SWANSEA: Construction begins on Skyline Swansea — the £49m cable car and luge attraction that’s been years in the making

After years of planning, consultation, debate and controversy, Skyline Swansea is finally being built.

Earthworks have begun on Kilvey Hill to prepare the site for the downhill karting luge tracks — clearing and shaping the land while creating sustainable drainage systems to manage stormwater and support biodiversity.

At the Landore Park and Ride, groundworks are getting under way to prepare the site for the cable car system itself. For anyone who has watched this project develop over the years, the sight of machinery on the hill will feel significant.

When complete, Skyline Swansea will be a £49m adventure tourism destination featuring an accessible cable car, downhill luge rides, a free children’s adventure playground, a sky swing and food and drink facilities — all with sweeping views across Swansea Bay and beyond.

It will be Skyline Enterprises’ first site in the UK and Europe, joining its international portfolio of destinations across New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Canada.

Geoff McDonald, Chief Executive of Skyline Enterprises, said: “With early preparation works now complete, people will soon begin to see real progress as we move into construction. We’re proud to be bringing our first UK site to Swansea and to be working with local partners to deliver something truly unique for the city and the region.”

Construction is expected to continue for the next two years, with the attraction scheduled to open in 2028.

The Landore Park and Ride will remain open during the works, though the number of available spaces will reduce. Penderyn Distillery, which operates a visitor centre at the nearby Morfa Copperworks site, will also remain open. Additional fencing will be installed to ensure the safety of workers, hill users and visitors to both sites.

Public access to Kilvey Hill will be maintained throughout, with temporary diversions and signage near active work areas. All existing public access routes will be kept open and new trails created as part of the project.

The Landore Park and Ride’s role as the cable car basecamp is significant — and directly feeds into plans being developed to relocate the Park and Ride to a new site on Alamein Road, just across from the Swansea.com Stadium, once the Skyline basecamp is established.

On ecology — one of the most contentious issues raised by those who opposed the scheme — McDonald was direct. “Our focus remains on delivering something of lasting value for Swansea — from the jobs and skills this project will create, to the biodiversity outcomes we are committed to delivering for Kilvey Hill,” he said.

Trees and vegetation will be replaced at a ratio of at least 3:1, with native broadleaf species including field maple, alder, silver birch, beech, Scots pine, sessile oak and wild cherry planted alongside more than 14,000 native shrubs, new meadow and grassland seeding, and sustainable drainage planting. The work will be overseen by certified ecologists.

That commitment comes in the context of sustained opposition from a small but vocal campaign group who raised concerns about the ecological impact of development on the hill throughout the planning process. Police warned protesters that action would follow as demonstrations continued at the site, and the Green Man sculpture on Kilvey Hill became a symbol of that campaign as work began to transform the face of the hill.

Those concerns haven’t gone away — but the project has cleared the planning process and construction is now a reality.

For Swansea, the arrival of an attraction of this scale is a big deal. Reports have suggested the project could deliver significant economic benefits for the city, and it forms part of a wider transformation of the stadium district that also includes Swansea City’s proposed fan zone, the Penderyn visitor centre at the copperworks, and a new riverside walking and cycling path.

Our Skyline Swansea coverage

Council approves plan for Skyline development
The moment planning consent was granted — and what it means for Kilvey Hill.

Police warn protesters as demonstration continues over Skyline development
The opposition that accompanied the project throughout its planning stages.

New report reveals Skyline’s potential economic impact to Swansea
The case made for why this project matters to the city’s economy.

Landore Park and Ride set to move across the road to Alamein Road
How the Park and Ride is being relocated to make way for the Skyline basecamp.

San Francisco cable car

#SanFrancisco #CableCar

Have tarjeta, will travel! Absolutely fantastic #PublicTransport cablebus option here in #CDMX
And some incredible and colourful views of the expanse of the city on a lovely sunny day! (Not too hot yet). On Cablebus Linea 2

#DasMX26 #CableCar

Rod Drury's ambitious cable car project has been accepted for the fast-track process by Shane Jones. I thought it was meant to whiz tourists into town, eliminating the need for rental cars? This line suggests otherwise.

"It is expected that the Queenstown Cable car would take up to 3000 passengers an hour each way and be located only 20 minutes’ drive from the airport."

What? The company's map even shows an "Airport Station". How can that be a 20 minute drive from the airport? Who is planning this stuff?

https://archive.ph/HP6KN

#Queenstown #NZ #CableCar

Ref: https://www.queenstowncablecar.com/