A new masterplan for a £250m commercial, leisure, retail and residential development in Llanelli, Wales, has been launched by Andrew Davies, economic development and transport minister for Wales.

Llanelli Waterside is set to be a 100-acre site south of Llanelli Town Centre, overlooking Carmarthen Bay and the Gower Peninsula.

The proposals are being developed by the Llanelli Coast Joint Venture, a partnership between the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) and Camarthenshire County Council (CCC).

Llanelli Waterside has been divided into five distinct areas, including North Dock, Sandy Water Park and Old Castle Works.

To the east is the new £7m Machynys Peninsula Golf Course and Country Club – designed by Jack Nicklaus – and to the west lies the Millennium Coastal Park, which features the recently completed £2m Discovery Centre.

The WDA estimates that the site will be able to accommodate up to 517,000sq ft (48,000sq m) of new commercial and leisure development.

North Deck – an 18-acre site at the heart of the Millennium Coastal Park – is suitable for a café bar, a restaurant and a hotel, while Sandy Water Park has been identified for tourism-related opportunities.

Old Castle Works has the benefit of planning consent for commercial, leisure, food and drink uses, including a cinema, bowling complex and a theatre for the arts.

A theatre with an open public plaza and a pre-theatre restaurant has so far been planned for the site.

Cardiff and Bristol-based property consultants GVA Grimley are currently preparing the design and development briefs for the scheme, with the sites expected to go on the market in January.

Llanelli Coast Joint Venture is currently looking to attract investment into the area, which has already benefitted from more than £120m public and private investment over the past 10 years.

Ninety-five per cent of the funding is expected to come from the private sector with the remainder to be provided by a property development grant. Details: www.llanelliwaterside.co.uk