Growth deal in need of the ‘right infrastructure’
Warnings have been issued that if a mooted ‘growth deal’ is to be a success, the right infrastructure needs to be in place to help projects come to fruition.
Councillors on the Mid Wales Economy, Residents, Communities and Governance scrutiny committee discussed the growth deal, which is potentially worth £165 million.
Councillor David Selby for Newtown Central said at the meeting: “As we have been working on the document for some time, is it Covid-19-checked now?”
Powys County Council’s director of economy and environment, Nigel Brinn, replied: “The document has been updated to reflect the coronavirus outbreak but the aspirations have not changed that much. If anything the necessity for the growth deal is even more.”
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Committee chairman Councillor Mathew Dorrance of Brecon St John mentioned he had once worked for a trade association that represented onshore wind developers.
Councillor Dorrance said: “There was significant resistance to any growth in terms of wind and, in particular, extra capacity for the [electricity] grid.
“Do you think we have learned the lessons of those debates and is there appetite to change?”
Mr Brinn said: “Time will tell, we will be looking at much more subtle forms of renewable energy.”
He said he was a supporter of anaerobic digestion plants, which break down waste to produce energy and fertiliser. He added he had spoken to businesses who were eager to set up plants but infrastructure investment “is a problem”.
In June, the document was jointly presented by Ceredigion and Powys county councils to both the Wales and UK Governments.
There are no specific proposals at the moment as the emphasis has been on getting the right legal structure in place.
