Funded by the Millennium Commission, the Millennium Coastal Park was an innovative project which transformed 20km of Carmarthenshire coastline – from Llanelli through to Pembrey Forest – from industrial wasteland into green parkland – giving the coast back to the people.
The park showcases stunning views of Camarthen Bay and the Gower Peninsula and provides extensive traffic-free cycling routes, which have been described by Sustrans as “one of the finest stretches of the whole National Cycle Network”. The Park was also the first permanent venue for the National Eisteddfod, an annual celebration of Welsh music and poetry.
We played a key role in the coordination and masterplanning of this renewal, creating detailed design guidelines to reclaim back the landscape and oversaw these during the implementation phase. We also undertook the detailed design for the seafront promenade, which attracted a Civic Trust Award.
The park is home to Bury Port Community Woodland and Harbour, including 8ha of revitalised marina. Fishing lakes, sports fields, bird hides, campsites and a water training centre are dotted along the coastal route, drawing in locals and visitors from far afield.
The project implemented state of the art land bridges, enabling the landscape to flow over the main railway line from Pembroke to Paddington.
Land art has played an important part in the masterplan, with Richard Harris’ ‘Walking with the Sea, Turning with the Sea’ using 115,000m³ of pulverised fuel ash to create a huge grassed earthform, reminiscent of a wave travelling towards the shore.
Winner of the Civic Trust Award 2002
