Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Executive Board has today outlined plans to spend more than £210million on projects that will regenerate the economy and create hundreds of jobs over the next five years. Discussing the Five Year Capital Programme in the Chamber earlier today, Cllr David Jenkins, the council’s Executive Board Member for Resources, said he hoped Full Council would support his plans for an exciting and ambitions programme that would support strategic priorities and aspirations for the county. The proposed capital programme anticipates spending in excess of £210million over the next five years, aimed at delivery of a number of key projects that will create jobs and improve the quality of life for the people of Carmarthenshire. They include significant investment in schools, highways, housing and regeneration; as well as new schemes within Pembrey Country Park, Carmarthen Leisure Centre, Pendine and Burry Port Harbour, which requires £2million of urgent improvement and ma...

The LEADER programme, which aims to support the regeneration of rural Carmarthenshire, has opened a new call for Expressions of Interest. LEADER is designed to get local people, businesses and communities involved in delivering sustainable, innovative solutions to address some of the economic, social and environmental challenges facing rural Carmarthenshire. The Local Action Group - Grŵp Cefn Gwlad is managing the LEADER programme in Carmarthenshire. LEADER is part of the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020, which is financed by the Welsh Government and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The types of projects that may be funded include: Pilot projects - small scale and time limited activities aimed at testing out a concept or to try an innovative technique. E.g. piloting new ways of delivering rural services using modern technology Feasibility studies to undertake research into a specific issue or problem Facil...

Plans for regenerating Jackson’s Lane and King Street in Carmarthen are moving forward after asking members of the public and businesses for their views. Carmarthen Town Regeneration Forum held a public consultation at the former Myrddin Day Centre in John Street, Carmarthen, last month. The team introduced the concepts and explain the principles behind each proposal. Members of the public were able to use the displays to understand the proposals, speak to members of Carmarthenshire County Council’s Regeneration team, and provide feedback on the ideas. The proposals are part of the Carmarthen Town Regeneration Forum Master Plan and the consultation aimed to allow members of the public a first look at some of the first schemes being developed. Council executive board member for regeneration and leisure Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “I’m delighted that Carmarthen residents took the opportunity to see the exciting proposals for Jackson's Lane and King Street and to tell us what they thou...

Four priority themes and actions have been set by the Llanelli Town Centre Taskforce. Led by Cllr Emlyn Dole, Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council, the group has agreed the main issues that need to be addressed in efforts to regenerate the town and attract more shoppers. The first priority is to address buildings and premises – bringing key commercial units back into use and reducing the number of derelict premises in the town. A list of property landlords in the town is being compiled in order to open discussions over possible future development opportunities. Grant funding is also being sought to bring the former YMCA building back into economic use. The Taskforce also wants to improve the commercial offer within the town centre and also the mix of development, including residential, to increase footfall, job opportunities and productivity. Environment and access is the second priority – keeping the town centre in a good condition, making a pleasant place to visit and creating ...

A new programme to support the regeneration of rural Carmarthenshire is to be launched in the county. The programme will be administered by Carmarthenshire County Council on behalf of the Grŵp Cefn Gwlad Local Action Group. The LEADER programme is designed to get local people, businesses and communities involved in delivering sustainable, innovative solutions to address some of the economic, social and environmental challenges facing rural Carmarthenshire. Grŵp Cefn Gwlad has responsibility for rural regeneration and has developed a strategy which will provide a framework for LEADER activity within the county. The types of projects that may be funded include pilot projects - small scale and time limited activities aimed at testing out a concept or to try an innovative technique; feasibility studies to undertake research into a specific issue or problem; and facilitation and mentoring support to organisations and groups to help develop their skills and expertise. The council’s executi...

Two senior councillors responsible for rural affairs and economic development have been touring the county to see the work being done to boost the economy and regenerate communities. The new executive board member for rural affairs Cllr Jim Jones and the executive board member for regeneration and leisure Cllr Meryl Gravell have visited the Ceridwen Centre, Pen-y-banc Farm, Drefach, Felindre; Y Ganolfan, Capel Iwan; and Beacon Stoves in Capel Iwan, and more recently Eagle Signs in St Clears, Red Roses Community Hall, The Gate in St Clears, and to see improvements being carried out in Pendine and Laugharne. Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “These visits have given us the opportunity to see how grant funding accessed through the county council is being used both to help local businesses such as Beacon Stoves to further develop.” Cllr Jim Jones said: “I have appreciated the chance to see how work such as the upgrading of Pendine Promenade can encourage tourism and boost the rural economy.” The ...

Carmarthenshire’s director of regeneration and leisure Dave Gilbert has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. The citation says that Mr Gilbert has received the award for ‘services to Regeneration and Skills and to the community in West Wales’. Mr Gilbert, who joined Carmarthenshire County Council as director of regeneration and leisure nine years ago, said he felt very honoured to receive the OBE which had come as a surprise. He said: “This recognises the efforts of our highly professional regeneration team. I lead the team but it’s the team that’s being recognised. “We have had lots of physical regeneration projects such as the town centre scheme in Carmarthen and the one underway in Llanelli, and leisure developments at Parc y Scarlets, Ffos Las Racecourse and Carmarthen Leisure Centre. “We have a very proactive approach to helping businesses in Carmarthenshire. It’s not just about physical regeneration projects; we also have a very strong community development tea...

Carmarthenshire County Council has bought the old Ammanford Police Station site as part of the ambitious regeneration plans to redevelop the town centre. The local authority’s Regeneration Department has acquired the site earlier this month for £152,000 and plans to draw up a development brief for a mixed use proposal on the site. The council aims to release the development brief later this year and hopes to attract interest from the private sector or other partners to regenerate this area of the town. The proposals form part of the wider regeneration plans for the town and will complement environmental enhancement works already carried out at Arcade Square and Margaret Street Junction and the forthcoming enhancement works commencing shortly along Quay Street. This acquisition is the second gateway site the council has acquired over recent months, the other being some of the properties along Foundry Row, which themselves are due to be redeveloped shortly. Council leader Cllr Kevin Mad...

A short line of cottages off Upper Park Street offered little resistance to bulldozers clearing the way for the dawning of a £65m bright new Llanelli. The removal of the buildings is one of the last stages of clearance work heralding the new East Gate destined to become a mecca for family entertainment boosting the town’s economy and fortunes later this year. Known in recent years at the CopyTech buildings the old stone and brick cottages were fully architecturally surveyed and found to have little or no merit other than being photographically recorded for posterity. Contractors said they were poorly constructed and collapsed in little more than 30 minutes with little encouragement. The cottages clearance has linked the £25million East Gate development with the £14.7 Y Ffwrnes theatre complex giving new vistas to the old Zion Chapal which is listed and incorporated in the new developments.

Work is starting on a £4.3million makeover of Llanelli’s town centre. The environment enhancement scheme will knit together elements of more than £65million of investment incorporating, East Gate, Llanelli Library, Llanelly House and Y Ffwrnes. The public realm improvements along Stepney and Vaughan Street, the Central Square and east and west Cowell Street will include upgrading the key gateways, providing new canopies, improving pedestrian and cycle linkages and a Showcase to provide information about the transformation taking place. The works will be carried out (starting today) by civil engineers Alun Griffiths Construction over 56 weeks aiming for completion in April 2013. The £4.3 has been found from the European Regional Development Fund, Targeted Match Funding and Carmarthenshire County Council There are five overlapping phases of work to help minimise disruption. The programme of works will be scaled down in November and December to assist retailers and consumers over the busy...

Carmarthenshire has brought in £15 of outside investment in community programmes for every £1 the county has put in itself. The council’s community regeneration division has secured almost £16million of external programme funding with a county council investment of about £1million. The good news has been reported to members of the county’s regeneration and leisure scrutiny committee. The division has created or assisted 154 enterprises, created or safeguarded 21.5 jobs, helped or advised 1,068 community groups, and improved 108 community facilities. It also addressed issues of household debt of more than £1.4million. The division’s achievements over the year include funding the Carmarthen Food Festival, tackling rural access to services and social exclusion, debt and benefit surgeries, the opening of Felinfoel Community Resource Centre, helping people to get online, and funding projects such as Garnant Family Centre, Burry Port Memorial Park, and Llandybie Public Memorial Hall. The fun...

A major regeneration project has started in Pendine. The £500,000 scheme includes a new promenade along the waterfront which would link in with the Wales Coastal Path and other visitor destinations in the village. The proposals also include opportunities for the creation of new public open spaces and landscape features. The scheme will be developed in three phases, with the majority of work taking place during the winter months to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. The project is aimed at enhancing the seaside community and making it a must-see destination for visitors. Carmarthenshire County Council has secured grant funding through the Green Seas Beach Improvement Programme which forms part of “Visit Wales” Environment for Growth (EG4) Coastal Tourism Project, which is part funded by the Convergence European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government. The council is driving forward the project in a bid to put the village on the tourist destination map, increas...

A major regeneration project is about to get underway in Pendine. Carmarthenshire County Council has secured grant funding through the Green Seas Beach Improvement Programme which forms part of “Visit Wales” Environment for Growth(EG4) Coastal Tourism Project, which is part funded by the Convergence European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government. Plans are being developed for a new promenade for the seaside village of Pendine, the proposals will seek to create a continuous promenade route along the waterfront that links in with the Wales Costal Path and other visitor destinations in the village. The proposals will also include opportunities for the creation of new public open spaces and landscape features set within a distinctive, coordinated public realm. The £500,000 scheme will be developed in phases during the winter months to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum. The works are aimed at enhancing the seaside community and making it a must-see destination for...

BBC News - Developer confident on Llanelli cinema and hotel plans The developer behind a cinema, hotel and leisure complex in Llanelli says he is confident it will open next year despite the tough economic climate. Scott Davidson of Henry Davidson Developments Ltd says East Gate in the Carmarthenshire town will be one of the UK's few such schemes to open in 2012. Much of the steelwork has been erected in the past few weeks.

A central hub showcasing a portfolio £60million of regeneration developments about Llanelli opened in the town centre last night. Over the last year Llanelli has had buildings in full metal jackets of scaffolding and swirling cranes have hovered over fast rising stuctures as the town strides into the future. Many people are puzzled at the scale and pace of the development most of which will be completed by the autumn of 2012. County executive board member for regeneration Cllr Clive Scourfield said: “We have been talking about redeveloping Llanelli for such a long time and been snagged by so many difficulties down the years that now it is coming together and happening at pace there is a denial by some that it is happening at all. “To address this very problem the former Burton’s building in Stepney Square, opposite Lloyd’s Bank has been transformed into an information centre on the five projects being delivered.” From Friday it will be manned with staff able to answer questions and exp...

Llanelli's skyline is being spiked by towering new steel structures. After years of planning and clearing of blight, the benefits of a £60-million investment are unfolding as a new town is born. The dawning of Llanelli’s bright new future has not been without pain. Llanelli has suffered years of migration of some traders to out of town shopping centres. But now there is a new degree of optimism with the tide turning as Carmarthenshire County Council’s innovative policies and dynamic regeneration team has attracted Welsh Assembly and European Regional Development Funding. Now the town centre is fighting back. Llanelli’s major regeneration programme will not only transform the town’s look but its fortunes too. Five major projects are being developed which will showcase a wide range of arts, entertainment, leisure and business opportunities. They include a new Theatre, arts and social enterprise complex called Y Ffwrness; the refurbishments of Llanelly House and Llanelli Library, a ne...

The buzz about Llanelli’s rapid £60-million transformation has stung town centre managers from across Wales to come and have a look for themselves. While most town centres are muffling against the cold bite of recession Llanelli is striding forth with great hopes and aspirations for the future. Now like bees to a honeypot, 14 Welsh town centre managers, and possibly the chief executive of the Association of Town Centre Managers, Martin Blackwell, will be in Llanelli on September 14 to see for themselves just what is happening. Llanelli town centre manager Andrew Shufflebotham said: “It is greatly encouraging the town managers want to experience the exciting things happening in Llanelli. “I can’t wait to parade them round the showcase five developments that are attracting so much interest. “We have waited a long time in Llanelli to realise our ambitions and now everything is slotting into place with everything coming to fruition over the next 12 months or so.” The five major proje...