124-home riverside neighbourhood planned for St Thomas

A new riverside neighbourhood of 124 homes, half of them affordable, is planned for the eastern bank of the Tawe in St Thomas.

Two drop-in events are being held: at Y Storfa on Oxford Street on Wednesday 12 August, from 12.30pm to 6.30pm, and at St Thomas Church on Lewis Street on Thursday 13 August, from 10.30am to 4.30pm.

The scheme would turn seven acres of long-empty former railway land just north of the river bridges into houses, apartments, shops and green space.

The riverbank here is a relic of the city’s industrial heyday. St Thomas station opened at the southern end of this stretch in 1860 on the Swansea Vale Railway, and at the line’s peak the Midland Railway ran through coaches to Birmingham from its platforms, with coal trains dominating the route. The last passenger train left in September 1950, and the sidings that remained fell silent in the 1960s.

The affordable half is well above the 20% normally required in this part of the city.

The scheme has slimmed since it was first unveiled: 124 homes are now proposed, down from the 150 announced last September.

The mix takes in houses and apartments, with flexible retail or leisure space on the ground floor of a gateway apartment building at the site’s southern end.

The developers also promise improved walking and cycling links and connected open spaces designed to reconnect the community with the river, in what they describe as a green and sustainable riverside neighbourhood.

An artist's sketch aerial view of the proposed St Thomas riverside neighbourhood, with rows of houses, trees and a taller apartment building beside the river bridges — An indication of how the new neighbourhood could look (Image: Urban Splash / Lovell)

The scheme is being brought forward by Swansea Council‘s regeneration partner Urban Splash with housing specialist Lovell, and most of the affordable homes are intended to be managed by Codi Group, the housing giant created when Pobl and Linc merged in January.

Cllr Rob Stewart, the council’s leader, said providing more affordable homes was one of the council’s biggest priorities, “and these proposals show how we can do that while transforming a long-vacant riverside site into a vibrant new neighbourhood”.

“This is about creating homes local people can afford in a place that reconnects St Thomas with the River Tawe, and I encourage residents to come along to the consultation events or head online to help shape the plans,” he said.

David Warburton, of Urban Splash, said the proposals set out “a vision for a sustainable new neighbourhood that delivers much-needed homes while creating greener public spaces, opening up the riverfront and providing new opportunities for people to live, work and spend time by the River Tawe”.

Anthony Vagges, Lovell’s regional managing director, said the scheme “puts people and place first”, with half the homes affordable and improved waterfront access “while respecting the character of St Thomas”.

A website where people can view the plans and give feedback online is promised in the coming weeks.

The consultation comes weeks after crowds queued for a look inside the Civic Centre plans, the flagship of the same council and Urban Splash partnership, which has seven Swansea regeneration sites on its books including the Guildhall.

The affordable pledge also lands against a backdrop of Swansea’s wider housebuilding running far behind its own targets.

Doors open at Y Storfa at 12.30pm next Wednesday.