A LACK of play areas in Swansea’s SA1 – branded a “disgrace” by one councillor – is being addressed.
Two new parks are to be created at the former docklands area off Langdon Road.
Between them they’ll include a pump track for BMX and scooter riders, a basketball area, play equipment, green space, benches and seats, trees, hedgerows and wildflowers.
Swansea Council said they’ll be built in the coming months and that some preparatory work had started.
Cllr Sam Bennett, who was elected to represent the waterfront area in 2022 for the first time, said £1 million had been put aside for three new parks years ago and that he had regularly sought updates from the council on behalf of residents in SA1.
He said he’d been told work would start at various points from 2022 onwards but that nothing had happened. He said he was assured earlier this year that work would start this May, and that he hadn’t seen any sign of it yet.
“The situation with the parks in SA1 is simply a disgrace,” said the Liberal Democrat councillor. “In the 2022 (council) elections Labour made a big fanfare they had the £1 million for the parks in an effort to persuade the residents of SA1 to vote for them. Three years down the line, and residents still do not have even one park.”
Labour council leader Rob Stewart responded by saying Cllr Bennett had been kept fully updated on the plans for two new parks and had indicated in previous meetings he was happy with the progress being made.
Cllr Stewart said topsoil had been delivered in preparation for the coming work.
“It’s therefore disappointing to see the local councillor claim works are not under way,” he said. “He knows council officers and the administration are working hard to deliver these as soon as possible.”
Cllr Stewart said more than £8 million had been spent upgrading or creating new play areas at around 60 sites in Swansea by the Labour-run authority – including the Amy Dillwyn Park by Swansea Building Society Arena – since the Covid pandemic. He said this was many more than in the previous two decades including when the Lib-Dems were in power.
The situation in SA1 goes back to 2018 when the council’s planning committee approved a legal agreement with landowner the Welsh Government for the council to create three public spaces with a children’s play area. Welsh ministers were to provide £1 million for the work. It is understood the council has had the money for around six years, although the pandemic put a stop to many projects. Two sites off Langdon Road are being taken forward for new parks.
Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, cabinet member for investment, regeneration, events and tourism, said soil for the new parks was being excavated and reused from places including Singleton Boating Lake.
“We’re confident that these great new places will be welcomed by residents of SA1 and that locals and visitors alike will work with us to keep the facilities in top shape for years to come,” he said.
