Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones cut the ribbon on the new area of office space at Llandudno Junction in Conwy which has been built at a cost of close to £20 million and is likely to accommodate around 650 people.
The opening of the new development was hailed as a major milestone in the Welsh Assembly government’s efforts to spread civil service jobs more evenly around the country than has historically been the case.
As recently as 2002, less than a quarter of all Welsh government jobs were based at office space locations outside of Cardiff and the current government remains keen to readdress this apparent imbalance.
The first minister said: “This is a historic day for North Wales but also for the assembly government as our flagship North Wales office opens and we deliver on our commitment to have regional offices.
“I would like to thank all those involved in the project. They have delivered a world-class sustainable building which is the greenest in our estate and a credit to all involved.”
A vote in the late 1990s resulted in the formation of the Welsh Assembly government, which asserts that devolution has resulted in better working relations between the public and private sectors throughout the country.
Its new Llandudno Junction office space has been lavishly praised for its achievements in terms of sustainability and has been handed an ‘excellent’ rating by BREEAM adjudicators.
Editor’s notes: In November 2021, it was suggested by Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders that the First Minister take action to convert the office property that was a workspace for 500 employees into a flexible working hub in Conwy.
Mrs Finch-Saunders stated, “Whilst Policy 30 of the Net-Zero Wales Carbon Budget 2 reiterates the Welsh Government’s long-term ambition to enable around 30% of Welsh workers to work remotely beyond Covid-19, I was most alarmed that little provision has been publicly proposed for the North Wales region.”
It was found that the average daily attendance at the offices in Llandudno Junction was just 18 people.
Mrs Finch-Saunders also advised that First Minister, Mark Drakeford, had been receptive to the suggestion.