28-518: The Dylan Thomas Centre is an arts centre located in the Maritime Quarter in Swansea , Wales. It is a Grade II* listed building . The building was commissioned to replace a previous guildhall which had been located near Swansea Castle and dated back to the late 16th century. The new building, which was designed by John Collingwood in the neo-classical style and built by Thomas Bowen,
56-492: A Sir Abertawe ), or simply Swansea Council ( Welsh : Cyngor Abertawe ), is the local authority for the city and county of Swansea , one of the principal areas of Wales . The principal area also includes rural areas to the north of the built-up area of Swansea and the Gower Peninsula to the west. The council consists of 75 councillors representing 32 electoral wards. Since 2012 the council has been controlled by
84-629: A developer whose brother was a councillor at the local council. Later on, the same company was paid to dig out the South Dock again to create the marina. The developer is now imprisoned in Swansea Prison. The re-excavated South Dock was laid out into the award-winning Maritime Quarter by architect Robin Campbell, then head of Environmental Design at Swansea Council . The brief was to make the area an extension of Swansea city centre, and not
112-503: A lower-tier district council , with the new West Glamorgan County Council providing county-level services. The district of Swansea created in 1974 was larger than the old county borough, also covering the area of the abolished Gower Rural District . In 1996, under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 , further local government reform saw West Glamorgan County Council abolished and the district of Swansea merged with parts of
140-511: A separate suburb, and to create walkways through the overall development being created by several building companies. However, due to the busy thoroughfare of Quay Parade/Oystermouth Road, the Marina area remains separate from the city centre. Campbell also worked in partnership with the developers to incorporate art designed by local artists into the buildings, and the creation of an observatory. The South Dock itself now serves as marina , part of
168-646: Is a residential area of Swansea , Wales , immediately south of the city centre shopping core. It falls within Swansea's Castle ward . The area is bounded by Brynmill to the west, Swansea Bay to the South, the River Tawe to the east and the A4067 to the north. The area comprises a mixture of housing ranging from 1980s low-rise apartment blocks around the old South Dock to town houses arranged in quadrangles in
196-513: Is a steel structure built over the Tawe barrage . The western section of the lock bridge is a swing bridge over the lock which allows vessels to pass through the Tawe barrage. The water areas are not fully protected by railings. Local residents have often expressed concerns over the safety of the lack of railings and indeed, over the years, the marina has seen a number of people drown after falling into
224-551: Is due in 2027. Since 2012, elections have taken place every five years. The last election was 5 May 2022. Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in notes column. Between 1996 and 2004, the council was under Labour control. Between 2004 and 2012 there was no overall control and the council was led by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Independents and the Conservatives, termed
252-660: Is the Civic Centre which houses government offices of the City and County of Swansea Council . Within the area are: The square surrounded by the National Waterfront Museum, the old Pump House and shopping area contains a statue of Dylan Thomas . 51°36′54″N 3°56′24″W / 51.615°N 3.940°W / 51.615; -3.940 City and County of Swansea council The City and County of Swansea Council ( Welsh : Cyngor Dinas
280-441: The Civic Centre , on Oystermouth Road, overlooking Swansea Bay . The Civic Centre was completed in 1982 as County Hall for the former West Glamorgan County Council. The Lord Mayor of Swansea ( Welsh : Arglwydd Faer Abertawe ) is a senior member of the elected Council. Swansea has had a Mayor since it became a borough in 1835. The dignity of Lord Mayor was conferred on the city by Queen Elizabeth II on 22 March 1982 to celebrate
308-619: The Labour Party . Swansea was an ancient borough . The town's first charter was granted sometime between 1158 and 1184 by William de Newburgh, 3rd Earl of Warwick . The charter granted the townsmen (called burgesses ) certain rights to develop the area. A second charter was granted in 1215 by King John . The borough was reformed under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 to become a municipal borough . When elected county councils were established in 1889 under
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#1732773016892336-471: The Lliw Valley district to form a unitary authority , called the 'City and County of Swansea' ( Welsh : Dinas a Sir Abertawe .) The first election to the new council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been held by the following parties: The first leader of the council following
364-495: The Local Government Act 1888 , Swansea was considered large enough to run its own county-level services, and so it became a county borough , independent from Glamorgan County Council . Swansea County Borough Council was the local authority from 1889 until 1974. It gained city status in 1969, allowing the council to call itself Swansea City Council. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 , Swansea became
392-574: The Swansea Marina complex providing berths for privately owned leisure boats. Sailing and sea angling schools are based in the area. In addition to the Quay Parade road bridge just to the north, two pedestrian bridges link this area to the main Swansea docks area – the Sail bridge and the lock bridge. The Sail bridge, as its name suggests, is designed to look like a sail. The lock bridge
420-572: The Swansea Administration. Labour regained control of the council at the 2012 election and retained control at the 2017 and 2022 elections. Following a local government boundary review, the number of wards in Swansea was reduced from 36 to 32. The changes took effect from the 2022 local elections . The boundaries of 15 wards remained unchanged, but a number of other wards were merged, or radically altered, with new wards such as Mumbles and Waterfront created. The following table lists
448-569: The building of many low-rise apartment blocks around the former dock. On the site of the Sainsbury's superstore, once stood the six-storey Weaver building . Built in 1897 by the French architect François Hennebique , it was used for corn storage and was the first steel reinforced concrete building built in Europe. Originally the city council decided to fill in the South Dock. This was done by
476-555: The civic leaders moved to the new Swansea Guildhall in 1934. During the Second World War it was requisitioned by the army for use as a recruiting centre. After reverting to use as a juvenile employment centre, it became a College of Further Education in 1960 and then became an annexe to Dynevor School in 1970 before closing in 1982. The building was officially re-opened by the American former President Jimmy Carter and
504-693: The council today were granted by the College of Arms in 1922. The motto is 'Floreat Swansea'. The Arms are blazoned as follows: The Arms are symbolic to an extent: the blue and white wavy bars represent the sea, since Swansea is a port town; the Castle represents the Medieval fortifications of the Town; the lion as dexter supporter and on the Inescutcheon commemorates the link with the de Breos family; and
532-860: The dragon as sinister supporter is the National Emblem of Wales and is a supporter in the Achievement of Arms of the present Lord Swansea. In April 1974, the City of Swansea was merged with the Gower Rural District to form the new District and City of Swansea . The Arms granted to the Corporation of the County Borough of Swansea in 1922 were transferred unchanged to the new City Council in May 1975. The Certificate of Transfer of
560-782: The last Leader of the Swansea City Council, Trevor Burtonshaw, as the Dylan Thomas Centre in 1995. In 2012 a large part of the Centre was leased by Swansea's council to the University of Wales with the purpose of using it as a business centre for creative industries. In October 2014, the Centre launched the permanent "Love the Words" exhibition which explores Dylan's life and work through a variety of media and including letters, books, worksheets and photographs. It
588-441: The post-2022 county/community wards, the numbers of councillors elected and the communities they cover. Communities with a community council are indicated with a '*': * = Communities which elect a community council = Ward coterminous with community of the same name Council meetings are generally held at Swansea Guildhall , which was completed in 1934 for the old county borough council. The council's main offices are at
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#1732773016892616-452: The reforms in 1996, Tom Jones, was the last leader of West Glamorgan County Council. The leaders of Swansea Council since 1996 have been: Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was: The Liberal Democrats, local party Independents@Swansea and five of the independent councillors sit together as the 'Liberal Democrats and Independent Opposition Group'. The next election
644-527: The south-eastern part of the area, which were built in the 2000s decade. Planning approval for the marina was given on condition that a significant proportion of the development be sold to housing associations for social housing. The tallest building in Wales, the Meridian Quay Tower , is in the area. The South Dock area underwent significant brownfield re-development in the early 1980s, with
672-584: The then County Borough of Swansea in 1922 and renamed the Mansion House. The logo of the City and County of Swansea depicts a stylised Osprey . It is shown with the name of the council written beneath it or beside it, both in Welsh (Cyngor Abertawe) and English (Swansea Council). An older version of the logo displayed the text written in a ring around the Osprey pictogram. The official coat of arms used by
700-618: The waters by accident. The headquarters of the local South Wales Evening Post newspaper is here. Beside the Evening Post building is the Associated British Ports building , now used as a five-star hotel. Just west of the marina is a four-star Marriott hotel. A waterside walkway to the north-east of the marina is home to a few cafes, pubs and arcades. On the far western end of the Maritime Quarter
728-709: The wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales . The status was confirmed on 1 April 1996 when the Unitary Authority of the City and County of Swansea came into being. The style of the Lord Mayor is "The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Swansea". The official residence is the Mansion House in Ffynone, which was originally built as the home of a previous mayor, Evan Matthew Richards. It was purchased by
756-512: Was completed in 1829. It was remodelled to the plans of Thomas Taylor in 1852, using a design which was modelled on the Temple of Jupiter Stator in Rome . The external design involved nine bays on each side with round-arched windows on the ground floor and tall round-arched windows flanked by Corinthian order columns on the first floor. It was converted for use as a juvenile employment centre after
784-524: Was made possible with support of nearly £1 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund . The Dylan Thomas Centre is home to a year-round programme of literary events, including book launches, plays, poetry evenings, changing exhibitions and science talks. It also hosts the annual Dylan Thomas Festival held between Dylan’s birth and death dates, 27 October to 9 November. Maritime Quarter The Maritime Quarter (including Swansea Marina )
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