£50 million Luxury Village Called Off In Carmarthenshire

Economic figures may be looking a little brighter, but Carmarthenshire has received a salutary lesson that the recession is not yet over. The £50 million plans by a Chinese based company to build a luxury development of a 80 holiday homes with a swimming pool and a hundred bedroom hotel have been shelved indefinitely.

Called off indefinitely?

Maxhard Ltd had planned that the 22-acre (9 hectares) site near Llandeilo would be aimed at "a select international clientele", and was expecting to reach visitor figures in the region of 20, 000 people a year.

The initial stumbling block was because the opening application was of an “inappropriate” design. As a result a smaller scheme is under consideration, but this is where a decision is yet to be made.
It was said that the developers has proposed submitting altered plans in June of this year, but the scheme's architect Julian Castle said they are no further forward and no revised plans had been submitted. He added the project could "possibly" go ahead or it "possibly won't".

"There hasn't been much encouragement from the Welsh government, although there has been a lot of local interest," he said. "At present the plan is on hold and due to the financial climate it's difficult to say whether or not it will be completed."

It had been hoped that up to seventy local jobs would have been created by the development, which also included 10 shops and a car park. Maxhard, which has offices in London and China, had envisaged that it would have been a "luxurious development for a select international clientele looking to enjoy a tranquil Welsh retreat".

It would have been a neighbour to Pantglas Hall, where a separate resort offers timeshare log cabins, a restaurant and leisure facilities.

The managers of that site raised concerns about the scale of the tourist village. Also, Eifion Bowen, head of planning at Carmarthenshire council, said there had been discussions to amend the design.

"While the application has been withdrawn, the authority is available at any time to discuss a revised application," he said.  A Welsh government spokesperson added: "We had been in discussions with the developer and were awaiting full details of their scheme, which would be subject to usual planning consents."