As we head towards March and the arrival of spring, I wanted to take a few moments to reflect on the week just gone – and to look ahead to some important developments across the Council.
Next week, we’ll be launching a new internal campaign celebrating how staff are helping to deliver our shared Swansea 2028 vision every day.
Swansea 2028 sets out the city we want to create together: thriving communities, great public services, a stronger economy and a greener, fairer Swansea for everyone.
It’s an ambitious vision – but it’s not abstract. It’s rooted firmly in the work you’re already doing in teams, services and neighbourhoods across the city.
Much of what we do every single day directly supports that long-term direction, so this campaign is about telling that story more clearly and consistently.
Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be sharing short, simple stories from colleagues across the council who are making a real difference – from frontline teams modernising services, to staff supporting families earlier and those improving neighbourhoods, strengthening communities and helping residents live well and independently.
This is your story. I hope you’ll continue to take pride in seeing the collective impact of your work recognised and shared.
Earlier this week, our Director of Corporate Services, Ness Young, was invited to attend the Microsoft AI Tour at Excel London where Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella delivered the keynote address to 6,000 delegates – and I’m proud to say that the Council was highlighted for its work.
Ness got to meet Satya, with the Council being one of only five customers across the UK that had the opportunity to showcase its work to him directly.
It was great to see the Welsh flag behind him when he referenced our excellent work during his address, which showed how Welsh local government is at the forefront of digital innovation.
We have invested in 1,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licences, and 2,500 staff are now regularly using Copilot Chat to support their work across multiple departments. Colleagues are using AI to prepare for meetings, summarise lengthy documents and draft clearer, more concise reports.
In large organisations, small time savings quickly add up to significant gains. In just four weeks, we estimate that using AI tools has saved around 5,400 staff hours.
But let me be clear: this is not about replacing jobs. It’s about freeing up time for analysis, creativity and better decision-making. It’s about enabling you to focus on the work that adds most value for residents.
My thanks go to colleagues in Digital Services for the leadership, support and training they’ve provided to help make this happen.
Like many of you, I was disappointed to hear of the decision by Marks & Spencer earlier this week to leave their Oxford Street store. Our immediate thoughts are with the M&S staff affected by this decision.
M&S has been clear that the location is no longer suitable for its evolving business model. The company has already closed around 90 historic stores nationally as part of a wider strategy focused on investing in new-format locations.
This decision is not a reflection on Swansea as a retail destination. M&S has recognised the significant regeneration underway in our city and has stated that it remains committed to exploring options for an alternative store location here. We have worked closely with M&S to identify potential sites and will continue to do so.
At the same time, we remain absolutely determined to ensure our city centre continues to grow and attract major brands and investment.
Our commitment to regeneration is unchanged. A key example of this is the ongoing work to pave the way for the transformation of the Civic Centre site, and Cabinet has now given the green light for further work to inform the detail of a planning application.
Working with our regeneration partners, Urban Splash, proposals include cafes, bars and shops, 15 commercial units at ground and lower ground level, approximately 140 apartments on upper floors, flexible workspaces, leisure and events spaces, an aquarium and a saltwater lido. This is an exciting opportunity to reimagine a prominent waterfront site and create a vibrant destination that supports both economic growth and community life.
This weekend sees the return of Croeso – our St David’s Day celebration – to the city centre. All events are free and there’s something for everyone: a Q&A with Welsh participants from The Traitors TV programme, food and drink, cookery demonstrations, live music, street entertainers, workshops, arts and crafts, a children’s trail and a St David’s Day parade. My thanks to colleagues in Cultural Services for organising what promises to be another fantastic celebration of Welsh culture and creativity.
To further mark St David’s Day in style, our leisure partners Freedom Leisure are holding an open weekend across its Swansea facilities. Free activities include gym sessions, fitness classes, learn-to-swim assessments, pool sessions – including the LC waterpark – bounce and play, climbing wall activities, racket sports and more. It’s a great opportunity for residents – and for staff and their families – to get active and try something new.
Given the range of brilliant cultural activity and events that are carried out across the year, it was great at our Cabinet CMT away day on Wednesday to hear an update on the emerging Cultural Strategy from our Head of Service, Tracey McNulty, and Nerys Evans – our Strategic Manager for Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy. This is a five-year plan running until 2031, which sets out how the Council will help deliver effective cultural, economic and well-being outcomes through continued partnership working. The strategy will progress through the usual process to Cabinet and I’ll share more on the specific elements in due course.
A number of exciting apprenticeship opportunities are again now open for applications within our Building Services department, which maintains homes and public buildings across Swansea. This scheme reflects our commitment to supporting local people into quality jobs.
Many previous apprentices have gone on to secure permanent roles with us, building long-term careers serving their communities. It was therefore timely that Corporate Management Team this week considered a draft strategy allowing us to grow our own staff across the Council – and this will include apprentices, trainees, graduates, the social services academy and other initiatives.
The strategy tries to bring them all into one place, allowing managers to select what works best for them and their teams. This is a key part of our Workforce Strategy and helps ensure we can recruit and retain key skills for the future. I look forward to sharing more news on that soon.
Finally, I was deeply saddened to hear of the sudden passing of our colleague Mike Jones, who served the Council in the Education Directorate since 1997.
Mike’s expertise in data management, his kindness and calm professionalism had a profound impact on our schools and the wider education community in Wales. He worked closely with schools and teams across the Council, offering insight, support and unwavering commitment.
My thoughts are with Mike’s family, friends and colleagues at this very difficult time.
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