Leader pledges to get the economy moving
THE leader of Carmarthenshire Council has pledged to get the county’s economy moving again, and said many changes forced upon the authority by the Covid pandemic had turned out to be positive.
Plaid Cymru councillor Emlyn Dole, pictured below, who was giving his annual report to full council, said: “Carmarthenshire can and will come out of this better.”
Labour opposition leader, Cllr Rob James, said he felt the report “glosses over” the challenges faced by the county.
Cllr Dole said “normal” still seemed a little further ahead but noted the progress of the vaccination programme, with 60% of adults in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area having received their first jab, and 27% both jabs.
Speaking in a prerecorded video, which was screened at the meeting, he said: “The pandemic has made things happen more quickly and, in most cases, this has been very positive.”
He added: “We will get the Carmarthenshire economy moving again, supporting businesses to restart and flourish again.”
Town centres, said Cllr Dole, still had a bright future although it was important to acknowledge the need for change.
He said new energy and life was being brought back into Llanelli town centre, and that the redevelopment of Llandeilo Market Hall into a rural business hub was the type of project which 10 rural towns in the county would benefit from under the PlaidIndependent administration.
Cllr Dole also mentioned the Pentre Awel wellness village in Llanelli, which the council has just gone out to tender on.
He said of the £200 million Swansea Bay City Deal project, which is estimated to create nearly 2,000 jobs over 15 years: “You will expect to see things move at pace very soon.”
The Plaid leader said the administration’s commitment to provide 1,000 affordable homes had been delivered a year ahead of schedule, and that many more homes would be built.
He added that work on Ysgol Pembrey and on Ysgol Heol Goffa, Llanelli, would get under way this year, as would a project to make the Tyisha ward of Llanelli more attractive and welcoming for residents.
Cllr Dole also cited environmental actions taken by the council, which declared a climate emergency in 2019, and said it would continue to focus on increasing recycling rates.
He added that new leisure centre facilities would be added to the swimming pool in Llandovery, that the council would grow its social care workforce, and that he was looking forward to the development of a skate park in the Gwendraeth Valley area.
Cllr James, who was an MS candidate in the recent elections, said he had knocked on thousands of doors in Carmarthenshire over the past few months.
“I feel this report glosses over the challenges facing the county,” said the Labour group leader.
He said the Pentre Awel project was a “fantastic opportunity” but that it had only just been signed off by government, four years after the City Deal came into being.
Cllr James welcomed the investment in housing but said some of the council’s own stock was in “an appalling state”.
He said it was right to be ambitious, but added: “We need to go further and faster as Carmarthenshire deserves better.”
Independent leader, Cllr Mair Griffiths, also spoke, saying that the lessons learned during the pandemic had put the council “in a very good place”.
Cllr Jeff Edmunds, of the new Independent group, welcomed much of the leader’s report but said he was worried that other pandemics could occur in the future.
He also said poverty and substance misuse needed to be tackled, and that everyone had to “look outside the box” to improve the county’s fortunes.
“Improvements can only be achieved by economic growth,” he said.
There was widespread praise for frontline workers, council staff and volunteers over the past 14 months.
Ending the debate, Cllr Dole said he thought Cllr James had been watching a different video, and said the Plaid-led administration had published a Covid economic impact and recovery plan, with some 30 actions included.
“We are ready to grasp every opportunity, we are prepared and we are ambitious,” he said.
We will get the Carmarthenshire economy moving again, supporting businesses to restart and flourish again Council leader
Emlyn Dole