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.
(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.
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.
(Image: Google Maps)
(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.
(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.
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This does not make sense as a public transport decision.
Landore Park and Ride is an established public transport facility. It serves people going into the city centre and helps reduce city-centre traffic. Yet it now appears to be displaced to make way for private visitor attractions and wider Morfa redevelopment before there is a confirmed replacement.
The proposed Alamein Road replacement is only at WelTAG Stage 2 / design-study stage. That is not a built Park and Ride. It is not a planning permission. It is not a construction contract. It is not a guaranteed opening date. Welsh Government funding currently appears to be for the replacement study/design work, not for a completed new facility.
The Council is therefore asking the public to accept the loss or disruption of an existing Park and Ride on the basis of a possible future solution that has not yet been fully approved, funded, flood-assessed or delivered.
There is also a serious flood-risk issue. The DataMapWales Flood Map for Planning appears to show parts of the Alamein Road area affected by Surface Water and Small Watercourses Flood Zones 2 and 3. That needs to be assessed openly before the site is promoted as a reliable replacement public transport facility.
The key question is simple:
How can Swansea Council justify removing or reducing an existing public transport facility before a fully funded, approved and operational replacement is in place?
The Council should publish:
the full business case for removing the current Landore Park and Ride;
the full cost of demolition, relocation and replacement;
the confirmed funding source for building the new facility, not just designing it;
the timetable showing no gap in Park and Ride provision;
the flood-risk assessment for Alamein Road;
the evidence that this is in the public interest, rather than primarily enabling private development;
the assessment of impacts on commuters, shoppers, disabled users, match-day visitors and local residents.
A design study is not a transport solution. A possible replacement is not the same as protecting an existing public service.
Flood Map for Planning Flood Zones 2 and 3:
https://datamap.gov.wales/maps/new?layergroup=inspire-nrw:FloodMapforPlanningFloodZones2and3#/
Alamein Rd
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Eomfe3ejs3gG8ex47
Not much you can say about this undesirable vanity project. The remains of the ski slope are still visible and how long did that last and how much money was lost. To think the people of Swansea will want to spend five minutes going from Kilvey to !andore on a wire is utterly ridiculous. Spend money on making Swansea a desirable city to walk around in without being intimidated by drug users and then the local people might be happy.