Provided by Swansea Council’s West Glamorgan Archive Service, the photo from the early 20th century shows businesses operating on The Strand at the time, as well as old motorcars, a delivery vehicle and a carriage.
Its release comes as preparations continue on new plans to breathe fresh life into The Strand and celebrate the street’s history.
Swansea Council plans include the creation of small retail units for local traders at the historic Victorian arches on The Strand, which will be brought back into use. An elevator from The Strand to High Street will also be introduced and work will be carried out to significantly improve the look and feel of The Strand close to its arches and tunnels. Retail pods and better lighting will be put in place in the tunnels.
The scheme is being made possible thanks to the council successfully bidding for £20m of levelling-up funding from the UK Government.
Other aspects of an overall Lower Swansea Valley improvement project include the installation of new pontoons for boat travel up and down the River Tawe – one of which is proposed to be located close to The Strand.
Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration and Tourism, said: “A regeneration programme worth more than £1bn is on-going throughout Swansea to create jobs for local people and benefits for local businesses. Protecting and celebrating our heritage is a key theme of these plans.
“The Strand played an important part in Swansea life for many years, but it’s become tired and underused in recent times.
“So our plans for The Strand are aimed at helping address this by celebrating and preserving its history, creating trading opportunities for local businesses, and generating better links between The Strand and areas like High Street and the railway station. Early preparations for the project are already on-going.
“This project will follow-on from work that’s already under way to bring the Palace Theatre on High Street back into use. A new distillery and visitor centre at the former Hafod Morfa Copperworks site will also soon be handed over to Welsh drinks brand Penderyn for fit-out, with a significant amount of conservation work having taken place there in recent years.”
Other aspects of the Lower Swansea Valley improvement project include further restoration work at the copperworks. This will include the creation of restaurant and food and beverage spaces at the former laboratory building.
Investment in the Musgrave and Vivian engine houses will see a new enclosure built to create a heritage visitor attraction and café. The track and locomotive at the V & S shed will also be reinstated, a marketplace will be created at the former Rolling Mill building, and landscaped public spaces will be introduced on site for visitors.
A new-build extension at Swansea Museum – widely celebrated as the oldest museum in Wales – is also planned to create more exhibition, learning and gallery spaces and bring parts of the collections stored at the Rolling Mill on the copperworks site to a public venue for display. Outline plans include ideas for new conservation and collection store areas along with education, learning and café spaces which could also create improved links with the open space to the rear of Swansea Museum and the nearby National Waterfront Museum.
Once complete, the Lower Swansea Valley improvement project is estimated to be worth £9.4m a year to the city’s economy. It’s also expected to create 69 new jobs while helping support more than 100 existing jobs.
