Our vision for Swansea city centre

The council - by working closely with Swansea BID (Business Improvement District) and the private sector - wants the city centre to be as successful as possible.

We want more people living, working and enjoying themselves there. This will then help create the footfall and spending our city centre businesses need to thrive, helping to protect jobs for local people and attract more jobs and investment in the coming years. This is needed to help address challenges like online shopping, which are also being faced by most other towns and cities across the UK.

How are we going about achieving this?

A £1bn regeneration programme is now well under way, with completed schemes including Swansea Arena and the coastal park at the heart of the city's new £135m Copr Bay district.

They follow on from major environmental improvements to boost the look and feel of both Wind Street and The Kingsway - including more greenery - to benefit our businesses, local people, and visitors to the city.

Construction of a new office development for 600 workers at the former Oceana nightclub site is also progressing at pace, along with work to revamp the Palace Theatre building.

A new-look Castle Square Gardens is being planned too, and renowned regeneration specialists Urban Splash are on board to transform a number of key sites. These include the Swansea Central North site in the area of the former St David's Shopping Centre and the Civic Centre site on the waterfront.

Is the plan working so far?

Yes. Figures show Swansea Arena has attracted over a quarter of a million visits since it first opened in March 2022, helping generate more trade in the city centre.

The private sector has also responded warmly to all the ongoing regeneration in the city centre. This is leading to unprecedented investment.

Examples include Hacer Developments, who are leading on the construction of an innovative 'biophilic building' development at Picton Yard, and Kartay Investments, who have recently invested in a number of units on Oxford Street and elsewhere in the city centre. Private sector investment is also transforming the historic Albert Hall building on Craddock Street.

The council continues to encourage more affordable homes in the city centre too, with examples including Kingsway Circle and the new apartments at the Copr Bay district.

This has combined to mean Swansea's economy is forecast to grow faster than any other Welsh city, and we're rated as one of the UK's top ten places to invest.

Why your city centre is important

It's a key driver of the local and regional economies
The hundreds of city centre businesses employ thousands of local people, providing livelihoods, jobs and careers. They support the areas and communities in which their families live.
Visiting and spending time and money in the city centre's shops and other businesses helps protect jobs and create more employment opportunities for local people.
These businesses are open for most days of the year and offer a warm welcome, local expertise and 1-2-1 human contact.
Local people work in our city centre shops and are much more sociable than online shopping.
It has the region's largest, most diverse, and most vibrant business landscape made up of hundreds of businesses.
They range from small independent shops to large national stores, locally run cafes and bars, big restaurants, leisure and activity providers, cinemas, and essential and professional services.
The city centre has one of the UK's best indoor markets, with dozens of stalls run by local people. Offers range from bakery and confectionary to jewellery and cosmetics, and from cards and gifts to fruit and veg - plus the amazing cockle stalls.
Analysis by Swansea BID (Business Improvement District) shows that the city centre has more than 160 hospitality businesses, 211 retailers, 27 entertainment venues and 71 professional services providers.
Analysis also shows that by August 2023, 100 new businesses had opened in the city centre since the pandemic.
The private sector is working hard to fill empty units.
Working with the businesses, the council, Swansea BID and others work every day to protect the city centre economy and boost its vibrancy, including the valuable jobs it provides.
Please be thoughtful and considerate to those people, businesses and your local economy. Think carefully before negatively commenting on your city centre as not only does this hamper the trade of existing businesses, but it also hinders the processes of attracting shops, businesses and investment.

Your city centre is evolving to reflect current and future trends

Everywhere around the UK has empty units. It's part of modern city centres, and Swansea isn't alone. We live in changing and economically challenging times.
These days, many people shop online some or most of the time.
To address these UK-wide changes and to meet the public's ever-changing needs and preferences, existing businesses, city centre leaders and those with an entrepreneurial streak are constantly evolving their offers.
Nobody wants empty units in our city centre. Although the council isn't responsible for buildings it doesn't own, we do all we can to create an environment that's attractive for businesses.

There are some things out of the council's control

The council doesn't set business rates and property rents - they're set by the Welsh Government and property owners, respectively.
But as well as the major projects we've either delivered or will soon deliver, we've also:
- helped city centre property owners access crucial funding to improve the look of their retail units and convert upper floors into homes
- invested in Swansea Market to help it maintain its status as a beating heart of the city centre
- hosted and supported a range of city centre events, such as the annual Christmas parade
- worked with Swansea BID and a range of partners to help the city centre fly the Purple Flag for nine consecutive years
- created far better links between the city centre and Swansea's world-class waterfront thanks to the Copr Bay bridge
- continued to run fantastic cultural venues such as Swansea Museum, the Dylan Thomas Centre, the Grand Theatre and the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery
- set parking fees in most city centre car parks at an all-day maximum of £5 - with hourly rates starting at just £1.
- continued to work with Swansea BID to run a team of city centre rangers who are there to help shoppers and businesses
- continued to offer all homeless people a bed in a safe place to sleep

A range of organisations work together to ensure that people feel safe in the city centre

Most of the UK's town and city centres suffer some anti-social behaviour, so Swansea is not alone.
Here, the council continues to work with Swansea BID, South Wales Police, other agencies and businesses to make the city centre a safe place to visit. The city is flying the Purple Flag, signifying a safe night-time economy, for the ninth consecutive year.
A team of city centre rangers is there to liaise directly with the police to help shoppers and businesses make the most of the area's shopping and leisure opportunities.
This year a multi-agency initiative to target anti-social behaviour, substance misuse and criminality in the area and a new recording and intelligence platform is being trialled by the police and BID. This intends to improve communication and information sharing between businesses and police officers, improving officers' ability to identify specific locations and individuals.
If you do witness anti-social behaviour, please report it to the police - they can help.

Parking in Swansea city centre's council-run car parks is now very economical

We think the #Parking12345 offer is very good value indeed.
It means that, for most council-run car parks in the city centre, you'll pay no more than £5 for a full day - and only £1 an hour for up to five hours. More here: New cheaper tariffs in city centre car parks in Swansea
Hundreds of parking spaces are within a few minutes of your city centre's shops and attractions.

City centre car parks City centre car parks

Parking fees and offers Parking fees and offers

The council regularly cleans the city centre

The council doesn't drop litter - but we do all we can to clear it up. The city centre is cleansed on a daily basis, with Swansea BID providing additional cleansing and chewing gum removal services. There are also plenty of litter bins in the city centre that are emptied as regularly as possible.
We ask those who have litter in the city centre to take it home or dispose of it responsibly in one of the area's many litter bins. This goes from takeaway food cartons to discarded cigarettes and chewing gum to discarded drinks bottles. Littering is unacceptable for the environment, fellow Swansea residents and the city centre's shops and businesses working hard to provide a great service to the public.
Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) can be issued by enforcement staff and Police Community Support Officers for dropping litter. The penalty for dropping litter is £100, payable within 14 days. If the penalty is paid within seven days, it is reduced to £75.
If you're aware of litter, please report it to us and our cleansing teams will consider how best to tackle it: Bins, litter and flytipping

Plans are being made for Swansea's former Debenhams unit

We've taken very positive action by acquiring the former Debenhams store, which became vacant when that UK-wide business went into administration.
Working with Swansea BID and others, we are now searching for retail tenants and keeping the public updated. More info: Landmark shop site set for a positive future

There's plenty available at the Quadrant Shopping Centre too

The Quadrant is privately run and its 35 stores can be viewed here: https://quadrantshopping.co.uk/shops/
Since Debenhams has closed, most beauty brands from within Debenhams, relocated to the Boots Beauty Hall. The beauty brands that now exist within Boots include MAC, YSL, Chanel, Christian Dior, Rihanna's Fenty Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics, Laura Mercier, Bobbi Brown, Too Faced, Elizabeth Arden, Kat Von D, The Ordinary, Origins, Clarins, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Lancôme, and NYX, NARS minis, plus many more.
The Quadrant also hosts several free events for shoppers to enjoy throughout the year - from Dinosaur shows to crafting, storytelling and music sessions for kids. The annual Student Night also attracts thousands of students for evening of shopping and entertainment, helping to make their Swansea university experience as memorable as possible.

Work is progressing well on the northern side of Copr Bay, over the road from Swansea Arena

Our contractor is progressing with work to complete the new multi-storey car park at no cost to the council.
This includes work on the steel's paintwork coating system, although there are no concerns about the quality of the steel.
Our contractor anticipates completing this work by the end of this year, and the nearby St David's multi-storey remains open in the meantime.
We have leasing agreements with four businesses at the Copr Bay retail units following the opening of The Green Room at the coastal park last year. Leasing agreements are being finalised with other businesses for the remaining units at Copr Bay. We hope these units will be handed over to the council in the coming months so the tenants can start to move in.
All other finishing works at Copr Bay, carried out at no cost to the council, are expected to be finished soon.
Regarding our wish for a hotel to be sited between the arena and LC, discussions with a hotel developer are ongoing, and we anticipate an announcement soon.

The council is encouraging a range of people into the city centre thanks to good facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, bus and train users, and motorists

Most families still use cars to get about so we must consider that.
We're also doing all we can to encourage people to use more sustainable ways of getting about.
- There are excellent cycle routes into and out of the city centre, shared paths around city centre streets, and plenty of places for cyclists to secure their bikes: Cycling
- Bus routes head into the city centre, servicing all parts of the City and County - and we've run regular promotions offering free bus travel over recent years.
- The city centre is serviced by two popular low-cost park and ride sites - on Fabian Way and in Landore near the Swansea.com stadium.
- Many city centre areas are car-free to allow pedestrians a safe experience as they go from shop to shop.

There are plenty of dog-friendly businesses in the city centre

There are many places where you can take your four-legged friends! These include the Quadrant, Swansea Market, Zara, Tiger, Zinco Lounge, and Founders & Co.