Council appoints contractor to start delivering Llanelli’s Pentre Awel scheme

Carmarthenshire County Council has appointed Bouygues UK to design and build Zone One of its prestigious Pentre Awel development.

Pentre Awel is the first development of its scope and size in Wales, bringing together life science innovation, community healthcare and modern leisure facilities at the 83-acre Delta Lakes site on the Llanelli coastline.

Having received UK and Welsh Government approval of its £40million Swansea Bay City Deal business case earlier this year, the council has led an extensive tendering process via the South West Wales Regional Contractors Framework for contractors to deliver the exciting scheme.

Zone One will benefit from around £70million of public sector investment and will feature education, business, research, leisure and health facilities to provide transformational social and economic benefits to people in the region.

The contract, which is one of the highest valued tender exercises the council has ever undertaken, puts a key focus on social value to ensure that local people and businesses will reap the benefits of the ambitious scheme.

Bouygues UK will now work with the council, the Regional Learning and Skills Partnership (RLSP), schools, colleges and universities, as well as local employment agencies such as Workways and Communities for Work to deliver a comprehensive programme of community benefits during the construction phase.

It will mean employment and training opportunities for local people, including jobs for people just starting their careers, apprenticeships, work placements and wider employability support.

There will also be a targeted focus on supporting those who are long-term unemployed or economically inactive, and tailored initiatives in local communities and schools to inspire people towards relevant careers.

Carmarthenshire County Council and Bouygues UK have now entered into an initial pre-construction period – a stage of works undertaken prior to the commencement of construction on site next year.

During this period, further design will be undertaken together with preparation and submission of detailed planning information and preparatory works on site.

Property and construction consultants Gleeds will manage the build contract, supported by design and planning experts Arup.

Cllr Emlyn Dole, Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council, said:

“Pentre Awel will create a lasting legacy, and this starts with the construction phase. Bouygues UK has a proven track record in constructing projects of Pentre Awel’s scale and complexity, and we look forward to working with them to deliver this landmark project.
“I am confident they share our vision for, and commitment to, social value and as we continue to recover from Covid it is critical that the employment and training opportunities generated during the construction phase of Pentre Awel benefit the people of Llanelli and Carmarthenshire.
“We’re excited to be pushing ahead with the delivery of Zone One of this landmark scheme, and to be making good progress on other zones that make up Pentre Awel.”

Bouygues UK is a global leader with an extensive portfolio of multi-million pound schemes where innovation has been applied to a range of state-of-the-art healthcare, education, commercial and residential developments, including the recently completed £120million Cardiff Innovation Campus.

Simon Barnes, Pre-Construction Director for Bouygues UK, said:

“We are delighted to have been selected as preferred bidder on the Pentre Awel project, a first of its kind project in Wales. Our experience in large scale projects like this will ensure the successful delivery of the scheme.
“We are pleased that Carmarthenshire County Council is aligned with our ambitious vision to bring a positive social impact alongside this project. Together with our supply chain we look forward to bringing lasting value to the local community. By using local employment and social enterprise, we will be supporting Well-being and the Future Generations Act. Through engagement with regional learning and skills partnerships, we will also help deliver learning and career opportunities. This project will also benefit from using a local supply chain with particular focus on small and medium size enterprises.”

The exciting Pentre Awel project includes integrated care and physical rehabilitation facilities, a well-being skills centre which will focus on health and care training, a clinical delivery centre to deliver multi-disciplinary care, and a new state-of-the-art leisure centre, along with landscaped outdoor public spaces for walking and cycling.

A hotel, a range of social and affordable housing, assisted living accommodation and a nursing home are being planned for later phases of the scheme.

Promising to create around 1,800 jobs over 15 years and boosting the local economy by some £467million, it is being delivered by Carmarthenshire County Council in partnership with Hywel Dda University Health Board, Universities and Colleges. Memorandums of Understanding have been signed with Coleg Sir Gâr, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Swansea University and Cardiff University for the delivery of courses on site.

Pentre Awel is one of the world-class projects forming part of the Swansea Bay City Deal.

The £1.3billion Swansea Bay City Deal is an unprecedented investment which will transform people’s lives, creating major opportunities and generating over 9,000 jobs over 15 years.

The Deal will transform the economic landscape of the Swansea Bay City Region, providing at least a £1.8billion boost to the local economy across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.

It will bring major investment in the region’s infrastructure by delivering nine world-class projects in the fields of digital, energy, smart manufacturing, innovation and life science.

The total investment is made up of £241 million of UK Government and Welsh Government funding, £330 million of other public sector money and £581 million from the private sector.