The proposed Wellness and Life Science Village in Llanelli, Wales has taken another major step forward following unanimous approval from Carmarthenshire County Council’s Planning Committee.

The £200m complex planned for Delta Lakes on the Llanelli coast is expected to create close to 2,000 jobs and give the local economy a £467m boost.

It is one of 11 projects that make up the £1.3bn Swansea Bay City Deal.

As well as an Institute of Life Science, a Community Health Hub facility at the Village is set to include a Wellness Education Centre and a Clinical Delivery Centre.

A state-of-the-art leisure centre, assisted living accommodation and a wellness hotel are also planned for the Village, along with landscaped outdoor spaces for walking and cycling, a children’s play area, and spaces for outdoor performing arts.

Members of the Planning Committee visited the Delta Lakes site and heard the detailed planning application this afternoon before coming to their unanimous decision.

“Llanelli has been in gradual decline since so many of its traditional industries closed, leaving a legacy of poverty and poor health, which the Wellness development seeks to remedy,” said committee chair Alun Lenny. “It is a truly groundbreaking concept, bringing together health, housing, leisure and medical research on the same site.

“Such a massive development on a post-industrial wasteland would herald an exciting new era in the history of Llanelli. I sincerely hope that the Welsh Government agrees with our decision about this forward looking development which would do so much to regenerate Llanelli, Carmarthenshire and west Wales in general.”

The UK Government has also added the project to its multi-billion pound High Potential Opportunities scheme, which is designed to fast-track investment into regions and sectors of the economy.

This means the Village will be promoted to 108 countries, helping further raise the global profile of a development.

Construction on the Village is expected to start this year, with the first phase anticipated to be ready in 2021 and overall project completion earmarked for 2023.