“Apologies in advance for the rant, but this is a topic that really grates on me.

I think Mr. Holley is right to say it depresses him when people compare Swansea to Cardiff, it depresses me too. The reality is that as an urban shopping destination Swansea doesn't hold a candle to the capital.

Yes we have the Gower Peninsula and wonderful beaches, and yes, he's right to say that the people of Swansea love their city. However the ineptitude of the Council has seen Swansea fall behind Cardiff significantly over the past decade as a destination shopping centre. I'd even go so far as to say that Swansea is now behind Llanelli and Carmarthen.

I know many people who venture to the Gower for a long weekend during the spring / summer months, however they¿ll spend more time and money shopping in Llanelli or Carmarthen. I know several small / local businesses based in the City Centre who are giving serious consideration to moving out of Swansea and setting up in Cardiff or Carmarthen.

Swansea Council need to invest in the City Centre, they need to attract top high street stores such as John Lewis and House of Fraser, to support what¿s already there and attract new shoppers. They need to support local business in raising the profile of the City Centre and utilisation of the many empty stores. They need a network that allows entrepreneurs the opportunity to set up boutique shops in the City and develop strong customer bases that promote growth.

It¿s all well and good for Mr. Holley to hark on about the uniqueness of Swansea, the great Market, the wonderful peninsula and the Mumbles head, but the Council don¿t do anywhere near enough to exploit this uniqueness to the greater benefit of City Centre. The Council need to attract greater private investment into the area, lobby for improved transport links and generate an interest in visiting Swansea City Centre that is fast fading.”

“The embarrassing mess that is the City centre can be solely attributed to 40 years of bad planning.
It started when the Quadrant was built too far from the railway station, effectively killing off the High St and Kingsway.
If that wasn't bad enough then out of town stores with free parking were encouraged to spring up at every entrance to the city, resulting in many shoppers bypassing the centre altogether.

For too long in Swansea any development has been considered good development, regardless of the effect it may have on existing businesses

The main difference between the cities of Cardiff and Swansea is Cardiff had Russel Goodway with a master plan for the future of his city, whereas Swansea was happy to stumble along just grabbing whatever was on offer.

A succession of incompetent councils has let this city down badly, and has done more lasting damage to the city than even the Luftwaffe managed.”

“Chris Holley needs to get out of his posh Volkswagen limo and look around the city centre. I work on Princess Way and from where I sit, I can see the St David's Shopping Centre. I feel embarrassed to think that this is part of our city.

We're not aggressive enough in attracting investors. Let's not be fooled, there's still plenty of money in Swansea, even though there's plenty of poverty but many shoppers would prefer to travel to Cardiff, Llanelli and Carmarthen. We have a jewel in the market, but a market doesn't appeal to everyone.

To make Swansea a magnet for tourists, what we require is something that is equal to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Since this was built, it has become a godsend for the city. It is very similar to Swansea in that it has an industrial heritage. Yes, we have the Dylan Thomas Centre and no-one can take that away from us, but we need something that will REALLY put us on the tourist map.”

“There is no comparison. Cardiff is a vibrant multicultural city which has had billions spend on developments.

Swansea is a Sh**hole with a shiny museum.”

“and towns in bedfordshire like luton are a model are they ?”

“Well said Anon. That list gives the lie to all those who say that Swansea has gone downhill since they were kids. Its regularly called (unfairly) the 'city of artists impressions' yet you have listed some excellent COMPLETED schemes there! More than just impressions, then.

I well remember the Enterprise Zone before development - though it was actually the ruins of the copper works I thought it was WW2 bomb damage. Who prefers it as it was and yet 'nothing ever gets done in Swansea'.

Where are all the people who run the city down? Haven't they seen this thread?

ps when I visited John Lewis in Cardiff last year I was surprised at the huge numbers of 'advertising boards' in the shopping centre. They weren't ads they were empty shops. Might have improved since but the way people post on here you'd think Swansea was the only city with an empty shop unit.”

“swansea hasn't had nothing like the money spent on it as what cardiff has had in the last decade or so.

so it's a bit harsh to compare the two especially when cardiff has had so many government funded and national developments put there like the wales millenium centre, the senedd, millenium stadium and cardiff bay barrage to name a few.

when you look at the at the money that's been thrown at cardiff has it really been that successfull ? lots of jobs created are low paid retail and hospitality jobs. horrible developments of flats that look like something from eastern europe.

the swansea area has been successfull in attracting investment and jobs like tata, amazon, virgin, etc. swansea is also getting things built like new bus station, university buildings, salubrious place, meridian quay, swansea point, SA1, LC, waterfront museum, national pool, liberty stadium, copper quarter to name a few.”

“There¿s no money in Swansea or at least very little of it. So it¿s no surprise there¿s no decent shops that want to set up here, as there¿s not the clientele to frequent them. Unfortunately it seems Cardiff has now reached a point of critical mass that anything of note to be developed in Wales is attracted to Cardiff like a magnet. The rest of Wales have to fight to live off the scraps or what Cardiff doesn¿t want. Sad and depressing for Swansea but what can be done? It sounds like the regeneration of the city centre has died yet another death. Public sector jobs to be cut and no more investment in the foreseeable futures arriving in the city. Bad times ahead I feel.”

“It is not just the lack of investment that has slowly transformed the city centre into a mess, but also lack of vision.

It is reasonable that we cannot compete with larger cities in terms of the number and variety of shops available, but I can't understand why we cannot at least create an aesthetically pleasing city centre.

Let's be frank, Swansea only has about five main streets, but they are all lined with utilitarian boxes. The demolishing of the old David Evans building was an excellent opportunity to construct an iconic building in the heart of the city. Instead, we have another concrete bunker. We may not get a St Davids 2 or even a St Davids 1, but at least we should be innovative and visionary in our approach to new buildings.

With its proposed creative cluster, the development on High Street could be a turning point for that part of the city, though with Alexandra House bearing down on the area, it will still not be a beautiful street.

I agree with Cllr Holley. We should not compare our selves with Cardiff, but we should at least have our own vision. Perhaps the council should be reminded of the old phrase: 'Small is beautiful' and place more attention to detail and start trying to create small clusters of beauty in the city centre.”