Written Statement: Support for Communities under the Community Facilities Programme

The Community Facilities Programme is a capital grant scheme which offers grants to community led projects to improve well used and much needed community facilities. This can include sports clubs, community centres, village halls and green spaces.

I am pleased to announce that sixteen projects across Wales will benefit from a share of £2.372 million in capital grants under the Community Facilities Programme. These sixteen grants will enable projects worth £5.295 million to proceed.  

This announcement brings the number of projects to benefit from the Community Facilities Programme in 2019-20 to thirty-five and the total amount of grant awarded to £5.125 million. These thirty-five projects represent a total capital investment in Welsh communities of £20.815 million. Each of these projects represents a much loved community space which is providing a range of vital services to the community it serves.

Grants are available at two levels; up to £25,000 for small projects such as the fitting of kitchens and toilets, a lift or other access improvements. Of the sixteen awards announced today, five have applied for and been awarded less than £25,000. These projects include a grant of £25,000 to the Men’s Shed in Rhyl which will be used to renovate a former pub and bring the building into community use; and £24,000 to Queen’s Hall in Narberth to provide digital signage and improve information available to the local community.   Full details of these awards can be found in below.

Larger grants of up to £250,000 are also available under the Community Facilities Programme to support groups seeking to carry out major refurbishments, build extensions or even develop new community facilities.

Of the sixteen projects announced today, eleven have been awarded larger grants. These include £250,000 to Race Council Cymru to develop a BAME Cultural Hub at Swansea’s Grant Theatre; and £119,940 to St Bartholomew’s Church in Sealand to provide kitchen and accessible toilet facilities which will enable community use of the church building.

Full details of these awards can be found below.

The programme has now supported projects in each of the twenty-two local authority areas in Wales.

Under £25,000 Awards

• Garndiffaith Community Association, Pontypool in Torfaen: which has been awarded £25,000 towards the costs of refurbishing the public toilets in the Millennium Hall.
• Queens Hall, Narberth in Pembrokeshire: is awarded £24,000 towards the cost of creating a digital community information hub to better inform users, visitors and the community about current and future events on offer.
• Clydach Cricket Club in Swansea: has been awarded £25,000 towards the cost of refurbishing its clubhouse.
• Rhyl Men’s Shed, Rhyl in Denbighshire: has been offered £25,000 towards the cost of renovating a former pub and bringing it into community use.
• Ogmore by Sea Village Hall Association, Ogmore by Sea in the Vale of Glamorgan: has been granted £24,000 towards the cost of developing a new village hall.

Up to £250,000 Awards

• Cardiff Olympic Gymnastics Ltd, Ely in Cardiff: has been awarded £55,000 towards the cost of refurbishing and improving their facility including providing a new heating system.
• Race Council Cymru, Swansea BAME Hub of Culture in Swansea: is awarded £250,000 towards the cost of developing a Hub at Swansea Grand Theatre.
• ACE (Action in Caerau and Ely), Dusty Forge, Ely in Cardiff: has been offered £250,000 towards the cost of the refurbishment of the facility including improving toilets and heating.
• YMCA Swansea, Swansea: has been awarded £250,000 towards the cost of the continuing refurbishment of their facility including renovating the building’s exterior, windows and replacing heating.
• Pwyllgor Neuadd Goffa Bodwrog Memorial Hall Committee, Bodwrog in Anglesey:  has been awarded £111,567 towards the cost of refurbishing the hall and replacing its kitchen and toilets in time for its 100th anniversary in 2020.
• Barry Uniting Church, The Bridge Between Community Centre, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan: is awarded £250,000 towards the cost of replacing its current temporary building with a purpose built church and community building.
• Hirwaun YMCA, Hirwaun in RCT: has been granted £212,900 towards the cost of refurbishing and restructuring the facilities to accommodate Flying Start.
• St Bartholomew’s, Sealand in Flintshire: is offered £119,940 to provide kitchen and accessible toilet facilities in the church building to facilitate community use.
• The Parish of St Thomas and Kilvey, St Thomas in Swansea: has been offered £250,000 towards the cost of replacing its current church hall. The project will restructure the church interior to serve as a community hub.
• Cambrian Village Trust, Lakeside Development in RCT: has been offered £250,000 towards the cost of replacing their temporary building with a more permanent log cabin.
• Eglwys Sant Asa, St Asaph in Denbighshire: has been awarded £250,000 towards the cost of improving their current building to increase community use.