The green light has been given for Pembrokeshire County Council to buy extra land with potential to build houses on as part of a deal to take over a local bus company.

The Council’s cabinet approved a plan to include extra land as part of its purchase of an unnamed bus company – the purchase of which will keep school and local bus services running – at its meeting on Monday, July 11.

The extra “two fields” of land will be bought using the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and will be “land banked” as part of the authority’s housing strategy and future development.

The company to be bought provides 23 school routes and six public routes at a cost of £900,000 a year, with the potential for a new contract to cost an additional £300,000 but bringing it in house there is predicted to be “minimal additional costs compared to our existing contract,” a previous report stated.

The purchase of the assets is said to have a net cost of £6.5million, a report notes, compared to £6.6million for ‘do nothing’ and higher costs for purchasing alternative depots and encouraging local operators to increase provision.

Due diligence services have been carried out, although more may be required, cabinet will hear, and it is recommended to approve the extra purchase and financing options.

Members went into private session to discuss financial details before returning to announce that the recommendation to “approve an increase to the current maximum bid” was backed.