Villagers in an unemployment blackspot in west Wales are backing plans for a fishing bait farm in the hope of new jobs.

Members of the Llanmiloe Community Association in Carmarthenshire have pledged their support for a proposed �4.5m ragworm farm.

We don't want to become a retirement or tourist village - we want a prosperous community with jobs

Villager Wendy Wright

Members of Carmarthenshire council have discussed the application for a 300-pond development on marshy land near the coastal area of Pendine.

If the plans - recommended for approval by council officers - are given the go-ahead, as many as 150 jobs could be created.

The association has organised a petition backing the development and has planned a public meeting for Monday night to rally further support.

The moves are a counter-attack to reservations raised by conservationists who fear there could be a detrimental impact on the environment.

The final decision will be made at County Hall

Some fear the project could increase pollution and reduce the natural habitat for protected species in the area.

Dragon Baits Limited, based in Port Talbot, south Wales, wants to create ponds to rear ragworms at a 160-acre site near military ranges.

But opposers claimed the area - adjacent to a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) - would be adversely affected by the scheme.

They said they feared the ponds could pollute beaches in Pendine and the estuary, affecting cockle beds in Carmarthen Bay.

Live bait

The land adjoins an old weapons testing range, which once employed about 800 people until the 1960s.

The company behind the scheme has already developed an aquaculture enterprise at Baglan to supply the fishing industry with live bait.

Ragworms are used as bait by millions of sea anglers.

They also provide a highly nutritious feed used for fish and shrimp brood stocks in aquaculture.

Shrimp and prawns

The company believes the Baglan site offers limited scope for expansion.

The proposed facility at Pendine would be to rear young ragworms on a far greater scale - allowing the firm to expand into the shrimp and prawn feed sector.

Councillors on the planning committee have been recommended to approve the scheme despite objections from a number of groups.

The Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB), The Countryside Council for Wales and local community councils have raised concerns over the plans.

But Wendy Wright, secretary of the group of residents supporting the plan, said most people welcomed the prospect of a new industry and the jobs it would bring.

"At the moment, our children have to leave the area to find work," she said.

"We don't want to become a retirement or tourist village - we want a prosperous community with jobs that will ensure a future for our children to live and work in the community they were born into."

Ms Wright described many of those who objected to the plans as "incomers who have bought or built retirement and holiday homes" in the area.

She added: "They cannot be allowed to dictate the future of our children."