Outline planning permission has been granted by from the City and County of Swansea for the University of Wales Trinity Saint David's (UWTSD) ambitious plans to develop a Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter in the city's SA1 development.

The UWTSD has acquired sizable areas of the remaining development land in the SA1 Waterfront area and its master plan includes proposals to develop purpose-built facilities for learning, teaching and applied research as well as social, leisure and wider recreational spaces.

The University's vision for this development will create a new beginning for SA1, grounded in the city's heritage and driven by innovation. It will be made possible through collaboration and partnership with local communities, business and industry, the University's staff and students, as well as the Welsh Government and the City and County of Swansea.

Cllr Rob Stewart, Swansea Council Leader, said: "The plans put forward by the University of Wales Trinity Saint David are hugely impressive. Together with Swansea University's bay campus and plans for the world's first tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay, these plans have the potential to help transform the Fabian Way and SA1 area into a knowledge economy cluster. This will complement the city centre's regeneration, create new jobs and boost Swansea's profile as a city of academic expertise that's at the forefront of new research, development and technology. Projects of this nature will help raise economic prosperity across the Swansea Bay City Region as a whole and develop spin-off benefits for local residents and visitors through the introduction of new facilities and improved infrastructure."

Following the approval, UWTSD will work a detailed design of the first phase of the project that will be delivered by 2018. These designs will be submitted to the City and County of Swansea in Spring 2016 with the aim of construction work commencing in Autumn 2016.