NEW £25MILLION COMMUNITIES FIRST FUND PROVIDES ‘A SHOT IN THE ARM’

Efforts to regenerate some of the most disadvantaged communities in the Neath, Dulais and Swansea Valleys have received another shot in the arm today, thanks to a new £25m fund which has been announced by the Labour-led Assembly Government.

Neath AM Gwenda Thomas has welcomed news of the new Communities First ‘Outcomes Fund’, which will be open for bids by Communities First partnerships, including those in Neath, Lower Brynamman and Gwaun Cae Gurwen, Ystalyfera and Godre’rgraig the Dulais Valley, and Pontrhydyfen and Tonmawr.

The partnerships will be able to apply for money from the fund, but will need to demonstrate that their proposals will help deliver key Communities First priorities. They will also need to show that they are working in partnership with local public bodies and have engaged with local people in planning local services.

The Fund, which will be worth at least £25million over three years, is the centrepiece of plans for the next phase of Communities First, the Assembly Government’s flagship community regeneration programme, which Labour launched in the Assembly back in 2001.

Gwenda Thomas AM said:

“The new Outcomes Fund will be a real shot in the arm for every Communities First partnership in my constituency.

“It also shows how the Labour-led Assembly Government is committed to taking the Communities First programme to the next level so that it does even more to regenerate our communities.

“I am pleased to see that the next phase of Communities First will give the programme an even clearer focus on getting practical improvements in place on the ground to tackle poverty, regenerate these areas and improve employability.

“I am looking forward to seeing the Communities First programme going from strength to strength as it enters this next phase and I am sure that it will continue to make a real difference to the lives of so many people in my constituency.”

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Communities First wards in Neath Port Talbot are:

Neath Port Talbot CBC: Cymmer + Gwynfi + Glyncorrwg; Sandfields West + Sandfields East; Onllwyn + Seven Sisters; Ystalyfera + Pantyffynnon, part of Godre’graig; Briton Ferry West + Neath East; Pelenna; Fairyland, part of Neath North; Brynbryddan and Penllyn, part of Bryn and Cwmavon.