Swansea Civic Centre ( cy, Canolfan Ddinesig Abertawe) – formerly known as County Hall – is the principal administrative centre of

Swansea Council , coa_pic = , coa_res = , coa_alt = , logo_pic = Swansea City Council Logo.svg , logo_res = , logo_alt = , house_type = Unitary authority , jurisdiction = , foundation = 1 April 1996 , preceded_by = West Glamorgan County Council S ...

. Standing some 800 m southwest of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

city centre, by the seafront and overlooking Swansea Bay, the complex houses – in addition to the council chamber and offices – a public cafe, the central library, an exhibition space, archives service, and contact centre.

History

Following the implementation of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, which broke up

Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Local ...

and established

West Glamorgan County Council West Glamorgan County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Gorllewin Morgannwg) was the county council of the county of West Glamorgan in south-west Wales, from its creation in 1974 to its abolition in 1996. History The county was created in 1974 under the ...

, the new county council initially met at Swansea Guildhall. Finding that this arrangement, which involved sharing facilities with

, to be inadequate, county leaders procured a dedicated building, selecting a site formerly occupied by an old railway goods yard associated with the Mumbles Railway. The new building was designed by C. W. Quick of the West Glamorgan County Architects Department in the

Brutalist style Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

, built by French Kier (phase 1) and A. Monk (phase 2) and opened as County Hall in July 1982. The design featured continuous bands of glazing with deep washed calcined flint panels above and below.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, accompanied by the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

, visited on 20 April 1989. After local government re-organisation in 1996, which abolished West Glamorgan County Council, ownership of the building was transferred to Swansea Council. It was renamed Swansea Civic Centre on 19 March 2008, and Swansea Central Library moved into the complex as part of a redevelopment scheme. The library made nearly 566,000 book loans during the year ended 31 March 2009, making it the busiest library in Wales and the tenth busiest library in the UK. In January 2016, Swansea Council announced plans to redevelop the area, the second phase of which would involve demolition of Swansea Civic Centre and the creation of city beach which would also include an

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

and digital science centre. In May 2021 the Twentieth Century Society placed the site on its Top 10 Buildings at Risk List.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Swansea County halls in Wales Swansea Bay Event venues established in 1982 1982 establishments in Wales Government buildings completed in 1982

History

See also

References