A CASH strapped health board says that it is still “fully committed” to developing a multi-agency Health and Wellbeing Campus in Newtown which includes a 32 bed hospital.

Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) was expected to have submitted a business case for the North Powys Wellbeing Programme to the Welsh Government this summer, but it has so far not materialised.

The board is working with Powys County Council on the wellbeing programme, which would bring health, social care, education, voluntary sector and housing together in The Park area in Newtown.

Last month the council moved ahead with a proposal which could eventually see a new primary school building at The Park.

The Liberal Democrat/Labour cabinet agreed to merging two primary schools in Newtown which will eventually see one closed at the end of August 2025.

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Subject to funding, the second phase of this process would see a bigger school built at the Calon y Dderwen site during 2026/2027 with the pupils at Treowen primary school to go there.

But while the council has progressed its school proposals, work on the wellbeing programme has disappeared from the public eye during 2024.

Concerns were raised last autumn that the programme was in danger of being shelved due to a squeeze on public finances.

At the time health board chiefs said that “progress” would be made in 2024 with the business case to be sent to the Welsh Government this summer.

This would have followed a public consultation on the proposals.

A PTHB spokesman on behalf of the North Powys Wellbeing Programme said: “We remain fully committed to the development of a multi-agency Health and Wellbeing Campus in Newtown, and we are in ongoing discussions with Welsh Government regarding our strategic outline case.

“Approval of the strategic outline case by Welsh Government will then launch further conversations with our communities on the next steps required to develop the outline business case.”

One of the programme’s biggest supporters is Powys County Council’s anti-poverty champion, Cllr Joy Jones of the Powys Independents group.

Cllr Jones said: “It is really important that this goes ahead.

Cllr Joy JonesCllr Joy Jones

“With the increase of poverty people are struggling to travel to and from general hospitals.

“With the pressure also on the ambulance service it is vital that more services can be offered locally as this is important for people’s health, their wellbeing and their budgets.”

In May 2019, the Welsh Government announced that £2.5 million of funding was made available to start work on the project.

The cost of the total scheme was estimated to be £122 million last year and was to be funded by the Welsh Government.

The hope was that it will be built and open by 2026.

Last month PTHB revealed it was expecting to post a £22.9 million deficit budget this year.

PTHB is also currently consulting on proposals that would see changes to the opening hours of its Minor Injury Units and to concentrate specific types of patients in certain hospitals across the county.