'City deal' for Cardiff is 'once in a generation opportunity'

A multimillion-pound "city deal" of major investment for Cardiff is a "once in a generation" opportunity, Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb has said.

He urged the leaders of 10 south Wales councils to back the idea after calling them to a meeting in the city.

Cardiff council leader Phil Bale said a £500,000 fund is needed to develop a business case for a bid.

The UK government said the funding depends on the Welsh government and councils paying a contribution.

Prime Minister David Cameron told BBC Wales in May there was "very exciting potential" for a city deal for Cardiff, in which ministers would provide public money for transport schemes and other major projects.

Mr Crabb told BBC Wales it had been a "very productive" meeting with council leaders supporting his proposals, as business leaders previously had done.

However, the minister said it was too early to say exactly what projects a city deal would back, and how much the Welsh government and councils would need to contribute.

Council officers recently raised concerns that Cardiff might be unable to afford its share of the cash, which former leader Russell Goodway said could be £10m.

Glasgow has been offered a city deal of £1.2bn, but that entailed considerable funds from the Scottish government and local authorities.

Chancellor George Osborne has been promoting the deals for nearly a year and the new Conservative MP for Cardiff North, Craig Williams, mentioned a city deal for Cardiff in his maiden speech to parliament.

They involve areas being given substantial amounts of money to invest and bidding cities must demonstrate that any extra cash will have a positive effect on the economy, such as more people in work and paying tax.