Swansea Bay region business leaders have thrown their support behind proposals to redevelop the Civic Centre site.
Nearly three quarters of respondents to a survey by Swansea Bay Business Club said they supported proposals for a mixed housing and leisure development on the waterfront site with an iconic building at its heart.
The survey was conducted earlier this month and sent to all members of the Swansea Bay Business Club on behalf of the club’s Policy Group, which represents members’ positions on public policy.
More than eight out of ten respondents said they also support proposals from the newly-formed Swansea Development Advisory Group to redevelop The Kingsway.
The advisory group has mooted the idea of demolishing some of The Kingsway’s existing buildings to make way for a new business district for financial companies and hi-tech start-ups working with local universities.
Just under 85 per cent of respondents also support the advisory group’s proposals to build a major shopping, leisure, cinema and housing complex with 100,000 square feet of office space on the site of the current St David’s shopping centre and car park.
Popular suggestions from business club members for other developments they would support include the continual modernising of High Street and improving links from the train station to the city centre.
Swansea Bay Business Club President, Bruce Roberts, said: “This survey shows that business leaders across the Swansea Bay region support these aspirational proposals for the development of Swansea city centre.”
“Whilst there may still be a long way to go before these proposals become reality in Swansea, the general feeling of the club’s members who took part in the survey is that they welcome the planned growth and investment in the area.
“Representing the views of our members is a key objective of the business club and we hope the findings of this survey are taken on board by the region’s decision makers.”