Carmarthenshire Council hopes £41m Atriwm project will boost 'footfall' for town

Carmarthenshire County Council says it hopes that the new Atriwm scheme [being developed at Carmarthen’s former Debenhams] will draw footfall to the town.
The Local Authority has stated that Atriwm is a major investment in the future of Carmarthen town and its large rural hinterland, with capital funding provided by, the UK Government Levelling Up Fund, UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Welsh Government Integration and Rebalancing Capital Fund, Welsh Government Transforming Towns Programme and Carmarthenshire County Council.
Although much of the external work continues behind the scaffolding, significant progress has been made inside the building. Contractors have already carried out major structural alterations, internal reconfiguration and improvement works to prepare the building for its future reopening.
Shoppers in Carmarthen have become used to scaffolding draping the town’s former Debenhams store, but inside things really are changing.
Soft play equipment has been installed on one floor alongside what will be indoor adventure golf, a TAG active arena, a small electric go-karting track and a cafe.
Elsewhere a 24-hour gym is in the works with spin and activity studios, while a range of health treatment rooms are taking shape including dental space.
Health and social care trainers will have a viewing room to observe trainees in a life-like hospital ward on one side and a kitchen and living room interior on the other.
The conversion of the former Debenhams store at St Catherine’s Walk Shopping Centre building has been a long time coming and is expected to cost £41 million. Carmarthenshire Council, which is behind the project, said it anticipated an early 2027 completion date.
“It’s going to be amazing,” said Cllr Hazel Evans, whose cabinet portfolio includes regeneration.
Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) if she thought the investment would be worth it, she was unequivocal.
“When you consider what will happen here and what footfall it will draw into the town, it is a long-term investment and worth it,” she said. “There’s nothing worse than a redundant building.”
Atriwm, as the building will be known, will be occupied by Hywel Dda University Health Board, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) and the council, which will move its customer service hub there and run the gym and children’s activity area.
Health board services will include community and children’s nursing teams, children and young people’s therapies, and dental, sexual health, phlebotomy, podiatry and mental health services.
©Video: CCC