| Coed Darcy | |
|---|---|
  Coed Darcy Location within Neath Port Talbot | |
| OS grid reference | SS715958 |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NEATH |
| Postcode district | SA10 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Coed Darcy is a new village currently being developed adjacent to Llandarcy in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales.
The village is being built on brownfield land vacated by a former oil refinery, the Llandarcy Oil Refinery, owned by BP. The oil refinery was the first crude oil refinery in the UK, and was constructed between 1918 and 1922. The refinery produced diesel, kerosene and other products. During the post-war period, the refinery underwent large scale development as demand for products increased to 340,000 tonnes per year. Due to economic changes, it was announced in 1997 that the site would close. [1]
The £1.2 billion planned community development will comprise 4,000 homes, community facilities, employment space and open space covering 1,300 acres (5.3 km2). Four new schools (1 Welsh primary, 2 English primaries and 1 secondary) are planned. [2] Part of the development proposals includes a new southern access road linking the village to the Fabian Way (A483) into Swansea. [3]
The construction work is expected to create 3,000 to 4,000 jobs which includes jobs created directly in the construction industry and from related support services. The village is expected to become a home to some 10,000 people once development is complete. [4]
The design specification was developed with input from The Prince's Foundation [2] and the village will be developed as an urban village in a similar fashion to the Poundbury development, which is hoped will encourage people live and work in the same community. [2] [5] The development is expected to take 20 years to complete.
The name of the village was suggested by members of Coedffranc Community Council. The village takes its name from the local parish of Coedffranc and the neighbouring village of Llandarcy. [6]
On 8 May 2007, it was announced that St. Modwen Properties was appointed as the preferred developer of the site. [7] St. Modwen will lead the redevelopment and reclamation of the brownfield site, which is planned to take seven years. The remediation work involves removing contaminated material from the land which was deposited when the site was used as a refinery. The reclamation work involves removing the remaining unrequired oil refinery infrastructure such as pipeworks, buildings and roads, including the draining of a large reservoir at the northern part of the site. The full completion of the regeneration project is anticipated by 2026–8. [1]
Work started on building the first 150 homes and 58 apartments, on 10.4 acres (42,000 m2) of the site in June 2008 on a site at old refinery main entrance designated Area 1. The first properties, designed by Robert Adam, Director at ADAM Architecture were developed by Edward Ware Homes and Atlantic Properties Plc (Atlantic Ware Developments) with construction being carried out by Dawnus. [8] [9] Area One is marketed as Heritage Gate. [10]
Construction work on the main site began in November 2012 where 302 houses will be built on what will be the first of three residential neighborhoods on the site. [11]
The development of the village has not been devoid of controversy. The residents' association of the neighbouring village of Llandarcy are concerned that the new development does not swallow up Llandarcy. [5] Concerns were expressed about some green belt land being used up in addition to the brownfield site by the village and the new access road to the Fabian Way. The Countryside Council for Wales is monitoring the development of the village. [5]
Neath is a market town and community situated in the Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,258 in 2011. Historically in Glamorgan, the town is located on the River Neath, seven miles east-northeast of Swansea.
Neath Port Talbot is a county borough in the south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf to the east, Powys and Carmarthenshire to the north; and Swansea to the west.
The A465 is a trunk road that runs from Bromyard in Herefordshire, England to Llandarcy near Swansea in south Wales. The western half in Wales is known officially as the Neath to Abergavenny Trunk Road, but the section from Abergavenny to the Vale of Neath is more commonly referred to as the Heads of the Valleys Road because it links the northern heads of the South Wales Valleys. That section was also the subject to an improvement programme which sections 1 to 4 are complete, and sections 5 to 6 under construction. The upgrade program is due to finish in 2025. Approximately following the southern boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park, the Ordnance Survey Pathfinder guide describes it as the unofficial border between rural and industrial South Wales. The A465 provides an alternative route between England and the counties in South West Wales and to the ferries to Ireland.
Briton Ferry is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The Welsh name may indicate that the church, llan, is protected from the wind, awel. Alternatively, Sawel may be a derivative of Saul, St Paul's earlier name, who, supposedly, once landed at Briton Ferry. An alternative Welsh name unused today is Rhyd y Brython, a direct translation of Briton Ferry. The Normans referred to the River crossing as La Brittonne and Leland in 1540 as Britanne Fery.
Skewen is a village within the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, in Wales. The village is served by Skewen railway station and has its own rugby club.
Crynant is a village and community in the Dulais Valley in Wales. It lies 7¾ miles north-east from the town of Neath in Neath Port Talbot, situated between the mountains of Mynydd Marchywel to the west, Hirfynydd to the east and Mynydd y Drum to the north.
Coedffranc is a village in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales.
Coedffranc West is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. As of May 2022, it is represented by two councillors from the Welsh Liberal Democrats.
Llandarcy is a village near Neath in the Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales, and was the site of the first oil refinery in the United Kingdom. It was originally designed as a garden village to house the workers for the BP refinery built between 1918 and 1922. The village is near junction 43 of the M4 motorway.
Swansea Docks is the collective name for several docks in Swansea, Wales, which are immediately south-east of Swansea city centre. In the mid-19th century, the port was exporting 60% of the world's copper from factories situated in the Tawe Valley. The working docks area today is owned and operated by Associated British Ports as the Port of Swansea, and the northern part around the Prince of Wales Dock is undergoing re-development into a new urban area branded as the SA1 Swansea Waterfront.
Baglan Bay is a part of the Swansea Bay coastline and a district of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Baglan Bay is also the name of a local government community. Baglan Bay is served by the M4 Motorway and the A48 road which traverse the northeastern edge of the area.
Jersey Marine is a village in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales, UK located about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Swansea. It falls within the Coedffranc West ward.
The Llandarcy Oil Refinery, also known as the National Oil Refinery, BP Llandarcy and Skewen refinery, was the United Kingdom's first oil refinery, initially opened by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company on 29 June 1922, although operations had begun on 1 July 1921. Before this, the only oil refined in the UK came from Scottish shale.
Crymlyn Burrows is an area in Wales 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.
Cefn Coed Colliery Museum is a former coal mine, now operating as a museum. It is located at Crynant near Neath in the South Wales Valleys.
St. Modwen Properties Ltd. is a British-based property investment and development business specialising in the regeneration and remediation of brownfield land and urban environments. It is headquartered in Birmingham and has a network of four regional offices across the UK. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by The Blackstone Group in August 2021.
Llanwern steelworks is located in Llanwern, east of the City of Newport, South Wales.
Glan Llyn is a mixed-use community development south-east of Newport, South Wales, at the western end of the former Llanwern steelworks, on the A4810 road at the edge of the Caldicot Levels.
Briton Ferry Road railway station served the town of Briton Ferry, in the historical county of Glamorganshire, Wales, from 1863 to 1936 on the Vale of Neath Railway. Nearby was Llandarcy Oil Refinery.
Neath Football Club were a Welsh football team based in village of Llandarcy near Neath. Neath Port Talbot, in Wales. The team played in the Welsh Football League. In 2005 the team merged with Skewen Athletic to form Neath Athletic.