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CITY CENTRE LIVING: Ten new flats planned for top of Princess Way building overlooking Castle Square

Plans have been submitted to create ten new flats on the top floor of a well-known Princess Way commercial building, in the latest sign that Swansea’s city centre is slowly being transformed into somewhere people can live as well as shop.

The application, submitted to Swansea Council by St Mary’s Square Developments, proposes ten one- and two-bedroom apartments on the recessed upper floor of the Castle Quays building — the prominent seven-unit commercial block that stretches along Princess Way with aspects over both Castle Square and the council’s new Y Storfa hub in the former BHS store.

The Castle Quays development on the site of the former David Evans Department store
(Image: St Mary’s Square Developments)

Each of the proposed flats would have access to outdoor patio space. According to the design and access statement submitted with the application, no changes are proposed to the height, footprint or principal exterior elevations of the building. Cycle storage and bin storage would be provided at ground floor level, and supporting reports on noise, bats and green infrastructure have also been submitted as part of the planning package.

St Mary’s Square Developments, a Swansea-based company specialising in mixed-use and build-to-rent schemes, acquired the Castle Quays building in 2025. Work is already under way on the ground floor, where contractors are preparing the former Zara unit for a new occupier.

The former Zara store at Castle Quays on Princess Way is being prepared for a new tenant
(Image: St Mary’s Square Developments)

The Castle Quays application adds to a cluster of residential conversion schemes taking shape in the same part of the city centre.

The Welsh Government has committed millions of pounds in funding towards 29 one- and two-bedroom flats planned for the upper floors of the nearby building currently occupied at ground level by McDonald’s and Taco Bell — a scheme that has already secured planning permission.

Across the road, the old Castle Cinema building is already being converted into 30 flats alongside new commercial units.

Elsewhere in the immediate vicinity, flats have been created in upper floors on Oxford Street, and a major ‘biophilic living building‘ mixed-use development of up to 12 storeys is rising on the former Woolworths site on The Kingsway.

The Princess Way building sits at the heart of some of the most significant change currently under way in the city centre.

On one side it looks over Castle Square, which is in the middle of a multimillion-pound revamp designed to create a greener and more welcoming public space.

The leaf boat sculpture that was a fixture of the square for years was removed as that redevelopment moved ahead, with an artist commissioned to help mark the start of the transformation.

On its other aspect, Castle Quays faces the new Y Storfa building in the former BHS unit — a council-run hub housing a range of public services including the city’s central library.

The drive to bring residents back into Swansea city centre has been a consistent theme for local leaders for decades. The post-war bombing of Swansea and the subsequent rebuilding of the city on largely commercial lines left the centre without a significant residential population — something planners and business groups have long argued needs to change.

The potential loss of further anchor retailers has added urgency to that argument. Marks & Spencer’s Oxford Street store is due to close later this year, following the earlier departure of Debenhams — both significant blows for a high street that is already navigating a fundamental shift away from traditional retail.

Against that backdrop, the case for converting underused upper floors into homes has become harder to argue against.

Andrew Douglas, manager of business group Swansea BID, said a growing residential population was central to the city centre’s long-term health.

“The more people living in the city centre the more they will engage with and enjoy Swansea’s retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors,” he said. He added that residential growth also bolsters investor confidence, describing it as a signal that the city centre is a credible place to live, work and spend time.

As we’ve reported, the question of what shops and brands Swansea needs to attract — and what the future of its retail offer looks like — remains one of the biggest conversations in the city. Increasing the number of people living within walking distance of the shops, bars and restaurants is seen as a key part of making that offer sustainable.

The Castle Quays application is currently with Swansea Council for determination.

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FLATS FUNDING BOOST: Welsh Government to pour millions into city centre flats plan at McDonald’s site and Kingsway block
The neighbouring Princess Way conversion scheme has already secured Welsh Government backing — part of the same city centre living push.

New images reveal greener, more vibrant future for Swansea’s Castle Square
The square overlooked by the Castle Quays building is undergoing its own major transformation.

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#AndrewDouglas #CastleQuays #construction #newApartments #PlanningPermission #PrincessWay #StMarySSquareDevelopments #Swansea #SwanseaBID #SwanseaCityCentre

Editor 1d ago

PENLLERGAER: Giant distribution warehouse approved next to M4 – but will Junction 47 grind to a halt?

A giant distribution warehouse has been approved for Penllergaer Business Park — but the decision has been overshadowed by deep concerns about the impact on one of Swansea’s most congested junctions.

Swansea Council’s planning committee gave the go-ahead on March 31, 2026, for the demolition of the existing vacant building on the site off Heol y Ddraig and its replacement with a modern storage and distribution centre covering more than 12,000 square metres.

The facility, which will operate as a so-called “last mile” distribution hub — the final stage in the delivery chain from warehouse to front door — will sit on an 11-hectare plot bordered to the north by the A48 and the M4 motorway, and to the south by the ancient woodland and historic parkland of Penllergare Valley Woods.

The applicant, Stoford Properties Ltd, says the development will create approximately 180 full-time equivalent jobs directly, with a further 70 or so indirect roles, and is expected to contribute around £5.5 million a year to the local economy.

The scheme is a major operation. At full capacity, the site will accommodate 899 van storage bays, 72 loading bays capable of processing up to 216 vans an hour, 221 staff car parking spaces and a multi-storey van storage structure rising to over eight metres. Overnight, hundreds of delivery vehicles will be stored on site, loaded up and dispatched across Swansea and beyond each morning.

But it is the impact on the roads surrounding the site that dominated the planning process — and which will continue to concern residents long after the decision.

Penllergaer Roundabout at Junction 47 of the M4 (Image: Google Maps)

The applicant’s own traffic assessment concluded that the development would generate up to 454 two-way vehicle movements during the morning and evening peak periods. Around half of those are expected to use Junction 47 of the M4, the major roundabout that connects the A48, the A483 and the motorway — a junction that already operates beyond its design capacity and has been the subject of repeated attempts to ease congestion.

Swansea Bay News has previously reported on efforts to tackle the notorious pinchpoint, including a traffic light upgrade at the junction and resurfacing works on the roundabout itself. In February last year, the Welsh Government indicated it would look again at M4 junction improvements in the area, though no firm commitment has followed.

The ward member for Penllergaer, Councillor Tony Fitzgerald, put his objection on the record in the planning report, arguing the scheme was more of an industrial operation than a business park use and was simply not suitable for this location.

“Junction 47 is currently running at over its design capacity,” he wrote. “Adding up to 454 two-way vehicle movements during the morning and evening peak periods would mean an extra 227 vehicles using junction 47.”

Penllergaer Community Council went further, formally requesting that the application be refused, describing what it called “the abysmal failure” of the council’s own Local Development Plan to deliver the transport infrastructure needed to support development in the area. The Community Council pointed to the applicant’s own traffic assessment, which acknowledged that no committed highway schemes were planned for the study area between 2025 and 2037.

The council’s own highway officers initially recommended refusal on highway safety grounds. However, following extensive negotiations and revisions to the proposed mitigation scheme, the Local Highway Authority eventually withdrew its objection — subject to a series of stringent conditions and a substantial legal agreement.

Those conditions include a requirement that the distribution centre cannot open until junction mitigation works at M4 Junction 47 have been fully completed. The applicant will be required to contribute £790,000 towards those works, with an additional £131,000 earmarked for bus stop improvements, pedestrian crossing upgrades, a speed limit reduction on the A48 from 50mph to 40mph, and traffic regulation orders in the surrounding area — a total highway contribution package of £921,000.

Artist’s impression of the new distribution centre in Penllergaer
(Image: SMR Architects)

The broader concern for many in the area is cumulative. Penllergaer and the land between it and Gowerton is already at the centre of one of Swansea’s most significant development pressures. A 600-home scheme that could create a continuous ribbon of housing from Penllergaer to Gowerton has already been unveiled, part of a wider pattern of residential growth in Swansea’s northwest that has already put pressure on local roads. As we have previously reported, Swansea’s Local Development Plan promised more than 7,000 new homes across its lifetime, with delivery now significantly behind.

Against that backdrop, residents in nearby Mansion Gardens and the wider Parc Penllergaer estate will be watching closely to see whether the promised road works materialise before the warehouse opens its doors.

Beyond the traffic debate, the planning process also grappled with the site’s sensitive surroundings. The southern boundary of the development abuts Penllergare Valley Woods — a Grade II Registered Historic Park and Garden containing scheduled ancient monuments, listed structures and ancient woodland. Heritage bodies Cadw and Heneb both confirmed they had no objection, with noise assessments indicating the development was unlikely to cause harm to the historic landscape.

The ecology picture was more complex. Surveys identified areas of wet woodland and swamp habitat on site deemed to be of local conservation significance, and the council’s ecologists concluded that the development would result in a net loss of biodiversity on site. To compensate, the developer will be required to fund £390,593 worth of off-site habitat improvement works at three nearby Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation, including Mynydd Garngoch — secured through a legal agreement running over 25 years.

The site also sits partly within a Coal Authority Development High Risk Area, with evidence of past coal mining in the northern section. No above-ground construction can begin until intrusive ground investigations have been completed and any necessary stabilisation works carried out.

Solar panels covering around a third of the warehouse roof are proposed, generating an estimated 72,000 kilowatt hours a year, and the site will include electric vehicle charging infrastructure and 36 cycle parking spaces.

Welsh Water has confirmed the site’s foul drainage will connect to Gowerton Wastewater Treatment Works, which is currently failing to meet compliance thresholds. An upgrade is due to be completed in January 2027, and the council has imposed a condition preventing the building from being occupied before that date unless Welsh Water confirms the work is done.

The planning approval is conditional on the developer completing a Section 106 legal agreement within six months. If that agreement is not signed in time, officers have been given delegated powers to refuse the application outright.

For the communities of Penllergaer and Llangyfelach, the decision means one thing above all else: the promised Junction 47 works must now be delivered before a single van rolls out of the new depot. Whether that promise is kept will be the real test of whether this approval works for local people.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Welsh Government says it will look again at Swansea M4 junction improvements
The Welsh Government signalled a review of junction improvements in the area — but no firm commitment has followed.

Penllergaer M4 junction to see new traffic light upgrade
Previous attempts to ease congestion at the already-overloaded Junction 47 roundabout.

Work to start this week on resurfacing busy Swansea M4 junction roundabout
Resurfacing works on one of Swansea’s most congested junctions — the same roundabout now facing hundreds more daily vehicle movements.

Continuous ribbon of housing could stretch from Penllergaer to Gowerton as new 600-home scheme unveiled
The warehouse approval adds to mounting development pressure in an area already bracing for thousands of new homes.

7,000 homes promised, just 300 built: Swansea’s housing blueprint falters
The wider picture of development and infrastructure delivery in Swansea — and whether promises are being kept.