Labour councillors are slammed for ‘vanity gone mad’ plan to name rooms in £50million taxpayer-funded arena after THEMSELVES
- Labour councillors planed to name rooms at the Swansea arena after their own
- The move was called ‘vanity gone mad’ by the leader of the Swansea Tories
- The plans have now been paused as the £50million Swansea Arena opens
Labour councillors in Swansea have been slammed for naming rooms in a £50million taxpayer-funded arena after themselves.
Plans to name three rooms at the new 3500-capacity Swansea Arena after councillors Robert Francis-Davies, David Hopkins and Andrea Lewis, according to the Local Democracy Service.
Council leader Rob Stewart said the move was to honour the councillors but Lyndon Jones, leader of Swansea Conservatives, said it was a ‘step too far’ and had left people ‘astonished’.
The move has since been paused by the council.
Labour councillors planned to name rooms at the £50m Swansea Arena after their own
The arena is part of the £135million regeneration of the Copr Bay regeneration project
Mr Jones said: ‘The rooms should surely have been named after famous sons and daughters from Swansea, like the people who have received the freedom of the city of Swansea, or people from the world of entertainment like Sir Harry Secombe or Bonnie Tyler.
‘It’s vanity gone mad.’
Chris Holley, the leader of the Liberal Democrat-Independent opposition group, agreed with Mr Jones, and said serving politicians should not be afforded such honours.
He added: ‘It’s just vain, inappropriate and wrong.’
Rob Stewart rebutted the criticism by saying that Mr Francis-Davies had served for over 35 years and played an important role in the regeneration projects in the area.
Rob Stewart rebutted the criticism by saying that Mr Francis-Davies had served for over 35 years and played an important role in the regeneration projects in the area
The move has since been paused by the council who said that the discussions were ongoing
Mr Francis-Davies said he was ‘quite humbled’ by the move and Ms Lewis, joint deputy council leader, said the nomination had been a surprise and that she was ‘honoured’.
Ms Lewis said: ‘I felt really honoured to have that accolade,’ she said. ‘It was really touching.’
The Labour administration has pushed through plans for the new arena as part of the £135million Copr Bay regeneration project.
A Swansea council spokesman said: ‘There have been proposals for naming a number of facilities and rooms in council buildings, but these are on hold pending further discussion with all political groups.’