Sir Terry welcomes Swansea city centre regeneration plans

Business icon Sir Terry Matthews has welcomed ambitious ideas to transform Swansea city centre.

Sir Terry, the Chairman of the Swansea Bay City Region Board, says proposals unveiled for the St David’s and Civic Centre development sites will have benefits for South West Wales as a whole.

A new 3,500-seat arena, a state-of-the-art cinema and a new retail street stretching from Whitewalls to Oystermouth Road are among the proposals that have now been announced.

Swansea Council has appointed Rivington Land to lead the regeneration of the St David’s development site that includes the former St David’s Shopping Centre, the St David’s multi-storey car park and the LC car park. Other ideas for the site include a restaurant and café quarter. A new under-cover car park could be constructed below the proposed arena.

New residential units and plenty of car parking spaces could also be constructed on both sides of Oystermouth Road, as well as improved links between the city centre and waterfront.

The council will now start working alongside the company to explore their proposals, carry out comprehensive site investigation works and attract tenants.

Sir Terry said: “The ambitious announcement made by the Leader of Swansea Council and the Welsh Government’s Minister for Economy are important for the future prosperity and economy of South West Wales.

“Swansea city is the economic engine of our region. I’m delighted to see the committed investment and I’m pleased with the plans outlined for the new retail, leisure and tourist developments.

“The arena will offer a big boost to the city. The developments will create thousands of jobs over the next few years and make Swansea one of the UK’s top destinations, offering real benefits for the entire region.”

Russell Greenslade, Chief Executive of Swansea BID (Business Improvement District), has also welcomed the proposals.

He said: “These are very exciting, major announcements for the city centre that will attract new businesses and support existing businesses.

“Not only does it offer a good balance of new shops and restaurants, but the arena proposal would also further support trade by attracting even more footfall and spending.”

Swansea Council has also announced that Trebor Developments will lead the regeneration of the Civic Centre site. Their winning ideas include apartments, town houses, cafés, restaurants and a new public space
It’s also being proposed the company works closely alongside Swansea University to further explore the potential for a ‘hydro hub’ at the site that could include a public aquarium and a state-of-the-art aquatic sciences research centre. The council will now work with the company to develop the site masterplan.

Mr Greenslade said: “It’s great to see that the plans also include residential units because more people living in the city centre will boost its vibrancy. We look forward to working with the council and its partners as these exciting new developments take shape.”