EditorSWANSEA: Community champion sought to help shape how £20 million is spent on Gateway Communities regeneration
Community leaders in Swansea are being urged to apply for a new independent role that will sit at the heart of one of the most significant regeneration programmes the city has seen in years.
The position — Independent Chair of the Neighbourhood Board — will provide strategic leadership over how £20 million of Pride in Place funding is invested in Swansea’s Gateway Communities. The area covers a cluster of neighbourhoods north of Swansea railway station, including Brynmelyn, Waun Wen, North Hill, Dyfatty and Hafod — communities that have long been identified as among the most overlooked in the city despite being passed through daily by thousands of commuters and visitors.
The Chair’s role will be to act as a champion for those communities, ensuring the Neighbourhood Board is genuinely community-led, inclusive and rooted in local needs rather than top-down priorities. The money can be used on a wide range of projects — from saving threatened pubs or libraries and improving community safety, to revitalising local high streets or restoring green spaces.
Swansea West MP Torsten Bell, who secured the funding through the Pride in Place programme, is calling on community leaders to put themselves forward.
Bell said: “The Pride in Place scheme is all about handing power back to people — this role is a fantastic opportunity for a community champion to have a lasting impact, working with a Swansea neighbourhood whose residents have too often felt overlooked.”
He added: “I fought for this funding because it gives us the chance to show that no part of Swansea can be written off. If you care deeply about these neighbourhoods and want to help make that vision a reality, I would strongly encourage you to apply.”
The Pride in Place scheme is part of a wider £214 million investment across south west Wales, designed to give communities a direct say in tackling long-standing problems in their areas. The Swansea allocation is one of the largest individual awards in the region and is intended to be spent over a decade, with decisions made in phases as priorities are identified.
Bell has previously set out his own vision for how the money should be used, but has been clear that the decisions must ultimately be driven by residents — not politicians or officials. The Independent Chair role is central to that ambition, providing a community-rooted voice at the top of the board rather than a council or government appointee.
The area covered by the funding has been in the spotlight in recent months for a range of reasons. South Wales Police has been running a targeted crackdown on crime and anti-social behaviour in Dyfatty, which has already produced significant early results — with crime falling 12% and anti-social behaviour down 69%. The regeneration investment offers a longer-term complement to that enforcement work, addressing the underlying conditions that can fuel deprivation and disorder.
The Neighbourhood Board will be responsible for overseeing how the money is prioritised and spent, and the Independent Chair will play a key role in making sure that process is transparent, community-led and genuinely responsive to the needs of residents in the affected areas.
Full details of the role and the application process are available on the Swansea Council website at swansea.gov.uk/prideinplacechair.
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South Wales Police’s targeted enforcement in the same area is already showing significant results.
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