A £27m regeneration plan is being rolled out across South West Wales.
The funding will help revitalise commercial floorspace around the Swansea Bay City Region and boost a number of key projects.
The South West Wales Regional Plan for Regeneration is being funded by the Welsh Government’s Targeted Regeneration Investment (TRI) Programme 2018-21.
Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said:
“Our regional plan will support projects that promote economic regeneration.
“It will create jobs and create the right environment for businesses to grow and thrive.
“The key focus will be on areas most in need to ensure prosperity is spread to all parts of South West Wales.”
The Regional Plan for Regeneration looks to build on regeneration activities delivered through the Welsh Government Vibrant and Viable Places funding programme 2014-17.
The plan ties in with the wider economic regeneration ambitions of the Swansea Bay City Region.
It will include grant funding to revitalise commercial properties. Application details will be publicised shortly.
Target areas for TRI include Swansea city centre, the area’s riverside corridor and Morriston Conservation area, the Neath Port Talbot valleys and town centres, Llanelli town centre and Station Road, Ammanford town centre, and Pembroke and Haverfordwest.
It will help work on projects such as the Neath Port Talbot valleys, retail and leisure projects in Swansea and Haverfordwest, and Swansea’s Hafod Morfa Copperworks.
Grants include the Property Enhancement Development Grant (PEDG) and the Sustainable Living Grant (SLG). These grants are being managed by Swansea Council on behalf of four local authorities – Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.
The PEDG aims to enhance building frontages and bring vacant commercial floorspace back into beneficial business use. To supplement this, grant funding could also be provided for development projects that would create new commercial floorspace in target areas, where a need for this has been identified.
The SLG aims to support the conversion of vacant commercial floor space into new homes.
South West Wales is a diverse region containing both urban and rural locations with distinctive but inter-connected economies and communities. It has a population of almost 700,000, supporting 267,000 jobs. It has more than 27,000 businesses.
