- Local people to make decisions on how funding will transform high streets, save treasured local facilities and build pride in their local area
- £214 million in new funding for Wales as part of a decade of renewal through the Plan for Change
- UK Government Pride in Place funding going to every local authority in Wales
Residents across Wales will be able to save treasured pubs or libraries and clean up eyesores in their area through a multi-million Pride in Place programme, launched by the Prime Minister today. Alongside this record investment, there will be a revolutionary new approach to delivering the money, with communities calling the shots on where and how money is spent to clean up their communities and revitalise their high streets.
It will give communities control, with the financial firepower to put right the things that matter to them.
This money will empower local people to tackle the issues that are blighting their communities – whether that’s cleaning up graffiti or tackling anti-social behaviour – as well as funding to help support community cohesion.
The Pride in Place programme will see nine more communities who are most in need receive up to £20 million each. These areas will join five communities where work is already underway, taking the total to fourteen local authorities across Wales sharing £280 million.
The additional places to receive £20 million each are
- Blaenau Gwent
- Neath Port Talbot
- Newport
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Caerphilly
- Carmarthenshire
- Conwy
- Cardiff
- Swansea
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
This new investment builds on previous announcements and takes the total funding from these funds for Welsh communities to over £300 million. This is on top of the work done by the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns and Placemaking Initiatives.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said
We’re investing in the UK’s future, by backing the true patriots that build our communities up in neighbourhoods across every corner of the country. Because it’s people who bring pride, hope and life to our communities.
This is a huge investment, but what matters most is who decides how it’s spent the neighbours, volunteers and parents who know their communities best – the people with real skin in the game.
We’re choosing renewal over decline, unity over division. This is or Plan for Change in action – giving power and pride back to the people who make Britain great.
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said
The UK Government is laser-focused on delivering economic growth and providing opportunity for all and the Pride in Place programme is a key part of us doing that.
More than £200 million of new investment will see improvements made to communities up and down Wales making them even greater places to live and work.
We want to work with all our partners to make improvements that matter to local people and deliver jobs and prosperity.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed said
Building pride in place starts with people, not politics. Local people know what they want to see in their neighbourhoods – and they don’t need government to dictate it.
This plan will spark an historic grassroots movement that will restore local people’s power, boost national pride and help people get on in life across the UK as part of our Plan for Change.”
In Wales, local authorities will be invited to propose the communities within their areas to participate in the Pride in Place Programme for UK Government approval. This will be an inclusive process where the local authority will engage with local stakeholders including MPs, MSs and the Welsh Government to ensure local fit and alignment with existing schemes such as placemaking plans and the Transforming Towns initiative.
