SWANSEA: 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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Swansea neighbourhood handed £20m boost as MP urges residents to shape decade of investment
The announcement of the Pride in Place funding for Swansea’s Gateway Communities.

Opinion: Torsten Bell MP — how Swansea should spend its Pride in Place funding
The MP sets out his priorities for the decade-long regeneration investment.

Crime down 12% and anti-social behaviour down 69% as Dyfatty crackdown delivers early results
South Wales Police’s targeted enforcement in the same area is already showing significant results.

South West Wales to share in £214m Pride in Place investment for local projects
The wider regional context for the funding that is now being put to work in Swansea.

#Brynmelyn #Dyfatty #GatewayCommunities #Hafod #PrideInPlace #Swansea #TorstenBellMP #WaunWen

SWANSEA: Scandinavian homeware brand to open city centre store in former Zara unit on Princess Way

A large vacant unit in the heart of Swansea city centre is set to come back to life, with a Danish homeware and lifestyle brand confirmed as the new occupant of the former Zara store on Princess Way.

Søstrene Grene — pronounced “Sœstre-ne Greh-ne” and meaning “the Grene sisters” in Danish — already has a Welsh presence through its Cardiff store, which opened in 2024. The Swansea opening will be its second store in Wales, and an official opening date is expected to be confirmed shortly.

The brand is known for a distinctive Scandinavian aesthetic, selling a mix of design-led homewares, craft and hobby supplies, kitchenware, candles, stationery and seasonal decorations — typically at accessible price points. At the heart of its identity is the Danish concept of “hygge” — a word that roughly translates as a feeling of warmth, comfort and togetherness.

Søstrene Grene CEO and co-owner, Mikkel Grene
(Image: Søstrene Grene)

Mikkel Grene, Group CEO and co-owner of Søstrene Grene, said the Swansea opening marked an important moment for the brand’s UK expansion. “Designed to be a welcoming and inspiring space, the Swansea store will invite customers to immerse themselves in the essence of Scandinavian living,” he said. “Visitors will also be introduced to the Danish concept of ‘hygge’, a feeling of comfort, warmth and togetherness that sits at the heart of the brand.”

The Princess Way unit has been empty since Zara vacated at the end of 2024 following the expiry of its lease. The building — known as Castle Quays — was acquired by St Mary’s Square Developments, a Swansea-based property company, at the start of 2025. Work has already been under way inside the former Zara unit to prepare it for a new tenant, and scaffolding on the building has been coming down in recent months as the refurbishment progresses.

Peter Loosmore, director of St Mary’s Square Developments, said: “When we were made aware of the interest from Søstrene Grene we felt they would be a fantastic fit for the development and would bring their quality retail offering to Swansea city centre. We are excited to see them opening soon alongside our existing tenants.”

The former Zara store at Castle Quays on Princess Way is being prepared for a new tenant
(Image: St Mary’s Square Developments)

The Castle Quays building sits at one of the busiest points in the city centre, with aspects over both Princess Way and Castle Square. It is directly opposite the council’s new Y Storfa hub — the one-stop shop for public services that opened in the former BHS store — and looks out over Castle Square, which is currently undergoing a major multimillion-pound revamp to create a greener and more welcoming public space.

County managers Norma Jacob and Richard Power, who operate Søstrene Grene stores across Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, also welcomed the news. Ms Jacob said the opening marked “an exciting new chapter” for the brand in Wales, adding: “We are delighted to bring our affordable, thoughtfully curated homewares to this vibrant and dynamic city.”

Mr Power said Princess Way was “a prime city centre destination” and that the team looked forward to welcoming customers to experience the brand’s “unique Scandinavian atmosphere.”

Inside Søstrene Grene’s Cardiff store
(Image: Søstrene Grene)

The arrival of Søstrene Grene is a rare piece of good news for Swansea’s city centre retail scene at a difficult time. The nearby Marks & Spencer store on Oxford Street is due to close later this year, prompting criticism from local politicians and shoppers who fear the loss of one of the high street’s last remaining anchor tenants. The M&S closure sparked calls for action on both sides of the political debate, with Swansea’s MP Torsten Bell demanding staff support and a replacement store for the city.

As Swansea Bay News has previously reported on the future of retail in the city, the question of what kind of brands and businesses can genuinely make the city centre thrive again is one of the biggest conversations Swansea is having with itself right now — and opinions differ sharply.

Against that backdrop, the Søstrene Grene announcement adds to a run of positive retail news in recent months. Greggs, Skechers and Boyes have all opened in the city, alongside Holland & Barrett’s new flagship in the Quadrant and Rituals opening nearby. The former Debenhams building is also being transformed as part of a major revamp of that part of the city centre.

The Castle Quays building itself is at the centre of wider change beyond just its ground floor retail units. St Mary’s Square Developments has submitted a planning application to add ten new flats to the upper floor of the building, as part of the broader push to bring more residents back into the heart of the city — a long-standing goal for planners and business groups who argue that a growing city centre population is essential to making the retail and hospitality offer sustainable.

It is a vision that has been gaining momentum. Across the immediate area, new residential conversions are taking shape, Castle Square is being transformed, and the Y Storfa hub is drawing people into the city centre who might previously have had little reason to visit. Søstrene Grene’s arrival on Princess Way adds another piece to that picture.

Søstrene Grene’s opening date on Princess Way is yet to be confirmed. More information about the brand is available at sostrenegrene.com.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Ten new flats planned for top of Princess Way building overlooking Castle Square
St Mary’s Square Developments — the same company bringing Søstrene Grene to Swansea — has applied to add ten apartments to the upper floor of the Castle Quays building.

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The nearby Marks & Spencer on Oxford Street is set to shut later this year, dealing a significant blow to the city centre’s retail offer.

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February 2017 #sunrise #landscape #swansea

‘I told them she was nine months pregnant and she might die’ — Swansea mum gives birth in A&E during cardiac emergency

Alanna Rooke was almost 40 weeks pregnant when she suffered a seizure at her home in Mount Pleasant, Swansea. Her husband Simon called 999 but, fearing she couldn’t wait for an ambulance, drove her straight to Morriston himself.

When she arrived at the emergency department, Alanna was found to be experiencing supraventricular tachycardia — a condition that causes the heart to beat dangerously fast. Her heart was beating at over 200 times a minute, more than twice the normal rate, while her oxygen levels had plummeted to just 80%, well below the safe threshold.

Simon described the terrifying journey to hospital. “I called 999 and probably lost my cool a little bit. I was asked if I could take her pulse but she was shaking so much I couldn’t,” he said. “I told them she was nine months pregnant and she might die. She was on the floor being sick. I was thinking ‘this can’t be happening?’”

Two midwives were urgently summoned from Neath Port Talbot Hospital to assist the ED team. It quickly became clear that Alanna was not only critically ill — she was also in labour.

Midwives Amanda Morgan and Claire Itzstein, and registrar Tom Protheroe, with Alanna, Simon and Franklyn Brooke
(Image: Swansea Bay University Health Board)

Community midwife Amanda Morgan described the moment they realised the full scale of what they were dealing with. “She was very clammy and disorientated and she was acutely unwell,” she said. “We were concerned she would arrest because the heart is under the most strain when the mother is in labour.”

Despite the extraordinary circumstances, baby Franklyn arrived safely, weighing a healthy 8lb 2oz. Community midwife manager Claire Itzstein, who helped deliver him, said it was one of the most challenging situations she had encountered in years of practice. “It was very surreal to be delivering a baby next to a defibrillator,” she said. “We were definitely out of our comfort zone.”

Alanna was treated for the SVT during and after the birth. She says she has no doubt she owes her life to the staff who cared for her. “I didn’t realise how bad I was until I was seen by the doctors,” she said. “I don’t think I would be here without them or the midwives. They were all so professional.”

Babies have not been routinely born at Morriston Hospital for more than 30 years — maternity services moved to Singleton Hospital in 1991. Since then there have been just two unexpected births at Morriston since 2014, with the last one also taking place in the ED eight years ago.

Franklyn was later transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit at Singleton Hospital, where he spent six days before being allowed home with his relieved family.

Director of Midwifery Kathryn Greaves said the birth was a testament to the teamwork between ED and maternity staff. “I will be forever grateful of how the ED staff allowed us to take over and support this wonderful family,” she said. “It made my day to be beside Claire and Amanda who were incredible.”

Alanna has said she had no history of serious heart problems before the episode. “I’d never had any issues with my heart before, apart from the odd palpitation I put down to exercise,” she said. “I blacked out in the car so I don’t remember much, but I was sick and in pain in the house, and my chest was tight.”

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Swansea’s only independent cinema to close this summer after 10 years on Castle Street

The venue — which opened in 2016 — is far more than a cinema. It has operated as a fully licensed café bar, art gallery, live music venue and community hub throughout its ten years, carving out a distinctive identity as one of the most characterful independent spaces in the city centre.

In a statement posted to social media, Redfern was candid about the reasons for the closure. “The reality of trying to run a principled, independent space in the current climate has become unsustainable — not just financially, but personally, creatively and emotionally too,” she said. “Rather than compromise what this place stands for, we are choosing to end it on our own terms. This is not a failure. This is a co.nclusion.”

In a longer personal post, she described the toll that running the space has taken over the years. “Running an independent space today means wearing every hat, holding everything together, and constantly fighting to keep something special alive,” she wrote. “And over time, that takes its toll. Not just on the business — but on the person behind it.”

Redfern acknowledged that the closure of Cinema & Co. was part of a much wider pattern affecting independent venues across the country. “You’re seeing it everywhere,” she wrote. “Independent spaces are disappearing — not because people don’t care, but because the conditions to sustain them are becoming impossible.”

Cinema & Co on Swansea’s Castle Street

The venue has never shied away from controversy. In 2021, Cinema & Co. refused to enforce the Welsh Government’s Covid pass scheme, with Redfern describing the measures as “discriminatory and unlawful.” The decision made national headlines and turned the Castle Street venue into a focal point for debate about Covid restrictions.

Swansea Council bolted the shutters after the venue defied closure orders and repeatedly reopened — including after a court order. The cinema opened on December 1, 2, 3 and 5 following a court order for it to close, and Redfern sent a letter to the council stating she would not comply with the closure notice.

Redfern was subsequently given a 28-day suspended sentence at Swansea Magistrates Court, fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £9,000 in council costs after pleading guilty to contempt of court, criminal damage and failing to comply with enforcement officers. District Judge Neale Thomas said: “Ms Redfern makes choices and she ignores the law and expects the law to treat her with special dispensation.”

The Covid controversy also drew the venue into a wider political row over its associations. Stand Up To Racism wrote an open letter — signed by more than 180 people including Lord Peter Hain, Geraint Davies MP, poet Patrick Jones and musician Helen Love — calling on Redfern to publicly distance herself from Voice of Wales, a group the letter accused of antisemitism, homophobia and links to figures including Tommy Robinson and the Proud Boys.

Voice of Wales had been a vocal supporter of Cinema & Co.’s anti-Covid pass stance, and members of the Stand Up To Racism group reported regular sightings of its members at the venue. Voice of Wales strongly denied the allegations, describing Stand Up To Racism as a far-left organisation spreading lies about them.

Redfern also rejected any connection to far-right groups. “I absolutely reject any claims that I am in any way connected to far-right groups, far-left groups or any form of racism,” she said. A crowdfunder set up by former Brexit Party and Abolish the Welsh Assembly candidate Richard Taylor raised more than £60,000 in support of the venue during the period.

Cinema & Co on Swansea’s Castle Street

The closure will leave Swansea city centre without an independent cinema. The venue’s ten years have encompassed film screenings, late-night events, community gatherings, art exhibitions, live music and the kind of relaxed café culture that larger commercial chains have rarely managed to replicate in the city.

Cinema & Co. built up a loyal following over the course of its decade on Castle Street, with its programming and atmosphere drawing a creative and community-minded crowd. Its loss will be keenly felt by many in the city who saw it as one of the few genuinely independent cultural spaces in Swansea’s city centre.

No specific closing date has been confirmed beyond “this summer.” Redfern urged those with fond memories of the venue to visit while they still can. “We have a few months left,” she said. “If Cinema & Co. has ever meant something to you — come and be part of it while you still can.”

The three images posted by Cinema & Co. to mark the announcement capture the venue’s characteristic flair — a “That’s all Folks!” graphic styled as a vintage film ending card, dated 2016–2026, alongside a message inviting regulars to be part of its final chapter before “the end credits roll.”

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Suspended sentence and £15k fine for Cinema & Co. owner
Redfern pleaded guilty to contempt of court after repeatedly defying closure orders during the Covid period.

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SWANSEA: Maritime Quarter flats evacuated after fire fills properties with smoke

Smoke filled a flats complex in Swansea as a fire prompted an evacuation of the property. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended Burrows Chambers in the Maritime Quarter of Swansea on Saturday morning.

The building was evacuated and the fire service spent just over an over at the scene bringing it under control using four hose reel jets among other specialist equipment.

It is unknown what the cause of the fire was.

A spokesman for the fire service said:

“At 7.44am on Saturday, April 11, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service crews from Swansea Central, Swansea West, Port Talbot and Morriston fire stations were called to an incident at Maritime Quarter in Swansea.

“The crews responded to a fire within a ground floor flat. Crews utilised four breathing apparatus sets, four hose reel jets and four thermal imaging cameras to extinguish the fire.

“All occupants from the building were evacuated, with smoke affecting some neighbouring flats. Crews left the scene at 8.50am.”

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has said it is “committed to delivering the best possible service for communities.”

“If you live in mid and west Wales, we offer the opportunity to have a Safe and Well Visit in your home. They are completely free and available to everyone. Visit here to see the full list of our Fire Stations and the area we cover.

“A Safe and Well Visit includes all the contents of the home fire safety checks but will also include other safety messages that may be relevant to the people living in the property.

“The five main additional topics will cover smoking cessation, home security, falls prevention, scamming awareness, and tackling loneliness and isolation.

“For more information and to book a free Safe and Well visit, please visit here or call 0800 169 1234.”

[Lead image: Mid and West Wales Fire & Rescue Service]

#fire #fireService #MaritimeQuarter #Swansea

Turtle Bay Swansea announces closure

The Caribbean food chain, which has around 45 locations across the UK, has announced it will close its doors for the last time on Thursday, 16th April – ending almost a decade of delicious cuisine, bottomless brunches, and cocktails in the city centre.

The restaurant on Castle Street opened in 2017 and was known for its jerk chicken, curry goat, rice and peas, and bottomless brunches.

While a specific reason for the Swansea site was not detailed beyond a “heartbroken” farewell to customers, the parent company, Turtle Bay Hospitality Limited, reported a pre-tax loss of £10.1m for the period ending March 2025 due to tough trading conditions.

The closure will be a surprise to many after the Swansea store, only last week, was recognised with “the best of Swansea award” at the Wales Restaurant Awards and becomes the second popular business to depart in six months, after the much-loved, city centre Portuguese restaurant Madeira shut its doors in November.

 In a message to customers, a representative of the team said:

“We are devastated, but we wanted to thank you all for your support over the years.

“Thank you for all the memories, the wild bottomless brunches, the warm Caribbean vibes, friendly conversations, bucket-loads of jerk chicken, curry goat, and rice & peas. We will miss you!”

Customers said they were shocked and saddened to learn of the closure. Commenting on the social media platform Facebook, one wrote:

“Absolutely gutted, great place for food, amazing staff too.”

Another pointed out the continued problems for businesses to last in the city centre, saying:

“Even the chains can’t make it work in Swansea, it’s very sad to see how much Swansea is struggling at the moment.”

But not all were bothered by the closure.

“I went once for breakfast…. I was not that impressed. Overpriced, cold atmosphere, and lazy staff. Didn’t fancy going back, sorry.”

[Lead image: Swansea Council]

#CastleStreet #Closure #featured #FoodAndDrink #ResterauntOfTheYear #Swansea #TurtleBay

Just added: King George VI Pillar Box in Swansea, Swansea. View it here: https://postboxmap.co.uk/r/SA1-1D #PostboxMap #UKPostboxes #Postbox #KingGeorgeVI #PillarBox #StandardRed #Swansea

Swansea City plan huge fan zone for more than 1,700 fans — with self-pour beer taps, a big screen and a bierkeller vibe

The club has lodged a pre-application planning inquiry with Swansea Council for the development, which would sit behind the South Stand on land that currently serves as little more than a service road. The reference number is 2026/0561/PRE.

And the ambition is serious. Plans drawn up by AFL Architects show a covered structure roughly 40 metres long, with rows of food and drink kiosks, a raised viewing gallery with self-pour beer taps, a stage, a large screen and bierkeller-style bench seating. Capacity at ground floor level would be around 1,166 — rising to more than 1,766 with a full upper mezzanine added above the kiosks.

The club’s own brief for the project doesn’t pull its punches about why it’s needed. It notes that 72% of fans arrive more than an hour before kick-off but currently have a poor experience — with narrow concourses, slow serving times and toilets opposite the food stands. Many supporters simply head elsewhere to spend their money before games. The new fan zone is designed to change all of that, with the brief explicitly calling for frictionless self-service technology and an Instagram “wow moment” at the entrance. Indicative visuals show a sweeping club mural running the full length of the building’s exterior.

The club wants it open for the start of the 2026/27 season.

The site behind the South Stand at the Swansea.com Stadium outlined in red, showing the constraints the architects have had to work around — including the tree-lined public path, existing lampposts and the electricity substation (Image: Swansea City FC / AFL Architects)

There are some physical constraints on what can be built. A public footpath and mature trees to the west must be kept, an operational electricity substation limits the northern end, and a steep embankment restricts the east side. The architects say all of these have been worked into the design.

A second phase is also being talked about. The area beyond the fan zone could eventually house a football museum, community event space or premium food and drink venue — giving the stadium a reason for people to visit on non-matchday days too.

It all fits with the vision Snoop Dogg laid out when he became a minority investor in the club last summer. The rapper told Swansea Bay News he wanted to make Swansea “the Vegas of Wales” over the next decade — transforming the stadium into a destination, not just a matchday venue. A fan zone of this scale, with live entertainment, big screens and a self-service bar, is exactly what that would need.

An artist’s impression of what the fan zone could look like inside — with bierkeller bench seating, a large screen, club song lyrics on the wall and an elevated gallery with self-pour beer taps (Image: Swansea City FC / AFL Architects)

The financial case for it is also pretty clear. Swansea City’s most recent accounts show the club made a £21.6 million loss last season, with owners having to pump in £21 million just to keep things running. Turnover was £22.3 million against costs of £51.3 million. Getting fans to spend more money at the ground — which the brief specifically targets — would help close that gap and reduce the owners’ reliance on writing cheques to keep the lights on.

This is a pre-application inquiry, which is the first step in the planning process rather than a full application. Swansea City Football Club has been approached for comment.

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Padel courts, zip wire and a year-round lido: Swansea’s big plans for the bay — but no answers on the slip bridge

The plans were presented to councillors at a meeting of the economy and infrastructure service transformation committee on 2 April, where a feasibility study commissioned in 2024 was laid out in full for the first time.

The study covers the foreshore corridor from West Pier at Swansea Marina all the way to the Clyne River Bridge at Blackpill — deliberately steering clear of the Civic Centre site, which is already being redeveloped by Urban Splash, and Mumbles, where a major seawall and promenade project has recently been completed.

Mumbles prom as it looks now
(Image: Swansea Council)

Steve Hopkins, the council’s strategic manager for tourism, marketing and special events, told councillors that tourism is already worth £658 million a year to Swansea’s economy and supports 5,400 jobs, with 4.62 million visitors recorded in 2024. But the study was blunt about the bay’s shortcomings. The official report identifies a “lack of vibrancy and facilities along the foreshore” and an “undefined unique selling point” compared to other UK seaside destinations, with the road dominating and facilities in poor condition in places.

Nearly 800 people were consulted as part of the study — including seafront businesses, beach users, residents and councillors — and the message was consistent: more eateries, better toilets, improved seating, barbecue spots, public art, viewing platforms, beach-related retail and easier access to the beach itself. Better and cheaper parking also came through strongly, as did a call for the Swansea Bay Rider land train service to be extended eastward past St Helens, in addition to its current westward run towards Mumbles.

Swansea Bay Land Rider Train – photo by Enjoy Swansea

The study divides the foreshore into a series of distinct zones. The promenade area closest to the Civic Centre would get separate “fast” and “slow” routes for cyclists and pedestrians, widened surfaces, new seating, tree planting, improved lighting and a new signature sculpture. The St Helens activity zone — which will see the Ospreys return to St Helens Stadium — would get improved public realm to make the matchday and events experience better for spectators, with pop-up food stalls and a large screen among the ideas. The ecology area near the foot golf site would become a nature education centre, using the existing building, with better interpretation and footpaths allowing visitors to explore SSSI habitats closer to the shore.

The centrepiece of the near-term ambitions is Blackpill. The study proposes significantly expanding the lido and surrounding area, with a relocated zip line and crazy golf from Singleton Park, a new flexible events space with a tensile structure for all-year use, a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Clyne River, formalised beach access points, planting to improve the road frontage and food and drink including a beach bar. The aim is to make the lido somewhere people visit in January as well as July.

Blackpill Lido
(Image: Swansea Council)

Padel courts are also specifically proposed near the Singleton Park boating lake, alongside upgraded kiosks, terraced banks and improved planting. Hopkins acknowledged the sport’s rapid spread — “dare I say it, padel courts, they don’t seem to be going away,” he told the committee — but said the foreshore offered a great backdrop for the right facility in the right place. Beach sports zones and designated family areas are also in the mix.

Tracey McNulty, head of cultural services, parks and cleansing, was clear that the plans were early-stage. “At this moment the proposals are very much about improving things gently rather than building new things,” she told the committee. The study is not yet an adopted strategy and no funding has been secured. The next step, officers say, is to develop the proposals into worked-up schemes ready to bid for capital funding when opportunities arise — whether through Welsh Government regeneration grants, tourism funding, active travel budgets or partnership with organisations including Swansea University and the Welsh Wildlife Trusts.

Committee chair Cllr Phil Downing welcomed the report but asked whether new commercial activity along the foreshore could drain footfall from the city centre — a concern officers said they had factored in, with the aim being to attract new visitors rather than displace existing spending. Cllr Mike White called the bay “absolutely tremendous” and asked about beach volleyball, log cabin lookout points and whether boats could return to the boating lake, citing busy volleyball events he had seen in Bournemouth as an example of what the space could host.

The slip bridge at it’s current resting place on Swansea promenade

One question councillors couldn’t get a straight answer on was the future of the slip bridge. Cllr White raised it directly, but Tracey McNulty told the committee it hadn’t been included in the study, describing it as “a live topic, an issue structurally with highways” and adding that she wasn’t party to that discussion. The slip bridge — a much-loved Victorian iron footbridge that once connected the promenade to the foreshore near St Helens — remains dismantled, with its arch currently sitting on the cycle path near St Helens and the original stone abutments standing unused along Oystermouth Road. Swansea Council has allocated £139,000 to assist the Friends of Swansea Slip Bridge, and campaigners are pushing for a replica built from modern steel after the original 1915 span was deemed beyond repair. But its future remained unresolved at the meeting — and absent from the official report entirely.

Cllr Downing closed the meeting on a lighter note, suggesting saunas could be added to the foreshore offer for winter visitors.

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