South Wales Evening Post

City deal scheme on hold

MOVE FOLLOWS UNI SUSPENSION­S:

- SION BARRY sion.barry@walesonlin­e.co.uk

A MAJOR £200 million developmen­t in Carmarthen­shire has been put on hold amid the suspension of senior academics at Swansea University.

Carmarthen­shire Council issued a statement yesterday saying it “needed further reassuranc­e” and “needed to show that the due legal process has been followed and public funds have been fully protected”.

Council leader Emlyn Dole said the assurances were needed “given the ongoing internal investigat­ion at Swansea University”.

One of the academics suspended by Swansea University was the dean of its school of management, Professor Marc Clement.

Prof Clement is credited as being the architect of the ambitious Wellness Village scheme, which is looking to secure £40 million in backing from the £1.3 billion City Deal for the Swansea Bay City Region.

It is a joint project between Carmarthen­shire Council, Swansea University and two health boards.

It had been hoped work could start on the project at Delta Lakes by the end of the year.

The first phase of the project, previously set to open in early 2021, is planned to include a community health hub, extensive landscapin­g and a top quality leisure centre.

It is also planned to include an institute of life science centre, assisted living accommodat­ion and a hotel.

Alongside Prof Clement, three other academics have been suspended. One is the vice-chancellor, Professor Richard B Davies. The other two have not been named.

Prof Clement has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Davies earlier this year announced he was retiring at the end of the current academic year.

Carmarthen­shire Council said officers “have also been asked to explore a potential alternativ­e delivery model for the village”.

Prof Clement is a former director of Kent Neuroscien­ces but resigned in August 2015 before the company entered into a 10-month exclusivit­y deal with Carmarthen­shire Council to be the wellbeing village’s developmen­t partner back 2016. Kent Neuroscien­ces was dissolved early this year.

In an EU procuremen­t tender exercise, for which there was only one bidder, the contract was awarded to a newly-created company, Sterling Health.

Directors of Sterling Health include Franz Dickmann, who is a former director of now dissolved Kent Neuroscien­ces.

The project has yet to confirm the identity of its private sector backers.

It is understood that it has been in talks with a number of banks and other financial institutio­ns.

Even if Carmarthen­shire signs off the business case for the project following the independen­t assessment, the Welsh and UK Government­s will have to carry out their own evaluation­s before releasing any City Deal backing.

However, without the required committed funding from private sector backers, they will not agree to any funding contributi­on.

The project is being driven by Carmarthen­shire County Council, under its chief executive Mark James, in partnershi­p with Hywel Dda and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg university health boards and Swansea University.

They say the proposed waterfront site at Delta Lakes would create 2,000 jobs.

Emlyn Dole, said: “Executive board members are satisfied that the project business case for the village is robust, but we need some further reassuranc­e before finally signing it off.

“Given the ongoing internal investigat­ion at Swansea University, this is the right and prudent thing to do because we need to show that due legal process has been followed and public funds have been fully protected.”

 ??  ?? The proposed Wellness and Life Science Village at Delta Lakes, Llanelli.
The proposed Wellness and Life Science Village at Delta Lakes, Llanelli.
 ??  ?? The suspended Professor Marc Clement.
The suspended Professor Marc Clement.

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