£15m revamp of Swansea's Park Tawe gets green light

Artist's impression of the new-look Parc Tawe

The owners of a largely empty retail park in Swansea have received the green light to spend £15m revamping it.

Hammerson won a battle against Swansea council a year ago after it was blocked from approaching 80 well-known stores to move into Parc Tawe.

The firm plans to demolish some smaller units along with a former pizza restaurant and the enclosed walkways.

Councillors approved the plans on Tuesday, with work expected to start soon.

The Odeon cinema, bowling alley, Toys R Us, Mothercare and Staples will remain at the retail park and smaller units will also be created while there could be space for a small supermarket.

As part of the work, a new drive-through coffee shop will be built and the parking layout changed.

Richard Haynes, development manager at Hammerson, said: "We're delighted that these amendments have been approved and that councillors have shown their support for our £15m investment in Swansea."

The legal battle, which was sparked in 2014, took more than a year to resolve.

It followed Hammerson's decision in 2013 to pull out of a £1bn project to revamp the city centre after five years, with council officials unhappy at the lack of progress.

When the firm, which is behind Birmingham's Bullring and Bristol's Cabot Circus, submitted plans for Parc Tawe - a gateway to the city centre - it was criticised by the then council leader David Phillips.

He claimed Hammerson showed more energy with its own Parc Tawe development than when it was looking after the city centre - something the firm rejected.