**Transformation of Swansea’s Landmark BHS Building: From High Street Retail to Vibrant Community Hub**
Work is surging ahead on the former British Home Stores (BHS) building in the heart of Swansea, as the site undergoes a remarkable transformation from a dormant department store to a major public services centre. Newly released photographs offer a peek behind the hoardings and scaffolding, revealing the progress made inside a structure that once symbolised high street retail—and now promises to become a focal point of community life.
For decades, the Oxford Street premises housed BHS, a staple of British retail since the 1950s. Its demise in 2016, when the national chain entered administration, marked the end of an era for Swansea as the shop’s shutters came down for the last time—incidentally, the final BHS store to trade in Wales. After this, the ground floor was briefly occupied by the homewares retailer ‘What!’, which itself foundered in the wake of challenging market conditions and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. What! announced its own closure in March 2021, joining a wave of other businesses that exited the city centre during those tumultuous years.
Rather than leaving this significant site to stagnate, Swansea Council initiated plans for its ambitious repurposing as part of a wider £1 billion city regeneration scheme. This project seeks not only to breathe new life into tired retail spaces, but to modernise the city’s offering with accessible, integrated public services, thus boosting city centre footfall and vibrancy.
Now christened ‘Y Storfa’, the building is set to become a bustling hub. It will host Swansea Central Library, a newly designed children’s library, and a range of council-run facilities, including Housing Options, Lifelong Learning, and the West Glamorgan Archive Service. Alongside these, various partner organisations will move in, among them Careers Wales, Citizens Advice, and Swansea University’s South Wales Miners’ Library. By co-locating these organisations under one roof, the hope is to create a ‘one-stop-shop’ for city residents seeking help, information, and education.
While inside the premises, construction work remains ongoing, the latest images suggest significant redevelopment is underway. The most striking new feature taking shape is a three-storey central staircase fashioned from steel, intended to serve as both a functional centrepiece and an architectural flourish. Additionally, the design includes brightly coloured, beach hut-style meeting pods—designed to make Careers Wales’ advice sessions both accessible and inviting. Upgrades to the building’s façade and internals include installation of new windows and modern cladding, ensuring both energy efficiency and a fresh visual identity.
As is often the case with major renovations, builders have uncovered remnants of the building’s past. Above the main floors, contractors stumbled across the long-forgotten Cavalier Bar, eerily preserved since its heyday. Dust settled on ancient drink bottles, menus still advertised £1.50 meals, and a faded poster from 1988 listed regional horseracing fixtures—forming a living time capsule of Swansea’s social life four decades ago.
The regeneration reflects a broader move amongst UK cities to reimagine declining traditional retail spaces as adaptable community assets. Following delays—Y Storfa was initially tipped to open its doors in 2023—the Council now expects completion during 2025. Funding for the substantial project is being provided by both Swansea Council and the Welsh Government, underlining the strategic importance of the scheme.
Council leader Rob Stewart has welcomed the progress, stating, “It’s great to see real changes being made to such a prominent building in our city centre. Y Storfa will make critical services more accessible for everyone and is a key component of our wider plans to transform Swansea for the benefit of all.”
With completion now in sight, anticipation is building around Y Storfa’s potential to serve as both a practical resource and a symbol of Swansea’s evolving identity. As white hoardings come down and the finishing touches are applied, a building once synonymous with shopping bargains prepares to begin an entirely new chapter at the city’s very heart—underscoring the resilience and adaptability of Swansea’s urban landscape.