All four local authorities – including Pembrokeshire – have signed up to a Swansea Bay City Deal (SBCD) joint committee.

Pembrokeshire County Council leader Cllr David Simpson urged councillors to get behind the scheme which will cost the authority £50,000 a year but has the potential to bring more than £1.3billion of projects into west Wales.

Clr. Simpson told full council on Thursday, July 26 that the deal involving UK Government, Welsh Government as well as Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot and Pembrokeshire councils recognises the “need for sustained investment.”

Work on the SBCD began in 2015 and recent work has focused on developing the agreement on governance arrangements including the setting up of a joint committee representing all bodies involved.

Three Pembrokeshire councillors will be members of the committee, as will three from each area, and votes on projects will be done by majority with the chairman having a casting vote.

There are 11 projects earmarked for the region, including Milford Haven Port Authoirty’s plan for Pembroke Dock.

“It will only cost us £50,000 per annum for the next five year,” said Cllr Simpson as he asked for permission to sign the agreement and be “part of this club.”

“I’ll lay my cards on the table, when Jamie (former council leader Clr. Jamie Adams) brought this to the chamber I was totally opposed to it,” said Clr. Simpson.

A lack of information about costs involved were behind Clr. Simpson’s opposition he said but now “the open cheque book door is closed.”

The scheme will be centrally administered from a Carmarthenshire council office, funded by the four authoiry’s contributions, and around £6.3million will be “top sliced” from project funding over the deal period for operating costs.

Clr. Rhys Sinnett said that if reports were brought back to scrutiny or council from the joint committee meetings he would be happy to support.

“There are safeguards in place if we are not happy with how this is turning out,” said Clr. Sinnett.

Councillors agreed to approve the establishment of the Swansea Bay City Region Joint Committee and associated governance structure as well as the draft Joint Committee Agreement.

This includes granting delegated authority to the leader and chief executive to make such minor amendments to the agreement as are required.

Negotiations with other authority directors on the “most appropriate allocation basis for the regional non-domestic business rate retention in respect of City Deal projects” will be delegated to the director of finance, Jon Haswell.