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Neath Port Talbot Council Debates Capital Spending Programme

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Cabinet members at Neath Port Talbot Council will be asked to approve an ambitious £130m capital investment programme when they meet today (March 5).

Some of the headlines include:

  • Work to start on site this autumn on a new £12.5 million retail and leisure facility in the centre of Neath.
  • Development of a major job creation zone at Harbourside in Port Talbot’s old docklands
  • Work commencing on the Swansea Bay City Deal programme, starting with the delivery of the Swansea Bay Technology Centre.
  • Significant investment in Welsh language education which includes the completion of the final phase of work at Ysgol Gymraeg Ystalyfera Bro Dur, and in the primary sector additional classrooms and childcare facilities being provided in Pontardawe, Briton Ferry and Cwmllynfell.

These are just some of the elements contained in Neath Port Talbot Council’s Capital Programme and Capital Strategy documents which outline the authority’s high value schemes due to be worked on from now up to 2022-23.

Councillor Rob Jones, Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council, said:

“Making our county borough a vibrant, healthy, and safe place to live, work and enjoy leisure time is one of our priorities, and capital investment is key to achieving this.

“We are fully committed to regeneration across the county borough and will be investing in the region of £87 million in the next financial year. By securing additional external funding, the investment over the next three years is projected to be more than £140 million.”

The year 2020-21, among other big money projects, will also see £140,000 worth of match funding to ensure progress on the ongoing Plaza Cinema regeneration project in the centre of Port Talbot, with another £100,000 going towards CCTV replacement.

The following two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) will see a further £250,000 going towards the Plaza project, £150,000 for CCTV replacement, £300,000 for neighbourhood improvements and £2.2m going to education.

The largest single budget continues to be Disabled Facilities Grants, which enable people to live independently in their own homes, with some £70m having been invested by the Council over the last 15 years.

Councillor Carol Clement-Williams, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said:

“Major investment initiatives over the coming years include the continuation of the Council’s 21st Century Schools Programme. This has so far seen £123m invested in school modernisation and new buildings, and is the biggest investment in future generations by a local authority in Wales outside of Cardiff.

“The Council is currently progressing with the second phase of the programme, which will see another £67m invested in new schools. These include the £29m Cefn Saeson school replacement currently underway in Cimla; the construction of a £9.2m single site primary school in Longford, Neath, to replace the existing three sites of the Abbey Primary School; and the final £8.5m phase of re-modelling works at Ysgol Gymraeg Ystalyfera Bro Dur North Campus.

“This investment will help us to deliver on our commitment to ensuring our children and young people get the best start in life, so they can be the best they can be.”

At its meeting on January 28, Swansea Bay City Region Joint Committee approved Neath Port Talbot’s business case entitled Supporting Innovation and Low Carbon Growth.

The business case includes details of a programme totalling £58.7m with £47.7m coming from the City Deal grant. The balance of the funding is due from other public sector funding (£6m) and private sector funding (£5m).

The programme is developed around four interlinked themes:

  • The Swansea Bay Technology Centre – an ‘energy positive’ building on the Baglan Bay Energy Park providing space for start-up companies focusing on the R&D and ICT sectors. Excess energy created at the building will be converted for use by hydrogen vehicles.
  • National Steel Innovation Centre – it will support the steel and metals industry in Port Talbot and Wales with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of steel manufacture.
  • Decarbonisation – a wide ranging programme involving projects such as electrical and hydrogen vehicle charging/fuelling points, air quality monitoring and real-time monitoring to introduce better informed air quality solutions in the future.
  • Industrial Futures – a scheme to address the gap between demand and supply for businesses and available land in the Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone including space for start-ups, laboratories and a property development fund.

The Council has secured grant funding of £3.4m to improve facilities for Welsh medium education over three years. At YGG Pontardawe £1.6m is being used to provide three extra classrooms and additional child care spaces; Ysgol Tyle’r Ynn will benefit from a £1.5m investment for building two extra classrooms and child care facilities; and YGG Cwmllynfell will see £600,000 invested to provide an additional classroom and an improved child care offer.

 

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