
DTZ issued a press release yesterday (only a month after the event) to say that it has advised Swansea City council, along with the Welsh Government, in buying the virtually empty St David's Shopping centre in the city from Threadneedle. On the surface it looks like good news, a step towards the city's long-planned, retail and residential-led regeneration in which the St David's centre apparently is 'a key part'.
OK so the council has recognised that public sector intervention is needed but it is only going as far as demolishing the building and creating a surface car park "until market conditions improve". Where have we heard that before? The kissing towers site in Leeds springs to mind, that 'temporary' car park has been around for 10 years or more.
However back in the Autumn Gareth Hooper of DPP planning consultants said in our Wales Focus: "Swansea had even more ambitious plans than Newport and there is no way those are going to come forward in the current climate. It seems Swansea is still waiting for the market to improve, whereas Newport is being realistic about what it can achieve."
Newport has learnt the hard way about trying to get ambitious retail-led regeneration plans off the ground is Swansea going to do the same?
Well noises from the council back in November imply not. They admitted the plans were being revisited in light of the tough economic conditions but the 'key principles of the scheme remain the same'.
Related articles (£)
Blog posts
Recent Comments