Swansea flats would have been at risk of flooding, say planners

The site has been used as a council-run car park until now

Student flats in Swansea have been approved just weeks before new guidance would've stopped them being built.

The 12-storey development near the city's marina and River Tawe was given the go-ahead on 2 November.

But from 1 December, planners in Wales will direct developments away from areas at risk of flooding and coastal erosion.

Swansea planning officers said the building complied with current flood-risk guidance.

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The Strand site, currently used as a car park, will have 312 studios for students.

Councillor Richard Lewis said the scheme was needed to attract more students to Swansea, that the quality of the building was "fine" and in a "wonderful" location.

But a planning officer told the city council there would be implications if the application had come before them after 1 December, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The report said the development represented a "highly vulnerable use" which "would not be acceptable" in future.