Carmarthenshire Leader presents his annual report to Council

DEVELOPMENTS and progress made over the past year have been outlined in the Leader’s annual report to Carmarthenshire County Council.

Cllr Emlyn Dole presented his report at the meeting held today, and also reinforced his commitment to regeneration.

“Right from the outset I made it clear that, as Leader, my top priority would be regeneration,” he said.

“By this I meant the creation of sustainable places, where people want to live, work, invest and visit, whilst enabling our residents and businesses to achieve their potential.

“If our communities are to survive and prosper, we need jobs. By improving the economic prospects of our county, we can have a direct impact on the prosperity of our families and communities.”

Cllr Dole referred to the recently launched 15-year regeneration plan with six key transformational projects, which is aimed at creating around 5,000 jobs and boosting the economy.

He spoke about investments made in services such as education, highways, housing and care homes despite the financial challenges faced by the authority.

Developments and initiatives in community safety, education, the Welsh language, children’s services, social care, housing, leisure, transport, apprenticeships and culture were included in the report.

Cllr Dole also highlighted ongoing projects such as the Wellness and Life Science Village at Delta Lakes in Llanelli, the Carmarthen West link road, the Rural Enterprise Fund and the partnership within the Swansea Bay City Region.

He paid tribute to his Executive Board colleagues for their work and commitment, and thanked chairs and vice chairs of committees, along with individual councillors, and staff, who he praised as being the most important asset the council had.

Cllr Dole highlighted the recent Wales Audit Office report which stated that the council had demonstrated ambition, with collective leadership and more robust and transparent governance.

He also unveiled the new core values the council has adopted, which have been adopted as a guide to how all members and staff behave in the workplace.

Read the full report.