Quality of Life

A Cosmopolitan City

Swansea is a city with first-class amenities adjacent to an area of unspoilt countryside and scenic beauty. During the last 20 years, Swansea has experienced dramatic growth that has been generated by a structured investment programme, enhancing the city and its surrounds. This self-contained city with a population of over 225,000 also welcomes 3.2 million visitors a year, and is easily accessible by road or rail.

The city is a regional centre with a wide catchment area, covering the whole of South West Wales.

Major retail stores sit alongside smaller specialist shops, whist the Quadrant Shopping Centre, a large and bustling covered facility that has undergone extensive refurbishment, is one of the focal points of the city centre.

An award winning waterfront development, The Swansea Marina, links the city's maritime and industrial past with its new and thriving cosmopolitan image.  In the heart of this waterfront area is one of the UK's first and most ambitious barrage schemes which has created a superb environment for residents and visitors to enjoy.  In addition, the £200 million SA1 Swansea Waterfront scheme currently underway is a mixed use business, leisure and residential development in a prime waterfront location that is transforming Swansea's East docklands.

Natural Beauty

The environment in the city and its surrounds is unique.  Swansea is home to some of the finest gardens and parklands in Wales.  One of the most magnificent is Clyne Gardens which, opened in 1953, is famous for its collection of azaleas and rhododendrons, that have been gathered from all four corners of the globe.

Close to the city and within Swansea's county boundary is Gower, a 19 mile peninsula with some of the best sandy beaches and scenic countryside in the UK.  In 2006, Gower celebrates it's 50th anniversary as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first in the UK to be so designated.

Housing

Swansea has a full range of housing and house prices are very competitive when compared with other areas.  For housing developers, there is a range of opportunities, too.

In the heart of Swansea Vale, Tregof Village comprises 40 acres of prime residential land and is accessed directly off the "Spine Road" which links the main A4067 with Junction 45 of the M4 motorway.

Wimpey Homes has developed the first two phases of housing at Tregof Village.  The development places emphasis on high quality individuality and a range of house types in an attractive green setting.

Further housing development phases are proposed in Swansea Vale, along with a range of local shops and community facilities.

City Art and Culture

Swansea is rich in art and culture.  It caters for all tastes and offers entertainment for all ages; classical concerts, festivals, cultural and literary celebrations and open-air performances.

Many of the established facilities such as Swansea Museum and the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery were developed during the affluent Victorian period and have been maintained and regularly refurbished, providing excellent venues for many of Britain's top touring exhibitions.

The new £30.8 million National Waterfront Museum, which opened in October 2005 in Swansea's Maritime Quarter, tells the story of Wales' industrial and maritime heritage.   It uses extensive interactive computer technology to bring Welsh economic and social history to a 21st Century audience.  The Museum is a flagship development for National Museums and Galleries of Wales, acting as a 'gateway' to its other industrial heritage sites across Wales.

The Brangwyn Hall, situated to the west of the city centre, plays hosts to many of the world's finest musicians and orchestras.  The concert hall which seats 1200 is named after the artist Sir Frank Brangwyn who painted the celebrated British Empire Panels, intended for the House of Lords, but which now hang in the Brangwyn Hall.

The Grand Theatre offers a full and varied programme of national artists and shows throughout the year including opera, comedy, drama and musicals.

The Egypt Centre, situated in the Taliesin Arts Centre on the University Campus, is an absorbing insight into ancient Egyptian life. This exciting collection of Egyptian antiquities is part of the Sir Henry Wellcome collection.

Education

In addition to the excellent choice and facilities offered to the 5 - 16 year age group, there is high quality provision for early learning and a wide-ranging choice of further education.

The University of Wales Swansea, with nearly 12,800 students, has recognised international excellence in its Schools of Engineering and Physical Sciences as well as in Social Work, Celtic Studies and Dutch & Scandinavian and Iberian & Latin American languages.   Over 70% of its departments were rated as 4 or above in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, signifying research of national excellence or higher.

The university hosts the Digital Technium, which nurtures young technology businesses in the field of digital technology.  Technium is a Wales-wide business incubation network to help develop new spin-out businesses from Welsh academia and to attract high value R&D inward investment projects.

A £50 million investment is also underway at the university to establish a new Institute of Life Sciences, which will be a research base for the School of Medicine and one of the world's premier scientific and computing facilities.  It will house IBM's European Deep Computing Visualisation Centre for Medical Applications that will include a new IBM supercomputer named Blue C, one of the fastest computers in the world dedicated to life science research.

Swansea Institute of Higher Education is Swansea's other HE college, with over 5,000 students enrolled.  The Institute has three Faculties in Applied Design & Engineering, Art & Design and Humanities.

Further Education is provided by Swansea College and Gorseinon College.  Swansea College provides an extensive range of vocational and business courses from its Business College, including an IT training centre located close to Swansea Vale. 

Sport and Leisure

Sporting enthusiasts are very well catered for in Swansea.

The 20,000 seater Liberty Stadium opened in July 2005 and provides an exciting and modern location for Swansea City Football Club and the Ospreys regional rugby team.

The Wales National Pool opened in 2003. This superb £9m facility comprises a 50-metre, eight lane competition pool, a 25-metre four lane warm-up/training pool and all related ancillary accommodation.  It is the major Welsh venue for National and International swimming events, plus it is anticipated that the facility will be used as a training camp for the 2012 Olympic Games.

With four Activa fitness centres and an indoor tennis centre, there is plenty of variety for all to enjoy.

Swansea also boasts some of the UK's best kept golfing secrets - fine courses combine stunning scenic views with some memorable golf.

Three of the many popular activities in Swansea are walking, sailing and surfing.  With one of the most beautiful and unspoilt areas of Britain on the doorstep, the walking is spectacular.  At the same time, Swansea has a strong surfing and windsurfing heritage, and there are some of the most challenging conditions you'll find in the UK.