Two major North Wales Growth Deal projects were highlighted on the 11th January, during a visit to the region by Fay Jones MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales.

The Minister’s first stop was at the site of the Former North Wales Hospital in Denbigh, which has a provisional allocation of £7m of Growth Deal Funding through Ambition North Wales. The site is also expected to benefit from an investment of £3m of UK Government Levelling Up Funding as part of Denbighshire County Council’s provisional allocation of £20m for the Vale of Clwyd constituency.

The listed Victorian building sits within a 52-acre site which, following transformational conservation, restoration and part-demolition, will be used for much needed residential development and employment premises. The site has already seen around 100 civil engineering apprentices and trainees qualify over the last four years. Ambition North Wales and Denbighshire County Council are working closely with lead sponsor, Jones Bros, on the project.

The second Growth Deal location visited was the OpTIC Technology Centre in St Asaph which forms part of Wrexham University’s Enterprise Engineering and Optics Centre project. OpTIC will benefit from expansion and improvements to its facilities – securing its position as a world class optics and optoelectronics hub. Separately, as part of the project, Wrexham University’s Plas Coch Campus will benefit from a new specialist centre for research, business collaboration and skills development. Growth Deal funding, through Ambition North Wales, will provide £11.55m of the total value of the project.

The Minister’s visit also provided an opportunity for her to gain insight into the wider Growth Deal projects being delivered by Ambition North Wales – which aim to attract investment and create sustainable jobs for the benefit of communities across the region.

Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, Chair of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, said:

“The projects visited are shining examples of the work we are doing here in North Wales, which will make a positive difference to the people who live and work across the region, now and into the future. By collaborating across the public and private sectors we are creating a vibrant, sustainable, resilient and thriving economy.”

Fay Jones MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, said:

“I was delighted to see these exciting projects for myself and to hear about the plans for the site in Denbigh and the OpTIC centre in St Asaph. The UK Government has invested in the North Wales Growth deal, along with our partners, with the aim of creating jobs and growing the economy of the region.

“Both these ambitious projects have the potential to achieve our shared aims of spreading prosperity and opportunity for people living in North Wales.”