Swansea needs big name store - report

“I m very and very disapointing with my own town. I really hate it.”

“Can anyone explain whay the DVLC (as was - it's the DVLA now) was built in the middle of a residential estate in a Swansea suburb with appaling transport facilities?”

“Trunkles, office based businesses move around quite often. It is up to the Swansea council to entice them here from more expensive places like Hull, Sheffield, Aston, Bristol etc. Even in this economic climate, retailers would consider opening a store if Swansea city centre had a higher number of people walking around.

Just hoping retailers come on their own, or because a place looks prettier, or because of lower business rates alone is quite naive... I fully agree with what you say under those particular cirumstances. But, the council really needs to concentrate on bringing the big employers who occupy floors of office blocks and then the active population density of the centre of the city increases meaning increased customer potential for all other types of businesses.

Swansea has a problem where there really isn't that much land to build on without destroying all the greenery or pulling down businesses that already exist and we want to keep, so the only realistic solution is to build upwards. High Street... train station to dyfatty, perfect place. We would just hope the architects are as imaginative as those who have designed the Urban Village, I would even be happy to hear that the council invited that company to tender for a business hub in that part of the city!

People complain that we should not have high rise office towers, but really speaking... what alternative do we have? We are between a rock and a hard place (well, a large 500meter tall rock and a wet place to more accurate lol) so we choose the lesser of the evils. We keep the greenery, we keep the local businesses and build upwards into the sky to attract new business.

We are cheaper than places like Hull and Sheffield and our transportation links are just as good, we should be competing much better.”

“Who in their right mind is going to open a shop with this country in this current financial mess? Certainly none of the bright sparks who've posted here with great ideas for other people's money.

Towns & High Street shopping is failing across the UK. No one has been able to revive them and every day another nail drives into the coffin, when another supermarket opens in an out of town location.

The days of buying hardware, tools, car parts, furniture, wool, fruit & veg, computer parts, from a shop down the road have gone. It's time to move along.”

“Agree with Penny_W . A balanced yet ambitious mix of good quality 'known' brands and new independent shops & cafes are needed.

Swansea is a city with a population of 200,000 plus . It deserves a better city centre and something ambitious and well planned and connected to other facilities is well over due.

Just look to Chester, Cheltenham or Carmarthen. These are centres where the local council have acted ambitiously. Their regeneration partners have delivered first class retail regeneration where high quality stores sit succesfully next to thriving local shops & stalls in well planned (and well thought through),good quality buildings.

Swansea Bid and the various organisations like city centre partnership have worked hard to increase footfall and bring some variety to Swansea's centre.

But it's surely time for Hammersons and the Council/Assembly to step it up and get special landmark regeneration schemes delivered in Swansea.

A united effort from the business sector,MPs and AM's fought hard for Swansea Bay city region status and rail electrification Paddington to Swansea.

A similar but stronger effort will give Swansea a foundation to secure landmark city centre retail regeneration. Other towns and cities have succeeded against an unfavourable macro economic climate”

“The Council should demolish (compulsory purchase) part's of Mansel St,Craddock St, Northamton Lane,Christina St, and car park in the Kingsway. Then get the so-called Proffessional's in to design a more Centralised 1st Class shopping centre-Mall on this site.! All existing business's in this area can be re-located , and accommodated to the White Elephant St, David's shopping centre .”

“JerryLew

Dylan went to the 24 hour bar on 9 November 1953 - the Morris buildings block was not built/completed until 1956.

So all the fuss about saving the Kardomah was to no avail as the Luftwaffe redeveloped the site it was on - Castle Street, on the site of the Congregational Chapel, where Dylan's parents, D.J. and Florence, were married in 1903.”

“I can't say that I would welcome lots of independent stores as they tend to be quite pricey. I think Swansea needs more mainstream, affordable stores (like H&M and Zara). Yes, a few boutiques would be nice but we need some good popular high street stores too.”

“Not a frequent visitor to Swansea for the shops I did pass through there the other day - such a shame to see so many closed shops.
Peter53 - I checked the internet re Dylan Thomas and easily found this link:-
http://tinyurl.com/cwvajnz
Text in the article reads:-
Afternoon calls would be on a reduced scale. Dylan found that he could cut down considerably on the man hours involved, by the judicious use of the telephone, which enabled him to spend an hour or so most mornings at the Kardomah café.”

“siarad that wouldn't necessarily work either. Consider how many shopfronts could then open up practically tax free provided they don't actually perform the transactions in the store itself. What if you go into a branch and they arrange to deliver the items to you from another branch because they are out of stock, which council gets the VAT then?”