Community facilities in North Wales benefit from ‘crucial’ additional funds to meet rising costs
Cyfleusterau cymunedol yng ngogledd Cymru yn elwa ar gyllid ychwanegol ‘hanfodol’ er mwyn talu costau cynyddol
Community facilities in North Wales are set to benefit from ‘crucial’ additional Welsh Government funding enabling them to complete refurbishment works.
The projects had struggled to stay within their original budgets due to rising costs of building supplies.
In total fifteen projects across Wales are receiving funding totalling £467,000 in this round of the Community Facilities Programme. This included £164,000 towards ten smaller projects, all receiving under £25,000 grants.
More than £303,000 will also go towards additional funding for five larger projects.
Small amounts of grant funding can provide a big change for community facilities.
The programme funds the purchase and improvement of facilities which provide opportunities for local people to improve their day to day lives.
Three of the projects are based in North Wales.
The smaller projects in North Wales include £9,800 at Prestatyn Men’s Shed, Denbighshire, £9,836 to install solar panels and insulate their conservatory; £17,800 at Brighter Futures in Rhyl to build an extension to the workshop and make energy saving improvement; and
The larger projects in North Wales include £50,000 towards improving sound insulation and renovating an outbuilding into a flexible space for music, dance and arts workshops at Tabernacl Bethesda in Gwynedd
Minister for Social Justice Jane Hutt said: “This additional funding is crucial to allow these larger projects to be completed so they can benefit communities across Wales.
“Due to rising costs for materials they have seen their budgets squeezed as they neared completion. They wouldn’t have been able to carry out essential works like roof repairs, new windows and energy saving improvements if it wasn’t for our Community Facilities Programme.
“I hope everyone gets to enjoy these community facilities once they are finished and look forward to hearing about their progress.”
Stephen Johnson, sustainability co-ordinator at Brighter Futures in Rhyl, said the funding had made a massive difference to them.
“Thanks to this funding we have been able to extend the workshop and can get more people into it,” he said.
“We have been planning this for a long time, but now we are able to do it. It’s perfect timing as the numbers of people wanting to come are getting higher and higher.”
He added: “The energy saving improvements have also saved us so much money with our bills. People don’t want to stay in their houses, so they are able to come here and keep warm. We have started staying open six days a week now.”
Notes to editors
The Community Facilities Programme funds projects up to £300,000 for building purchases or larger refurbishment projects and up to £25,000 for smaller projects.
More information about the community projects here
The smaller projects include:
- Bridgend Lifesavers Credit Union, Bridgend, £24,500 to renovate and refurbish their newly purchased building located in the centre of Bridgend. This will help them to provide services for the whole community.
- Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Maesycwmmer, £25,000 to repair their roof and to build an extension to include a kitchen and meeting rooms.
- Prestatyn Men’s Shed, Denbighshire, £9,836 to install solar panels and insulate their conservatory.
- Brighter Futures, Rhyl, Denbighshire, £17,870 to build an extension to the workshop and make energy saving improvements such as insulation, new windows, underfloor heating and add solar panels to their existing system.
- Newport Sea Cadets, Newport £18,220 for the reconfiguring of the toilet and shower area to provide an additional accessible toilet and shower.
- Bluegreen Cymru, Teifi Woods, Pembrokeshire £13,000 to make their woodland space more accessible all year round. The project will make physical adaptations and improve the infrastructure including new paths, building two log sheds, installing solar panels and providing a covered area for family use during bad weather.
- St Thomas Church Hall Clydach Vale, RCT £20,000 to make urgent repairs to the roof to prevent water ingress.
- Pontnewydd Community Association, Torfaen £25,000 to make the internal and external areas of the building safe to include new floors, boundary walls, fencing and upgrade the lighting.
- Victory Church, Cwmbran, Torfaen £11,000 to upgrade their kitchen, re-floor the front of house area and upgrade the Ark play space to create a warm hub during the winter months.
The larger projects include:
- Aberporth Village Hall, Ceredigion £50,000 rebuilding one property and modernising and refurbishing an adjoining building to include the updating of the kitchen, toilets, improve disabled accessibility plus increase energy efficiency. Due to the rise in costs, they are seeking additional funds.
- New Life Church, Cardigan, Ceredigion £50,000 to purchase the building and refurbish it to include a new kitchen, community meeting area and family activity centre. They are asking for additional funds to complete the installation of new windows to ensure the building is more sustainable for energy costs
- Tabernacl Bethesda Gwynedd £50,000 asked for funding towards the cost of improving sound insulation and bringing outbuildings at the rear of the main hall into use as flexible space for music, dance and arts workshops. They are now asking for additional funds due to the rise in costs.
- Hirwaun YMCA, RCT £87,100 to completely refurbish the Chapel and create a community hub and aging well centre. They are requesting additional funds due to the increase in costs of materials to finish off part of the project and install new windows which will make the project more energy efficient.
- Welsh Islamic Cultural Association, Sketty, Swansea £50,000 have received funding towards the cost of renovating a recently purchased building to create new classrooms.