Our estate was labelled a war zone after the riot - but the reality is very different

Our estate was labelled a war zone after the riot - but the reality is very different

Cars were torched, homes vandalised and residents and police attacked during two hours of violent disorder. The area was dubbed a "war zone".

But people who live in Mayhill and Townhill say the perception of their estate is very different to the reality of their lives, in an area affectionately known as "the hill".

I've been reporting from Swansea for over 40 years and thought I knew the hill well, but was keen to learn more about what it's like to live here. So I arranged to meet Leanne Dower, who has lived in Townhill all her life.

We meet up when Leanne is on her way to work, at a community hub called The Phoenix Centre which she now runs - but I soon find that the route takes longer than I expected.

Leanne must know everybody on the estate. She stops to talk, or shouts a cheery "Hi, you alright?" to nearly everybody passing on foot or by car.

"I love it, absolutely love Townhill," she tells me.

Warning: This article contains a reference to suicide

Leanne, now 48, first started working at the Phoenix - a social enterprise that reinvests any profits back into the community - when she was 23 and a single mum to her then one-year-old daughter.

"There's good and bad everywhere and definitely here the good outweighs the bad. This is a positive community," she tells me.

"I always say if I won the lottery I wouldn't move off Townhill. I love the views and the community spirit and the fact that everybody comes together when things are not good."

That neighbourly spirit Leanne talks about was put to the test five years ago.

On 20 May 2021, the tight-knit community made front page news after an outbreak of violent disorder in Mayhill, which prompted condemnation from the then Home Secretary Priti Patel.

It started after a peaceful vigil for a local teenager. Suddenly, the event turned violent. Homes were attacked and cars were smashed. Stones, bricks and bottles were pelted at police officers. People hid in terror in their homes.

Eighteen people were later jailed for their part in the riot.

The response from local people was swift, with many rushing to help clear up and support those who were targeted.

Leanne said she "never felt prouder of the way the community here pulled together that day".

But what sparked that massive community response? What was it that made people from all parts of the community rush out to help?

This estate is one of the very first purpose-built council house estates in Wales, built in the inter-war years.

Houses are well spaced with large lawns and gardens. There's greenery in abundance with hedges and trees and play areas.

And this is a place with million dollar views stretching right across Swansea Bay. On a clear day, they say you can see across to Devon.

At the heart of it, in what is known as Paradise Park, you will find the Phoenix centre, which has been a focal point for the folk on the hill for 25 years. It was set up to relieve the effects of poverty and promote regeneration in the area.

In the reception area I meet Dr Ceri Phelps, principal lecturer in applied psychology at University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD).

She tells me her late father, Roy, was involved with the Phoenix Centre from the beginning and served as a chairman and director.

She is here collecting stories and photos of the centre's 25 year history.

"It gives me a sense of hope and wellbeing every time I come here. This place has the ability to change people's lives," she said.

One of those people is Zoe Murphy. She was born and raised in Townhill. Becoming a mum at 18, she never lost sight of her ambition to attend university and enrolled at what was then Swansea Institute of Higher Education, now UWTSD, and graduated in 2002 with a BA in English Studies, Drama and Media.

I meet her at the weekly youth club that she helps run at the Phoenix.

"It's a working class community here, people who have got jobs and have gone on to have professions and who contribute to society in so many ways.

"There's a wide variety of people here and not just what people tend to think might go on in a council estate in terms of employment and socio-economic factors."

Mike Durke knows the community and the community centre well. He was the first manager here and is still a regular visitor. He is now a local councillor.

"It's always been a fantastic community, but in the 90s there was evidence of high levels of statistical deprivation here.

"Ten per cent of the housing stock was empty . People were leaving the estate because of crime or fear of crime."

At the time, the Urban Community Initiative Pilot had been launched by the European Union.

Swansea's bid to be part of the programme was successful and this resulted in a huge initiative to regenerate the hill, including the the very first economic development centre of its kind in Wales – the Phoenix.

"Since the centre has opened we have seen a steady decrease in crime and antisocial behaviour on the estate," Mike said.

"This centre meets the needs of local people with innovation and enthusiasm and is a model that could apply to every community with higher levels of socioeconomic issues."

I wanted to find out more about the next generation and met up with Sebastian Wlodarczyk, 18, who is working as a teaching assistant at a local school and volunteering at the new local skateboard park.

"There's a community feel on the estate," he tells me.

"I was brought up here. Everyone knows each other. I am hoping to stay local and work local."

Those sentiments are echoed by Peter Owen, headmaster of the nearby Townhill community school.

"People here want the best for their children and families and fulfil dreams. There are so many success stories of young people and families that have come from this area that are doing incredibly well."

Back at the Phoenix, Leanne Russell is busy preparing her popular English breakfasts for hungry customers.

"I have lived here for 42 years, it's lovely, everyone gets together when needed. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else," Leanne tells me.

She talks of her customers with affection and tells me that they know and care for their regulars.

"If we haven't seen someone for a while, we get worried and we ask one of the PCSOs (police community support officers) to go down there just to check in on them and make sure they are OK."

Watching out for neighbours and friends is something people do here, and that people-based ethos is now attracting the attention of other communities across Wales.

The area features in a new report by the Wales Centre for Public Policy into experiences of poverty stigma in Swansea and the role of local public services.