Swansea Civic Centre ( cy, Canolfan Ddinesig Abertawe) – formerly known as County Hall – is the principal administrative centre of Swansea Council. Standing some 800 m southwest of Swansea city centre, by the seafront and overlooking

Swansea Bay Swansea Bay ( cy, Bae Abertawe) is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tid ...

, the complex houses – in addition to the council chamber and offices – a public cafe, the central library, an exhibition space, archives service, and contact centre.

History

Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1972, which broke up Glamorgan County Council and established

West Glamorgan County Council West Glamorgan County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Gorllewin Morgannwg) was the county council of the county of West Glamorgan in south-west Wales, from its creation in 1974 to its abolition in 1996. History The county was created in 1974 under the ...

, the new county council initially met at

Swansea Guildhall The Guildhall ( cy, Guildhall Abertawe) is one of the main office buildings of the City and County of Swansea Council. The Guildhall complex, which includes the City Hall, Brangwyn Hall (concert hall) and the County Law Courts for Swansea, is a ...

. Finding that this arrangement, which involved sharing facilities with Swansea Council, to be inadequate, county leaders procured a dedicated building, selecting a site formerly occupied by an old railway goods yard associated with the

Mumbles Railway The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was the venue for the world's first passenger horsecar railway service, located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Originally built under an Act of Parliament of 1804 to move limestone from the quarries of Mum ...

. The new building was designed by C. W. Quick of the West Glamorgan County Architects Department in the Brutalist style, built by French Kier (phase 1) and A. Monk (phase 2) and opened as County Hall in July 1982. The design featured continuous bands of glazing with deep washed calcined flint panels above and below. Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited on 20 April 1989. After local government re-organisation in 1996, which abolished West Glamorgan County Council, ownership of the building was transferred to Swansea Council. It was renamed Swansea Civic Centre on 19 March 2008, and Swansea Central Library moved into the complex as part of a redevelopment scheme. The library made nearly 566,000 book loans during the year ended 31 March 2009, making it the busiest library in Wales and the tenth busiest library in the UK. In January 2016, 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. In May 2021 the

Twentieth Century Society The Twentieth Century Society (C20) is a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. The society's interests embrace buildings and artefacts that characterise 20th-century Britain. It is for ...

placed the site on its Top 10 Buildings at Risk List.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Swansea County halls in Wales Swansea Bay Event venues established in 1982 1982 establishments in Wales Government buildings completed in 1982

History

See also

References