Have your say on £100m city revamp plans
PLANS for the highly-anticipated first phase of the Swansea Central revamp are to be revealed today. They will show how the proposed 3,500-capacity digital indoor arena, parkland, plaza, broad pedestrian bridge, homes and retail premises could look.
The £100m plan will transform the areas on both sides of Oystermouth Road, between Swansea Marina and the Quadrant.
The proposals will be available for public viewing at www.swanseacentralinfo from today, with the option to submit feedback.
A further public exhibition will be held on Friday in St David’s Church Hall, St David’s Place, Swansea.
Council leader Rob Stewart has encouraged residents and local businneses to attend the event, as the council team will review and take into account public opinion before submitting a planning application later this year.
This will be the final consultation, as enabling work is due to start in August, with full construction expected to begin in the new year.
Mr Stewart said: “The plans look incredible and I’m confident that local residents and businesses will be inspired by them.
“I urge them to attend Friday’s exhibition and let us have their thoughts.
“We want to push ahead with the arena complex as soon as possible because we want Swansea to become a major destination for tours, acts, conferences and events that will boost our city centre economy and create local jobs.
“Swansea Central Phase One is just one part of our vision to bring more people into the city centre – to enjoy their leisure time there, to shop, to set up home and to go to work.”
The state-of-the-art arena will be managed by The Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), a global leader in live entertainment. It is due to be part-funded, subject to the approval of a business case, by the £1.3 billion Swansea Bay City Deal, an investment in 11 major projects across South West Wales being funded by the UK Government, the Welsh Government, the public sector and the private sector.
Swansea Central Phase One will bring a total of more than 20,000sq m of public space to the city.
This includes the new parkland – with parking underneath. It will be inspired by Swansea’s coastal landscape and will be the first new park in the city since Victorian times.
It will be bigger than a full-size football pitch and will help connect the city to its stunning coast and bay. School children are being asked what play facilities they would like there.
Work has started in the LC car park to assess the former railway wall behind the earth bank which stretches the length of the car park. This investigation will help inform the design of the arena and its immediate vicinity.
Early construction work for Swansea Central Phase One would include changes to Wellington Street, between Tesco and the Quadrant car park, including an improved road access to the supermarket.
Rivington Land, app-ointed by Swansea council, is development manager for the scheme.
Director Spencer Winter said: “It has been great to see public enthusiasm in Swansea so far for the emerging plans and we hope this will continue at the latest public exhibition. We look forward to receiving further feedback to inform the final stage of design.”