| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 20:43 - Mar 14 with 3681 views | Gowerjack |
Me as well.
Terrible to see the effect of decades of fecking awful planning decisions coupled with chronic under investment on our City.
It's a shithole. |  |
|  |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 20:50 - Mar 14 with 3657 views | monmouth |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 20:43 - Mar 14 by Gowerjack |
Me as well.
Terrible to see the effect of decades of fecking awful planning decisions coupled with chronic under investment on our City.
It's a shithole. |
I don't see how it can decline much further. I'm not entirely sure what ithe centre is really for anymore. Haven't been there except for the half marathon for about 10 years now, and I'm down pretty often. Never even occurs to me. Very sad. Can't see it getting better anytime soon, and that really stings, even from this distance. |  |
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 20:53 - Mar 14 with 3644 views | jack2jack |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 20:43 - Mar 14 by Gowerjack |
Me as well.
Terrible to see the effect of decades of fecking awful planning decisions coupled with chronic under investment on our City.
It's a shithole. |
Couldn't agree more,i know its a shite pit,but i still love it.
There are a lot of people who have been in charge of decision making over the years,who have had no attachment to the city,basically mercenaries,who come here for the money,feck it up and then move on to higher positions elsewhere. |  | | |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 21:04 - Mar 14 with 3626 views | LeonWasGod |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 20:50 - Mar 14 by monmouth |
I don't see how it can decline much further. I'm not entirely sure what ithe centre is really for anymore. Haven't been there except for the half marathon for about 10 years now, and I'm down pretty often. Never even occurs to me. Very sad. Can't see it getting better anytime soon, and that really stings, even from this distance. |
It's an excellent test centre for traffic lights and probably contributes a major chunk of traffic planning consultants' income for all the re-modelling they've done.
Shopping's ok for essentials I suppose. But more often than not the stuff we need is out in the various enterprise parks, Fforest Fach or Llansamlet. (There's a hint here as to why the Coty Centre is dying if anyone from the council is reading - it's not rocket science).
But for and major shopping trips it has to be Cardiff. It's a no brainer. Camarthen is ok but parking & traffic a 'mare for such a small place.
It is a sh*thole, only saved because of Swansea Bay (soon to have the view spoilt, possibly, by the lagoon). |  | | |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 21:08 - Mar 14 with 3616 views | Dr_Winston |
Years of encouraging out of town developments whilst simultaneously making it harder and harder to take your car into town has killed the retail trade in the CBD for the most part. The ever increasing dominance of eCommerce makes recovering that even harder.
The city lacks top class attractions. They're going about things the right way with talk of an aquarium and an arena, but they need more joined up thinking. An arena with decent surrounding parking or shit hot public transport links to both High St and the Quadrant bus station could do well. We'll probably end up with neither. |  |
| Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair, or f*cking beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man... and give some back. |
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 21:20 - Mar 14 with 3586 views | Private_Partz |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 21:04 - Mar 14 by LeonWasGod |
It's an excellent test centre for traffic lights and probably contributes a major chunk of traffic planning consultants' income for all the re-modelling they've done.
Shopping's ok for essentials I suppose. But more often than not the stuff we need is out in the various enterprise parks, Fforest Fach or Llansamlet. (There's a hint here as to why the Coty Centre is dying if anyone from the council is reading - it's not rocket science).
But for and major shopping trips it has to be Cardiff. It's a no brainer. Camarthen is ok but parking & traffic a 'mare for such a small place.
It is a sh*thole, only saved because of Swansea Bay (soon to have the view spoilt, possibly, by the lagoon). |
Well the SWEP web site is still up and running at the moment. I wonder if WOL will give our artists impressions the same coverage. That's all it is for me. Artists impressions. It still seems a bit piecemeal for me. We are still aiming for too large a City Centre. The distance from High Street station to the new auditorium is massive. There needs to be massive footfall to cover businesses between these two areas. Old buildings such as the Albert Hall, Plalace and Elysium will still be left to rot as we build characterless structures. If it ever comes about I have doubts it will work.
As for the Lagoon well I don't think it will happen. Even if it does, don't worry as it will not be noticeable from Swansea Bay West of the docks which is the main viewpoint for the sea. |  |
| You have mission in life to hold out your hand,
To help the other guy out,
Help your fellow man.
Stan Ridgway
|
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 21:24 - Mar 14 with 3576 views | jack2jack |
All valid points there Leon and Dr W,whilst other center's have seen what's happening and tried to adapt,Swansea has been sinking into the mire,bad decisions by people who have seen it coming,but more interested in their own little agendas have pretty much done for the place.The talk of a £500 million revamp,pie in the sky imo.Its going to take decades before this new vision comes to fruition if at all.We have it all a beautiful bay,Gower etc etc,and for what, jeez they can't even get the road system right,how long have they been piss in around with that,and the disruption that has caused,some of the worst conjestion in the country no wonder people have turned their backs on us.Boarded up shops, beggers on the streets, we've turned into a second rate city,with no end in sight,unless someone gets their act together and soon | | | |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 21:50 - Mar 14 with 3520 views | morningstar |
The old St Davids centre was a very forward thinking idea of a futuristic shopping centre that could have made Swansea the envy of the Western world at the time. Who could possibly have thought of a two storey complex consisting of a ground floor bingo hall with a market of bong shops on top with a cafe in the corner that served burned omelettes and roast dinners of canned veg and pork roll with stuffing in the middle! We were just so far ahead of our time in those days. [Post edited 14 Mar 2017 21:50]
|  |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 21:58 - Mar 14 with 3483 views | jack2jack |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 21:50 - Mar 14 by morningstar |
The old St Davids centre was a very forward thinking idea of a futuristic shopping centre that could have made Swansea the envy of the Western world at the time. Who could possibly have thought of a two storey complex consisting of a ground floor bingo hall with a market of bong shops on top with a cafe in the corner that served burned omelettes and roast dinners of canned veg and pork roll with stuffing in the middle! We were just so far ahead of our time in those days. [Post edited 14 Mar 2017 21:50]
|
Yet another classic case of pss poor planning,you see if only we had all these ologies and years of university education we could come up with shite like this,and there's more to come! | | | |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 22:03 - Mar 14 with 3471 views | Gowerjack |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 21:50 - Mar 14 by morningstar |
The old St Davids centre was a very forward thinking idea of a futuristic shopping centre that could have made Swansea the envy of the Western world at the time. Who could possibly have thought of a two storey complex consisting of a ground floor bingo hall with a market of bong shops on top with a cafe in the corner that served burned omelettes and roast dinners of canned veg and pork roll with stuffing in the middle! We were just so far ahead of our time in those days. [Post edited 14 Mar 2017 21:50]
|
Smoking and lifestyle accessories
Happy Days! | |
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 22:04 - Mar 14 with 3465 views | Private_Partz |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 21:50 - Mar 14 by morningstar |
The old St Davids centre was a very forward thinking idea of a futuristic shopping centre that could have made Swansea the envy of the Western world at the time. Who could possibly have thought of a two storey complex consisting of a ground floor bingo hall with a market of bong shops on top with a cafe in the corner that served burned omelettes and roast dinners of canned veg and pork roll with stuffing in the middle! We were just so far ahead of our time in those days. [Post edited 14 Mar 2017 21:50]
|
Done on the cheap. They should have expanded the then successful Quadrant into the area. St Davids actually attracted quite a few units. Trouble was the Quadrant offered a superior enclosed environment.
I was against it at the time but Castle Quays might have been the answer. A huge undercover shopping area with the opportunity to build leisure facilities around it. | |
| You have mission in life to hold out your hand,
To help the other guy out,
Help your fellow man.
Stan Ridgway
|
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 22:26 - Mar 14 with 3417 views | pikeypaul |
Its full of charity shops,pound shops,and bookies catering for pensioners to place their £2 on the Irish lottery.
Low paid jobs for till monkeys. |  |
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 22:31 - Mar 14 with 3410 views | SPboy |
Yes there has been a lack of investment. Yes the planning has been poor. Yes it is an embarrassing hole that I would be ashamed to take visitors to from outside the area.
The bottom line is the people of Swansea no longer have the well paid jobs of its heyday like back in the seventies when the Quadrant was built. All of the big industrial employers have left the area - the likes of BP, Fords, ALCOA, Velindre steelworks, ABP, AWCO, etc - these well paid jobs replaced by minimum wage call centre type industries. One has to wonder how long it will it take before our MPs, AMs, Council actually do something to attract some major employers to venture west of Cardiff?
I am afraid that the decline will continue until there is sufficient footfall to help businesses thrive. For footfall you need people willing to spend money. Pound & charity shops will not attract anyone to the town centre, in fact it has the opposite effect. Building student flats & Housing Association properties in the city centre will do a little but there has to be a strategy to bring some big employers to the area. |  | | |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 22:34 - Mar 14 with 3388 views | Kerouac |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 22:31 - Mar 14 by SPboy |
Yes there has been a lack of investment. Yes the planning has been poor. Yes it is an embarrassing hole that I would be ashamed to take visitors to from outside the area.
The bottom line is the people of Swansea no longer have the well paid jobs of its heyday like back in the seventies when the Quadrant was built. All of the big industrial employers have left the area - the likes of BP, Fords, ALCOA, Velindre steelworks, ABP, AWCO, etc - these well paid jobs replaced by minimum wage call centre type industries. One has to wonder how long it will it take before our MPs, AMs, Council actually do something to attract some major employers to venture west of Cardiff?
I am afraid that the decline will continue until there is sufficient footfall to help businesses thrive. For footfall you need people willing to spend money. Pound & charity shops will not attract anyone to the town centre, in fact it has the opposite effect. Building student flats & Housing Association properties in the city centre will do a little but there has to be a strategy to bring some big employers to the area. |
You are on the money here. |  |
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 22:39 - Mar 14 with 3372 views | morningstar |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 22:04 - Mar 14 by Private_Partz |
Done on the cheap. They should have expanded the then successful Quadrant into the area. St Davids actually attracted quite a few units. Trouble was the Quadrant offered a superior enclosed environment.
I was against it at the time but Castle Quays might have been the answer. A huge undercover shopping area with the opportunity to build leisure facilities around it. |
Debenhams pulling out of the Quadrant won't be long unless they have a near zero rent. | |
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 23:10 - Mar 14 with 3312 views | jack2jack |
Yep agree that the social and economic problems which blight most town and cities these days do not help, but i must say that the council just take some of the blame,surely if money from local people is not available to spend,then visitors from elsewhere must be attracted to come into the city,and like has been said it's a viscous cycle,a spiral downwards,make the most of what's here,repair the roads keep streets neat and tidy,get the basics right first,nobody wants to come to a dirty city,with boarded up shops,the people who matter should be fighting tooth and nail,question is do they care enough! | | | |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 03:25 - Mar 15 with 3227 views | majorraglan |
There are lots of reasons for the decline, I think the City Centre has most certainly suffered as a result of the out of town developments, much the same way as Llanelli has. I also believe the roads in to the city are poor, Fabian Way seems to be one long road works, and coming in from Morriston and Penllergaer is no fun either, I absolutely hate what they have done to the Kingsway. Losing David Evans, a quality shop was a big blow as it drew customers in to the centre.
Car,arthrn has a lot of the shops Swansea has and access is easy, it's dual carriageway all the way. Cardiff is light years ahead of Swansea and the place er indoors would choose to do her shopping. Swansea could and should be so much better. |  | | |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 07:28 - Mar 15 with 3175 views | Private_Partz |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 22:34 - Mar 14 by Kerouac |
You are on the money here. |
Yes top post SPBoy. Exactly what I have been saying but much better put. The problem we have now is we no longer will be able to apply for EU grants to help support areas like us. Trouble was there was never the vision or the will from WAG or the LA to apply for such things in the first place. [Post edited 15 Mar 2017 9:28]
| |
| You have mission in life to hold out your hand,
To help the other guy out,
Help your fellow man.
Stan Ridgway
|
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 07:43 - Mar 15 with 3157 views | Kerouac |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 07:28 - Mar 15 by Private_Partz |
Yes top post SPBoy. Exactly what I have been saying but much better put. The problem we have now is we no longer will be able to apply for EU grants to help support areas like us. Trouble was there was never the vision or the will from WAG or the LA to apply for such things in the first place. [Post edited 15 Mar 2017 9:28]
|
Mate, we had the best funding you could possibly get from the EU.
Two problems with that;
1) The Labour administration and the way they distributed it. I believe it was on a first come first served basis providing the criteria was met (which brings me on to...)
2) The money came back to us from the EU with rules attached on how to spend it (the criteria in point 1)
Outside of the EU we can still have that level of funding but we can spend it however we see fit, all it takes is a realistic plan for the kind of economy we want to build here in Wales (and other underperforming parts of the UK) and the political will to see this plan through...
and this is what the Labour Party should be thinking about and focused on instead of who is going to serve them their coffee in London or whether there are any minorities whose feelings aren't being fully considered this week.
We need to create highly paid jobs...nobody else is going to do it for us. | |
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 08:00 - Mar 15 with 3142 views | MrSwerve |
Get the grass back on to castle gardens mun. |  |
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 08:05 - Mar 15 with 3128 views | owainglyndwr |
Worst of all people are now travelling to Cardiff to shop which will further add to the decline. |  | | |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 09:10 - Mar 15 with 3068 views | perchrockjack |
So, what ya think Lifey/247. etc
Reckon those seeing the interminable decline of a once great town are enjoying this ?
Its nothing less that staggering people from Swansea would go anywhere near Carmarthen, a village backwater on a pretty river , other than a day out for something different.
I'm sorry but I cringe when any visitors come into Swansea as they are literally nothing on any interest whatsoever .The geographical location is negated on the often wet days and it just adds to the gloom.
Its possible M@S AND Debenhams could go and that would complete the slaughter by sloth by councils over the years
MEANWHILE ,Cardiff forges ahead and is clearly an international profiles city now.
Heartbreaking | |
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 09:34 - Mar 15 with 3042 views | johnlangy |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 22:31 - Mar 14 by SPboy |
Yes there has been a lack of investment. Yes the planning has been poor. Yes it is an embarrassing hole that I would be ashamed to take visitors to from outside the area.
The bottom line is the people of Swansea no longer have the well paid jobs of its heyday like back in the seventies when the Quadrant was built. All of the big industrial employers have left the area - the likes of BP, Fords, ALCOA, Velindre steelworks, ABP, AWCO, etc - these well paid jobs replaced by minimum wage call centre type industries. One has to wonder how long it will it take before our MPs, AMs, Council actually do something to attract some major employers to venture west of Cardiff?
I am afraid that the decline will continue until there is sufficient footfall to help businesses thrive. For footfall you need people willing to spend money. Pound & charity shops will not attract anyone to the town centre, in fact it has the opposite effect. Building student flats & Housing Association properties in the city centre will do a little but there has to be a strategy to bring some big employers to the area. |
100% correct.
I asked the question in another thread recently, 'imagine the boost to the City Centre if the WAG had decided to site the Welsh HMRC in Swansea City Centre instead of you know where'. 3,500 well paid secure jobs with all those people in the centre every day spending decent money instead of the minimum wage call centre jobs we have at present.
But we know it'll never happen with these self serving, career politicians running the show. They'll follow Carwyn to the ends of the earth because it's in their financial interests to do so.
The fact the people of Swansea voted them in, which I just can't believe, means nothing to them. | | | |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 09:39 - Mar 15 with 3035 views | Private_Partz |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 07:43 - Mar 15 by Kerouac |
Mate, we had the best funding you could possibly get from the EU.
Two problems with that;
1) The Labour administration and the way they distributed it. I believe it was on a first come first served basis providing the criteria was met (which brings me on to...)
2) The money came back to us from the EU with rules attached on how to spend it (the criteria in point 1)
Outside of the EU we can still have that level of funding but we can spend it however we see fit, all it takes is a realistic plan for the kind of economy we want to build here in Wales (and other underperforming parts of the UK) and the political will to see this plan through...
and this is what the Labour Party should be thinking about and focused on instead of who is going to serve them their coffee in London or whether there are any minorities whose feelings aren't being fully considered this week.
We need to create highly paid jobs...nobody else is going to do it for us. |
I agree with large chunks of that. However Swansea cannot create highly paid jobs without WAG support. Swansea and Wales in paricular is a transport wilderness. Investment will not come without infastructure.
We used EU investment to support the SE mainly and provide community projects in the valleys.
Other countries like France and Spain used it to build motorways and therfore provide links across the continent and provide a platform for investment. There was never the will or vision in Welsh Labour for that
As for more money for Swansea and the rest of Wales when we leave the EU well I can't see that. 60bn already earmarked to support the deficit it will cause and we already have an austerity budget to build a 'war chest'. I can't see milk and honey for Swansea against that background. What little Iis left will be chucked at Cardiff as usual. | |
| You have mission in life to hold out your hand,
To help the other guy out,
Help your fellow man.
Stan Ridgway
|
| |
| Swansea's City Centre in decline on 09:45 - Mar 15 with 3021 views | perchrockjack |
Most countries second cities are vibrant .
Swansea s decline hasn't been sudden.
It's been allowed to rot
It was in decline well before WAG.
When it lost its industries ,I believe ,in common with other similiarly affected cities , jobs /offices/department should have been tranferred from the south east and other less affected by Thatcher areas. | |
| |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
