#plaidcymru — Public Fediverse posts

SWANSEA: Labour signed a deal to move Welsh Government offices from Penllergaer to the city centre. Plaid won’t say if they’ll honour it.

A pre-election agreement to base Welsh Government staff in Swansea’s new city centre public sector hub is hanging in the balance — after the incoming Plaid Cymru administration said it would review its office estate as a new government, with no decisions yet taken on any specific sites.

Swansea Council confirmed it had been in advanced talks with the previous Labour Welsh Government to secure a formal and physical presence for Welsh Government staff in the new five-storey hub being built at the former St David’s Shopping Centre site — and that letters of intent had been exchanged before the Senedd election.

A council spokesperson said: “We were engaging with the Welsh Government prior to the Senedd elections to look at options for them to have a formal and physical presence in Swansea city centre, which supports our regeneration activities and their investment in town and city centres. Now that a new government is in place we will open up this dialogue again with the hope of concluding discussions as soon as we are able to.”

The Welsh Government did not confirm the pre-election agreement, but said no decisions had been taken on future accommodation arrangements, including whether any specific sites would be used or how much space might be occupied.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “As a new administration, we will take the opportunity to review our office estate as part of good financial and asset management, and we are committed to doing so on a regular basis. As part of that work, a range of potential options will be explored with public sector partners, including different ways of using existing buildings. Any decision on the Welsh Government estate will be for Ministers.”

The proposed deal was understood to have involved the Welsh Government relocating staff from its existing offices near junction 47 of the M4 at Penllergaer to the new city centre hub, with the council potentially taking on the Penllergaer building as part of the arrangement.

That proposal drew pointed criticism from Cllr Chris Holley, the Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition on Swansea Council — and a man with direct experience of the building in question. Cllr Holley led the council between 2004 and 2012, and was at the helm when the Welsh Development Agency was abolished in 2006 and its Penllergaer office was transferred to the Welsh Government.

He said the building had struggled to attract occupants ever since, arguing it had become a liability for the Welsh Government following the WDA’s departure. He said he understood blue light services had already been approached about taking the space and had declined.

“Yes of course [I support Welsh Government jobs in the city centre] — but not at any cost,” Cllr Holley said. “They have lots of offices around Wales, yet we have to swap one for another.”

He also questioned the logic of the council taking on premises that a large organisation had been unable to fill. “If it didn’t work for the Welsh Government, how is it going to work for Swansea Council?” he said.

Welsh Government figures show around 400 staff have their location recorded as Penllergaer — but average daily attendance at the building was running at just 10% in March 2025, well below the two-days-a-week expectation for civil servants. Across its 20 sites in Wales, the Welsh Government employs around 5,700 people at a total annual cost of £24.5 million.

The Penllergaer site has its own complicated history. Swansea Council itself once had offices in the area — the former Lliw Valley Borough Council building, which the authority sold in 2016 partly to address a budget deficit. That site was sold to Carmarthenshire developer Enzo Developments, who later received planning permission for 80 homes and a preserved Grade II listed equatorial observatory — though Enzo’s Homes subsequently went into liquidation on a separate development in 2025.

The public sector hub at the heart of the proposed deal is the first building in the new Porth Copr district — the area that will eventually replace the former St David’s Shopping Centre car park, knitting together Copr Bay, St Mary’s Square and the Quadrant. Work on the site is already under way, with the hub designed to anchor public sector workers in the city centre and generate daily footfall for traders.

The council’s own commitment to the hub is separately driven by its planned departure from the seafront Civic Centre — which received a £20 million UK Government funding boost in March to support its redevelopment for housing, leisure and commercial uses.

Meanwhile, the Penllergaer business park has its own new chapter under way nearby — with a major logistics depot, understood to be an Amazon last-mile delivery hub, approved on an adjacent site in March, already raising questions about the capacity of junction 47 to absorb the additional traffic.

Council leader Rob Stewart was contacted for comment.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Work begins at former St David’s site for major new office development
Site investigation works are under way at the former St David’s Shopping Centre as the new public sector hub moves forward.

£20m boost for Swansea Civic Centre days after MPs call for action
UK Government funding confirmed for the redevelopment of the seafront Civic Centre site.

Giant distribution warehouse approved next to M4 — but will Junction 47 grind to a halt?
A major last-mile delivery hub approved at Penllergaer Business Park raises serious traffic concerns.

Carmarthenshire house builder goes into liquidation leaving half-built development
Enzo’s Homes, which bought the former Lliw Valley council offices site at Penllergaer, went into liquidation in 2025.

Discurso anti-imigração dá vitória histórica para extrema direita nas eleições locais do Reino Unido

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2026/05/08/discurso-anti-imigracao-da-vitoria-historica-para-extrema-direita-nas-eleicoes-locais-do-reino-unido/

Politicians demand action as M&S closure sparks row over council “vanity projects”

Liberal Democrats have accused Swansea Council‘s Labour leadership of making “ridiculous” assurances about the impact of multimillion-pound regeneration schemes, pointing to recent claims that the new library would drive footfall to M&S.

Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams MS has written to the Welsh Government demanding support for the 92 staff facing redundancy, describing the closure as a “sickeningly familiar story” of high streets losing historic stores.

The political fallout comes just days after M&S confirmed it will shut its Oxford Street store later this year, ending nearly a century of trading in the city centre.

Welsh Liberal Democrat lead Senedd candidate Cllr Sam Bennett said: “Time and time again the Labour Council Leader has assured us that the massive city centre projects would be the saving of the high street, and this announcement raises big questions.

“At the most recent Council meeting the Leader went as far to say how people were celebrating that the move of the library meant they could now go to M&S, this now sounds ridiculous.”

Cllr Chris Holley, Leader of the Opposition on Swansea Council and Welsh Lib Dem Group Leader, went further, claiming the council had privately assured them M&S would remain once the Yr Storfa development opened.

“We have continually asked and been told that Labour’s vanity projects would be the saving of our high street, and even been told in a meeting M&S would stay once Yr Storfa had opened,” he said.

“This is deeply embarrassing for Labour, and is a tragedy for the city centre workers and shoppers as the Swansea high street takes another blow.”

The Liberal Democrats say they have long called for cheaper and easier parking to encourage city centre use, alongside reforms to business rates and VAT cuts to support high street retailers.

Torsten Bell, Labour MP for Swansea West, struck a more conciliatory tone, expressing “deep disappointment” at the closure and focusing on the impact on staff and customers.

“This decision will be a blow to the many loyal customers who regularly use the store, and for the dedicated employees, some who have worked for M&S over many years,” Mr Bell said.

“They need to be shown the dignity and respect they deserve, while it’s vital they are treated fairly during this difficult time. I have already contacted Senior M&S Managers, with a meeting arranged for next Friday to discuss this further.”

Mr Bell noted the closure comes “at a time when the City Centre has seen huge regeneration at key sites and more top retailers showing confidence in Swansea.”

Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for South Wales West, drew parallels with M&S’s departure from Neath in May 2024, saying the closures represent more than just job losses.

“As with Marks and Spencer’s departure from Neath in May 2024, this is more than losing a job or losing a shop, it’s losing a piece of local history,” she said.

“The Oxford Street store is an important part of many people’s lives, not least for the 92 who work there currently. During its 100 year presence in Swansea, there will have been people who have given their working lives to this store and loyal customers who have helped build this company’s multimillion pound profits.”

Ms Williams said she had written to the Welsh Government asking what support will be offered to staff, and will be writing to M&S to urge them to retain a full-line store in the area.

“I’m glad to see the company not ruling out maintaining a presence in Swansea, but that location should be in the city centre, and not out of town,” she added.

The closure announcement has raised questions about the effectiveness of Swansea Council’s regeneration strategy, which has seen millions of pounds invested in projects including the Copr Bay arena, the new library and museum complex, and the ongoing Yr Storfa development.

M&S has indicated it is considering alternative locations in the Swansea area, but has not confirmed whether any replacement store would be in the city centre or at an out-of-town retail park.

The Oxford Street store, which has traded for nearly 100 years, is expected to close later in 2026, with staff consultations now underway.

#MartinRowson on the #Caerphilly #byelection – cartoon | Martin Rowson | The Guardian

Just a reminder, #StGeorge wasn’t even English. #Farage would have happily had him deported given that he was a #Palestinian #Turk.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2025/oct/24/martin-rowson-on-the-caerphilly-byelection-cartoon

#UK #Wales #Politics #Satire #EnglishNationalism #Nationalism #PlaidCymru

Tata threatens to withdraw their "generous" redundancy offer if Port Talbot steelworkers go on strike

We need to renationalise the steel industry, although obviously that isn't currently likely to happen

#WalesPol #UKPol #TataSteel #PortTalbot #Steel #Labour #PlaidCymru #Tories #LibDems #GreenParty #ReformUK

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/tata-threatens-withdrawn-generous-redundancy-28901482

Sioned Williams, Member of the Senedd for South Wales West has called for the plans to replace #Alltwen, #Godre-graig and #Llangiwg Primary schools with a new ‘super school’ in #Pontardawe to be rejected.

https://swanseabaynews.com/2022/12/08/senedd-member-calls-for-pontardawe-super-school-plan-to-be-rejected/ #NeathPortTalbot #Education #Schools #PlaidCymru #Senedd