A former Navy building in Plymouth which has been transformed into shops, restaurants, bars, visitor accommodation and art studios will be the model for Swansea's Civic Centre site when it is redeveloped. Local authority officials have visited Royal William Yard - the Navy's main victualling yard in the days before canned food - and were very impressed by what was on offer, a council scrutiny panel was told.
Huw Mowbray, the council's property development manager, said the waterside Plymouth complex has been redeveloped by Urban Splash - the company Swansea Council has appointed to transform seven sites in the city. One of the first of these seven will be the 17-acre Civic Centre site, although it's still early days.
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Mr Mowbray said Urban Splash was basing its plans for the seafront Civic Centre on Royal William Yard, and that it had already been talking to a number of potential tenants. He said he had been struck by the quality of the Plymouth project and its tenants - and how well they thought of Urban Splash as a landlord.
"I think they (Urban Splash) will be of real benefit to Swansea," said Mr Mowbray. "I don't think we could have chosen anyone better."
He said the Civic Centre site would include shops, restaurants, office space, visitor accommodation and leisure uses such as an interactive aquarium. He added that the Civic Centre itself would not be demolished, and that he felt the redeveloped site would create a new destination for Swansea, including better links to the nearby arena and city centre.
Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said of Royal William Yard: "The standard is exceptionally high."
The Civic Centre site will need to be empty of council staff before any work gets under way there. They will move to the Guildhall and potentially a section of a large public sector hub which is proposed on land the other side of Oystermouth Road from the arena.
The public sector hub itself forms part of another large mixed-use project, called Swansea Central North, which is being drawn up and developed by Urban Splash, along with a new scheme for the former St Thomas rail station site.
The panel was told that the council has submitted a bid for UK Levelling Up funding to support the Swansea Central North project, and that a decision by Westminster was expected in October. Mr Mowbray said no council money was being used for Swansea Central North, and that the Levelling Up bid - if successful - would accelerate its delivery.
In answer to questions from Cllr Chris Holley, Mr Mowbray said Urban Splash had been clear from the outset that they would need "that little bit of public sector support from somewhere".
The scrutiny panel was also briefed on other projects on Swansea the council is funding or leading on. Updates were given on the Skyyline outdoor adventure park - a privately-funded project including gondolas, luge runs and ziplines on Kilvey Hill, St Thomas. The gondolas would ferry visitors from land below in Hafod to the hilltop.
Mr Mowbray said Skyline Enterprises - the New Zealand-based company behind the proposal - had instructed a team to push it forward. "I can't see any reason why it won't proceed," he said. Swansea's cabinet will hear more about the project at a meeting on September 8, although it won't be in public for commercial reasons.
Councillors were also told that the first tenant of a new office building on The Kingsway would be announced in the coming weeks. The building, called 71/72 The Kingsway, is rising from the ground at the former Oceana nightclub site. Mr Mowbray said it was due to be completed in October 2023, although there had been a small delay in trying to get through rocks to sink the piling.
The scrutiny meeting also heard that Buckingham Group, which built the arena, adjacent coastal park and mixed-use building across the new pedestrian bridge - together known as Copr Bay - was still working through snagging issues. Mr Mowbray said these would be completed by Christmas, and that Buckingham was "racking up huge amounts of costs" by still being on site and so had an interest in getting them done.
Cllr Lynda James asked if city centre rangers who have been patrolling the arena and coastal park following anti-social behaviour reports also patrolled the wider maritime quarter. Youths, she said, were "causing havoc night after night" in the marina and SA1 area.
She was told that the council rangers stuck to the city centre, and that concerns about maritime quarter incidents should be reported to South Wales Police. Council leader Rob Stewart said he had met senior police officers last week and that and patrols would be stepped up on Oxford Street from October.
A planning application, meanwhile, has been submitted to transform Castle Square in the city centre into a greener area, with some new commercial space. Mr Mowbray said the council was deciding how to tender the project, given the fluctuating cost of materials at present. "Sonme sub-contractors won't hold their prices for more than seven days at the moment," he said.
In Hafod, whisky firm Penderyn is due to be handed the former Hafod Copperworks powerhouse this month to begin an internal fit-out. Mr Mowbray said Penderyn was now proposing three rather than one "stills" at the site to distil its products. He said the Penderyn project in tandem with the nearby Skyline attraction "can deliver something substantial on the Hafod site".
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