Welsh Government gives Swansea £300k towards central library move as part of city regeneration

Swansea Council are transforming the former BHS store on the corner of Oxford Street and Princess Way adjacent to the city’s Castle Square into a new hub for its library, archive service and public facing offerings such as its contact centre, housing and benefits enquiries desks.

The library currently sits within the council’s Civic Centre, which is earmarked for regeneration.

The £300k comes on top of an already announced £2m Welsh Government grant for the building – with the potential for a further £3.5m – provided under the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns initiative.

At the time of the previous funding announcement, leader of the council, Rob Stewart said: “This substantial funding will help us deliver an outstanding venue for people to meet and to access a range of public services that are important to them.

“The Welsh Government has confidence in our plans for our city centre as we forge ahead with our city’s £1bn regeneration.

“The public are already telling us how excited they are about having this new community hub in such an accessible, central location.”

The Swansea grant is one of seven funding announcements made for libraries and museums across Wales under the Welsh Government’s Cultural Transformation Capital Programme.

Other services to benefit include £268,682 for the remodelling of Ystradgynlais Library in Powys; £147,000 for a bibliotherapy project at Cardiff Hubs & Libraries, which will help patients better manage their own health and wellbeing through reading; and £135,000 for new interactive history digital exhibition displays at The Rhondda Heritage Park, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

There is also £149,997 for the development of Narberth Library, Pembrokeshire; £120,534 to improve the efficiency of Narberth Museum, Pembrokeshire; and £110,000 for improving energy efficiency at Abergavenny Castle, Monmouthshire.

The Welsh Government say the funding award to support the Narberth Library Development project is a contribution to a significant regeneration programme to transform the Narberth Old School, a building that has been empty for over a decade, into a multiuse facility. The library will be 58% larger than the current facility, in a more visible, central, and accessible town centre location.

Funding to Ystradgynlais Library is said to support remodelling of the library to meet community demands, with greater emphasis on supported digital access from a trusted community location, reducing environmental impacts of the building and preventing unnecessary travel.

Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Dawn Bowden said: “I’m delighted to announce the successful projects which will receive this funding under the Welsh Government’s Cultural Transformation Capital Programme, which allows us to invest significantly in our local cultural sectors. 

“This round of funding is supporting a wide variety of initiatives, from transforming spaces to be better used by their communities, enabling greater access and participation, whilst also supporting the health and well-being of users, to preserving collections for future generations.

“The support provided by our local museums, archives and libraries is essential to helping communities in Wales thrive, now more than ever. The Welsh Government is committed to continuing this much needed support for organisations at the heart of Welsh Culture, continuing to ensure that everyone in Wales has access to arts and cultural activities.”

(Lead image: Swansea Council)