THE Welsh Government has announced a £10m funding boost for town centres under the £90m Transforming Towns programme to support businesses and increase vibrancy and footfall in towns across Wales.

The announcement, made by deputy minister for housing Hannah Blythyn ahead of Small Business last Saturday, will add to a loan scheme to support local authorities in Wales to reduce the number of vacant, under-utilised and redundant sites and premises in town centres by providing interest free loans to redevelop or refurbish sites.

The properties will be redeveloped as shops, homes and leisure facilities, with loans being recycled up to three times over a 15-year period. Once repaid they can be used again to fund new loans and be re-invested in similar projects.

As part of the Welsh Government’s overall investment of £41.6m previous successful projects included Tramshed in Cardiff, Ty Castell in Caernarfon and the magistrates court in Newtown.

The Tramshed, in the capital’s Grangetown area, which acts as a hub for other local businesses and has fully repaid it’s loan of £500,000, used the funding to create hundreds of jobs, accommodated 25 enterprises, created 7,500 square feet of business space, supported over 40 community events annually and increased footfall by 25,000 people per year.

Local authorities funded through this year’s round of applications include:

• £555,000 for Blaenau Gwent

• £1,205,000 for Cardiff

• £1,000,000 for Conwy

• £840,000 for Flintshire

• £500,000 for Gwynedd

• £400,000 for Anglesey

• £5,000,000 for Swansea

• £500,000 for Wrexham

“This Transforming Towns loan scheme highlights the Welsh Government’s commitment to revitalising our town centres and putting their health and vibrancy at the centre of everything we do,” said Ms Blythyn.

“These loans supports activities that generate footfall, tackle empty sites and premises and support businesses to grow and prosper.

“The way we use our town centres has changed and many towns are struggling in the wake of declining retail sales. While businesses across our towns and on our high streets have faced challenges during the coronavirus pandemic, we have also seen a positive shift towards shopping local. I hope that this funding will enable this shift to continue and become embedded in how we shop and use our towns in the years to come.”

This funding is part of the Welsh Government’s total investment of £900m for regeneration projects alongside key partners.

Asked why Powys had been ignored in the latest round of funding, the minister responded by saying that £2.25m had been received by Powys County Council in previous phases, and that the council had not applied this time around.

“Since the Transforming Towns Programme started it has provided funding for all counties across Wales,” added Ms Blythyn.

“The £10 million loan funding recently awarded under the Transforming Towns programme is the sixth phase of this funding. All local authorities who made an application for loan funding were awarded funds. Powys County Council have received a total of £2,250,000 in loan funding under previous phases of the programme.

“We are supporting a Transforming Towns programme in Mid Wales, focusing on improving town centres, supporting projects to the value of £13,690,406, including funding for a new enterprise hub in Lampeter, the Newtown Riverside enterprise park, the Automobile Palace in Llandrindod Wells as well as other green infrastructure projects.”

The Mid Wales Town Centre Action Group was established in June 2020 to identify regional priorities and actions to support town centres in Mid Wales. The group includes a number of representatives from both Ceredigion and Powys county councils, registered social landlords, town and community councils and Welsh Government officials. The Mid Wales Town Centre Action Group are assessing opportunities to reshape and repurpose towns across Mid Wales.