A hotel in Swansea is seeking approval to go green with new plant walls on its three sides.
The Dragon Hotel plans to create living walls at its Kingsway Circle building. They will reach up to six storeys.
Designers working on the project have submitted a pre-application submission to Swansea planners.
They say the walls will feature plants such as boxwood, wallflower, honeysuckle and wisteria. A maintenance plan would be put in place.
The council, which is driving a £1bn city centre regeneration, has secured grant funding for the Dragon project through the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns programme.
Dragon general manager Leigh Martin said: “We’re excited to take this first big step towards introducing these living walls.
“If planning permission is granted, they living walls will be seen by tens of thousands of people every week and will help Swansea in its ambition to have a green city centre for the benefit of future generations.”
The Dragon Hotel, which ha more than 100 rooms - also plans to replace dated bedroom windows as part of a wider improvement scheme funded solely by the business. This will improve the appearance of the hotel and boost its energy efficiency.
Similar project in the city include A green roof at Coastal Housing’s High Street Urban Village. Other greenery that has been introduced into the city centre includes hundreds of new trees in and around the Kingsway and new park next to the new Swansea Arena. More greenery is planned as part of the council’s proposed revamped Castle Square Gardens and on a community services hub being created nearby in the former BHS building.
Leader of Swansea Council, Rob Stewart said: “Swansea’s getting greener and that’s good news for residents, businesses and visitors. We’re restoring biodiversity and adapting to climate change.
“Our ongoing regeneration, that’s made significant progress through the pandemic, means that we’re leading Wales out of the pandemic.
“Our new-look city centre – complete with ever-improving green infrastructure - is already helping to attract hundreds of millions of pounds of private investment.”
