The leader of Carmarthenshire Council has restated his commitment to a £200 million Wellness and Life Science Village in Llanelli, but has been accused of lying by his Labour rival.
Councillor Emlyn Dole answered questions from opposition leader, Councillor Rob James, at full council about the Delta Lakes scheme, which has featured in the press after the council terminated a collaboration agreement with a private sector development partner called Sterling Health Security Holdings.
Earlier in the meeting the council’s chief executive Mark James had updated elected members on various Delta Lakes matters, including an invitation by the authority to the Wales Audit Office to review the project.
Cllr James asked the Plaid leader if the terminated collaboration agreement included more than six named, private consortium partners, as per a council press release issued in 2016.
Cllr Dole said no press release was issued in 2016 because the lengthy procurement process to identify a development partner began the following year.
Cllr James asked if a construction company had been identified in the collaboration agreement and, if so, whether it was Vinci Construction.
He said the local business community had been “extremely patient” but were “now fearing it (the project) is starting to look like a stitch-up”.
The Plaid leader replied: “I find it very difficult to understand what part of ‘no’ my colleague does not understand.
“No, there was not; no appointments have been made, as has been explained last week and again this morning. ‘No’ is the answer. No-one has been appointed, nor any commitments made.”
Cllr Dole then referred back to the procurement process which led to the collaboration agreement with Sterling Health Security Holdings and Swansea University, and said that a number of companies and city financial institutions had been brought into discussions.
Cllr James accused the leader of lying about the construction company not being contained in the collaboration agreement document, and then asked further questions about the set-up of a corporate structure to take the Delta Lakes scheme forward.
Cllr Dole said: “Can I refute that entirely — it’s not in that agreement, it’s not there.
“I have not lied to anybody, so I would ask you to withdraw that statement.”
Cllr James refused, and called on Cllr Dole to answer the question.
The Plaid leader said he was not able to clarify the corporate structure or any associated directors, and that further legal advice was being taken on this to ensure the Delta Lakes scheme benefited Carmarthenshire residents in the best way possible.
He added: “The executive board has agreed that delegated authority be given to officers to establish that corporate structure, and I will ensure that this is delivered.”
In answer to another question, the leader said it was the Plaid-led administration’s goal that the first phase of Delta Lakes opened in 2021, as planned.
Cllr James then asked if it was time for Cllr Dole “to consider his position”.
Cllr Dole replied: “I’m really struggling why the leader of the Labour group reverts to this constant sniping.”
He said Delta Lakes would be a transformative project for the Llanelli area and wider region and challenged the Labour leader “to get behind and support the people he was elected to represent”.
He accused the Labour group of opposing all manner of schemes in Llanelli and the county, and said: “You had your chance to change Llanelli. You did nothing but talk about it — this Plaid-led coalition is doing it.”
Cllr Dole also described his rival’s comments as “shameful” and “a dereliction of duty”.
Independent councillor and executive board member Jane Tremlett then expressed her “absolute amazement at what has been said this morning”, and called on Cllr James to withdraw his statement, accusing the leader of lying.
Council chairman, Councillor Mansel Charles, said: “Councillor James has had that opportunity to do that publicly, and he has refused to do so.”
Do we know what the collaboration agreement said?
A document seen by the Local Democracy Report Service from July this year sets out the relationship between Carmarthenshire Council, Swansea University and Sterling Health Security Holdings relating to the development of the Life Science and Wellbeing Village at Delta Lakes, Llanelli.
Vinci plc, of Watford, Hertfordshire, is referred to in the agreement alongside a heading saying Construction Company, but it does not say this company has been appointed.
The wording says "Vinci plc....or any such other construction contractor as may be appointed with the prior written approval of the council to carry out works in respect of a project."
The Delta Lakes project
The Wellness and Life Science Village planned for Delta Lakes is one of 11 projects being taken forward in Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Pembrokeshire via a £1.3 billion city deal.
The village is expected to include a new leisure centre, institute of life science, a wellness education centre and a clinical delivery centre.
Assisted living accommodation including extra care housing and a nursing home will also feature, as will a wellness hotel and landscaped open spaces.
The scheme is expected to create nearly 2,000 jobs over the next 15 years and give the local economy a £467 million boost.
Public sector partners include Carmarthenshire Council, Swansea University, Hywel Dda University Health Board and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
An outline planning application for the Wellness and Life Science Village will be considered in the coming months, and the project should be finished in full in 2023.
The private sector is expected to contribute around £127 million to the project, with £40 million coming from the UK and Welsh Governments.
Late last month Delta Lakes project partner Swansea University suspended four employees, including dean of the school of management, Professor Marc Clement, who is credited as being the architect of the Wellness and Life Science Village concept.
Professor Clement has strongly denied any wrongdoing, but the suspensions prompted Carmarthenshire Council to seek further reassurances and explore an alternative way of delivering the project.
Delta Lakes still needs a final business case sign-off from central Government, which last week announced it was undertaking "a rapid independent review" of the city deal to "underpin the next stage of delivery".
In a statement the UK Government said: "All partners remain committed to the success of the deal, and it has been agreed that work on individual projects will continue in parallel with the review."
Asked if it remained committed to the Delta Lakes scheme, a Swansea University spokeswoman said: "Swansea University has requested Carmarthenshire Council share plans for how the project will be developed, funded and delivered in future and the council of Swansea University will then consider any proposals in due course."
Council leader Emlyn Dole says he remains fully committed
Speaking after the full council meeting, Plaid leader Emlyn Dole said he had not seen any evidence that private sector companies and institutions might be less keen on the Wellness and Life Science Village after the termination of a collaboration agreement with a development partner.
Carmarthenshire Council will play a central role in delivering the £200 million project.
Cllr Dole said the doors were still very much open to the private sector, but that the administration would consider borrowing more money than currently proposed to ensure the Delta Lakes scheme progressed as planned.
Borrowing rates are currently low, and the council will be able to keep 50% of business rates arising from the Wellness and Life Science Village, as well as gaining revenue from occupying tenants of the new buildings.
In a statement last Friday, the council said it would work closely with its public sector partners to deliver the scheme.
Cllr Dole said: “I have not had any hint that there might be a problem with the (private sector) institutions.
“That’s what I’m hoping will be true. It is too important a project not to proceed.
“We believe in this project, we said we would deliver it — it’s how we do that now.”
