Speed record beach at Pendine set for £7m revamp
The beach area where Sir Malcolm Campbell broke the land speed record in the legendary Blue Bird could be on track for a £7m revamp.
Plans have been made for an attraction at Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire, including a Sands of Speed museum, an events facility and a 42-bed hostel.
The project has been given £3m of European Union funds as part of the £7m total investment in the area.
There were five land speed record bids at Pendine between 1924 and 1927.
Sir Donald made three record attempts in total - the quickest in Blue Bird in February 1927 where he reached 174.22mph (280.38 km/h).
Welshman JG Parry-Thomas made two attempts in his car Babs - but became the first driver to be killed in a world land speed record attempt driving at 170mph (270 km/h) in March 1927.
Carmarthenshire council has been working on a regeneration plan to address the "physical and commercial decline" of Pendine on the Carmarthen Bay coast since 2010.
A new £800,000 promenade and a £1m commercial block with public toilets and external showers has already been built and now the authorities want to complete the £7m scheme.
"Projects such as this in Pendine will give people compelling reasons to visit Wales and I look forward to plans which I have seen today coming to fruition - this will be a major boost for Carmarthenshire and south west Wales," said tourism minister Lord Elis Thomas.
Visit Wales hopes the regeneration will boost the local economy by £3.3m a year.