High Street which links Swansea railway station with the city centre has boarded up and demolished properties.
High Street Urban Village courtesy of icreate
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2010/04/13 10:16:06 GMT
© BBC MMXStory from BBC NEWS:
Plans to breathe new life into a rundown area of Swansea have taken a step forward. Planning permission has been granted for a £25m urban village in High Street, The Strand and Kings Lane. It is based on a series of courtyards linking shops, offices, food and drink outlets and "affordable" apartments.
Coastal Housing Group which is behind the development said it would create 320 construction jobs plus around 426 full and part-time jobs once completed.
Many shops in High Street, which links Swansea's train station with the city centre, are currently boarded up while other sections have already been demolished.
The housing group said it planned to develop the area in phases over five years.
The development also takes in The Strand and Kings Lane
Development director Geoff Pettifor said the aim was to build a "creative cluster" designed for people involved in a wide range of creative industries such as advertising and marketing, architecture, computer and video games, crafts and the media.
Mr Pettifor said he believed there was already strong demand for commercial space.
"We have got people waiting to sign up, at this stage we can be really flexible about space and welcome inquiries from the creative and retail sectors," he said.
He said they also wanted to create some "destination shopping outlets" that people would travel to including clothing stores and delicatessens.
He said "creative clusters" had taken root in Bristol, Brighton and Birmingham.
The Urban Village is the third scheme designed for the Coastal Housing Group by architects Holder Mathias following a £7.5m eco-housing development overlooking the Prince of Wales Dock due for completion later this year and the Mariners Court SA1 development completed last year.
Cardiff, Bristol and Exeter based Mi-Space, part of the Midas Group, have been selected as contractors for the development.
Further info at: http://www.icreate3d.com/news/swansea_urban_village.pdf
