Welsh ministers to have final say on £32m wellbeing hub

Welsh Government ministers are expected have the final say next year on a long-awaited £32 million health, care and wellbeing hub.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet on Tuesday, December 16, senior councillors received a report to endorse the Strategic Outline Case and Outline Business Case (SOC/OBC) for Phase One of the North Powys Health and Wellbeing Campus in Newtown.

Council leader, Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod North) said: “We’ve been at this project for some time while recognising we are at the behest of a new incoming government in terms of taking further stages of this project forward.

“The scheme provides huge opportunities for Newtown, which will only be realised by the time we get to the final stages.”

Adult social care portfolio holder, Cllr Pete Roberts (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod South) explained: “This first phase aims to bring a number of services provided by the health board and county council at diverse sites across the town into a single location, allowing greater collaboration across a number of key fields.”

He explained Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) had already agreed the proposal and that the documents will go to a meeting of the Powys Regional Partnership Board (RPB) for further endorsement before submission to the Welsh Government.

The Powys RPB meets every two months and brings together representatives from Powys County Council, Powys Teaching Health Board, and PAVO (Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations).

Cllr Roberts said: “A responses is expected in the new year.”

Cabinet then agreed to discuss acertain aspects of the scheme in confidential session before giving it the seal of approval.

Collaboration

The project, which is a collaboration between the council and PTHB, was first mooted in 2019.

Work on the project has been on the back burner in recent years due to the squeeze on public finances.

But this year, the Welsh Government provided a much-needed stimulus with £971,250 provided to help to develop the Strategic Outline Case/Outline Business Case.

If it goes ahead, the hub – which would be built on the site of Y Parc offices – would see a wide range of services provided under one roof in a modern, purpose-built environment.

Alongside “one stop shop” health and wellbeing services, the plans include new training facilities to recruit and retain health and care staff, expanded community dental services, and new specialist clinics for people with long term conditions which reduce the need to travel out of the county to a District General Hospital.

The second phase would see a replacement hospital in the town, including expanded diagnostic and treatment facilities, so that more care and treatment is provided within Powys.

Opinion polls on voting intentions for the forthcoming Senedd elections suggest the contest is becoming a two-horse race between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK.

Polling conducted by Beaufort Research last month on Senedd election voting intentions has Reform UK on 27 per cent, Plaid Cymru on 26 per cent, Labour on 21 per cent, Conservatives on 12 per cent, the Green Party on nine per cent and the Liberal Democrats at three per cent.

Earlier in the autumn a YouGov poll has seen Plaid Cymru on 30 per cent and Reform UK on 29 per cent.