Plans have been submitted to demolish the former Ysgol Gymraeg Tan Y Lan school in Morriston and replace it with 24 affordable apartments.
The proposals – submitted by Dyfed Developments SPV2 Ltd through planning agent Asbri Planning – would see the existing buildings on the Tan Y Lan Terrace site cleared to make way for a new C-shaped block of flats.
The site has stood vacant since the new £9.9 million Tan Y Lan School opened nearby in 2022, drawing pupils away from the original site.
Under the new proposals, the development would deliver 18 one-bedroom apartments and six two-bedroom apartments – all of which would be classified as affordable housing.
The developer says the apartments would be energy-efficient with an EPC A rating, and the scheme includes 24 parking spaces – one per apartment.
The proposal was reduced from 27 flats to 24 during pre-application discussions with Swansea Council.
The revised C-shaped block has been designed to step down the slope towards Vicarage Road – reducing the visual impact and meaning the building would appear as just two storeys when viewed from the streetscene.
However, the proposals would result in the loss of the site’s Victorian stone school building – a structure the developer’s own Design and Access Statement acknowledges is “considered to be of heritage value as a result of their materials, architectural form and their location within the historic built and natural fabric.”
The site sits 250 metres west of the Morriston Conservation Area, although the Victorian building itself is not formally listed.
Two single-storey demountable classroom buildings – which were used by the school in its later years on the site – would also be demolished as part of the works.
The development would also require the loss of a number of trees, although the developer has committed to retaining a silver birch tree at the centre of the site and incorporating it into new communal gardens.
The Design and Access Statement acknowledges that approximately half of the site lies within Natural Resources Wales’ flood zones two and three for surface water and small watercourse flooding.
Sustainable urban drainage systems including rain gardens and bio-retention features would be incorporated into the scheme to manage surface water on the site.
The proposed apartments would be a mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom units arranged across three floors.
According to the planning documents, the proposed external materials would include facing brick in various colours, fibre cement roof slates, and grey-finished windows and French doors.
The developer says the site is well-located for sustainable transport, lying within walking distance of Morriston Park, a supermarket, pharmacy and church, and being served by the number 24, 45 and 142 bus services that operate between Morriston Hospital and the city centre.
The site lies less than four miles north of Swansea city centre and is within easy reach of Llansamlet and junction 45 of the M4.
The Tan Y Lan school site has a long history in the local community, having served as Ysgol Gymraeg Tan Y Lan – one of the area’s Welsh-medium primary schools – until pupils moved to the new site in 2022.
Pupils at the school created a lasting legacy ahead of the move, with various keepsake projects undertaken to mark the end of an era at the original site.
A formal pre-application consultation on the proposed scheme is now under way, giving members of the public an opportunity to comment on the plans before a full planning application is submitted to Swansea Council.
Members of the public have until 1 June 2026 to make representations on the proposed development.
Comments should be sent to Asbri Planning by email to mail@asbriplanning.co.uk, or by post to Asbri Planning Ltd, Suite D, 1st Floor, 220 High Street, Swansea, SA1 1NW.
Following the conclusion of the consultation, a full planning application will be submitted to Swansea Council for determination – with all responses to the consultation forming part of the supporting documents.
