IT has been all change in this area of Swansea — and not just the arrival of Premier League football.

While the Liberty Stadium in Landore has been making an impact since 2005, the landscape in the surrounding area has also changed.

At the end of last month it was revealed that one of the last remaining relics of Swansea's world-famous copper industry could soon be converted into apartments. Housing developer Barratt Homes South Wales has been granted listed building consent to convert a former copper smelting hall at the Upper Bank Copper Works into 12 two-bedroom apartments.

The smelting hall is a Grade II listed building which was part of the original copper works established at the site in 1755.

Barratt Homes was granted permission to develop the site of the former copper works for housing in September 2006.

The smelting hall is the last remaining building at the works which have now, along with the former Addis factory, been completely demolished to make way for Barratt's development, known as Copper Quarter.

A company spokesman said: "Swansea was the world centre of copper smelting during the industrial revolution, but most of the physical structures of this great industry have long been demolished or hidden by later development."

And the area is set to feature in a new leisure attraction planned soon on the River Tawe.

Swansea Community Boat Trust has a 23-tonne barge, The Black Prince, which will carry passengers on trips from the marina to a bridge near the Liberty.

Onboard guides will tell passengers about the Tawe's central importance to Swansea's industrial rise.

The Black Prince will have displays and drawings illustrating, among other things, the docks in Victorian times, medieval ships and the legendary Copperopolis era.

The barge has capacity for 50 passengers and was bought thanks to a £40,000 grant from Visit Wales. Money has also come from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and local companies. Two-hour trips are planned.

The industrial heritage of the area also featured in the prestigious Chair handed out at last summer's Urdd National Eisteddfod in the city.

The Chair, awarded for the best poem not over 100 lines, was designed by Aled Tinnuche, head of design and technology at Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr in Gowerton. He carved images of copper towers into the chair to reflect Swansea's industrial history and the period when the city was referred to as Copperopolis.