Hywel Dda announce five possible locations for new hospital site

The potential sites to be reviewed are agricultural land and buildings forming part of Kiln Park Farm which is located to the north of Narberth train station and adjacent to the A478, approximately 1km to the north-east of Narberth town centre. 

Agricultural land located to the north-east of Whitland town centre and situated between the A40 to the north, Whitland Rugby Club to the east and Spring Gardens to the south.

Land and buildings forming part of Ty Newydd Farm which is located to the east of the Old Whitland Creamery site and Whitland town centre. 

Agricultural land and buildings forming part of Penllyne Court located between Whitland and St Clears just outside Pwll-Trap. The site lies between the Swansea-Haverfordwest railway line to the north and the A40 to the south.

Land at old Bryncaerau fields, located adjacent to the junction of the A40 and A477 in St Clears, between the A4066 (Tenby Road) to the south, the village of Pwll Trap to the north and the A40 to the west.

The health board say all sites are in a zone that is the most central location for the majority of the population in the south of the Hywel Dda area and was determined through public consultation.

People from communities across the three counties will next week help score the sites for the new hospital.

In January, the health board submitted a Programme Business Case to the Welsh Government which could see services reduced at Withybush Hospital.

Campaign group Save Withybush, said the health board cannot ‘trample over people’, as thousands of people in Pembrokeshire fear about the added time it will take to get to a hospital located on the outskirts of Carmarthenshire.

Rallies have been held outside Withybush Hospital. Fears for its future grow as plans for the new hospital gather momentum

READ MORE

• Withybush campaigners issue 'call to arms' over hospital's future
• PICTURES: Rally held outside Withybush Hospital

Lee Davies, executive director of strategic development and operational planning at Hywel Dda UHB, said the latest steps have brought building a new hospital a step closer.

“I am grateful to participants for their involvement in this important part of the process to identify the best hospital sites,” said Mr Davies.

“The outputs from this workshop will be considered by the board in August, along with the findings from other appraisal groups that are currently ongoing.”

“This partnership has brought us a step closer to selecting a site."

A first workshop, held in May, agreed the ‘weighting’ of the seven technical criteria to be used in this scoring process and reviewed the relative importance.

The outcome was; transport and accessibility 19.84%, infrastructure, access and active travel 15.7%, sustainability 15.22%, efficiency of design 14.65%, site conditions 11.81%, environmental and ecology 11.65%, acquisition and planning 11.13%.