Port Talbot’s harbourside project progresses well

Work on regenerating the Harbourside Strategic Employment Site in Port Talbot’s former docklands is progressing well and on Friday (August 13th, 2021) senior members of Neath Port Talbot Council and others visited the site to see the ongoing work for themselves.

The regeneration work includes remediation of former brownfield land, construction of an access road, the upgrading of existing highways, flood mitigation measures and an extension to the car park adjacent to Port Talbot’s Parkway Railway Station.

The Improvements will be the catalyst for Neath Port Talbot Council’s redevelopment of the town’s former docks area into a thriving waterfront business and industrial centre attracting further private investment helping to drive employment growth. The site will take full advantage of its closeness to the town centre and first class transport links.

Since work began in March, Port Talbot based contractors Andrew Scott Ltd, have now completed the Flood Mitigation Measures beneath Harbour Way. Also, remediation works to the development site are ahead of schedule and work on Cramic Way and Parkway Car Parks is starting this month. Local traffic management systems will be in place during this work and motorists are thanked for their continued patience.

In addition to the ongoing regeneration work, the project is generating Community Benefits and is supporting the local community and supply chain. Achievements include:

• A number of local people having been helped into work, including work experience for local young people and NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training) in partnership with the NPTCBC Skills & Training Tîr Morfa Centre and Cyfle Building Skills Onsite Hub work experience programme.
• A Civil Engineering Construction Operative Apprenticeship opportunity having been created for a 17-year-old Port Talbot resident.
• The appointment of Port Talbot Social Enterprise Thrive Group Wales as Site Office & Welfare cleaners. All profits from Thrive Group Wales are distributed to Thrive Women’s Aid, to help support women, children and families impacted by domestic abuse.
• Continued support of the Port Talbot Foodbank including a successful Easter Egg Appeal which saw Andrew Scott Ltd donate over 300 Easter Eggs to the Foodbank and the donation of £1,000 to the Ysgol Cwm Brombil Community Fund to support children and their families with food, clothing and other essentials.
• Continued support of the Port Talbot Christmas Lights Appeal including via a donation of crowd control barriers to protect the Christmas trees located in the Civic Centre and on the Transport Hub plus support for the NPTC School Holiday Enrichment Programme (SHEP) with the Harbourside Hoarding Project based around the theme of “Community, Identity & a Greener, Healthier Wales”.
• 80% of the workforce coming from within 40 miles of the site, with 96% of workforce living in Wales and 70% spend to date being within Wales with a significant proportion being spent within Neath Port Talbot.

The project is due for completion in March 2022.

The improvement scheme has secured £2.7m worth of funding from the European Regional Development Fund via the Welsh Government. This follows substantial EU funding in the regeneration work including £54m for the Harbour Way M4 link road, £7.5m in TWI’s engineering research centre and £2.5m in the town’s new Integrated Transport Hub.

Those present at Friday’s visit to the site included: Cllr Ted Latham (Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council), Mark Bowen (Managing Director, Andrew Scott), Bill Pugh (Contracts Manager, Andrew Scott), Katie John (Community Benefits Coordinator, Andrew Scott), Karen Jones (Chief Executive, Neath Port Talbot Council), Nicola Pearce (Director of Environment, Neath Port Talbot Council), Dave Griffiths (Head of Engineering and Transport), Claire Roach (Community Benefits Officer), and Ken Stacey (Bid and Cost Manager, Neath Port Talbot Council).

Cllr Ted Latham, the Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council, said: “It’s exciting to view at first hand the ongoing work at the Harbourside Strategic Employment site which will be a catalyst for Neath Port Talbot Council’s redevelopment of the town’s former docklands into a thriving waterfront business and industrial centre, with first class transport links, attracting further private investment to help drive employment growth.”

Mark Bowen, Managing Director for Andrew Scott Limited, added: “As a major local employer, we are wholly committed to the delivery of initiatives that positively contribute to the social, economic and environmental well-being of Neath Port Talbot. Through the delivery of this project for Neath Port Talbot Council we can continue our long-standing approach of creating sustainable employment and training opportunities for local people.”

Cllr Annette Wingrave, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Sustainable Development, said :”This hugely important project is vital for the continued development of Harbourside, the Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone and the wider Swansea Bay City Region and its various projects, strengthening its viability as a destination to live and work, as well as creating development land in the area to meet demand for inward investment.”