£1.7m for local community projects across Wales

The Community Facilities Programme funds well-used amenities to improve sustainability, providing opportunities for local people as part of their day-to-day lives.

The latest awardees up to £250,000 are:

• Canolfan Glanhwfa Cyf, Angelsey - £250,000 towards completely refurbishing the Chapel and creating a community hub.
• Parochial Church Council Parish of Llandyfodwg and Cwmogwr, Bridgend - £153,000 towards providing a community hub with modern facilities.
• Enbarr Foundation, Flintshire - £237,000 towards resurrecting the John Summers Building in Sealand (Old Steelworks) to enable the local community to access employment opportunities.
• Cymer Afan Community Library, Neath Port Talbot - £163,000 towards refurbishing the community library, including a children’s area.
• Bethel Community Church Trust, Newport - £249,000 towards expanding building capacity to accommodate more community projects. The building was burnt down previously.
• Pontypridd YMCA, RCT - £250,000 towards redeveloping the YMCA. This money will specifically be used for the nursey and community areas.
• RSPCA Llys Nini, Swansea - £195,000 towards building ‘Yr Ysgubor’, a café with children’s play area, meeting/classroom, charity shop and donations point.

The latest smaller fund awardees (up to £25,000) are:

• Beaufort Theatre, Blaenau Gwent - £7,000 for a modern and energy efficient lighting system.
• Blaina Community Sports Club, Blaenau Gwent - £20,000 towards completing the first phase of their refurbishment.
• Friends of Six Bells Park, Blaenau Gwent - £10,000 towards resurfacing their tennis courts.
• Treowen Star Sports and Social Club, Caerphilly - £25,000 towards renovating the club house for use as a community centre.
• Friends of Eco Park, Caerphilly - £10,000 towards purchasing a converted container for use as an office / school room / canteen.
• Llanarthne New Village Hall, Carmarthenshire - £25,000 towards completing disabled toilets, baby changing facilities and shower facilities.
• St David’s Church Council Capel Dewi, Ceredigion - £6,500 towards improving the heating system and refurbishment to the outside toilet.
• Prestatyn Men’s Shed, Denbighshire - £10,000 towards the purchase of The John Moore Centre which they are currently leasing.
• Basecamp Co-op Chepstow, Monmouthshire - £9,600 to provide a safe space for young people in the community to gather and engage in activities.
• Gelligaled Park Community Action Group, RCT - £25,000 towards constructing a multi-use games area.
• Garnswllt Welfare Association, Swansea - £22,500 to renovate their hall, including washrooms and baby changing facilities.
• St Fagans Church Aberdare, RCT - £20,000 towards repairing the fabric of their building due to water damage.
• Merthyr Tydfil Sailing Club, Merthyr Tydfil - £25,000 to upgrade their facilities to include a training room, kitchenette and changing spaces.
• Canolfan Felin Fach Centre, Gwynedd - £12,000 to refurbish and replace their kitchen.
• Maes y Pant / Hollowfield Action Group, Wrexham - £10,000 towards creating a new children's play area in the community woodland.
• Gresford Community Library, Wrexham - £24,740 towards installing new heating equipment and insulation to make the premises more energy efficient.
• Wrexham Community Broadcasting, Wrexham - £25,000 to create two studio spaces for live broadcasting and pre-recording radio shows.

The Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt, said:

“As always it is fantastic to see such a range of projects and organisations from across Wales benefitting their local communities thanks to this funding.

“After the last 20 months and now more so then ever, our communities and the wonderful facilities within them are centres for bringing people together and building back a stronger, fairer Wales for all.”

The Enbarr Foundation has been awarded £237,000 to renovate the iconic John Summers Clock Tower in Deeside, developing it into a community space for all.

Director Vicki Roskams said:

“Despite the extraordinary challenges Enbarr and the community have faced during the past 18 months, community spirit and the resilience of Welsh people has shone through.

“With this critical funding we are hoping to renovate and refurbish the basement of the iconic Grade II John Summers Clock Tower to create a community space and heritage skills centre to support local growth, skills and entrepreneurship, as well as developing a health and well-being centre.

“Without this much needed grant from the Welsh Government, our years of planning would have been put on hold for even longer.”

Gresford Community Library, which serves a group of villages near Wrexham, has been awarded almost £25,000 to make its premises more energy efficient.

Director and Trustee, Jan Jones, said:

“Gresford Community Library is a small charity entirely managed by volunteers. We provide all the typical library services and, if people want something we don't have, we can request books etc from across the region. Locals tell us we’ve helped to keep them going during the COVID restrictions with our books and jigsaws, making life a little more bearable.

“We're delighted and very grateful to Welsh Government Community Facilities Programme for their support. We can now get rid of our ancient, gas-guzzling boiler and switch to something altogether greener and more efficient. For the first time we will be able to look forward to a warmer winter, without the fear of crippling gas bills and wasted carbon!”

Pontypridd YMCA, in Rhondda Cynon Taff, has been awarded £250,000 towards redeveloping the YMCA.

Jên Angharad, CEO, Artis Community Cymuned said:

"The Pontypridd YMCA building has been serving the people of Pontypridd for 111 years. It has always been a place that brings the community together and with this re-imagining of the space we are thrilled to be bringing the building alive once more on Pontypridd High Street, as a place for culture, creativity and the arts.

The Community Facilities Fund will enable us to complete the redevelopment of the building and realise the vision of Pontypridd YMCA, Artis Community Cymuned and the many people who have been involved in sharing ideas for the reimagining of the building, as well as our principal partners and funders; Arts Council of Wales, RCT Council, Welsh Government, Moondance Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation.

Once completed the building will house the 150-capacity Shelley Hall, complete with sprung dance floor, a studio theatre, an art room, cafe, retail space and rooms for hire for meetings, conferences, presentations, parties and more and will be managed by Artis Community Cymuned.”

The Parochial Church Council of Llandyfodwg & Cwmogwr Parish, based in Bridgend, have been awarded over £150,000 to create a community facility after villagers recently lost their primary school, public house and local shop.

Funding Co-Ordinator for the Church Council, Gill Morgan, said:

“We have for many years organised community and fundraising events for charity, but the lack of necessary utilities meant we had not been able to expand for wider community use. Thanks to this funding our role in the local community can now be redefined and reimagined through the provision of vital local services and by being a point of connection that re-establishes the church at the heart of local life.

“The Church is a historical building of architectural interests with strong heritage links. The Community Facilities funding will safeguard the future of the building that will become a focus for the village’s sense of pride in its historical past, as well as a centre for the regeneration of the community.”

Applications for the Community Facilities Programme are open year-round and organisations can find out more by searching for Community Facilities Programme on gov.wales.