South Wales Evening Post - 4 September 2008
SWANSEA Council chiefs have defended their record on the economy in the wake of a report which put the city near the bottom of a competitiveness league.
A report produced by the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, found that while there was a resurgence in many of Britain's cities, Swansea was lagging behind.
But the council says the survey was out-of-date and that significant progress has been made in the past two years.
It has painted a far rosier picture of the economic health of the city and says things are now moving in the right direction.
A Swansea Council spokesman said: "The Competitive Index bases its findings on tables of data which is the latest available but in many cases is two years old or more.
"Inevitably, it cannot reflect some of the major achievements and developments that have been taking place in Swansea over the past two years.
"A huge amount of effort has gone into developing and implementing the Economic Regeneration Strategy (Swansea 2020) that will guide the city over the next decade and beyond."
Swansea Council said there had also been significant development in the city's knowledge economy and pointed to the success of the new techniums in the city.
The spokesman said: "Private and public sector investment worth hundreds of millions of pounds has been attracted to Swansea and has seen the building of facilities such as the National Waterfront Museum, the Wales National Pool Swansea, Meridian Quay, Aspers Casino (pictured above) and Salubrious Place.
"In the coming years there is even more to look forward to — particularly the billion-pound transformation of several key sites in the city centre and waterfront areas.
"All this investment is being undertaken to help generate a competitive economy by creating new jobs, boosting productivity, encouraging entrepreneurship and making Swansea a more attractive and vibrant place to live, work and visit."
