Neath Port Talbot Council is to work with local applicants to develop bids for the area's £3m share of the new UK Community Renewal Fund.

The fund, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in his March 3rd  budget, will be administered nationally by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government.

At a local level, councils like Neath Port Talbot are responsible for leading the bidding process with the most deprived parts of the country prioritised for funding. Neath Port Talbot has been categorised as one of 100 priority funding places in the UK.

The UK Government says individual bids can be submitted up to a scale of around £500,000 and projects should be delivered by 31st March, 2022.

A range of project applicants, including but not limited to voluntary, community and education sector organisations, will be able to submit bids to the council.

The bids will need to involve some form of investment either in skills, local businesses or communities and place. They can also be for projects which help people into employment.

Eligible councils will be able to submit a prioritised shortlist of bids up to a maximum value of £3m in total per area for 2021/22. Shortlisted bids must  then be submitted by councils to the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government by June 18th, 2021.

The information currently available from the UK Government can be seen at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fund-prospectus.

For local information visit this site: https://www.npt.gov.uk/28166

Bids for funding may be made by any legally constituted organisation delivering an appropriate service. Bids cannot be submitted for projects that benefit a single entity (for example a single business) – there must be evidence of wider impact for multiple individuals, businesses or other organisations.