LIKE every town and city there are key development sites in Llanelli where progress ranges from very little, to well under way, to completed.
Some are being driven forward by Carmarthenshire Council, others by private owners or a trust. The aim of all of them is to secure viable uses of buildings and land, and help revitalise the town Here is the latest on five sites in or around the town centre:
Land at Maes Y Gors, Tyisha
Carmarthenshire Council knocked down four blocks of 1960s flats – Ty Elizabeth, Ty Cydwel, Ty Meriel, and Ty Howard – two years ago. The buildings consisted of 44 flats and maisonettes and were deemed past their best.
The demolition was part of a wider plan agreed by the council’s cabinet in 2019 to revitalise the area, following a consultation with residents. The aim was to replace the flats with more modern housing and introduce offices, shops and community facilities in Tyisha. “It is time for change and by working together we really can make this happen,” said cabinet member for housing, Cllr Linda Evans, in October, 2019. Funding of £9.3 million was allocated to the Transforming Tyisha project, as it was known.
The Covid pandemic hit in March, 2020, affecting all manner of regeneration projects. In August, 2021, Cllr Evans said the council was seeking a developer to build a range of housing and re-landscape the Tyisha area, and a blueprint showing a potential “boulevard” from the train station to the town centre was published. In September, 2021, cabinet agreed to test the market on its proposals.
The blocks of flats known locally as the “4 Ts” were knocked down early in 2022. Nothing has been built in their place yet. Asked for an update, Cllr Evans said the council was seeking a development partner to build mixed-tenure properties at Maes Y Gors and other sites in Tyisha. They’d be for first-time buyers, families and social housing tenants. “While the foundation of the Transforming Tyisha project is based around the building of new properties at Maes Y Gors and other sites, substantial steps have been taken to improve other elements of the area,” she said.
This work has included measures to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour in what is a deprived and densely-populated ward, such as invesmtent in CCTV and an order prohibiting certain activities, which Cllr Evans said had led to a 34% reduction in overall crime. “These steps will ensure that new property is brought into a community and environment that is thriving,” she said.
Llanelli Goods Shed
Network Rail handed over the keys of this vast 149-year-old goods shed to a heritage trust early in 2021. The Marsh Road building had ceased its designated use in 1966, and the Llanelli Railway Goods Shed Trust – set up in 2011 – secured planning permission and around £800,000 of funding to revamp the office block at one end into office space.
