This £200m pound project is being led by Carmarthenshire County Council in partnership with Hywel Dda University Health Board, further and higher education providers and a range of other local and regional stakeholders.
It is also a key project for the Swansea Bay City Region and is earmarked to receive £40million as part of the £1.3billion City Deal funding.
Scope and Vision
The largest ever regeneration project in South West Wales, Pentre Awel aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people across the region, creating around 1,800 high quality, well paid jobs and boosting the economy by a staggering £467 million over 15 years. Pentre Awel comprises a number of development Zones:
- Work on Zone 1 has progressed to detailed design stage and comprises a new ‘state-of-the-art’ sports and leisure centre; co-located with a clinical delivery centre offering a range of health and wellbeing services; a business development centre providing incubation and acceleration facilities for business start-up, research and development within life sciences; alongside education with facilities for practice and simulation based health and care training and skills development. These will be linked together in a unique ‘street’ layout connected by a generous central atrium providing the reception, café and other public amenities. The street will be the community heart of the development and will provide meeting spaces and breakout areas.
- Zone 2/Zone 3 will comprise Assisted living and physical rehabilitation facilities. These will be developed in a range of accommodation types and for people of all ages and will include a nursing home, extra care facilities and supported living accommodation. The aim is to promote independence, enhanced through the use of the latest supported living technologies by specialist research and development companies based on site.
- Zone 4 will offer a wellness hotel set along the stunning Llanelli coastline offering a range of relaxation opportunities to improve wellness.
- A range of housing will be provided in zones adjacent to the main development covering both affordable and open market properties.
A Transformational Ecosystem for the Region
The project responds to related challenges and opportunities within the region across a number of areas, including Covid-19, an ageing population and growing demand amidst resource constraints, wellness and the wider determinants of health. In response, Pentre Awel focuses on:
- The creation of a life science and innovation cluster within a primary and community care setting
- The development, growth and spin-out of life science businesses
- The delivery of training programmes across the education continuum to improve critical skills shortages in health and care, together with an emphasis on placements and simulated training
- Targeted improvements to population health and well-being
- Dedicated testbed capabilities for life science technologies and services, with a particular aim to improve healthy independent living
Primary Contact: direct@carmarthenshire.gov.uk