Construction tips for pupils at Copr Bay visit

Pupils from Swansea’s Pentrehafod Comprehensive School have visited the city’s Copr Bay phase one development to see progress on site with their own eyes.

The year ten and 11 pupils, who are ambassadors for a business class that Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd runs with the school, saw how features of the scheme including Swansea Arena and the new coastal park are coming along.

Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd leads on the construction of the £135m Copr Bay phase one project, which is being developed by Swansea Council and advised by development managers RivingtonHark.

The business class visit was the latest of a number to the site, where pupils take photos of changes, learn more about the construction industry and report back to their classmates on latest developments.

Representatives from Swansea Council, Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd and Careers Wales were also present at the visit.

A spokesperson for the Pentrehafod School business class said: “It was incredible to experience what it would be like to work on a building site. 

 “It was also amazing to get to see how much progress has been made since the first visit.”

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration and Tourism, said: “The Copr Bay phase one district is for the people of Swansea, so it was a pleasure to welcome these local schoolchildren on site where they could see up-close the huge amount of progress that’s been made in recent months.

“It’s their generation who will benefit from facilities like the arena and coastal park for many years to come, but these visits also enable an insight into the construction industry at a time when there is so much redevelopment on-going to transform our city into one of the UK’s best places to live, work, study and visit.

“Visits like these can inspire the next generation of construction professionals by showing how school subjects can equip our young people with the skills needed to progress into the industry.”

Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd was recently shortlisted for the Best Ongoing Relationship with a School Award at the Careers Wales Valued Partner Awards.

Susan Jones, Major Projects Social Value Manager at Buckingham, said: “It has been a pleasure working with Pentrehafod School over the past two years. Having applied for their positions, 14 pupils were selected to become Buckingham Ambassadors on Copr Bay phase one.  They have proven to be excellent ambassadors, working with myself and the site team, monitoring progress throughout the build of this iconic project.”

Construction of Copr Bay phase one will be complete later this year, with the arena, to be run by the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), opening its doors in early 2022.

Copr Bay phase one also includes new apartments, the new bridge over Oystermouth Road, new car parking and new spaces for leisure and hospitality businesses.

The arena feature of Copr Bay phase one is being part-funded by the Swansea Bay City Deal as part of the Swansea City and Waterfront Digital District project that also includes the new office development soon being constructed at 71/72 The Kingsway.

The bridge over Oystermouth Road is part-funded by the Welsh Government’s Active Travel fund.

(Lead image: Swansea Council)