Seven developments in Wales worth knowing about this month

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Developers are cracking on with schemes across the nation as Wales emerges from the pandemic.

From a new investment by an adventure brand to a homes projects on a site left empty for 13 years the projects are helping kickstart the economy.

Here we feature seven schemes from across Wales that have made progress over the last month.

Rising from the ashes

Residents are moving into a new development 13 years after a blaze ripped through the former hotel on the site.

Anwyl Partnerships has completed an over 55’s housing project that has transformed the site of the former Grange Hotel in Rhyl, creating 41 new homes.

It was delivered for Wales & West Housing under a £5.1 million contract.

The former Grange Hotel had been badly damaged by fire in 2008, with the site eventually cleared in 2017, having been condemned and left abandoned.

More on the project here.

Adventure firm investment

Zip World has unveiled a new rollercoaster at its Zip World Tower attraction in the Cynon Valley.

It launched Zip World Tower, at the former Tower Colliery site in Hirwaun in April with zip wire attractions which has already welcomed over 10,000 visitors and created 56 new jobs. Its new attraction, Tower Coaster, is creating a further 25 jobs

The industrial style toboggan rollercoaster has a one kilometre track and can reach speeds of up to 25mph.

Zip World Tower is the first venture in South Wales for Gwynedd-based Zip World.

More on the project here.

Cheese plant

A £20m cheese project will create 100 jobs on Anglesey thanks to a slice of Welsh Government funding.

The £3m grant from the Business Innovation and Tourism Escalator Scheme (BITES) will see the Mona Island Dairy factory become the most sustainable in Europe, running solely on renewable electricity.

The funding will support production of Welsh and continental cheeses at the 25,000 sq ft facility, based on Mona Industrial Park, between Gwalchmai and Llangefni. .

Additional money in the form of loans and equity will contribute to the £20m site conversion, which is due for completion this September.

When finished, the factory will be the most modern anywhere on the continent, capable of producing 7,000 tons of cheese a year.

10-storey office

Work on a new 10-storey office scheme in the centre of Cardiff has reached a landmark with a topping out ceremony marking its tallest point.

The 113,000 sq ft grade A office project at John Street, which will be able to accommodate 1,000 workers, is the latest development from property development firm JR Smart, which is behind the adjacent seven acre Capital Quarter scheme which has delivered and let over 370,000 sq ft of office space.

While a new hybrid model of office working is emerging as a result of the pandemic, there are currently three significant live office requirements for Cardiff with a combined square footage of around 200,000 sq ft.

All three are from the private sector with two firms already based in South Wales looking for new office space to expand. The other is a relocation from elsewhere in the UK. The largest requirement amongst the three is for up to 90,000 sq ft.

The office scheme at John Street, known as 1 John Street, could be a potential location for some of the live requirements, alongside other schemes in the city including the revamped Hodge House and Fusion Point One office buildings and the planned office element of the Central Quay mixed-use from Rightacres on the former Brains Brewery site.

More here.

Tissue manufacturer

A leading European tissue manufacturer is creating more than 200 jobs on the Northern Gateway site in Deeside in a major development.

The Welsh Government has provided £5m towards a new 700,000 sq ft facility.

Italian based ICT has signed a preliminary contract for a 50-acre site, to develop a state-of-the art integrated tissue production and conversion facility – the first of its kind in the UK in more than 15 years.

Construction is expected to begin early next year and, once complete, will create 229 new jobs

The new facility, equipped with the latest technology, will deliver consumer tissue products marketed through retailer private labels and ICT’s own brand FOXY to the UK and Irish markets.

Store development

A new Co-op store opened in North Wales recently.

The grocer unveiled a more spacious food store in Pentre, Deeside, following a £550,000 investment.

With floorspace of 2,600 sq ft the shop is more than 1,000 sq ft larger than its former store in Pentre it is replacing, with the move creating five new jobs so that the site now supports 20 local jobs.

From market stall to giant warehouse

A Swansea company which began life trading from a market stall is investing £3.2m to acquire 157,000 sq ft of warehousing units and offices at Morriston to supports its expansion plans.

Leading giftware designer and importer Something Different Wholesale is purchasing the 61,000 sq ft building H it currently leases on Swansea Enterprise Park, as well as adjacent buildings totalling a further 96,000 sq ft.

It will spend around £1m renovating and remodelling the units to suit its growing business.

Read more about it here.