Planning has been granted and work is now underway on an 80-home residential development on a historically significant site in Penllergaer, a suburb of Swansea in south west Wales.
Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) represented the landlord Swansea Council in its negotiations with Enzo’s Homes which bought the 14.58-acre site, formerly the offices of Lliw Valley Council where hundreds of staff were employed.
The three to five-bedroom scheme from Enzo’s Homes, a local house builder based in Cross Hands, is set to be completed by the end of 2020. It will breathe new life into a location with considerable historical interest given it incorporates an Equatorial Observatory from which one of the first photographs of the moon was taken.
The Observatory was built in 1851 by John Dillwyn Llewelyn, a renowned botanist and photography pioneer who lived alongside it with his family in the grand Penllergare House Mansion which was later demolished.
Enzo’s Homes together with Swansea Council have been working closely with the Penllergare Trust, transferring the Observatory into their ownership so they may continue to protect what is scheduled as an ancient monument by Welsh Heritage body Cadw.
The developer has sympathetically planned its mixed-use scheme around the observatory and will create a green space to surround what it considers to be an eye-catching centre piece.
A further nod to the site’s past is that the exteriors of some of the larger properties will incorporate details that mirror the style of Llewelyn’s former mansion. These include ornate double height exterior columns, balconies and balustrades.
Jason Thorne of national commercial property consultants LSH says: “We marketed the site on behalf of the council in 2016 and at that time received and considered a number of proposals from regional and national house builders. We are extremely pleased that a South West Wales house builder was successful in the acquisition.
“It was clear at the marketing stage that this is an exceptional site and it is extremely rewarding to have reached the build stage. We are sure this will be an impressive and well-thought out development that will enhance the area enormously.”
Clive Lloyd, Swansea Council’s cabinet member for business transformation and performance, said: “I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to work with the Trust and developer to help retain and improve the observatory. The scheme will bring new housing to Penllergaer and will accompany the Trust’s reinvigoration of the Penllergare Valley Woods.”
Enzo Sauro, of Enzo’s Homes, said: “We are really excited about this development, which will offer great family homes situated in beautiful and historic surroundings, with easy access to the city of Swansea and the M4 corridor. The interest in the development has been phenomenal.”