reason for the potential move is significant. The existing Landore site has been identified as the preferred location for the basecamp for the Skyline cable car project — the proposal to take visitors up Kilvey Hill — meaning the current Park and Ride would need to relocate to make way for it.

Construction at the Landore site has now formally begun — as Skyline Swansea confirmed today that earthworks are under way on Kilvey Hill and at the Park and Ride.

The area around the proposed new site is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Penderyn Distillery was handed the keys to the former Morfa Copperworks site — one of the most historically significant industrial landmarks in Wales — where they are developing a visitor centre that will draw tourists to this part of the city.

The copperworks restoration has yielded internationally significant archaeological discoveries and a Welsh business has been chosen to bring new life to its heritage buildings.

Artist’s impression of what the Kilvey Hill Skyline development will look like
(Image: Skyline)

Nearby, the historic 70-tonne Bascule Bridge has been restored and a new £8m riverside cycle and walking path is being constructed linking the city centre to the stadium along the riverbank.

At the stadium itself, Swansea City have plans for a major fan zone for more than 1,700 supporters — complete with self-pour beer taps, a big screen and a bierkeller vibe — which would significantly increase the number of people visiting the area on matchdays.

A well-placed Park and Ride at Alamein Road could serve not just everyday commuters but the growing number of visitors drawn to the stadium, Penderyn’s visitor centre, the copperworks heritage site and whatever else emerges from this part of Swansea in the years ahead.

A new Park and Ride in this location would also need to be designed with that emerging visitor economy in mind — not just as a commuter car park, but as a gateway to a corner of the city being rapidly reimagined.

The WelTAG design study will inform what the new facility might look like and whether it is viable before any further steps are taken. There is no guarantee that a planning application will follow, and any eventual scheme would need to go through the full planning process.

#AlameinRoad #featured #HafodMorfaCopperworks #LandoreParkAndRide #Skyline #Swansea #SwanseaCouncil #SwanseaComStadium #whereIsLandoreParkAndRideMovingTo

SWANSEA: Barges needed to build new £8m riverside cycle and walking path linking city centre to Swansea.com Stadium

A new walking and cycling route along the River Tawe has been given the green light by Swansea Council — with the project set to become one of the most ambitious pieces of active travel infrastructure the city has seen.

The path will run for a mile along the west bank of the Tawe, from a point north of the Tawe bridges through to the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks area — linking the city centre with the copperworks, Swansea.com Stadium and Morfa Retail Park for cyclists and pedestrians. It will be built in three phases and is expected to take three years to complete.

The total cost of the scheme, including design and project management, is £8.25 million. That will be funded through a combination of £6.6 million from the Welsh Government’s regional transport fund, £1.4 million from the UK Government, and a £250,000 developer contribution linked to a separate planning permission.

The council has confirmed the project will be a complex engineering undertaking. A new revetment — a reinforced structure to support the walkway along the riverbank — will need to be constructed, and sections of the work will have to be carried out from barges because of access restrictions along parts of the river corridor.

View of the Hafod Morfa Copperworks and the River Tawe

Once complete, the new path will connect with an existing stretch of shared-use path near the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks — an area undergoing a major heritage restoration that has attracted significant investment in recent years, including the arrival of Penderyn Distillery at the site. The new route will add to the 85 miles of shared-use paths already available across Swansea.

For cyclists and pedestrians, the route will offer a traffic-free connection between the city centre and a cluster of major destinations to the north — including Swansea.com Stadium, home of Swansea City AFC, and the growing Morfa Retail Park. The Hafod-Morfa Copperworks, one of Wales’ most significant industrial heritage sites, sits at the northern end of the route.

The three-phase approach to construction reflects both the engineering complexity of the project and the need to keep disruption manageable along a stretch of riverside that already attracts walkers and recreational users.

The Tawe path forms the headline project in a wider programme of cycling and walking investment confirmed for Swansea in 2026/27. Also included in the settlement is a £700,000 shared-use path linking Ffordd Beck in Gowerton to Pont Y Cob Road — a route that would finally deliver a safe connection between the two communities that has been in planning since 2022. At the moment there is no footpath between the two locations and the only provision for cyclists is a painted advisory route on a narrow main road.

Cycle and walking link at Gowerton train station
(Image: Swansea Council)

A £500,000 upgrade of the existing shared-use path between Dunvant and Gowerton is also confirmed, widening the route to improve safety and capacity. Gowerton has been the focus of active travel investment in recent years — a new cycling and walking link to Gowerton station opened after significant delays, and the latest round of funding continues to build on that network.

Taken together, the three cycling and walking schemes represent a significant step forward for active travel connectivity across the western side of Swansea — connecting the city centre to the river corridor, and linking Gowerton more effectively to both Dunvant and Loughor.

Stuart Davies, Head of Service for Transport and Highways at Swansea Council, said the funding would enable the council to deliver “a wide range of transport related projects that will benefit motorists, public transport users as well as pedestrians and cyclists.”

The broader transport package for 2026/27 also includes a £750,000 e-bike hire scheme with up to 500 bikes to be made available for short trips across Swansea, further strengthening the active travel offer alongside the new infrastructure. Locations for the e-bike hire points have yet to be confirmed.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

New walking and cycling route proposed between Gowerton and Loughor
The long-planned Pont Y Cob Road route between Gowerton and Loughor — now funded for construction.

Gowerton’s long-awaited cycle and walking link to station finally opens after delays
The most recent active travel milestone in Gowerton, which the new investment builds on.

Penderyn Distillery handed keys to new Morfa Copperworks site in Swansea
One of the major regeneration projects at the northern end of the new Tawe riverside path.

New images show how heritage sites at Swansea’s Strand, Hafod Copperworks and museum could be transformed
The wider regeneration vision for the area at the northern end of the new Tawe path.

#ActiveTravel #Gowerton #HafodMorfaCopperworks #Loughor #PontYCobRoad #RiverTawe #StuartDavies #Swansea #SwanseaCouncil #SwanseaComStadium

Work progresses on historic copperworks building that could become new restaurant

The Laboratory Building — which Swansea Council says dates from the second half of the 19th century — is being reconstructed by Swansea-based John Weaver Contractors as part of the council’s ongoing programme to regenerate the Lower Swansea Valley. The project is being supported by funding from the UK Government’s Local Regeneration Fund.

The council says that once complete, the building — which sits next to the Penderyn Distillery visitor centre — could become a restaurant or be used for a range of other purposes, and that it will begin searching for a tenant shortly.

How the Laboratory Building could look once restoration is complete. Image: GWP Architecture

Council leader Rob Stewart said: “We’re saving the Laboratory Building and bringing it back into use.”

Joint deputy leader David Hopkins said the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks site was “a key part of Swansea’s heritage” and that the council saw it “becoming a major leisure destination.”

A contractor surveys the roofless interior of the Laboratory Building during restoration work. Image: Swansea Council

John Weaver Contractors moved in around 16 months ago to stabilise the structure, which had become derelict and unsafe in recent decades, losing much of its roof.

Initial work saw hundreds of red bricks and other masonry items carefully removed from an unsafe 12-metre-high chimney stack, which the council says will be cleaned and reused in the reconstruction.

Expert stonemasons from South Wales-based VaultStone Limited have been carrying out stonework repairs, stabilising old archways and repairing wall cornices.

The project is now moving towards making the building watertight, with a new Welsh slate roof to be installed. New external doors and windows will also be fitted, along with a terrace and level access.

Newly crafted Bath stone blocks ready to be installed at the Laboratory Building. Image: Swansea CouncilLarge stone blocks await installation during restoration work on the Laboratory Building. Image: Swansea CouncilOld and new stone cornice work at the Laboratory Building, showing the contrast between weathered original stone and newly crafted replacement blocks. Image: Swansea CouncilA stonemason from VaultStone Limited shapes a new stone block for the Laboratory Building restoration. Image: Swansea Council

According to the council, the Laboratory Building was historically used to test the quality of copper ore being smelted at the works, and is considered the most architecturally ornate of all the surviving buildings on the site.

Separate archaeological work at the site has recently unearthed what researchers have described as “internationally significant” discoveries, shedding new light on Swansea’s industrial past.

Simon Williams of main contractor John Weaver Conservation at the Laboratory Building. Image: Swansea CouncilA newly carved Bath stone piece is matched against the original stonework during restoration of the Laboratory Building. Image: Swansea CouncilA newly installed stone cornice course above repaired rubble stonework at the Laboratory Building. Image: Swansea Council

Cabinet member Elliott King said: “Penderyn are there, we’ve saved two historic engine houses and we’ve installed a boating pontoon on the river. Further progress on our Lower Swansea Valley Project will be made this year and next.”

The council says the project is due to be complete later this year, at which point it will be ready for an internal fit-out by whichever business is selected as the end tenant.

#HafodMorfaCopperworks #heritage #JohnWeaverContractors #LowerSwanseaValley #Penderyn #regeneration #restaurant #RobStewart #Swansea #SwanseaCouncil