Meeting to consider city centre regeneration bids

Swansea Council’s Cabinet is meeting later this week to select one or more development partners for the regeneration of the St David’s and Civic Centre sites.

The sites were first put on the market at the start of the year as the council looks to breathe new life into the city centre and make the Swansea Bay City Region economy more competitive.

If the one or more development partners are approved at a meeting on Thursday (December 17), an announcement will follow in January that will include details of the successful companies and their ideas for the sites.

Cllr Rob Stewart, Swansea Council Leader, said: “It’s our aim to regenerate the city centre for the benefit of Swansea residents, existing traders and visitors to the city. This is why we’ve been working tremendously hard all year to put these two key development sites on the marketplace, attract interest from expert developers and comprehensively assess the shortlisted bids. We’re now at a stage where one or more development partners have been recommended for Cabinet’s approval, which is another milestone for our exciting plans.

“If the one or more development partners to have been recommended are approved, then a far more in-depth announcement will be made in the New Year on the detail of the developments and other schemes around the city. Next year people will see development go up several gears as regeneration gathers pace.”

On-going city centre improvement work includes the demolition of the former Oceana building on Kingsway, which is scheduled for completion by the end of May next year. Subject to funding, a new office building will be constructed on site to kick-start the council’s planned transformation of Kingsway into a business district that would accommodate hundreds of workers and generate the level of footfall needed to help the city centre thrive.