Bare slopes on Kilvey Hill are being sprayed green, as Skyline Swansea starts to cover over the parts of its construction site where work has finished.
Crews are hosing a mix of grass seed, mulch and nutrients onto the exposed ground, a process known as hydroseeding, Skyline says.
Hydroseeding on Kilvey Hill: a meadow mix approved by ecologists
The seed is a meadow mix “selected and approved by ecologists”, according to the company.
Spraying it on helps plants take hold quickly and cuts the risk of soil washing off the slopes, it says.
As the seeded areas grow, completed sections will “gradually blend into the surrounding landscape”, the company says.
Native saplings next, after a summer of felling on the gondola line
Young native trees, known as whips, will be planted over the coming months under the project’s approved landscaping and ecology plans.
They follow months of felling along the gondola corridor, where the hill’s conifers are being replaced with native broadleaf woodland.
When construction began in May, Skyline said trees and vegetation would be replaced at a ratio of at least three to one, with species including sessile oak, silver birch, alder and wild cherry, alongside more than 14,000 native shrubs.
Natural Resources Wales set out a 25-year plan in 2023 to replace much of the hill’s planted pine and larch with native broadleaf trees, before the attraction was approved.
The gondola run will stay clear as a firebreak
Not everything cleared will grow back as woodland. Swansea Council has said the main gondola run will be kept clear of anything that burns, as a firebreak, on a hill that burned three times in 15 months up to July.
Gondola terminal foundations finished at Landore
Foundations for the gondola’s base terminal at Landore Park and Ride are finished, Skyline says, with the steel frame of the building going up next.
Work is continuing along the line between Landore and the summit, where foundations for more towers are being completed.
Construction runs from 8am to 6pm on weekdays and from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, the company says.
The £49m gondola and luge attraction is due to open in 2028.
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