Friday
19
April
Newtown to have share of £15.2m regen project
04/03/2021 @ 07:22
Newtown town centre is to receive a share of £15.2 million to help it"rebuild and regenerate" following lockdown.
The Welsh Government has today (Thursday) announced a 'placemaking' funding package.
Powys County Council is to lead on the project in Mid Wales and will be responsible for delivering it to towns including Newtown.
Newtown Town Council and other organisations in the town will be able to put forward schemes for the cash.
The government said the new funding package is designed to be as "flexible as possible" and will offer support for a wide range of projects, from green infrastructure developments and the creation of active travel routes, to internal and external improvements for business owners.
In addition, the funding will support the improvement of town centre markets, create new uses for vacant buildings, and drive activity to support Welsh Government’s ‘digital towns’ agenda — among other projects to make Wales’s town and city centres thrive.
Powys County Council will be responsible for Mid Wales, with Wrexham County Borough Council for North Wales, and Rhondda Cynon Taf for south east Wales. Meanwhile, Swansea County Council will be responsible for funding allocations in south west Wales.
Those eligible to apply for funding include local authorities, town centre businesses, Business Improvement Districts and Town and Community Councils.
It’s all part of a wider £110m investment through Transforming Towns, the Welsh Government’s town centre regeneration programme, which funds projects for the benefit of local communities in town and city centres in Wales.
"This is in keeping with Welsh Government’s ‘Town Centre First’ initiative and long-term ambition for 30% of the Welsh population to work from, or closer to home — through repurposing vacant buildings into co-working hubs and encouraging public sector organisations to set up offices in town centre locations," said a statement.
"Superfast Business Wales’s work to improve connectivity across Wales will further aid this, with businesses and individuals encouraged to explore their connectivity options and make more of digital."
Hannah Blythyn, Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government, said: “Our town centres are unique, special places. Each town has its own proud history, sense of place and memory — with many of lives shaped by the towns we have grown up in, moved-to or visited.
“However, we know that towns in Wales are facing huge challenges in light of Covid-19, which is why the Welsh Government is committed to doing everything we can to ensure our town centres not only survive but thrive in the future.
“By offering Welsh local authorities the broadest and most flexible package of support through our new placemaking fund, we have enabled our regional partners to decide upon the most appropriate mix of interventions and how to put them into practice effectively in towns across Wales.
“Together with wider Transforming Towns programme grants, this will help us to re-build our Welsh towns and to realise wider plans set out by Welsh Government — to open up new, local economic opportunities while creating sustainable places for the people of Wales to live, work, learn and enjoy.”
The Welsh Government has today (Thursday) announced a 'placemaking' funding package.Powys County Council is to lead on the project in Mid Wales and will be responsible for delivering it to towns including Newtown.
Newtown Town Council and other organisations in the town will be able to put forward schemes for the cash.
The government said the new funding package is designed to be as "flexible as possible" and will offer support for a wide range of projects, from green infrastructure developments and the creation of active travel routes, to internal and external improvements for business owners.
In addition, the funding will support the improvement of town centre markets, create new uses for vacant buildings, and drive activity to support Welsh Government’s ‘digital towns’ agenda — among other projects to make Wales’s town and city centres thrive.
Powys County Council will be responsible for Mid Wales, with Wrexham County Borough Council for North Wales, and Rhondda Cynon Taf for south east Wales. Meanwhile, Swansea County Council will be responsible for funding allocations in south west Wales.
Those eligible to apply for funding include local authorities, town centre businesses, Business Improvement Districts and Town and Community Councils.
It’s all part of a wider £110m investment through Transforming Towns, the Welsh Government’s town centre regeneration programme, which funds projects for the benefit of local communities in town and city centres in Wales.
"This is in keeping with Welsh Government’s ‘Town Centre First’ initiative and long-term ambition for 30% of the Welsh population to work from, or closer to home — through repurposing vacant buildings into co-working hubs and encouraging public sector organisations to set up offices in town centre locations," said a statement.
"Superfast Business Wales’s work to improve connectivity across Wales will further aid this, with businesses and individuals encouraged to explore their connectivity options and make more of digital."
Hannah Blythyn, Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government, said: “Our town centres are unique, special places. Each town has its own proud history, sense of place and memory — with many of lives shaped by the towns we have grown up in, moved-to or visited.
“However, we know that towns in Wales are facing huge challenges in light of Covid-19, which is why the Welsh Government is committed to doing everything we can to ensure our town centres not only survive but thrive in the future.
“By offering Welsh local authorities the broadest and most flexible package of support through our new placemaking fund, we have enabled our regional partners to decide upon the most appropriate mix of interventions and how to put them into practice effectively in towns across Wales.
“Together with wider Transforming Towns programme grants, this will help us to re-build our Welsh towns and to realise wider plans set out by Welsh Government — to open up new, local economic opportunities while creating sustainable places for the people of Wales to live, work, learn and enjoy.”
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