A march will take place through Swansea city centre this Saturday to protest proposed plans for a major new leisure destination on Kilvey Hill. Organised by The Swansea Climate Action Network and Kilvey Community Woodland Volunteers, the march will take place on Saturday, October 28, at 12pm-3.30pm.
The march will begin at Castle Square in Swansea's city centre before moving to Oxford Street, with a three minute vigil planned to the sound of bird noises which organisers have said will emphasise the hill's ecological importance.
The march, named 'Bringing Kilvey Hill to Swansea Town' will call for a "sustainable future" for the hill, according to organisers. "Local environmental and community groups are coming together to tell Swansea Council it must rethink the proposed Skyline development plan," said a spokesperson for the event. The spokesperson added: "Residents around Kilvey Hill demand that their voices be heard." You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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The proposed Swansea Skyline project, led by New Zealand-based Skyline Enterprises, includes a planned cable car route, a gravity-fuelled Luge ride, a zipline, a sky swing, new walking and mountain bike trails and food and drink outlets on Kilvey Hill. It would run to the top of Kilvey Hill from the area of the Hafod Morfa Copperworks. The cost of the Kilvey Hill project has been estimated between £34million to £40million. The Welsh Government said it would invest £4million, subject to conditions being met.
Swansea Council has set aside £8 million to help the delivery of the Skyline leisure attraction on Kilvey Hill. But while this money has been approved in principle, the council said no money had been directly awarded to the Skyline Enterprises, as yet. The council said if the scheme went ahead, the proposed investment would be repaid in full as part of an agreement with Skyline Enterprises. Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news.
In May 2023, a report was published by a leading economic development consultancy which suggested the proposed development would create 478 local construction jobs during the build phase and 100 permanent jobs in its first year of opening. It was also revealed that the development would contribute £84million to the local economy over the next 15 years.
A spokesperson for Skyline said its proposals celebrated the hill and its wildlife and that it recognised the ecological importance of the site. They said Skyline had held public consultation events earlier this year and "community support was very strong". While a Swansea Council spokesperson said that as part of the planning application, Skyline would be expected to address social and economic issues and people would have the chance to comment on these before the application was determined.
The council spokesperson added that there was "no binding commitment as yet on the council's part" in terms of funding for the project, "as funding would need to meet certain conditions before any money is potentially paid out". They added: "If it goes ahead, the proposed investment by the council would be repaid in full as part of an agreement with Skyline".
As well as the planned march which opposes the plans for the leisure destination, there is an online petition titled 'Stop Welsh Government Wasting £4million on "Skyline" private development Kilvey Hill, Swansea' which has gained 2,074 signatures so far. Petitions need more than 10,000 signatures to be considered for a debate in the Senedd.
There has been some local opposition to the development with people living around the Kilvey Hill area expressing their concerns that "part of the family" will be lost for good. When we spoke to one concerned resident earlier this year, he said the general concerns were the loss of green space. Richard Williams, who was born on Kilvey Hill and owns 20 acres of land there, said: "The general concerns are loss of nature, loss of wildlife, loss of the hill as a place for solace for people to go and get some air, walk their dog, ride their horse. It's almost like part of our family, the hill, people are very attached to it, and I believe a lot of people around Swansea look upon that hill, having never been there, as an incredible haven for wildlife and haven for humanity around there."
Kilvey Community Woodland Volunteers said they had conducted what they described as a "detailed local survey of residents". The group provided quotes which they said were collected in door-to-door surveys. One person reportedly told the volunteers: “Areas of woodland need to be protected and cherished.
"The beautiful views over Swansea from Kilvey Hill are accessible without the need for cable cars, and Kilvey Woods provides a perfect, quiet environment for local dog walkers away from the tourist areas of Swansea. I believe it would be of great detriment to the area and the local people if the Skyline development went ahead.” Another reportedly said: “Loss of wildlife is disgraceful, taking away our community’s birthright. Majority of people in the area are on minimum wage and they use the space for leisure activities. Noise of people screaming, traffic, will be awful to live with."
However, the spokesperson for Skyline Enterprises said it had spoken to people who were in support of the proposed plans. They said Claire [no last name given] had said: "I think it would be great for tourism by bringing visitors back to Swansea, it would create new jobs and boost the economy. It sounds great, I think it's such a good idea!" Lucy [no last name given] said: "We need a change in Swansea, and Skyline would boost the economy, and bring more people to Swansea."
The Skyline spokesperson said: “Our proposals for Kilvey Hill celebrate the hill and its wildlife alongside providing a fun new attraction for the residents of Swansea and its visitors. We recognise the value and importance of the site in ecological terms and, for this reason, instructed Welsh consultancy firm, EDP, back in 2018, to start ecological survey work. That work has continued to date and has informed the preparation of our proposals. Critically, our objective is to enhance the overall biodiversity of the site and to allow for the better management of these in the long term through our involvement.
“If our application is successful, Skyline will be investing circa £34million into the development of the site and we are already seeking local partners to assist with food and beverage retail at the proposed attraction and in the construction of the scheme. Local planning, environmental and engineering firms have already been appointed to develop the application proposals.
"Skyline has built recognised world class facilities like this across the globe in in New Zealand, Canada and Singapore. We believe Kilvey Hill is an excellent opportunity for our eighth site and we are committed to its sensitive development, as we have been with all our other sites. We held several public consultation events in March this year and community support was very strong. We look forward to further engagement with the people of Swansea as the planning application progresses.”
