Crymlyn Burrows

Crymlyn Burrows (Welsh: Twyni Crymlyn) is an area of land in Wales, UK to the east of Swansea city centre, and south of Crymlyn Bog. It is bounded by Jersey Marine Beach to the south and the River Neath to the east. The land west of Baldwin's Crescent falls within the City and County of Swansea and from Baldwin's Crescent eastwards falls within Neath Port Talbot.

The area northwest of the Fabian Way contains a small settlement at Elba Crescent and Baldwins Crescent and areas of industry and commerce. The 1940s Swansea Bay Museum is located in Elba Crescent. The museum contains exhibits showing what life was like in the Swansea Bay area during and just after World War II.[1]

Nature reserve

View of Crymlyn Burrows salt marsh looking towards the River Neath estuary

The undeveloped salt marsh area south of the Fabian Way and north Jersey Marine Beach is a designated biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and is one of the last remaining places of the Swansea Bay coastline that has remained unmodified by industrial development. The area contains sand dunes, a salt marsh and carr woodland. The burrows also contain a rare orchid[2] - the Fen Orchid, Liparis loeselii.[3] The 1,000-acre (400 ha) site was acquired by St. Modwen from BP in November 2009 and will be kept as a protected leisure destination.[4]

Industry and commerce

View along the Fabian Way outside the former Linamar transmission components factory offices

Industrial sites in the northeastern part of the area include the Linamar Elba Works site, the Gower Chemicals site, and Network Rail's Swansea Burrows yard.

Part of the Visteon industrial site was acquired by RT Properties in 2007 with Visteon consolidating their operations in the Elba Works plant. The part of the site which was sold includes factory premises and the offices and Canteen buildings fronting the Fabian Way. The plant was originally built in 1959 for the Prestcold fridge company and was later acquired by Ford who manufactured car axle and transmission components there. Ford later transferred the site to Visteon. The 30-acre (12 ha) site acquired by RT properties has been re-developed as a business park branded Swansea Gate Business Park.[5][6] The 24,600-square-metre (265,000 sq ft) car parts factory was later closed and is now used as a film studio.[7][8]

BP has a storage site south east of the Fabian Way adjacent to Swansea Docks. Amazon.co.uk has a 33-acre (13 ha) distribution centre just west of the Jersey Marine roundabout on the Fabian Way.[9]

Leisure

Jersey Marine beach

The 18 hole links golf course of the Swansea Bay Golf Club lies to the east of Jersey Marine village. It is the oldest golf club in the Swansea area.[10] The marina of the Monkstone Sailing and Cruising Club is located at Earlswood in the east of the area, under the M4 Motorway viaduct, with access to the estuary of the River Neath.[11][12]

Fabian Way

Fabian Way is an arterial road which connects Swansea city centre with the M4 Motorway at junction 42. It forms a stretch of the A483 road. It is about 4.7 miles (7.6 km) long and cuts through the centre of Crymlyn Burrows in the unitary authorities of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. Fabian Way is a dual carriageway for its whole length. The speed limit of Fabian Way is 30 mph (48 km/h) between Swansea city centre and Port Tennant, after which the speed limit rises to 40 mph (64 km/h) until the Jersey Marine traffic lights. The road is a standard national speed limit dual carriageway between Jersey Marine and the junction with the M4. It is considered to be the main entrance to Swansea City Centre.

Plans

A new residential development was approved in 2009 for the area north of Elba Crescent, consisting of 33 houses with a planned total of 100 and a new business area.[13]

Swansea University

Swansea University has built a 100-acre (40 ha) site close to Fabian Way as a second campus and innovation park. The development is on land previously used by BP as a petrochemicals transit site which BP gifted to the university. The site stretches from Swansea Docks to Crymlyn Bog.[14] Funding for the project was made available in September 2012 from the Welsh Government and the European Investment Bank. Construction work started on the site in 2013 and the main phase completed in 2015, with accommodation blocks still being added. Companies which intend to establish research facilities at the site include Rolls-Royce, Hewlett-Packard, Tata, Bell Labs and BAE.[15][16][17]

Buildings

The buildings were designed by Porphyrios Associates.

Building Architects Year Image
Active Classroom
Bay Library Porphyrios Associates 2019
Centre For Integrative Semiconductor Materials 2023
Computational Foundry Porphyrios Associates 2018
Engineering Central
Engineering East
Engineering North - IMPACT Porphyrios Associates
Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) Porphyrios Associates
School of Management Porphyrios Associates
The Great Hall Porphyrios Associates
The College Porphyrios Associates 2018

Student Residences

The student residences at the Bay Campus have been designed so that the internal space is modern and the external build stands the test of time in both design and the elements.[18]

Nearest places

References

  1. ^ 1940's Swansea Bay (official site) www.1940sswanseabay.co.uk
  2. ^ Local Biodiversity Action Plan for Neath Port Talbot 2001 - 2006 www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ NPT CBC - County Flower www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk
  4. ^ St Modwen unveil £3bn former BP site schemes for South Wales www.walesonline.co.uk
  5. ^ Welcome to RT Properties – Affordable Properties in Swansea and Cardiff www.rtproperties.co.uk Archived 2008-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Property tycoon snaps up Visteon complex icwales.icnetwork.co.uk
  7. ^ Job losses at car parts factory BBC News - news.bbc.co.uk
  8. ^ Former Doctor Who Art Director Ed Thomas Helps Bring Hollywood To Swansea www.combom.co.uk
  9. ^ Amazon to create 1,200 Swansea jobs itn.co.uk/news Archived 2008-02-04 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Swansea Bay www.welshgolfcourses.com
  11. ^ River Bridge Briton Ferry www.britonferry2007.com Archived 2009-01-14 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ The Motorway Archive: M4 in Wales. Baglan to Lon Las (J41 to J44) www.iht.org
  13. ^ "South Wales Evening Post, 22 September 2009". Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  14. ^ New Campus Plan Unveiled by University www.thisissouthwales.co.uk
  15. ^ Go-ahead for Swansea University’s £90m expansion www.theconstructionindex.co.uk
  16. ^ £90 million boost for Swansea University campus www.thisissouthwales.co.uk
  17. ^ Swansea University's £90m secures new science campus www.bbc.co.uk
  18. ^ "Bay Campus Key Projects - Swansea University". www.swansea.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

External links

  • Photographs from Geograph
  • Historical photographs of Burrows Yard
  • Swansea Docks - Crymlyn Burrows Archived 31 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine

51°37′17.00″N 3°53′24.00″W / 51.6213889°N 3.8900000°W / 51.6213889; -3.8900000

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crymlyn_Burrows&oldid=1192616982"