Councillors are to be given the chance to scrutinise a £110 million plan to boost the economy of mid Wales.

So far the Mid Wales Growth Deal has not been seen by members outside the cabinet, but after a meeting on Friday, at which a number of tweaks to the legal agreement between Powys and Ceredigion Councils, new proposals have come forward.

Powys County Council’s head of legal and democratic services, Clive Pinney, explained that a joint overview scrutiny committee would be made up of councillors from both Ceredigion and Powys.

“This will formalise the agreement," he said. "Ten members will sit on the committee, five from each authority.

“The chair will rotate on an annual basis from authority to authority.”

Both cabinets must approve the recommendation first before the new scrutiny committee could be formed.

Ceredigion council leader Cllr Ellen ap Gwynn told the meeting that the committee needed to be formed quickly so that it could be in place for when the full agreement is signed off by Ceredigion, Powys, the Welsh, and UK Governments.

“We need to get our skates on, we’ve only got a maximum of six months left,” said Cllr ap Gwynn.

The board approved the changes unanimously.

The Welsh and UK Government believe the growth deal has an “important part” to play in the recovery phase of the economy, after Covid-19.

In October 2019, the UK Government announced a £55 million injection of funding, that was to be spread over 15 years.

In March, this timescale was shortened to 10 years.

The Welsh Government will match the £55million but has yet to say whether it will drop the timescale down from 15 to 10 years.