“Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes. Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it. Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them. Those who do not know history’s mistakes are doomed to repeat them.”
(George Santayana)
I received a gift from Kim Collis, our County Archivist. It’s a book called “A new, even better, Abertawe; Rebuilding Swansea 1941-1961”, written by Dr Dinah Evans, a retired academic from Bangor University. I’m only half way through it but it’s already helped me understand the tensions, conflict and compromise that shaped the city’s regeneration following the Three Nights’ Blitz in February, 1941. I’d recommend it to anyone who has an interest in our city’s past and a role in shaping it in the future. Thanks to Dinah for her painstaking research and to Kim for sharing it with me.
Of particular interest to me is a section of the book which describes the complex and controversial plans to redevelop the central City Centre road network and their potential to turn High Street and Wind Street into “precincts” rather than the traditionally thriving shopping areas they had previously been. It feels to me that the concerns raised by objectors at the time have since proven to be well-founded and the decline of High Street became an inevitable consequence of the post-war reconstruction plan.
This resonated particularly given the strange paradox this week of hearing that High Street has recently been shortlisted for a national award at the same time that Channel 5 were filming a documentary about the experiences of sex workers in that area. It reinforced the self-evident fact that changing the buildings alone is not the key to regeneration and our responsibility is to also help raise the ambitions, prosperity and well-being of those who populate cities. It also underlines the need to be conscious of the impact of regeneration schemes on adjacent areas.
Genuine progress is being made on tackling the problematic environment that’s existed on High Street for decades, through our regeneration and community safety teams. Partnership working with Coastal Housing at the Urban Village, with private sector partners at the Oldway Centre and Mariner Street and direct intervention by the Council at the Palace Theatre is delivering a transformed neighbourhood. I hope as many of you as possible will vote for our High Street to continue the momentum of improving its reputation. You can cast a vote here for the High Street every day between now and October 7 when polling closes.
I know you’re fed up with Brexit but…..
Chief Executives should avoid making political comments so I won’t. But I was saddened to hear the language and tone of the debate that took place when Parliament was recalled last Tuesday. I’ve previously shared my view that the situation is tense and fragile with feelings running high on both sides of the debate and we all have a responsibility not to pour oil on the flames. There remains a lack of clarity about Brexit and the continuing potential for a No-deal and this remains a corporate risk for the Council. As we prepare for what looks like an inevitable General Election in the next few months we’ve been in discussion with the Electoral Commission over a number of matters, including the imminent changes contained in the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill. The Welsh Government is bringing forward legislation to permanently move the term of office for councillors to five years. We’ve already been advised that the local government elections have been moved forward by one year to May 2022.
Locally, we’ve made two changes to our arrangements. I’ve accepted the role of Regional Returning Officer for the South Wales West region and yesterday Huw Evans was appointed by Council as my Deputy Returning Officer and Deputy Electoral Registration Officer. Given that we may face a number of elections over the coming months, including the Police and Crime Commissioner elections next May, these new arrangements will add regional and local resilience. I’m grateful to Huw and his team for their work.
Congratulations
Our pension fund has been recognised as the best local government scheme in the UK for sustainable investment. This comes on the back of lots of work to reduce the fund’s carbon footprint by cutting the amount of cash invested in companies with high carbon intensity. The £2.1bn fund – which we manage for Swansea, Neath Port Talbot as well as a number of other employers in the area, was recognised at the LAPF Investments Awards.
Waunarlwydd Primary had a pleasing Estyn report. It says pupils make strong progress in their learning and achieve well, while teachers run exciting, varied and well-planned lessons across a range of subjects. It was rated as excellent for wellbeing and attitudes to learning and for its care, support and guidance. It was judged to be good in all other inspection areas.
DesignPrint has picked up a national award from Apcom for its work on our Swansea 50 campaign and its production of two giant celebration cards of images from 50 years ago. The campaign continues with the Swansea Stories at Glynn Vivian opening last night.
High 5s
I’m looking forward to next week’s annual High 5s award ceremony at the Liberty Stadium. Next week I’ll announce the winners following yet another great set of entries this year. In the meantime, thanks to the judges and the team for their hard work, ably led by Mark Gosney.
