Over £1.6m funding boost for community projects in south Wales

The funding is being provided through the Community Facilities Programme, a capital grant scheme which helps voluntary sector organisations make improvements to community facilities such as sports clubs and community halls for the benefit of the people they serve.

Media Academy Cymru will receive £300,000 towards purchasing and improving a currently rented building. The group works closely with Cardiff and the Vale College and work with young people who are not suited to learning in a traditional way. They offer BTECs in game design, filmmaking and animation. They also involve young people using activities like podcasting, DJing and music.

Oasis Community Church in Penywaun is to receive £256,445 to develop a food pantry supporting around 50 families per week. The facility also offers a furniture and household goods bank and hosts counselling for drug addiction.

Ystradowen Community and Sports Association will be awarded £94,059 toward securing the energy sustainability of the village hall for the next 30 years – including roof insulation, a heat pump and solar panels. Also in the Vale of Glamorgan, With Music in Mind received £25,000 towards improving accessibility and energy efficiency in their building.

St. John’s Ambulance will benefit from £25,000 towards refurbishing towards refurbishing Tredegar Division Hall to offer more volunteering opportunities. Also in Blaenau Gwent, Kidz R Us is to receive £12,000 towards repairing the roof of their youth facility.

In Caerphilly, Community Volunteers Wales will be awarded £100,000 towards purchasing a building to provide a larger area for their community pantry and meeting room. The Crosskeys Methodist Church will use £21,792 towards refurbishment, while the Deri Regeneration Group is receiving £8,000 towards repairing their community centre building. Libanus Lifestyle, a community organisation has been awarded £25,000 to create a multi-functional space in the attic of their building and £20,000 will support River Church Wales towards creating a community garden.

St Cadoc’s Church in Caerleon will receive £300,000 to make their church more accessible for community groups, creating a welcoming, warm space with smaller private areas. Also in Newport, Liswerry Baptist Church has been awarded £25,000 to improve their sound system and visual technology.

In Torfaen, an extra £10,000 on top of the £229,000 previously awarded will help Ponthir Sports and Community club to build a facility alongside their clubhouse with toilets, leisure, meeting and catering facilities.

Coytrahen Community Association in Bridgend is to receive an additional £33,153 to convert redundant sports rooms into training and activity areas. They have already received £117,000.

Rogiet Community Junction will benefit from £300,000 towards building a new community shop and café, with a teaching kitchen and community garden in the Monmouthshire village. Mathern and District Village Hall will receive £14,000 to install a new kitchen and cavity wall insulation.

In Cardiff, Mentoring for All has been awarded £25,000 to improve their garden, while NoFit State Circus are to receive £25,000 to install a wheelchair lift and solar panels in their building. Krishna Cymru will use £50,000 funding on top of a previously awarded £250,000 to make their building a cultural heritage site and wellbeing community centre.

Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office, Rebecca Evans said: “Recipients of support from the Community Facilities Programme provide an important service to their local communities. This Welsh Government funding is crucial in supporting organisations to improve their facilities so local people can benefit from them.”