How we’re helping build a better Swansea

On Tuesday, it was great to visit the former Brondeg House in Manselton to catch up on the progress of our More Homes building project. It’s no secret that in Swansea our residents are in great need of more affordable homes for rent, and our housing and building services teams continue to do great work in this area. The project, due to finish next year, will include eight one-bedroom flats and five three-bedroom houses – types which are in high demand locally. The energy efficiency technology behind them is impressive and will help tenants keep their bills low. But one of the best things about the project is that it’s being built by council staff, learning and improving their trade skills. And one of the properties is being built almost entirely by apprentices, helping set them up for life in new, valuable careers. We’re rightly winning awards for achievements at Brondeg House and our More Homes programme, and I want to offer my thanks to all involved. In bricks and mortar, Brondeg House is a great example of how we are delivering for our employees and the people of Swansea.

Another example of how Swansea is helping to deliver for our residents is the restoration of the former JT Morgan department store in the city centre as an arts and culture centre. It’s a private sector scheme being supported by us through Shared Prosperity Fund grant funding and the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns initiative, with support also from our Cultural Services team as part of our overall cultural and arts strategy. Yesterday, Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary Jayne Bryant visited the site to see progress for herself. She also took time to see the headway we’re making at Y Storfa. It’s great for our reputation that Welsh Government ministers can see how we are making the most of their support, revitalising the city centre and increasing footfall. I’d like to thank all the council teams involved.

There was also time to meet up with our housing team and the Wallich, a Wales-wide homelessness charity who were awarded the Housing First standard by the Cabinet Secretary. The standard demonstrates the principle of prioritising housing over all other issues and is especially relevant when dealing with individuals with perhaps more challenging or complex needs. The Wallich team were very complimentary about our Housing Options and wider housing teams in how they have supported the initiative. The Wallich say they don’t experience that same support across Wales, so well done to everyone involved.

Also great for our reputation was news this week that the Sunday Times has put us in the UK’s top three cities for property investment. Our initiatives like Swansea Arena, ongoing city centre development and our cultural offer, were all cited as reasons to invest here. Being rated so highly by independent outsiders will only encourage the investors we want to encourage to come here to take a serious look at how they can benefit from our ambition.

Leadership Group this week saw CMT and Heads of Service review our service plans for the year ahead. It was a very useful and interactive session. It certainly added value to the service planning process, which is vital to ensure we deliver quality services effectively and efficiently on the front line. In the staff survey you said you wanted there to be less silo working and more collaboration across services. This review is helping achieve that goal as well, by identifying opportunities for departments to work together and ensure there are no gaps in delivery.

On Wednesday Brangwyn Hall was in good form for this year’s 25th anniversary of the Swansea Sports Awards, masterminded by our cultural services team. It was a grand occasion celebrating sporting achievement and the unsung heroes who make grassroots sports happen. My thanks to the team for their efforts.

On the retirement front,  I want to bid farewell to Gary Lloyd and Mike Carter, who are leaving us after 38 years and 32 years, respectively. Mike joined us on a temporary bricklaying contract in 1993 and decided to stay. He’s retiring now as a site manager with corporate building services. I worked with Gary when we delivered Bryntawe Welsh School on the site of the former Penlan school in 2003, and still remember laying flooring with him at 6am before all the guests arrived on the opening day.  Gary was also the project manager who helped deliver the pandemic Bay Hospital field hospital against the clock and in demanding circumstances. My thanks to them both for their commitment to the council. I have worked with both of them for many years, and they will both be a huge loss to the team and council and I want to wish them all the best in their retirement.

And finally, many of you will be aware that I helped arrange a charity Walk for Blood Cancer last Saturday on one of the few days it’s rained in weeks. Just my luck. I wanted to thank everyone for the support and for the 130 people, including staff and councillors, who came along despite the weather. I also have to pay tribute to our events team, who were there in an official capacity. Seeing the work done behind the scenes on a small event has given me an even greater appreciation of how difficult a job they do week in week out for Swansea. My thanks particularly to Kingsley Thomas and Keith Morris, as well as Nerys and Heath from our facilities teams, for their support.