It has been the capital of Swansea's party scene for generations. If you mention the name Wind Street to anyone across the city, and people much further afield, their thoughts will probably turn to wild nights out and scenes of drunken antics which only get more lively the later into the evening it gets.
The bar crawl layout of the street has been its identity and part of its appeal for many years, ever since it became the city's new party quarter, with people hopping between their favourite pubs and clubs, creating memories and marking special moments in their lives, whether it be meeting their husband or wife, celebrating a special birthday party or having their hen or stag do.
But many feel that dynamic is beginning to change. In recent times, a much wider variety of businesses have begun opening and they are slowly changing the feel and look of the street. Founders & Co, for instance, inside the former Revolution, provides a different atmosphere with its coffee bar, bar, dining hall, retail shop and private events room. We've also seen the arrival of Social Dice, a new cafe and bar boasting over 400 board games for people to play. And there's more restaurants and 'order to the table' options than ever before. You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
READ MORE: What became of Swansea's famous nightclubs?
Another major shift in the feel of the street is pedestrianisation Swansea Council has invested £3 million in new seating areas and greenery to turn the street into an all-day destination with more opportunities for family fun, eating and meeting for coffee, rather than it just being somewhere people go in the evening.
It appears to be nudging Wind Street back towards the authority's original plan for the area, which was for it to become a 'cultural quarter' for the city. In the late 1990s, it was hoped the street would become a distinctive area of cafes, restaurants, pubs, art galleries and studio workshops, and more than 70 developers and agents made inquiries with Swansea Council about becoming part of the city centre transformation scheme.
But by October, 1997, it started to become clear that this vision was not going to play out as planned. Alarm bells were raised that the scheme was being "hijacked by pubs". You can read more about that by clicking here. Are things now taking a different turn?
We reported how in July this year, bar operator Bruno Nunes said he believed society was changing and that the days of the "vertical drinking, volume-led" business model were gone, adding: "It is no longer cool to get p*ssed beyond oblivion", which you can read more about here.
Alex Collins is deputy manager of Jack Murphy's. Having grown up in Swansea and relocated to Bristol before returning home, he explained how the shift in the atmosphere along Wind Street was even more noticeable. He said: "Maybe because I was away I have noticed how much it has changed. It is not as rowdy as it was and has calmed down from how it was when I was younger.
"I remember the ideas the council originally had for Wind Street and it feels a lot closer to what they wanted now as they had planned 20 years ago. It's far better now. I was quite surprised at the difference. Weeks ago it was Swansea's first home game and it was mostly Blackburn fans in here. The atmosphere was really good, but that may not have been the case years and years ago. It's definitely a nicer atmosphere now.
"Hopefully Wind Street will just carry on improving. It's a good balance now, there's a lot of different reasons why people come out for a night on Wind Street now." You can read more stories about Swansea here.
Elsewhere in the street you'll find Max Harvey, general manager of the Pitcher and Piano. He has been in the role for five months and had no previous knowledge of how Wind Street was in previous generations. He said: "The first time I came down here it was in the day time and it felt abandoned in a way. It was really, really quiet, but it was a completely different atmosphere come the night.
"There's a massive variety here and there's something different on the street for everyone. We are a premium bar and we either have people who come here for a pre-drink before heading to the likes of Peppermint or Bambu, or they'll stay with us for the entire evening. We also have our resident drag queen Diana D on a Wednesday night.
"Wind Street is very much a party scene, it's full of students, but the interesting thing is the street always has a very welcoming vibe, but at the same time very intimidating, so it's confusing that it can be both. Unless it's someone on a night out, it's not a place where you'd come down. With the likes of Dorothy's, Utopia, Popworld, it's very much a safe space and everyone around here really pushes to make sure everyone is safe.
"I think going forward there will be more variety. Ever since Covid people need a reason to go out, whereas before people would go out more in general. It's a case of having to have things to appeal to people. It's a case of having people who may be going out for a quiz, then will stay out from there."
Adrian Miller is assistant manager of the street's oldest establishment, No Sign Bar, which has seen all the comings and goings around it through the years. He said: "I partially agree with what Bruno was saying, It's still an industry where people come out and get drunk, but it's changed completely post-lockdown. Nightlife has completely changed overall. It does not feel as hectic as it used to.
"The nightclub venues are not there, and people going out tend to do so to enjoy themselves and are not leaving the night absolutely intoxicated. The pedestrianisation of Wind Street and the outdoor seating has relaxed the atmosphere on the street. It does not feel as hemmed in anymore.
"The cost of living going up will have an impact on the future, and whether people can afford to go out as much as they are at the moment. I think we are back to normal at the moment, but I don't think we are in a position to say things are going to get any better or any worse."
South Wales Police local inspector Mark Watkins said there were a number of initiatives at play to create a safe environment along Wind Street, but he admitted it continued to be a challenge.
He said: “Efforts to establish a safe night time economy in Swansea, particularly Wind Street, have come from a combination of various initiatives. However, this area continues to be a challenge for policing and partners to maintain the safety and security of people who visit. Close working arrangements between the licensing authorities, our licensing officers and the licenced premises on Wind Street continue to play an important part in this. Multi-agency collaboration and information initiatives include the Swansea Help Point and our Student Volunteer Scheme, both of which help address vulnerability in the night-time economy."
Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart added: "We have invested millions of pounds to improve Wind Street's look and feel as we continue to work closely alongside businesses there to create a family-friendly, all-day destination where people can meet for coffee, eat and socialise.
“More places to sit and relax have been introduced, along with improved lighting, more trees and planted areas, and better public spaces. This builds on Swansea winning the Purple Flag award for the eighth consecutive year in 2022 in recognition of the city centre’s night-time economy which is safely enjoyed by tens of thousands of people every week.
“We will continue to support the police and other partners so that resources are appropriately deployed to ensure the night-time visiting experience on Wind Street remains as safe and enjoyable as possible. Responding to the needs of the business community, feedback about our Wind Street improvements has been extremely positive. It’s one feature of an on-going £1bn transformation of our city into one of the UK’s best places to live, work, study and visit.”
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