Swansea Bay £1.3bn city deal to transform the region

Prime minister Theresa May this week signed off a deal that could trigger close to £1.3bn of investment in Swansea and south-west Wales, which will undoubtedly boost demand for residential and commercial property in the local area.

The Swansea Bay city region deal, which is set to create around 9,000 jobs over the next 15 years, will see the creation of 11 projects across the region in energy, smart manufacturing, innovation and life science.

The new schemes pave the way for major infrastructure investment in the local region, ranging from research centres, to a new waterfront ‘digital district’, which will feature 100,000 sq ft of new office space, a box village development from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and a 6,000-seat indoor arena.

Insisting that she wants to see the region at the “forefront of science and innovation”, the prime minister said that the new deal was “important for this part of Wales”, ensuring fresh prosperity and growth for the region.

The redevelopment projects could very well lead to the biggest changes in the city’s landscape for around 70 years, helping to boost the quality and range of the city centre’s shopping, dining, leisure, urban living, business, entertainment and recreational offer, according to Swansea council leader Rob Stewart.

Stewart said: “Swansea will soon be undergoing its biggest transformation in 70 years as we significantly improve the city for residents, open up thousands of new jobs and generate far more opportunities than ever before.

“Building on the success of Swansea University’s Bay Campus and the start of works on the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s Innovation Precinct in SA1, this year will mark the start of an ambitious and confident package of regeneration projects that will benefit local people, support existing businesses and attract even more investment in future.”