Nine neighbourhoods at the heart of Welsh life, including in Caerphilly, have been named as the recipients of up to £20 million each in UK Government funding to restore pride in their area and open doors to new opportunities.
In September last year the UK Government announced that the Pride in Place Programme would see £180 million shared among nine local authorities over 10 years to target areas which can benefit most from a wide range of regeneration projects.
This money will empower local people to tackle the issues that are blighting their communities – whether that’s cleaning up graffiti, saving treasured community institutions or tackling anti-social behaviour.
On top of this every local authority in Wales will receive a share £34.5 million of capital funding to improve their public spaces, including fixing broken bus shelters, reopening park toilets, more bins to help stop litter and revamping run-down leisure centres.
The neighbourhoods to receive the funding of up to £20 million are as follows.
- Caerphilly: Bargoed, Aberbargoed and New Tredegar
- Blaenau Gwent: Sirhowy Valley
- Cardiff: Ely & Caerau
- Carmarthenshire: Llanelli
- Conwy: Llandudno
- Neath Port Talbot: Upper Afan Valley
- Newport: Newport Central Cluster
- Rhondda Cynon Taf: Rhondda Fach
- Swansea: High Street and Dyfatty
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:
“We are directly backing our communities with this significant investment. People living in Caerphilly are in control of this funding and now have the support to make it an even better place to live and work.
“The UK Government focused on delivering jobs, prosperity and growth and the Pride in Place programme is a key part of us doing that. Working in partnership with Welsh Government we’re investing directly in Welsh communities to build stronger, thriving neighbourhoods.”
Leader of Council, Cllr Jamie Pritchard said, “This is very positive news for the communities of Bargoed, Aberbargoed and New Tredegar and I’m sure residents in these areas will warmly welcome this exciting announcement. The council selected these three communities in the upper Rhymney Valley as we want to deliver positive change across all parts of our county borough and build on the success of investment in other areas.”
“We will now focus on progressing the scheme to maximise the funding available, whilst ensuring that local people have a clear voice in this process. Watch this space for further updates.”
Neighbourhood Boards, comprising representatives from the local community, will now decide exactly what the investment will be spent on. These will now be established, with funding starting from April 2026.
Projects could include revitalising high streets and town centres, preserving local heritage, providing housing, creating jobs, boosting productivity and skills, improving health and well-being, creating new transport links, providing education and opportunity and improving safety and security.
