I’m sure we all agree with the old Dylan Thomas quote that Swansea is the best place. Over the last decade or so Jack Straw, Phil Roberts and I have used the blog to update you about our leading role in city regeneration and the impact it has on our staff and the future of the city. We’ve been making great progress in recent years, thanks to the arena and developments like 71/72 Kingsway alongside the private sector, Welsh Government and UK Government investment. Now we, BID, universities and private sector businesses are looking at how to make sure our success story is used as a platform to attract yet more investment into Swansea and the wider region. Yesterday, the Leader, Cllr Robert Francis-Davies and myself met representatives from BID and private sector partners to consider setting up an inward investment initiative called the Swansea Investment Group. We’re all passionate about our city and believe a collective joined-up approach to telling the Swansea success story will encourage others from the UK and abroad to come here and invest in their future and ours. I’ll keep you posted on how this goes but I want to thank the many officers around the council who’ve helped turn our regeneration aspirations into the reality we see around us every day.
A practical example of our leadership role in city regeneration is the Destination Management Plan – our strategic approach to supporting the £500m-a-year local tourism industry. Recently our tourism team gave an update on the latest plan to more than 20 local tourism and hospitality businesses which was really well-received. We want tourists to go home and tell their friends great stories about us so they come and visit too. A strong partnership between us and local businesses helps make that happen and aligns with our USP for the wider investment opportunities referenced above. My thanks to Tracey McNulty, Steve Hopkins and the tourism team for their work in this area.
This week we earned architectural accolades for two of our landmark projects. The Penderyn Visitor Centre at Hafod Copperworks has been nominated for a heritage award by the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors (RICS). And judges from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) were in the city to inspect Swansea Arena after it too was shortlisted for a major architectural award. Good luck to both.
The Police and Crime Commissioner elections are approaching in May and our elections team are looking for support staff, particularly presiding officers. If you can help, please drop an email to the team here: electionstaffing@swansea.gov.uk
Finally, it’s time to say farewell to three long-serving members of staff who are leaving this month after clocking up well over a century of service between them. Karen Telford from our Trading Standards team is retiring after 49 years protecting our communities from rogue traders. Sue Woodward leaves us after 29 years of supporting businesses and people into jobs through, not least, her work in inward investment business support and the Beyond Bricks and Mortar initiative. Also leaving at the end of the month is Liz Edmonds, a member of my support team. Liz joined our Lliw Valley predecessor authority in 1985 and worked in a variety of roles in leisure before becoming a key part of the team that’s supported me, Phil and Jack to do our jobs in recent years. My thanks to all three for their service and I wish them all the best for the future.
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