Agenda and decisions

To receive any apologies for absence.

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chair for consideration.

The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the meeting held on 06 February 2026 be signed as a true record.

Iain Taylor (Investment Zone Programme Manager) and Sian Lloyd Roberts & Rees Brown from the Regional Skills Partnership, to present the report.

DECISION

·       To note the progress on implementing the Investment Zone programme in close partnership with the Local Education Authorities, Coleg Cambria, Wrexham University and the Regional Skills Partnership.

·       To note the process for developing the projects contained in this report and that they have been agreed as suitable skills projects for the Investment Zone to support  the Regional Skills Partnership and are in line with the objectives of the Investment Zone Skills Plan.

·       To approve the project proposals submitted by Coleg Cambria to a value of up to £8,183,000 and delegate to the Ambition North Wales Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer, Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Chair and Vice-chair to agree and enter into a Grant Funding Agreement between the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee and Coleg Cambria.

·       To approve the project proposals submitted by Wrexham University to a value of £4,247,014 and delegate to the Ambition North Wales Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer, Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Chair and Vice-chair to agree and enter into a Grant Funding Agreement between the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee and Wrexham University.

The Chair shall propose that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the discussions on the following items due to the likely disclosure of exempt information defined in Paragraph 14 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972: Information relating to the financial business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

While there is a public interest in transparency and accountability, this is outweighed at this stage by the need to protect commercially sensitive information given that disclosure would likely prejudice ongoing negotiations and the authority’s ability to secure best value and protect the proper use of public funds. 

A vote was taken on the proposal to exclude the press and public, and Councillor Nia Jeffreys abstained her vote on this item.

David Mathews (Land and Property Programme Manager) to present the report.

To approve the Outline Business Case for the Wrexham Gateway Project, subject to approval from the Welsh Government and UK Government of the assurance process held, and that the Council addresses the matters noted in the report, as described in Section 7, and asks for a Full Business Case to be prepared for the Sub-committee's consideration.

To authorise the Portfolio Director in consultation with the Chair, the Vice-chair, the Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer to agree on draft terms in accordance with this report as a basis for the final funding arrangements for the project to be committed subject to Full Business Case approval.

To note that the approval from the Sub-committee is valid for a period of twelve months and should the project not proceed to an approved Full Business Case during this period, it will be required to return and re-submit the business case to the Sub-committee for approval. 

Hedd Vaughan-Evans (Head of Operations) and David Mathews (Land and Property Programme Manager) to present the report.

To agree to the request for change for the Parc Bryn Cegin project to allocate an additional £1.43m of Growth Deal funding to deliver Phase 2 of the Project to provide an additional 1,856 square metres (20,000 sq ft) of high-quality modern employment units operating on a low carbon basis.

To delegate to the Portfolio Director, in consultation with the Chair, Vice-chair, Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer, to agree and approve the relevant changes to the Joint Venture Agreement with the Welsh Government for the delivery of the project.

To note that the Full Business Case for Parc Bryn Cegin would be updated following the signing of the contract for phase 2 to reflect the final costs and to delegate the approval of the Full Business Case to the Portfolio Director.

Meghan Davies (Energy & Net Zero Programme Manager) to present the report.

To approve the Full Business Case for the Egni Project.

To authorise the Portfolio Director, in consultation with the Chair, Vice-chair, Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer, to agree and enter into a funding agreement with Bangor University for the delivery of the project, subject to Bangor University addressing the outstanding issues set out in Section 7 of this report.

It was noted that approval from the Sub-committee was valid for a period of six months and should the project not proceed to a signed funding agreement during this period, it will be required to return and re-submit the business case to the Sub-committee for approval.

Meghan Davies (Energy & Net Zero Programme Manager) to present the report.

To approve the Outline Business Case for the Trawsfynydd Innovation, Business and Skills Centre Project, subject to approval from the Welsh Government and UK Government of the assurance process held, and that Cyngor Gwynedd addresses the matters noted and described in Section 7 of this report, and asks for a Full Business Case to be prepared for the Sub-committee's consideration.

To authorise the Portfolio Director in consultation with the Chair, the Vice-chair, the Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer to agree on draft terms in accordance with this report as a basis for the final funding arrangements for the project to be committed subject to Full Business Case approval.

It was noted that the approval from the Sub-committee was valid for a period of twelve months and should the project not proceed to an approved Full Business Case during this period, it will be required to return and re-submit the business case to the Sub-committee for approval. 

Elliw Hughes (Growth Deal Programme Manager) to present the report.

To approve the draft Business Justification Case for the Sustainable Dairy Development Element of the Glynllifon Rural Economy Hub project subject to the approval of the Welsh and UK Governments of the assurance process undertaken, and that Grŵp Llandrillo Menai addresses the matters noted and described in Section 7 of this report, and secures all necessary internal approvals for the project.

To delegate to the Portfolio Director, in consultation with the Chair, Vice-chair, Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer, to agree and confirm the outstanding matters in the report before the funding is released and to note that if this is not completed in advance to the Sub-committee in May then the Business Justification Case would need to be resubmitted for consideration.

To note that a funding agreement has already been entered into with Grŵp Llandrillo Menai for the Glynllifon Rural Economy Hub project following the approval of the Sheep Milk Wales Business Justification Case, and that this agreement will include the delivery of this element of the wider project if this Business Justification Case is approved by the Sub-committee.

To note that there will be one more Business Case approval to deliver the remaining elements of the Glynllifon Rural Economy Hub project and that these will be submitted to the Sub-committee for future consideration.

Elliw Hughes (Growth Deal Programme Manager) to present the report.

To approve the request for change for the Academi Croeso project, granting a final extension of up to six months to introduce a new satellite in the form of a Business Justification Case to reallocate the remaining £1m of Growth Deal funding already committed to the project.