If you cast your eyes across beautiful Swansea Bay, there's one thing that stands out more than anything else: the Meridian Tower. To some, a sign of investment and progress in making Swansea a more modern city, but for others; it's simply a blot on the landscape.
The tallest building in Wales, the Meridian Tower is classed as "Wales' only skyscraper" and is home to hundreds of apartments, a handful of luxurious penthouses and, until its recent closure, a restaurant, bar and function room with some of the city's best views.
Whilst today the Meridian Tower stands tall and proud against Swansea's glorious bay, it's certainly not been without its dramas and controversies over the last 20-ish years. And these have continued into 2023 with the sudden closure of the Grape and Olive restaurant and sky bar in January, after 13 years of trading on the top floor of the 29th-storey building - and sadly, there don't seem to be any plans for its parent company SA Brain, or any other restaurant company, to re-open the unit.
From the terrible tragedy of a highly-experienced scaffolder falling four storeys to his death during the Meridian Tower's construction in 2008, to an armed siege in the top-floor restaurant there in 2014 - and residents in the Tower being sent bills for thousands of pounds after fire-proofing defects were discovered in 2019, the Meridian Tower certainly has a chequered past.
The story of the Meridian Tower begins in 2004 when Swansea Council was asked to consider a bid to build a prominent 29-storey residential development at Ferrara Quay in Swansea's Maritime Quarter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, council officers and members of the public were apprehensive about the plans for the epic 350ft tower, almost 100 foot taller than Cardiff's 262ft Capital Tower, and its front-row location on Swansea bay. You can get the biggest Swansea news stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
Managing director of Earthquake, the firm behind the plans, David Walker said at the time that Swansea was a city that was "going places" and that he wanted his company "to be part of Swansea's renaissance". As well as residential apartments, Earthquake's plans for the grand building included a restaurant with stunning views across the Bay, which was something that was met with much positivity from several local councillors and business leaders.
But members of the Swansea Civic Society were among those to challenge the proposal. They claimed the new building would simply dominate the skyline and be little more than a blot on the landscape, with secretary Eileen Walton stating at the time: "It would wreck our unique heritage - the wonderful, open coastline."
Marina residents groups also opposed the scheme, as did the nearby Marriott Hotel, which claimed the building would cause significant "shading" and would therefore damage its business and the local economy.
Earthquake Ltd. defended their plans and described their project as a "landmark scheme" which was "long overdue" for Swansea and a development which would "complement the council’s vision for regenerating the waterfront" - and its vision was backed by huge interest from local people wanting to live there.
Remarkably, more than 100 people made offers for high-rise apartments in Meridian Tower before planning permission was even granted, after impressive artists' impressions were unveiled.
It wasn't long before two Swansea restaurants began competing to move into the restaurant unit in the Tower, which filled the top two storeys of the development. While one city businessman immediately offered developers a 10% deposit on 100 apartments, after seeing just a model of the development and looking at plans.
By the end of the year, members of the council's area development control committee backed the Ferrara Quay project by 15 votes to five. Plans were off the ground - Earthquake's bid had been successful.
The construction of the Meridian Tower - and its terrible loss
In June, 2006, building work officially began at the site - and hundreds of prospective buyers turned up in an attempt to secure one of its 123 one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom duplex units or a luxury penthouse.
By August, a £600,000 penthouse was snapped up before it was even built and around 200 of the scheme's other apartments, off Trawler Road, which started from £140,000, were also snapped up. Even former England footballer Joe Cole was linked with the luxury development - although it's still not known if anything came of that rumour!
Whilst work on the core of the new marina tower had already begun, it began an impressive climb into the clouds in June, 2007. The developer planned to complete a new floor every 10 days or so as it raced towards its 29-storey goal.
Work was moving along nicely towards a November, 2008 completion date when tragedy struck in the January. A scaffolder with 15 years’ experience in the building trade tragically died after falling four storey during the construction of the Meridian Quay complex. He was pronounced dead in hospital on January 25.
Then, in April, there were issues within the tower after scaffolding planks on the 20th floor caught fire. Fire crews spent around 45 minutes putting out the blaze, but prospective buyers were not put off.
In October, 2008, a mystery buyer splashed out £1 million on a massive 4,000 square feet penthouse apartment on the 26th floor, adorned with floor to ceiling windows giving views across Swansea Bay and the Swansea Valley.
However, the penthouse was never actually lived in.
Also in 2008, the developers confirmed a top London chef was being lined up to run the kitchen at the restaurant planned for the top of the tower, then called the Penthouse (and later renamed 'The Grape and Olive').
But by the start of 2009, the deadline to complete the project had been missed, and things looked more bleak in April that year, as work was halted in a dispute over money. Workers with contractor Carillion downed tools as the building was 95% complete with only three apartments left to be sold. Electricians, painters and decorators all walked off site on April 3, having been employed in building the impressive development since August, 2006.
Carillion had gradually uncovered the wraps of the building in four-storey sections, the first being in December, 2008, showing the familiar white facade and tinted windows featured in six smaller apartment blocks surrounding the Tower, which also has six commercial units, along with the restaurant on the 27th to 29th floors.
But in April it confirmed it was exercising its right to terminate the contract in relation to payment. Police had to be called when dozens of sub-contractors went to the site to collect tools and materials and found their way blocked by guards employed by the developer, Ferrara Quay.
Earthquake set about finding replacement contractors as quickly as possible, but weeks turned into months.
Scaffolders then returned to the city’s marina tower almost three months later after the developer and contractor signed a new contract. Contracts were exchanged on 119 out of 123 of the apartments in what was hailed as Wales' "fastest-selling residential scheme" and by September, the first residents started moving into the 29-storey Meridian Quay tower.
The lower floors would be lived-in first, with all levels expected to be occupied by the end of October. The restaurant became occupied as well and began serving diners, although it ended up changing hands and later became the Grape and Olive, operated by brewer Brains.
Fast forward five years later, and the tower was rocked by something quite unexpected. Armed police officers descended on the building after a man carried out an armed siege in the Grape and Olive restaurant.
Hours of tense hostage negotiations ensued as the force helicopter circled overheard, and Swansea Marina was put into virtual lock-down, affecting not just residents and businesses but a wedding party at the nearby Marriott Hotel and an event for a visiting Spanish football team. The incident ended without injury, thankfully, and things quietened down after that. You can read more on this shocking incident in a previous article here.
Then in March, 2019, the tower hit the headlines again, when it was reported that it had been sold following a bidding war after being put on the market in September, 2018.
Six firms from the UK and overseas had been locked in a battle to acquire the lucrative city centre asset, which was originally put up for sale for £6.7m. Details from estate agent Dawsons, however, later listed the Meridian Quay development as on-sale for £3.5m - it has not been revealed what the final purchase price was.
Then, in August 2019, residents received the bombshell news that they had to pay out thousands of pounds after multiple safety defects were discovered in the tower. More than 200 leaseholders in the Meridian Tower plus nearby buildings, Meridian Bay and Meridian Wharf, were sent demands by CRM Residential, managing agents for the development, after fire proofing defects were discovered.
Swansea Council submitted an Improvement Notice to Meridian Quay Management Company (MQMC), detailing the defects - which were said to include "defective compartmentation between apartments and defective firebreaks on the external façade of the buildings".
CRM wrote to residents to say that "at least part of the cost" would have to come from leaseholders, and labelled the bill as a "service charge" . It's understood works at the Meridian Bay and Wharf blocks, next to the Meridian Tower itself, cost more than £5million to put right - with further funds needed to carry out similar works on the Meridian Tower.
At the time, CRM requested thousands of pounds from every tenant and the larger your apartment, the more you were asked to pay. Tenants renting a one-bedroom apartment were asked to pay £12,296, whilst tenants renting a two-bedroom apartment were asked to pay £21,435 - and the bill increased to a staggering £39,279 for those renting three-bedroom apartments. Of course, this was in addition to rent payments and any other maintenance bills.
It's understood residents fought against the bills for many months. Speaking to WalesOnline in 2019, tenant Mike Woods, who had bought a one-bedroom apartment in the Meridian Tower as an investment back in 2007, said he and 20 other leaseholders were refusing to pay for the work.
He said they had chosen to be represented by Walker Morris, which was advising residents they should not be liable for any of the costs, and referred to a similar case concerning a large block of flats in Manchester, where the judge upheld the leaseholders' claims.
A spokesperson for CRM Residential said at the time: “Under the terms of the lease we are obliged, on behalf of all leaseholders, to maintain the development in a good state of repair. We have regular dialogue with leaseholders, and other relevant stakeholders in this regard, the contents of which are commercially sensitive and confidential. In order to maintain this confidentiality, and protect the interests of all leaseholders at the development, I regret that we are not authorised to respond to your queries or make any public comment.”
It's not known how long negotiations went on for - or whether Walker Morris were ever able to challenge CRM on tenants' bizarre bills. WalesOnline has contacted Walker Morris for an update on what happened - when we have it, we will share it here.
Unfortunately, the financial issues in 2019 weren't the last challenges to face the Meridian Tower. Of course, Meridian Tower residents and business-owners, like everyone across Wales, faced lockdowns and restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic and now we have the cost-of-living crisis which may or may not have been a factor in the recent closure of the tower's restaurant and sky bar.
Wales' highest restaurant, The Grape and Olive, announced it was closing permanently in January, 2023. After rumours of the restaurant's impending closure started circling online, customers and members of the public were shocked when a customer notice was placed on the main entrance to the Meridian Tower which read: "The Grape and Olive is now officially closed until further notice. Apologies for any inconvenience caused."
Over the years, the Grape and Olive served many famous customers, including actor David Hasselhoff and comedian John Bishop, who posed for pictures with fans as he had a meal before he performed at the nearby Swansea Arena. Currently, it's not known whether The Grape and Olive's parent company, SA Brain, intends to re-brand the restaurant or lease it out, or sell, to another company. Either way, it's a real shame to see the once-bustling restaurant unit left as an empty shell.
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