03/28/2024

Wales News Online

Local & National News for Wales

A DEVELOPER says he wants to create a high-quality block of residential flats by Swansea’s River Tawe.

Edward Peer, of Acquirex Ltd, has bought one of the last empty plots of land in SA1.

It lies between the J Shed and the river and had planning permission for 91 flats dating back to 2007 under a different owner.

Mr Peer said his revised scheme could comprise more than 91 flats, although it’s still early days.

At this stage he has only submitted a pre-application enquiry to Swansea Council for an additional basement level, a battery storage area, and a revised parking layout. “We think there is demand for a good-quality residential block,” said Mr Peer. “It is a cracking location. Hopefully it will be a great scheme.”

The consent from 2007 was for one four-storey block with commerical ground-floor space, plus a second block ranging from five to 11 storeys.

Mr Peer said he expected to submit a detailed planning application later this year.

SA1 is becoming a magnet for student accommodation schemes due to the proximity of two new university campuses.

A £45m development a couple of hundred yards from Acquirex’s site will open to 645 students in September 2021.

The J Shed also has new tenants following the launch of an Italian restaurant and gin and rum bar this year.

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s SA1 Waterfront campus opened in September 2018 and will also accommodate a “box village” for start-up businesses as part of the city deal for the Swansea Bay City Region.

And work on a multi-storey car park on Langdon Road, SA1, is expected to start early next year.

It is all a far cry from the area’s former dockland days.

The 98-acre site has been redeveloped over the past couple of decades, but the financial crash of 2007-08 put the brakes on proposals for a leisure quarter and new marina. Poor footfall has sometimes been cited by cafe owners and restaurateurs.

Speaking last year, former Swansea West AM and Welsh minister Andrew Davies said he felt SA1 had delivered on its original promise.
“It has transformed the gateway into Swansea,” he said.

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