A CENTRE of excellence which will help victims of brain injury will create 70 jobs if it is given the go-ahead in Llanelli.

The residential centre — the first of its kind in Wales — is planned to open at Llanelli Waterside, The Avenue, adjacent to Delta Lakes, and will accommodate 24 adults.

Developed by The Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust (Birt), it will help people regain skills lost as a result of brain injury, whether caused by road accidents, assaults, strokes or illnesses.

The plans include 18 en-suite bedrooms, two single bedroom flats and four single bedroom bungalows.

If planning consent is granted, the building would be designed around a central courtyard garden which would open onto a number of communal lounges and activity rooms.

The development would create up to 70 full-time jobs ranging from management and professional staff to care, support, kitchen and domestic staff.

A Birt spokesman said: "The project has already attracted considerable support and professional interest from the rehabilitation community in Wales, who wish to see a range of specialist services provided across Wales."

To date, the Llanelli Waterside Joint Venture partners — a partnership between Carmarthenshire Council and the Assembly — have reclaimed more than 1,000 acres of land and have invested more than £20 million in Llanelli Waterside.

Carmarthenshire's regeneration executive board member, Councillor Clive Scourfield, said: "The Birt development will be a centre of excellence in Wales for adults who have acquired brain injuries.

"We are really pleased that Llanelli Waterside has been chosen as the location for this project which will benefit so many people.

"Not only will it provide a Welsh base for those people and their families who need it, but it will also create local jobs and be of benefit to the area."

gill.roberts@swwmedia.co.uk