AN OPPOSITION councillor has asked the Plaid Cymru-Independent administration for an inquiry into its costly Debenhams redevelopment project at a key budget meeting.

Cllr Kevin Madge, of Labour in Carmarthenshire, said it was needed to “restore public confidence.” He also wanted to know when work would start on long-awaited new Ysgol Heol Goffa special school.

It came during a debate about the council’s five-year capital budget. This is money for things like new schools, care homes, refuse lorries, and town centre  regeneration schemes.

Local authorities have to approve a five-year capital budget and a majority of councillors went on to approve Carmarthenshire’s £149.7m programme with £68m of that pencilled in for 2026-27.

It doesn’t include underspends on existing projects which are now estimated, according to a budget report, at around £71m.

The five-year programme includes a phased £16.7m relocation of Llanelli indoor market to the former Woolworths building in nearby Vaughan Street and a £2m demolition of the car park above the market.

Cllr Alun Lenny, cabinet member for resources, said this move had been agreed “step by step” with market traders.

There’s £13.6m for a new council care home in Cwmgwili in 2026-27 with £7m to be carried over from the current financial year.

Meanwhile £5.2m is allocated to the ongoing extension of Ysgol Bryngwyn, Llanelli, £3.5m for refuse vehicles, and £3.7m for the Debenhams revamp in Carmarthen.

The council stepped in when Debenhams went into administration in 2021 and work is well under way on a new council, leisure, and health hub – to be called Atriwm – at the empty St Catherine’s Walk Shopping Centre store in Carmarthen.

But costs have risen considerably and it emerged last month that a structural defect had been identified that hadn’t been picked up during inspections and surveys. It’s forecast the conversion will cost £41m with £28.2m coming from the UK and Welsh Governments and £12.8m from the council.

Cllr Lenny said: “It will be a fantastic resource for the town and its rural hinterland.”

Cllr Madge called for an independent inquiry into the scheme. His party, he said, had “tremendous concerns over governance and project control” and wanted to know what ongoing maintenance costs would be.

He said: “An independent review of this project is now warranted to ensure transparency and restore public confidence.”

Cllr Lenny said the council had a choice in 2021 to step in or “wash our hands of it” and opted for the former. He thanked residents for putting up with the works-related traffic lights. He has previously asked for a full report for councillors and the public about the structural defect.

Cllr Lenny also referred to a report by a retail analyst firm called MRI Software which said Carmarthen town centre had experienced a 19% footfall surge in 2025 compared to the previous year – a rise second only to Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.

Cllr Madge also asked when a new Ysgol Goffa special school would finally be built in Llanelli. It follows years of preparations and delays. Cllr Lenny said a schedule of accommodation for the new 150-place school had been completed and that designs were being finalised.

Planning permission and Welsh Government backing would be needed. The council, he said, remained in constant communication with Ysgol Heol Goffa.

Cllr Madge also wondered when new schools in Ammanford, Llanybydder, and Llandeilo would be built.

Among the projects included in the programme for next year are £4.85m for roads including drainage work, £2.2m to complete the 15-mile Towy Valley cycle path, a £1.2m demolition of the former Llanelli leisure centre, £1.2m for mobile classrooms at Carway Community Primrary School, Kidwelly, following its closure due to a structural issue, a £1m Burry Port harbour investment, £1m for a children’s residential home, and £200,000 for flood mitigation works.

The capital budget will be funded by government grants, the sale of council assets, and borrowing and reserves.

Cllr Madge said Labour supported some but not all of the proposed budget and that it wouldn’t be voting for it in its current format.

Cllr Lenny said no alternative budget or amendments had been put forward by Labour and, reeling off several of the projects mentioned above, he said: “If you vote against the budget you vote against the lot.”

CARMARTHENSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL has approved its revenue budget for 2026-27, confirming a 4.9% increase in council tax alongside £9.6 million in spending reductions.

The agreed rise is lower than the originally proposed 6.5%, following a period of public consultation with residents, schools, businesses and other stakeholders across the county. The reduction was also made possible by a £5 million saving from the Dyfed Pension Fund employer contribution and additional funding from the Welsh Government.

Council tax currently raises around 17% of the authority’s income, with approximately 70% of the net budget funded through Welsh Government grants.

Cabinet Member for Resources Cllr Alun Lenny said the final budget reflected feedback gathered during the consultation process.

“The Budget Strategy approved at Full Council responds to the valuable feedback raised as part of the public consultation process and ensures, as far as possible, that service levels and standards are maintained,” he said.

He added that additional Welsh Government funding — almost £6.5 million — had improved the council’s financial position by nearly £3 million and removed a projected £3.5 million shortfall.

More than 1,200 people, including residents, school staff, town and community councils, unions, scrutiny committees and young people, responded to the consultation.

As a result, the final budget includes amendments totalling £850,000 and removes some previously proposed cuts.

Changes include the restoration of £160,000 for highways, a 50% reduction in the planned increase to school meal costs, and the removal of a proposal to close Pendine Outdoor Education Centre in 2027-28 to allow further feasibility work.

Savings affecting the Families Together Team have also been withdrawn.

The council said the budget also includes additional investment in property maintenance, the modernising education team, increased support for the Welsh language in education, and further investment in highways.

Concerns raised over consultation process as governors’ community hub proposal gains attention

CYMDEITHAS YR IAITH has criticised Carmarthenshire County Council’s proposal to close Ysgol Meidrim, describing the move as an “illogical conclusion” and questioning whether the statutory presumption against closing rural schools has been properly applied.

The campaign group issued a formal response to the consultation, arguing that local authorities are required to begin any review of a rural school by seriously considering how it can be sustained and developed, with closure considered only as a last resort.

Speaking on behalf of Cymdeithas yr Iaith locally, Ffred Ffransis said: “Nobody could understand why the council would come to the illogical conclusion of wishing to close a school which Estyn said was improving educationally, where pupil numbers were increasing, where the school served as the Welsh-medium heart of the community, which acted as a safe haven for pupils with additional learning needs, and where the council would save almost no money at all by closing it.

“However, when we followed the initial stages of the consultation process, it became clear that officials were treating all rural schools under review as problems from the start, and data was collected to back up the preconception. In presenting the legislation to the Senedd in 2018, the then Secretary for Education, Kirsty Williams, emphasised that proposing closure of a rural school should always be the ‘last resort’, but it is now being treated as the solution of choice.”

He added that the organisation welcomed signs the council was taking seriously an alternative proposal from the school’s governors to develop a costed community hub alongside the school, working in cooperation with neighbouring schools.

Council response

Carmarthenshire County Council has previously stated that it has a statutory duty to review school provision to ensure education is delivered in suitable facilities and remains sustainable for the future. The authority says proposals are developed following detailed assessments, including pupil numbers, building condition, financial considerations and long-term viability.

The council has also confirmed that consultation responses, including alternative proposals, will be considered before any final decision is made by elected members.

The consultation process remains ongoing.