Bring in the "A" Team

It seems that the biggest hurdle to achieving anything in Swansea are the different departments that appear to overlap and who need to sanction the smallest change. A question of too many chiefs? Or maybe too many cooks!

Whatever the reason the simple answer for Swansea to progress is to have a small team who have autonomy and can get quick answers and decisions. A team of visionaries who are action driven to turn the city around. To come up with a plan and put it into place immediately. From little acorns big oak trees grow. 

It will take  more than a few nods and grunts to get this off the ground. There would be loads of opposition and many obstacles but a progressive council could cut the red tape and get this going so that there are results before Xmas.

Every day someone tells me they don't shop in Swansea anymore. Too any "Big Issue" sellers. The city is scruffy. Not enough choice. Parking is still difficult. No "Wow" factor. 

The time for Action is now.

An Opportunity to bring Shoppers to town

We should be planning for bigger better shopping experience

Can't we make the Winter Wonderland and Christmas Lights launch a bigger better experience like they are in Cardiff

CITY CENTRE TO STAGE DAY-LONG CHRISTMAS PARTY

Cardiff, named the 6th best shopping centre in the UK is planning a dazzling launch to the festive (lets call it Christmas and forget the local authority fear and political correctness) celebrations with a full day of free entertainment backed by the city centre traders.

Swansea should be focussed already on such an event. It looks like spending will be down as consumers tighten their belts so a bump start could be a great idea. What are BID doing? We need to climb up the ladder and become a shopping centre that visitors look forward to.

Swansea must stop being the bus pick-up point for Cardiff.

Why don't we have living statues around the city bringing some life!!  Why don't we have some real statues of local heroes? These could be the product of a local competition. And perhaps they could be sited for a couple of months and changed. With the huge number of creative artists in the area this is could be a great focal point.

Go to London and walk along the Bayswater Road. Why don't we have artists displaying their work on a Sunday morning along the High Street or in the park in front of the waterfront museum. Or even along Oxford Street. What a draw that would be. You could even have an artists quarter where artists are working outside like in the Montmartre area of Paris

You have to start somewhere and sometime. So why hasn't this been done before? Why can't it be up and running in a couple of weeks? Why can't the council just a few weeks? Local artists would love this and it wouldn't cost the council anything. Charge a few pounds if necessary: just a nominal amount  and certainly nothing for bonefide students at local colleges and universities.

Get rid of the paperwork. KISS - keep it simple, stupid. Issue licenses at £20 that are valid for 8 weeks as a starter. If it works - as it will - and bingo you will soon be drawing in more visitors. Don't be greedy. Look upon this as an investment.













Come on Swansea.This could be the beginning of something really big. Lets get those visitors excited and turn the tide so Cardiff folk come here.

I Love Swansea Campaign

Bay of Life Campaign! I Love Swansea Campaign!

How many more campaigns are running right now to promote Swansea? Wouldn't it be better to get together and have a bigger impact? Divided we fall: united we stand!

It is now a week since I contacted the Evening Post to tell them that Cllr Chris Holley, Leader of the Council, will be accompanying me on a walk through Swansea talking to both shoppers and traders to get some gut reaction about what is good and bad in the city and ideas of what can be done to promote it as both a destination and shopping city. I should have thought it was pretty damned easy to connect this with the "I Love Swansea" campaign but it sees not.

I note in the Evening Post yesterday that the there has been no increase in usage at the High Street car park. I'm not surprised. I have asked several people in the city centre about the reduced parking fees and without exception nobody knew about it! There seems to be a poor mechanism for spreading information. I know there have been articles in the paper but I think most have been linked with safety or other negative issues.

At a meeting with Phil Roberts and two of his colleagues at the Civic Centre I suggested that perhaps free transport from the railway station to the bus station would be beneficial to rail travellers arriving in town but this was immediately rejected. This quick-fix would also encourage people parking in the High Street car park, particularly on wet or cold days and for those carrying bulky or heavy purchases.

Why aren't there Street Ambassadors giving out information? A couple of students giving out leaflets. Or perhaps the Street Wardens could give a helping hand whilst they patrol the streets. Couldn't BIDS help here too? They have put up some material in empty shop windows. Wouldn't a special parking offer be a great message in shop windows? How about distributing leaflets to the retailers. After all they are the biggest beneficiaries.

On the point of parking I still hear complaints from drivers that they are charged in the NCP car parks for their first hour on Sundays. Ballers clearly say "First Hour Free" it must be very small print about the £3 Sunday charge!!! The fact that parking is free in the council car parks on Sundays does not compensate.

Mike Leahy

Something for everyone