Up, up and .... down

Swansea council leader Chris Holley does another Captain Bullshit impersonation in today’s Western Mail in insisting that his £1 billion regeneration plans are untouched by recession.

It’s not just that his personal fantasy runs in the face of property press reports of how would-be partners Hammerson are divesting like crazy to boost their share price but that he thinks that the company would actually involve itself in another risky project even in the longer term. Holley’s own officers state in a council report that “many city centre regeneration schemes have been abandoned or postponed”.

Last week, Newport council concluded that the ‘preferred’ developer behind a £200 million project was less interested in investment than in stopping any of its competitors getting a future foothold in the project. That scheme was cancelled by mutual consent but the rumour is that Swansea would face heavy financial penalties if they try to dump their development partners within the next three years.

Even so, the final and unacceptable dollop of brown stuff offered up by Holley’s is his ludicrous statement that a WAG decision to give the city centre Strategic Regeneration Area status “is a demonstration of its commitment to the project”.

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The sad fact is that this ‘prize’ is a simply another government hand-out that gets awarded to areas of high deprivation who are unable to generate investment interest from anywhere else. Previous ‘winners’ have been Rhyl and Colwyn Bay.

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Instead of treating Swansea's electors like they come from another planet, there is a good argument for the press to start asking why the council leader appears to be the sole inhabitant on his.