New wine bar: a big boost for popular suburb or the start of a slippery slope?
THERE’S just one pub in the centre of Sketty in the west of Swansea. There used to be two but the other one, The Bush, closed down several years ago.
It has award-winning restaurants, cafés, takeaways and a decent crop of independent businesses to serve its very well populated local area.
But down the road, just walking distance really, is Uplands, which, unlike Sketty, has a vibrant and busy nightlife. In fact, there have been fears that Uplands could end up as the new Wind Street, such is its meteoric rise to becoming the main alternative to a night out in the city centre.
Sketty, meanwhile, has remained Sketty, despite its proximity to Uplands.
That, however, could be about to change.
A new wine bar is set to fill an empty retail unit on Gower Road in the coming weeks. One wine bar does not an Uplands make, let alone a Wind Street, but if it’s popular and pulls in a new night-time audience, there is always the chance someone else will have the same idea.
Some Sketty residents are excited about what’s to come and hope to see more ‘evening locations’ opening in the near future.
But others fear a new bar will take away from Sketty’s charm and could be the first step in turning the beloved community-driven neighbourhood into Swansea’s newest nightlife attraction.
Sketty is a thriving community and has been a popular place for older people and families with children to settle down and make home for several years, boasting as it does some of Swansea’s most successful secondary schools results-wise, and plenty of local facilities, including Singleton Park, the Wales National Pool, Singleton Hospital, and Gower College Swansea, among others.
To support them, there’s a variety of local businesses and eateries in the centre of the suburb, everything from traditional hardware shops to bakeries, pet groomers and clothes shops.
However, as mentioned, the main shopping area in Sketty currently has just the one pub, The Vivian. Its neighbouring watering hole, The Bush Inn, closed a decade ago and was soon converted into a retail shop offering hearing care services.
With this in mind, some local residents think Sketty has been lacking atmosphere on an evening for quite some time – but might it soon begin to sparkle a little brighter of an evening?
Back in July we reported that Swansea Council had received an application from local business owners asking for permission to convert a retail unit at 47 Gower Road into a wine bar.
The application proposed that the new venue would accommodate up to 57 guests and would typically be open from 11am to midnight, seven days a week.
The unit had previously been occupied by a sporting equipment store and a home interior outlet but had been empty for several months.
The proposed wine bar, aptly named 47 Bar and Lounge, was approved by Swansea Council and construction workers have been busy remodelling the empty unit and turning it into a “warm and friendly mod
We’ve noticed more places in Sketty are opening, like the new vintage shop Kismet down the road. It’s lovely to see more money is being put into Sketty. The more people that come, the better for us Tom Tyrrell-howell
ern bar and lounge” for several weeks.
Many local business owners are optimistic about how the new wine bar could bring more custom to the area.
Staff member at popular Sketty coffee shop Dilly’s Kitchen in Dillwyn Road, Tom Tyrrell-howell, was pleased the new wine bar was opening in Gower Road and expected it to bring greater footfall to the street.
“We’re really excited for the new wine bar to open,” he said. “We heard [earlier this year] there was a petition going up against the bar and people were upset about it. We were surprised to hear that.
“We’ve noticed more places in Sketty are opening, like the new vintage shop Kismet down the road. It’s lovely to see more money is being put into Sketty. The more people that come, the better for us.”
After the planning application was submitted to Swansea Council earlier this year, some Sketty residents expressed their concerns that it would turn Gower Road into a drinking hotspot – and one objector complained about the “appearance of vomit in the area”.
But Tom, 35, didn’t think this would happen as people in Sketty were responsible. He said: “Whenever there’s an event in Singleton Park, everyone walks through Sketty. And some of them have been drinking, but there’s never a problem. They are all quite sensible here.” “We’ve always said Sketty could do with a bar.” For Martha Llewellyn and Ant Coombes, staff members of social enterprise café The Square Peg on Gower Road, the new wine bar fills a gap in Sketty for an evening venue that’s a bit different to a pub. Martha, 26, said: “We think it’s positive for Sketty. Any independent business that’s new to Swansea – or Sketty – is incredible.
“We need to support local businesses to support our economy. We’ve always said Sketty could do with a bar. We know that a lot of our customers would appreciate a bar in this area.”
The Square Peg launched six years ago as a community interest company and not-for-profit coffee shop and was set up “as a means to give back to community in profits, quality and love,” staff say.
It ploughs its profits into local charities and has fast become one of Sketty’s most popular businesses, also helped by its great location on Gower Road.
When asked if Sketty could become
the next Uplands, Martha said: “I think lots of people are noticing [Sketty]. More people are buying properties here, we’re right next to the park, not far from the town and Gower.
“I think it’s better if you keep bars in Uplands and keep Sketty as a day place.”
For Antonio Carra, owner of Kristy’s Bakery in Eversley Road, one of the best things about Sketty is its welcoming community – and that it’s different from its neighbour Uplands.
People from across Swansea and beyond visited Kristy’s, Antonio said, with many loading up their cars with sweet treats before driving to visit their family or friends elsewhere in the UK.
With such a focus on family-run businesses and small independent businesses serving the community, Antonio didn’t think Sketty could ever become ‘the new Uplands’.
He would prefer that bars and evening entertainment venues stuck to Uplands instead of branching out to Sketty.
He said: “I don’t think Sketty will be like Uplands for the simple reason there are more houses here. “I think it’s better if you keep bars down there in Uplands and keep Sketty as a daytime place. There’s no need to make this area like Uplands.” He added: “It’s only a short five-minute walk to Uplands. There’s quite a lot of drinking places in Swansea already, SA1, SA2, the city centre.” Antonio would like to see Sketty brightened up, especially Eversley
Road where his business is based, as he feels this would put Sketty on the map as a quality shopping destination.
He said: “It would be nice if they, the council, could smarten up Sketty a bit. They promised in the summer they’d put more flowers out.”
But Antonio’s colleague, Teresa Stare, believes a wider range of shops and businesses would draw more people to Sketty.
She said: “We need a variety of businesses in Sketty, we need businesses to bounce off each other. At the moment on Eversley Road there’s us, beauticians and charity shops.”
Staff at The Pettifor Trust Shop, a charity shop in Eversley Road, are excited for the new wine bar to open and hope it encourages more business owners to invest in Sketty.
Manager Natasha Davies said: “We think it’s amazing [to have a new bar opening]. If we want a drink after work, we’ve only got the Vivian and we want to have more choice.
“Uplands is too busy and too rough, it’s for a younger crowd, it’s become so popular, it’s overcrowded, like being in town. I think a wine bar is more sophisticated than a normal pub.”
Plus, the wine bar would bring more customers to Sketty who might visit other shops, salons and businesses too, she said.
Natasha said: “We used to have a pet shop in Sketty, people would come to the pet shop then go to the other shops around. But when it closed, some people stopped coming to Sketty.
“As old shops close, Sketty gets quieter and quieter. A wine bar would encourage people to open more places in Sketty.”
Another business owner who believes the wine bar will have a positive effect on Sketty is Mo Aziz, owner of Trimology Barbers.
He said: “We’ve been here nearly two years, since January 10, 2020. We picked Sketty because it’s a good area, people are nice and friendly and there’s lots of schools.”
Asked what he thought of the new wine bar opening, Mo said: “I think it’s a good idea for Sketty to move forwards like Uplands, I’m 100% for it.
“One bar won’t harm Sketty. I think Sketty people are mature enough not to get drunk. I don’t think there would be drunk people out on the streets [after visiting the bar].
“It won’t be like that, it will be nice to have something new for the area.
“It’s wonderful to be able to see a great deal of opportunity and enthusiasm for the future for Sketty.”
Councillor Mike Day has represented Sketty ward for more than 20 years.
It had always been a thriving residential district, he said, but was set to develop further in the coming months and years.
Cllr Day said: “Sketty Ward is quite a large ward. It runs from the seafront all the way through Sketty and Brynmill, the university campus, up to Tycoch.
“It’s a diverse area, an important area, with the university, Gower College, Singleton Hospital, two of the largest comprehensive schools and two vibrant primary schools.
“Sketty is traditionally a very vibrant area. Over the years the shops have moved away from produce to community services.
“During Covid there was a great deal of support for the vulnerable and elderly in the community, and the Adventist Church have a lot of community interest as well, with events and exercise classes.
“I’m grateful for the council’s support to revitalise the area. Local business owners have asked for improvements to shop frontages and to the appearance of the area and we’ve brought back the market at St Paul’s Church parish centre. It’s an indoor market on the first Saturday of every month. We’re also looking at having a Christmas market.
“Sketty is a vibrant district and shopping centre. It’s wonderful to be able to see a great deal of opportunity and enthusiasm for the future for Sketty.”
We think it’s positive for Sketty. Any independent business that’s new to Swansea - or Sketty - is incredible. We need to support local businesses to support our economy. We’ve always said Sketty could do with a bar. We know that a lot of our customers would appreciate a bar in this area Martha Llewellyn