Seaside town named as ‘sought after spot to buy' set for major revamp with £20m ‘innovation centre' investment approved

The plan will hopefully provide thousands of jobs
COASTAL CASH Seaside town named as 'sought after spot to buy' set for major revamp with £20m 'innovation centre' investment approved
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
A POPULAR seaside town is set for a major revamp with a £20million investment approved.
The South Wales Industrial Transition from Carbon Hub, or for short SWITCH building, has been approved by Neath Port Talbot council.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
5
The local economy has suffered repeated set backs as its traditional industries falter
Credit: Neath Port Talbot Council)
5
Tata Steel's Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales closed last year, causing 2,000 job losses
Credit: Alamy
5
The famously smoky industrial town is going green
Credit: Alamy
Swansea University Academics will use the £20million site to investigate how to decarbonise the metal and steel industry that dominated Wales' economy for decades.
It will be built on a brownfield parcel of land near Port Talbot Dock, due to the 'excellent infrastructure links' nearby, such as the Port Talbot Parkway station and the M4 motorway.
The plans include facilities from workshops and welding zones to mechanical testing zones and labs.
Workers will also be catered for with offices and 'breakout' spaces planned for staff.
The council hopes the plans will provide a 'collaborative innovation centre' and serve as the basis for cooperation between academics and the industry.
The plans read: "The new facility is a collaborative innovation centre working with academia, namely Swansea University, as a key stakeholder to help end users from the steel industry to decarbonise the steel industry towards a net-zero carbon future.
"The core theme of the SWITCH (South Wales Industrial Transition from Carbon Hub) programme is to assist decarbonisation of the steel and metals industry, to strengthen collaboration between industry and academia and to future-proof the steel and metals industry in Wales and the UK.
The project will be led by the council in partnership with nearby Swansea University.
The proposal may save the day, as it was received last November, just months after the closure of Port Talbot's steelworks site, which cost the area over 2,000 jobs.
It also came just weeks after a submission by Tata Steel for a new £1.25bn electric arc furnace nearby.
5
Tata Steel has also proposed a £1.25bn furnace nearby
Credit: Getty

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Wales Online

2 days ago

• Wales Online

Welsh universities buck UK trend to rise up global rankings as Swansea takes its highest ever place

Welsh universities buck UK trend to rise up global rankings as Swansea takes its highest ever place It has been a tough year for Welsh universities, but it didn't impact the prestigious QS rankings Swansea University currently has more than 20,000 students across its two campuses (Image: Swansea University ) Welsh universities have climbed up the world rankings with one named among the top 200 in the world. Swansea University achieved its highest ever score in the prestigious QS list while Cardiff climbed five places. They buck the trend with most of the UK universities listed dropping down the ranks. The best UK university was named as Imperial College London which kept its place as second best on the planet after Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. Of the 90 British universities on the score sheet 54 fell. Edinburgh plunged seven places to 34th, and the London School of Economics and Political Science, dropped from 50 to 56. ‌ After a tough year with deep cuts and job losses Cardiff University was ranked 181 on the list, up five places compared to last year and 26th best in the UK, although not its best ever QS score. ‌ Swansea University at 292 achieved its best ever ranking on the list and is up one place on last year. A Swansea University spokesperson said: "This marks consistent growth over the past five years, with Swansea advancing 182 places since 2021, when it was ranked 474th. " Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here Cardiff University saw improvement (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) Article continues below The global league table by higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds ranks more than 1,500 leading institutions across nine key categories: academic reputation, citations per faculty, employment outcomes, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, international faculty, international research network, international students, and sustainability. Cardiff achieved an overall point score of 57.8 while Swansea had a 46.2 score for these. Swansea said its success in the latest score was driven by strong performances in international students, sustainability and employer and academic reputation. ‌ Cardiff said it saw improvement in areas including international research network, faculty student ratio and employment outcomes. Professor Paul Boyle, vice-chancellor of Swansea University, said: 'This year's QS ranking is a clear reflection of Swansea University's growing global reputation and a testament to the excellence and outstanding dedication of our staff. Rising to 292nd place and maintaining a position in the world's top 300 for the second consecutive year is a significant achievement, of which we are justifiably proud. 'This accomplishment underscores the strength of our academic reputation, the diversity of our international community and our growing impact in key areas such as sustainability. I extend my sincere thanks to everyone across our university community whose collective commitment has made this success possible over successive years.' ‌ Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wendy Larner said: 'It's really encouraging to see Cardiff rise in the QS World Rankings. It reflects the dedication and expertise of the entire University community.' Of the other Welsh universities Bangor was placed 566 with an overall score of 29.3 and Aberysywyth ranked between 741 and 750th place and with no overall score recorded. The University of South Wales, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Wrexham and the University of Wales Trinity St David were not on the list. ‌ Across the top UK instutions Oxford and Cambridge both fell one place each to rank fourth and sixth respectively, Bristol University climbed three places to 51 with an overall score of 82.5, Birmingam was 76th place with an overall score of 73.8, Exeter was ranked 155 on the list and the University of the West of England (UWE) was ranked at between 721 and 730th place. Swansea University Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle Article continues below Top 10 universities in the world according to the QS World University Rankings 2026 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) US Imperial College London, UK Stanford University, US University of Oxford, UK Harvard University, US University of Cambridge, UK National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore University College London (UCL), UK California Institute of Technology (Caltech), US

Business News Wales

3 days ago

• Business News Wales

Swansea University Signs MoU with Thai Business School

Swansea University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Finn School of Business and Tourism in Thailand that will pave the way for their students to join the BSc Global Business Management programme. In the first agreement of its kind for Swansea University and Thailand, students from Finn School in Bangkok, who complete their Higher Diploma will join the final year of the BSc Global Business Management (Top Up) programme. The first cohort will arrive in Swansea in September this year with additional cohorts joining the university as the partnership develops. The MoU was signed during a recent visit to Swansea University's Bay Campus by Finn School representatives and is set to strengthen the University's international links, particularly in Southeast Asia, and will brings new global talent to Swansea's campuses. Kawin Panprasittiwech, Managing Director and Founder of Finn School of Business and Tourism, said: 'The partnership between Finn School and Swansea University is more than just a connection between two institutions. It is a significant step toward expanding educational opportunities for Thai students, enabling them to genuinely access world-class education. We strongly believe that quality education is the foundation for nurturing capable and responsible global citizens, who will return with knowledge, skills, and international perspectives to drive sustainable progress in our society.' Professor Judith Lamie, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for International Engagement at Swansea University, said: 'We are delighted to formalise our partnership with Finn School of Business and Tourism through this new articulation agreement. This collaboration reflects Swansea University's commitment to providing high-quality, globally accessible education and to fostering international pathways that support student mobility and academic excellence. It was a pleasure to host our colleagues from Finn School on campus — their visit marked an important step in strengthening our relationship and setting the foundation for a successful and enduring partnership.'

The Guardian

5 days ago

• The Guardian

Trump ‘could keep tariffs on UK steel unless US secures guarantees'

Donald Trump is threatening to keep tariffs on some or all of its steel imports from the UK unless it gives specific guarantees over the Indian-owned steelmaking plant at Port Talbot in south Wales, sources have told the Guardian. An agreement to reduce tariffs on UK car exports to the US and scrap them for the aerospace sector was signed off by the US president and Keir Starmer on Monday, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada. However, it did not include the removal of tariffs on steel imports from the UK. Officials are still negotiating over the fine points of a deal to cover the steel and aluminium industry, amid US concerns about the fact that Tata Steel imports raw materials from abroad. Starmer told reporters in Banff, Canada: 'There's further work to do in relation to steel, but we're getting on and doing that work.' Trump and Starmer announced the main terms of the trade agreement in May, with the UK prime minister calling it a 'fantastic, historic day'. According to that deal, tariffs on up to 100,000 British cars are due to be reduced to 10% from 27.5%. As it stands, UK steelmakers still face 25% tariffs, although this is lower than the global tariff of 50% imposed by the Trump administration on other nations. The UK business department said the two leaders had pledged to 'make progress towards 0% tariffs on core steel products as agreed' in May. The deal was heralded by Downing Street as a triumph for Starmer's brand of gentle diplomacy, in which he wooed the president with the promise of a state visit while shying away from any direct criticism on topics such as trade. The May trade announcement itself was followed by weeks of further talks as the two sides continued to negotiate over the small print. Monday's announcement by the two leaders means the tariff reductions will kick in for aerospace and automobiles over the coming weeks, with Starmer saying they would begin 'very soon'. However, the Trump administration is understood to be seeking further guarantees on British steel exports, given Tata Steel has closed its blast furnaces at Port Talbot last year and therefore now imports raw materials from abroad until the planned opening of a new, much cleaner electric arc furnace in 2027. According to US import rules, steel must be 'melted and poured' in a country to qualify as having originated in that country. The company says these supplies come from Tata's other sites, mainly those in the Netherlands and India. US trade officials are considering granting Tata an exemption, sources say, but are asking for guarantees about when it will switch on its new electric arc furnaces, and therefore stop importing raw materials from abroad. They also want to know where those supplies are coming from and how Tata is able to track their movements throughout the supply chain. The British government is hoping that the fact that Tata does not import any of the raw steel from China will persuade the Trump administration to include all British exports in the deal. Starmer is sending his business adviser Varun Chandra to lead a delegation to Washington next week, and officials say they are confident of striking a final deal next month. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The Chinese ownership of British Steel, which has a separate plant at Scunthorpe, is understood not to be an issue since the government took over its management. Alasdair McDiarmid, the assistant general secretary of the steel industry union Community, said on Tuesday: 'It is now absolutely vital that a deal for steel is secured as soon as possible. Our steel producers and their US customers need an end to the current state of uncertainty to allow normal business to resume. 'Crucially, we must see a full exemption for all UK steel exports to the US – without that guarantee, some of our leading steel businesses could be left behind, with a threat to jobs and livelihoods.' A government source said: 'Thanks to our agreement with the US, the UK is the only country in the world to be exempt from the 50% tariff on steel and aluminium that other countries now face. 'Yesterday the US president confirmed his intention to work with the UK to remove the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium, helping us to ensure they can be implemented as soon as possible and in the best interests of the UK industry.' Additional reporting by Peter Walker in Banff