TVR calls for race circuit to be given government backing
Luxury sports car maker TVR has written to First Minister Carwyn Jones urging that the Welsh Government support the Circuit of Wales.
The company, which is in the process of acquiring a factory to make its new cars, told the First Minister that its choice of Ebbw Vale was “strongly influenced” by the possibility that the £425m racetrack would be located nearby.
The letter was written by TVR directors Les Edgar and John Chasey and is dated May 11. A leaked copy was obtained by Plaid Cymru AM Adam Price.
In the letter the TVR directors write: “We understand that the decision to proceed on the Circuit of Wales project is imminent and we would like to offer our thoughts on the initiative.
“The proposed factory site we have selected for TVR in Ebbw Vale was strongly influenced by the potential siting of the Circuit of Wales project immediately adjacent to the industrial estate where we will be based.
“We believe that the circuit would provide significant opportunity for us to attract customers to our site on multiple occasions, both pre and post purchase.
“We would be able to offer test drives and driving training on track and feel that customers would also spend one or more nights in the area with such a facility rather than simply a flying visit, providing opportunities for broader hospitality.
“We optimistically look forward to hearing the decision in due course.”
Adam Price, Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Business and the Economy, said: “It is clear from this letter sent to us anonymously of the importance of the Circuit of Wales scheme to TVR.
“If the circuit development is not supported by the Welsh Government, the danger is that the choice of the preferred location in Blaenau Gwent will be revisited.
“TVR clearly believes it will not obtain the full benefit of its location to Ebbw Vale without the circuit.”
In March it was reported that TVR was looking to acquire the former Techboard factory, which extends to 184,000 sq ft, on the Rassau Industrial Estate in Ebbw Vale.
The company announced in 2015 that it planned to build its new luxury sports cars in south Wales in a £30m investment backed by the Welsh Government.
TVR said the investment would create 150 direct jobs and many more in the supply chain, with four new models being brought to market over the next decade.
Nigel Copner, Plaid Cymru’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Blaenau Gwent, added: “This letter illustrates the knock-on impact on Ebbw Vale and the rest of Blaenau Gwent if the Circuit of Wales does not receive the necessary support from the Welsh Government.
“The First Minister must not fail Blaenau Gwent. This area has suffered too many setbacks and a significant jobs boost is desperately needed. Blaenau Gwent is after all the only area of Wales where job numbers have fallen since the turn of the 21st century.”
The Welsh Government is currently considering whether to provide a loan guarantee of £210m to the Circuit of Wales project, which has been proposed by the Heads of the Valleys Development Company (HoVDC).
Earlier this month it announced it needed a few more weeks to complete its due diligence process following final submissions from HoVDC.
Last month the Auditor General for Wales criticised the Welsh Government’s handling of the £9.3m, saying there have been significant shortcomings in the way the Welsh Government has managed the associated risks to taxpayers’ money.
The financial watchdog expressed serious concerns about the “limited understanding” of the companies involved in the project.
The Welsh Government allowed payments to related companies, including almost £1m to Aventa Capital Partners Ltd, without enough evidence that services represented value for money.
The report did not assess the merits of the Welsh Government providing further publicly-funded support for the Circuit of Wales or review the viability of the business cases for construction and operation of the race circuit.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We have been working with the Heads of the Valleys Development Company (HoVDC) over many years to find a way to make the Circuit of Wales project work, but TVR has always insisted that its move to Wales is not dependent on this project.
“Now that the HoVDC has submitted its final supporting information the Welsh Government is completing its comprehensive due diligence process on the Circuit of Wales proposal.
“Due diligence is an important part of consideration in supporting any project and is an opportunity to ensure there is a sustainable and robust business plan in place, a fair sharing of risk between the private and the public sectors and [to] examine the wider economic impact of the proposal.
“Once that work is completed Cabinet will consider the project and we will announce a decision.”