Swansea’s long-delayed Copr Bay North car park finally has an opening day — Monday 13 July.
The seven-storey multi-storey beside the Oystermouth Road bridge will bring 628 spaces to the city centre, more than four years after the rest of the Copr Bay district opened — and years behind schedule after its original contractor collapsed mid-build.
The car park entrance will be on Albert Row.
Parking will be part of Swansea Council’s 1-2-3-4-5 offer: £1 an hour for up to five hours, with a maximum charge of £5 for up to 24 hours from Monday to Saturday.
On Sundays, parking costs £2 all day regardless of length of stay.
The car park includes standard bays, accessible parking, electric vehicle charging bays and motorcycle spaces.
But the opening comes with a closure. The St David’s multi-storey car park — 375 spaces — shuts for good the same day.
That car park will then be demolished to make way for the next phase of regeneration on the former St David’s Shopping Centre site, where ground investigation works for a landmark office scheme began last autumn.
Taken together, the council says the change amounts to a net increase of more than 250 city centre parking spaces.
Season ticket holders at St David’s will be relocated to Copr Bay North from opening day, while LC permit holders at the Copr Bay South car park move over on Monday 3 August. All permit holders will be contacted directly.
Cllr Andrew Stevens, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, said residents, visitors and businesses wanted more city centre parking at affordable prices.
“That’s why we’ve invested in this new facility, creating even more parking spaces than were previously available while ensuring prices remain highly competitive compared with other towns and cities across the UK,” he said, adding the council would continue with what it describes as some of the cheapest city centre parking in the country.
The five retail units on Cupid Way beneath the car park — which have stood empty since the district opened, after the traders first announced for them never moved in — are being marketed to prospective shop, restaurant and café operators.
Council leader Cllr Rob Stewart said the ambition was “to create a vibrant link between the city centre, the bridge and Swansea Arena”, calling the car park’s completion another step towards that vision.
He said further announcements would be made in the coming weeks about plans for the former shopping centre site — plans he said would “bring significantly more people into the area, helping to create the footfall needed to attract new shops and other businesses”.
The development was delivered by Swansea Council with RivingtonHark as development manager, and Andrew Scott Ltd completing the finishing works after the original contractor went into administration.
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