Swansea Bay City Deal: Investors not walking away says council leader

Cash will be released to further develop Yr Egin, in Carmarthen

The leader of Swansea council says private investors are not walking away from the Swansea Bay City Deal despite problems with its development.

An independent review warned controversy over one of the deal's projects, a "wellness village", could "cause a loss of confidence".

Neath Port Talbot Council has threatened to pull out of the deal because of a lack of progress.

Rob Stewart acknowledged it has been a "challenging" period.

But he said the deal has "as strong a commitment" as possible from the private sector.

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The £1.3bn deal is an agreement between the UK government, the Welsh Government, and Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire Councils and is designed to support projects across the region.

It is intended to attract £673m of private investment.

None of that has yet been secured as the public money needs to be released first.

Plans for the wellness village were unveiled two years ago

On Monday the UK and Welsh Governments announced the first stage of public money - £18m - to be released, subject to conditions being met, to support two of the deal's projects: a new indoor arena in Swansea and further development of S4C's new Yr Egin headquarters in Carmarthen.

Those projects are publicly funded.

Asked if problems associated with the City Deal might put off private investors, Mr Stewart said: "There is no evidence any of the private sector partners that were there previously have walked away and that's the proof of the pudding."

He said "industrialists, people who have made their careers in the private sector" are "helping us with the delivery of the deal".

He added: "Private sector money is reliant on the public sector contribution being released and that's part of the process we're going through at the moment."

The proposed "wellness village" in Llanelli aims to bring together health facilities and life sciences research. Five staff were suspended as Swansea University holds an investigation related to the project.