Working at the heart of the Townhill community

For 25 years, the Phoenix Centre in Townhill has been a cornerstone of community life in Swansea. Run by the Hill Community Development Trust, it is far more than a building – it’s a trusted local hub that supports opportunity, creativity and connection. From youth provision and training to childcare and social spaces, the Centre has played a vital role in supporting residents of Townhill and Mayhill through community-led activity.

The long-standing partnership between the Phoenix Centre and University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) reflects a shared commitment to widening access to education and strengthening communities. Through collaborative projects, workshops and events, UWTSD staff and students have worked alongside the Centre in ways that benefit local residents while enriching student learning. As the Phoenix Centre marks its 25th anniversary, the University is sharing stories that capture the impact of this relationship on people and place.

We begin with alumna Zoe Murphy, whose personal and professional journey is deeply rooted in Townhill. Here Zoe shares her reflection on how accessible education and sustained community investment can shape individual and collective journeys – including her own.

Born and raised in Townhill, Zoe’s experiences there have shaped both her career and her ongoing commitment to the local community. Becoming a mother at 18, she never lost sight of her ambition to attend university - it was simply a matter of finding the right opportunity. That opportunity came close to home, when she enrolled at what was then Swansea Institute of Higher Education, now UWTSD.

“I was very academic, so going to university was always part of the plan - it was just about finding a way to make it work,” says Zoe. “With a campus based in Townhill at the time, accessing education within my own community made all the difference while raising my daughter.”

She graduated in 2002 with a BA in English Studies, Drama and Media, a course that reflected her interest in storytelling, performance and creative expression. Already running a successful dance school locally, the degree felt like a natural extension of her practical experience as well as a foundation she could build on for the future.

Looking back, Zoe describes her time at university as formative, strengthening her confidence, creative practice and professional relationships. She remembers her student years as “one of the happiest times” of her life, with the experience providing a foundation for freelance work that continues to shape her practice today.

Since graduating, her career has never followed a single track, instead moving fluidly between creative practice and people‑centred roles. She began in dance - teaching, choreographing and creating dance theatre - before gradually shifting towards community arts and engagement. “That’s where I really developed my voice as an artist,” she says. 

Zoe later reconnected with UWTSD through a city‑wide community dance project, which led to six years working in community engagement at the University. During this time, and beyond, she has worked across a wide range of settings, including schools, children’s residential care, prisons and work‑based learning programmes. In 2018, while still working at UWTSD, she completed her Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) which she describes as opening new professional opportunities and strengthening her understanding of community‑focused education.

Her relationship with the Phoenix Centre spans much of her adult life. She used the Centre when it first opened as a space for her dance classes, as well as for social activities and community events. Joining the organisation in 2025 as a Project Coordinator on the Local People Project felt like a natural continuation of a long‑standing relationship.

In her current role, Zoe runs the weekly youth club, coordinates community groups and helps develop local events. “I really believe in the power the Centre has,” she says. “It’s in the heart of Townhill, and I see the hard graft it takes to keep it going and its absolute importance to our community.”

For Zoe, giving back to Townhill is not a professional choice so much as a personal responsibility. She is conscious of the negative perceptions that have often surrounded the area, but is clear that they fail to capture the full picture. 

“What I’ve experienced growing up and working here is strength, compassion, and a real sense of people looking out for each other,” she says. “There’s a strong identity here, and a pride that people don’t always see from the outside.” Supporting her community, for Zoe, means helping people feel valued and recognised for who they are.

As the Phoenix Centre marks its 25th anniversary, Zoe sees the milestone as an important moment of reflection. Established at a time of real need in Townhill and Mayhill, the Centre has become a central hub for support, opportunity and connection - providing employment, safe spaces for young people and facilities shaped by the community itself. Its longevity reflects the commitment behind it. “Spaces like that don’t last 25 years without commitment, and without people believing in what it offers.”

Looking ahead, Zoe sees strong potential for the Phoenix Centre’s future, particularly in supporting young people and ensuring local voices continue to shape its direction. She is clear, however, that this work relies on sustained support. 

“Places like the Phoenix Centre show what’s possible when communities are properly resourced,” she says. “It shouldn’t be the exception.” For Zoe, the Centre stands as “a beacon of what good community work looks like, and what can happen when people are given the space and support to make something work.”

The Hill Dwellers

by Zoe Murphy

Rows of houses lean into the sky,
weathered like the women who walk beneath them,
strong-backed, sharp-tongued,
kind when it counts.

We live close here.
Close like window to window,
door to door,
life to life.
Somewhere, sprayed on the wall outside No. 14:
“Babe, you look so cool.”
A sentence left hanging,
like laundry, like meaning.

This place is not perfect.
It peels and shouts and forgets itself sometimes.
There’s history in these bricks.
And it’s ours.

A single mum with a house full of noise —
music upstairs, laundry on radiators,
takeaway wrappers and late-night advice
they pretend not to hear.

Graffiti blooms on the bus stop glass,
a whisper in scarlet: “Babe, you look so cool.”
A love letter in a place no one’s meant to look,
proof that someone once felt something
loud enough to scrawl it softly.
Someone needed to say it —
and someone else needed to hear it.

The Hill Dwellers,
holding routines, rain and tea.
From here we see it all —
the backs of buildings,
the weather rolling in.
We carry our lives up these slopes:
shopping bags, heartbreak, school shoes,
bits of gossip tucked in pockets,
a line someone once wrote
still tucked in my head some mornings
when the fog sits low.
We are above, not below.
We belong.
Babe, you look so cool.

Further Information

Mared Anthony

Communications and PR Officer: Alumni Relations   
Corporate Communications and PR    
Email: mared.anthony@uwtsd.ac.uk    
Phone: +447482256996