Carmarthenshire Council bungalow scheme ‘boosts builders,’ says Joyce

WALES’S First Minister today praised a Carmarthenshire County Council housing scheme that is delivering 39 new bungalows for older people in the county.
During question time at the Senedd today, Mid and West AM Joyce Watson claimed the project, the first such development in the county since the 1980s, is “just what the construction industry needs.” She asked the First Minister to encourage other Welsh local authorities to learn from Carmarthenshire’s example.
Mrs Watson, who chairs the Assembly’s cross-party construction industry group, said:
“I welcome the latest funding boost for affordable housing in Wales.
“Above all, the construction industry needs work. Thank goodness this Government understands that breathing life into the economy is more productive than suffocating it with delusional austerity. Take, for instance, Carmarthenshire County Council’s approach to building 39 new bungalows for older people—the first such development since the 1980s. I understand that there are already plans for more. Do you agree that projects like the one in Carmarthenshire, which employ local contractors, are what the construction industry needs at this particular time? Will you encourage other local authorities to follow Carmarthenshire’s lead?”
In reply, Mr Jones answered:
“I very much welcome what Carmarthenshire County Council, with its Labour leader, is doing in building up to 39 new bungalows for older people and using local contractors to do so. The bungalows are developed to achieve level 4 of the code for sustainable homes; they will also meet the Carmarthenshire homes standard. This is a good example of a local authority delivering homes under Labour leadership for the people of Carmarthenshire.”
Last week (3 May) the Welsh Government announced a £400m funding boost to increase the supply of housing in Wales. The extra funding will help realise the Welsh Government’s ambitious plans to deliver 7,500 new affordable homes by 2016.