Work to start on restoring city landmark to its former glories
AN HISTORIC theatre building whose stage was once been graced by Charlie Chaplin and Sir Anthony Hopkins is set to be transformed in a £4m refurbishment project.
Swansea Council acquired the sixstorey Palace Theatre building from private owners around 20 months ago. After years of lack of use, the 133-year-old derelict and dilapidated Grade Ii-listed building will be turned into a home to tech, start-up and creative businesses.
Planning permission and listed building consent have been granted.
And now the council has announced that South Wales-based contractor R&M Williams Ltd will be the main contractor on the flatironshaped building.
Work will start this month and the building could reopen in 2023. The council has appointed Tramshed Tech as the lead tenant to run the building.
Council leader Rob Stewart said: “I welcome R&M Williams Ltd to this excellent project that will bring new life to one of Swansea’s most iconic buildings.
“The Palace is an important part of the city centre’s £1bn transformation and the appointment of a main contractor with great heritage experience is a big step forward.
“This building has strong connections with Swansea’s proud cultural past as well as being part of its future.
“We’re now working with a number of high-quality partners to rescue the building by restoring it for future generations.”
The Palace was last used around 15 years ago as a nightclub. Other uses had included bingo hall and cinema.
The new vision for the building includes workspaces for more than 130 people.
Darryn Parry, managing director of R&M Williams Ltd, whose previous projects have included the Penarth Pier Pavilion and Empire House, a 1920s Cardiff landmark, said: “The R&M project team will strive deliver the Palace in line with the client’s expectations and will look to draw from our collective learning and experience of delivering similar schemes throughout South Wales, many of which have gone forward to receive acclaim and national recognition.”
The business was named the Federation of Master of Builders’ Welsh contractor of the year 2021.
The project will see the building’s structure maintained, with the retention and restoration of original historic features and the reinstatement of other historic features.
Work to the exterior will include repairs to and restoration of the facade stonework, brickwork and roof. Canopies will be reinstated over both historical main entrances.
The auditorium balustrading will be restored and have the ability to accommodate small scale events.
Funding is being sought from the European Regional Development Fund and the Welsh Government, via the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns programme for the project.