Heritage Gate

The project is one of the most ambitious ever undertaken in the UK. Over the next 25 years it will turn the two-square-mile disused Llandarcy Oil Refinery site into a ground-breaking sustainable community, providing at least 2,500 homes and creating an expected 3,200 jobs.

Launching the project, Welsh Assembly Economic Development Minister Andrew Davies said it would bring major economic benefits and act as an exemplar for how other developments could use the Urban Village concept. The concept is championed by The Prince's Foundation and focuses on community involvement and creating a high-quality urban environment. The Prince's Foundation unites a number of key initiatives, established by HRH The Prince of Wales, to 'connect the art of building with the making of a community'. The Prince's Foundation, along with the Welsh Development Agency; BP; and Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council are the key members of the partnership driving forward the Llandarcy Urban Village Project with the full backing of the Welsh Assembly Government.

The project, which is expected to attract in excess of half a billion pounds of private sector investment aims to develop a community where people, not cars are paramount. It will be a place where the residents can live, play, learn, shop and work in a high quality urban environment.

Located next to protected wetlands and close to the attractions of the Neath Valley, Swansea Bay and the Gower, Heritage Gate will create a new corridor between Neath and Swansea; communications links are excellent and plans are already being developed to run frequent bus services through the village.