#UKpmSigns - UK and Welsh government ministers were in Swansea to witness Prime Minister Theresa May sign yesterday the Swansea Bay City Deal along with members of the Swansea Bay City Region Board.

The deal is the biggest ever investment for south west Wales – a total investment package of £241million. Cllr Jamie Adams of Pembrokeshire County Council joined fellow leaders from Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot councils to celebrate having secured the £1.3billion deal that will transform the economic landscape of the area, boost the local economy by £1.8billion, and generate almost 10,000 new jobs over the next 15 years.

Eleven major projects will now get underway, delivering world-class facilities in the fields of energy, smart manufacturing, innovation and life science, with major investment in the region’s digital infrastructure and workforce skills and talent underpinning each.

The total investment package is made up of £241million of UK and Welsh Government funding, £396million of other public sector money and £637million from the private sector.

The Swansea Bay City Region Board – including the four local authorities together with Abertawe Bro Morgannwg and Hywel Dda University Health Boards, Swansea University and the University of Wales Trinity St David’s, and private sector companies – worked under the Chairmanship of Sir Terry Matthews for over a year to develop and submit the City Deal proposal to the Welsh and UK Governments.

It culminated in a pitch to Alun Cairns, Secretary of State for Wales, and other UK Ministers and their advisors, following months of rigorous challenge and negotiation.

Pembrokeshire is involved in three key schemes as part of the City Deal.

Spearheaded by the Port of Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock Marine is a £76million project to establish a marine energy centre around the Milford Haven waterway.
The world class facility will be the centre for marine energy development, fabrication, testing and deployment in the town’s naval dockyard.

The other two schemes – which will be rolled out across the whole region – involves improving broadband and mobile continuity and creating a new industry based around innovative and sustainable energy generation.

Pembrokeshire County Council Leader, Cllr Jamie Adams, said: “This announcement is the culmination of several years hard work by the Leaders, Chief Executives and officers not only from the region’s local authorities but also those from universities, health boards and the private sector.

The Port of Milford Haven has partnered with Marine Energy Wales, ORE Catapult and Wave Hub and is working alongside Swansea University and Pembrokeshire College. Together they are poised to drive innovation and herald the commercialisation of wave and tidal stream technology in Wales.

It will make a vital contribution to the Welsh economy; increasing productivity, export potential and skilled employment opportunities for today and for future generations.”