Council considers sites to offload as part of asset management plan

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

Former schools, tennis courts and city centre buildings are among the assets a city council has earmarked for disposal over the next four years.

Some of them – like the former Gorseinon Junior School – could be used for council housing while others could be acquired by developers.

Like most local authorities Swansea has a large, varied asset portfolio which brings in rental revenue partially offset by maintenance costs.

Rental income has increased substantially due to city centre investments in recent years, a new asset management plan discussed at a meeting of full council said.

Sites deemed to be surplus which the council will look to offload as part of the four-year asset plan include:

– The former Tan y Lan junior school, Morriston
– Former Tregwyr junior school, Gowerton
– Land at Clase Primary School
– Land at Birchgrove Primary School
– Langland Bay tennis court site
– Pipehouse Wharf depot, off Morfa Road
– A building next to the 71/72 Kingsway office development
– 17 High Street
– Land earmarked for housing at a large site between Waunarlwydd and Fforestfach
– Home Farm depot, Sketty

The council invited expressions of interest in the Langland site off Alma Road last August – the second time it has sought to get it redeveloped.

The plot of land is just under one acre in size and set behind Langland’s beach huts. It includes public toilets, a detached empty building and the three tennis courts closest to Alma Road. Potential uses include a hotel, restaurant, café, shop, community and leisure facilities – and public toilets will need to be provided.

Tourist attraction

Speaking at the full council meeting, Cllr Will Thomas said Langland Bay was one of Wales’s best tourist attractions and that a lot of people were passionate about it.

“I am nervously excited to see something actually finally being done here,” he said. “What we don’t want to see is something which is overdeveloped. We want something that puts the community first, something that takes the surroundings into mind when it’s being built – something that gives back to the community. We don’t want to see the site as a cash cow.”

Council leader Rob Stewart said the growth of racquet sports like pickleball and padel offered opportunities for inclusion and that he shared Cllr Thomas’s ambition for the site. Cllr Stewart said he envisaged a scheme which the community would embrace, like he said it had with the new seawall and promenade in nearby Mumbles. “Obviously we’ve got to go through the formal process and see what comes back and what the options are,” he said.

Other aspects of the four-year asset plan were discussed, including a linked strategy enabling leaseholders of city centre properties to extend their leases for a premium payment to be followed by peppercorn rent. Under this strategy freehold disposals wouldn’t be approved by council chiefs except in exceptional circumstances where applicants could prove that doing so was fundamental to bringing forward a development.

Opposition leader Cllr Chris Holley said reports setting out requests for freehold disposals should come before full council not just cabinet because council-owned property was “the family silver”.

Cllr Stewart said the authority would wish to hold onto its assets as a “default position” but could look to do deals in exceptional circumstances to unlock developments.

‘Initial proposals’

Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service for an update on the marketing of the Langland site last summer, which doesn’t include two tennis courts leased to Mumbles Community Council, a Swansea Council spokesman said: “We’ve had a number of initial proposals – and we’re working with our property agents to seek more detail on those ideas.

“Any development will need to provide facilities to improve services for the public and be sympathetic to the environment.

“Money raised through any long lease will be ring fenced for further reinvestment. Any developer would need to follow a full formal planning process, including public consultation.”