Cross-party support for town’s pioneering health project
THERE was cross-party support in the Senedd for the multi-million-pound Pentre Awel project in Llanelli that will include world-class business research, education, health and leisure facilities.
The scheme was discussed during health questions about steps the Welsh Government can take to tackle health inequalities in Wales.
The City Deal-funded elements of the Pentre Awel are projected to create 1,289 jobs, and once the whole site is developed this will rise to 1,800 jobs, with a £467m boost to the local economy.
Plaid Cymru MS Helen Mary Jones said: “I believe siting really world-class healthcare facilities in our poorer communities can contribute to addressing health inequalities.
“I want to congratulate Plaid Cymru-led Carmarthenshire Council and all the other partners in the development of Pentre Awel in Llanelli, which will be sited right in the middle of some of the poorest wards in Wales.
“The project will include a clinical care centre delivering multidisciplinary care, a clinical research centre and a well-being skills centre, focusing on the health and care training, focusing that training particularly on recruiting from within those communities.
“I would like to congratulate all of those involved.
These kinds of projects can make a real difference in communities where they’re needed most.”
Health Minister Vaughan Gethin replied: “It’s a good example of how local health and care services can and should be drawn together to deliver better-quality facilities, to invest within that community and to deliver better services.
“It goes back to the significantly improved relationships between health and local government through the crisis, but before that as well, and there’s a real opportunity to carry on investing in local healthcare and delivering much better facilities where they’re most needed.”