Swansea Civic Centre

Swansea Civic Centre (Welsh: Canolfan Ddinesig Abertawe) – formerly known as County Hall – is the principal administrative centre of the City and County of Swansea Council. Standing some 800 m southwest of Swansea centre on a seafront site overlooking Swansea Bay, the complex houses – in addition to the council chamber and offices – a public cafe, the city's central library, an exhibition space, the West Glamorgan Archive Service, and a council contact centre.

Swansea Civic Centre
Canolfan Ddinesig Abertawe
Swansea Civic Centre
Swansea Civic Centre
Location within Swansea
Former namesCounty Hall
General information
LocationSwansea, Wales
AddressOystermouth Road, Swansea
Coordinates51°36′49.00″N 3°56′54.00″W
Inaugurated1982

History

Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1972, which broke up Glamorgan County Council and established West Glamorgan County Council, the new county council initially met at Swansea Guildhall.[1] A purpose-built facility was commissioned as the headquarters of the new county council and was designed by C. W. Quick of the West Glamorgan County Architects Department.[2] It was opened as County Hall in July 1982.[3]

After local government re-organisation in 1996, which abolished West Glamorgan County Council, ownership of the building was transferred to the new City and County of Swansea. The building was renamed the Civic Centre on 19 March 2008, and Swansea Central Library was moved in as part of a redevelopment scheme.[4] The library issued nearly 566,000 loans in 2008/09, making it the busiest in Wales and the tenth busiest in the UK.[5]

In June 2017 Swansea Council announced plans to redevelop the area, the second phase of which would involve demolition of Swansea Civic Centre and the creation of city beach which would also include an aquarium and digital science centre.[6]

Public Transport
Southbound ftrmetro Northbound
The Slip   Civic Centre   Quadrant Centre

See also
  • Guildhall, Swansea

References
  1. Whitaker's Almanack 1979, p. 677
  2. Newman, John; Hughes, Stephen R.; Ward, Anthony (1995). "Glamorgan: (Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan)". Yale University Press. p. 593. ISBN 978-0140710564.
  3. "Britain's cash-strapped councils and the great Civic Centre sell-off". The Guardian. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  4. "Forgotten houses and the birth of one of Swansea's best known buildings captured in fascinating images". Wales online. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  5. "Swansea Central Library is the best in Wales". Welsh Icons. 13 May 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  6. "Swansea's £500m city centre regeneration bid approved". BBC. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
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