Swansea has been chosen as one of the top five green cities to invest in in the UK. Independent research led by experts found that Swansea did very well in many areas, including the number of green office buildings.

As part of a real estate study titled Next X that centred on environmental data, the worldwide banking group BNP Paribas analysed environmental factors such as CO2 emissions and roadside air pollution. Swansea is the only Welsh city to rank in the top 10 environmental scores in the study.

Cllr Rob Stewart, Swansea Council Leader, said: “We are facing a climate crisis, so the council and our partners are doing a huge amount of work for Swansea to become a net zero city by 2050.

“We also need to create a greener Swansea to attract more private sector investment and employment opportunities, which includes zero-carbon office developments, the introduction of far more greenery across the city, and the installation of more and more charging points for electric vehicles.

“This will continue to cut our carbon footprint and make the city more biodiverse, and it will also raise Swansea’s profile as a place to invest while opening up jobs for local people. That’s why it’s so pleasing to be named as one of the UK’s top five green cities to invest in.”

Green walls and roofs at various buildings and a temporary pop-up park at the former St. David's Shopping Centre site are examples of recent council-led projects.

In addition to projects such as the 1.1-acre seaside park adjacent to Swansea Arena, a redesigned Castle Square Gardens with significantly more vegetation is in the works.

The new office building that will house 600 jobs on the former Oceana nightclub site on The Kingsway will be carbon-neutral, and construction is currently well underway. The structure will include trees on each floor and a green roof.

Hacer Developments of Swansea will lead a 'living building' project close to the Kingsway development.

The project, which is slated for completion by the end of 2023, will have green walls and roofs, educational centre, retail, offices, a landscaped courtyard, rooftop solar panels, battery storage, and gardens.

Pobl Group will manage fifty affordable units included in the project.

In addition, the design includes a four-story greenhouse styled as an urban farm. Plants and vegetables will be cultivated in water and nourished by waste piped from fish tanks at the building's base.

Cambridge, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Milton Keynes are included among the top five greenest cities to invest in in the United Kingdom.

Source: BusinessNewsWales

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