The business rates relief will enable eligible projects to retain the maximum possible benefit for their local area, enabling them to re-invest into their local community.

The grant scheme will also provide support to cap the increase in business rates for other small-scale developments to 10% or £1,000 where there was no previous liability.

The new grant scheme, which will start in April, will provide greater support to hydropower developers in Wales than elsewhere in the UK.  Work is under way with community developers and others to ensure it is easy to access.

It will be application based and hydro projects will be able to apply for a grant towards both their 2018-19 rates liability and retrospectively for 2017-18.

The Environment Minister Hannah Blythyn yesterday officially opened the ‘Welcome to Our Woods’ community hydro project in Treherbert, which is creating a low carbon outdoor space and facilities to generate income for the local community.  It is an example of a project which will benefit from the new 100% rate relief.

Lesley Griffiths said:

“I am very pleased to announce a new generous grant scheme of support for hydro power projects.  

“Our new scheme will provide 100% rate relief for community schemes and provide support for other small-scale projects towards their non-domestic rates. Crucially, it will provide greater support to hydro-power developers in Wales than is available elsewhere in the UK.  

“Electricity generation from renewables in Wales has trebled since 2010 and community developments have played an important part in this success.

“Yesterday the Environment Minister officially opened the ‘Welcome to our Woods’ community hydro project which will be providing income to the local area.  This project is a great example of a community working together on its energy future and  will benefit from the new scheme I am announcing today.”

Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford added:

“I am pleased that through this grant scheme we have been able to provide 100% rate relief to help ensure hydro-projects are able to retain the maximum possible benefit for their local areas.”  

The 100% non-domestic rate relief scheme for community hydro projects is part of the 2018-19 Budget agreement with Plaid Cymru.

Ian Thomas, Company Director Welcome to our Woods Ltd said:  

“The ongoing support we have received from the Welsh Government has been absolutely vital to the development of our scheme and has enabled us to re-invest in the local community.  We welcome the additional support announced today – it will help us continue to deliver our clean energy project.”

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During his appearance at the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, Ken Skates announced the conclusions of his review of the governance of Wales’ Enterprise Zones while stressing his commitment to the continuation of all eight of the zones.

Speaking after Committee, Ken Skates said:

I am very proud of the achievements and success of our Enterprise Zones and grateful for the hard work and commitment of the Chairs and Advisory Boards in driving their success.

Collectively our Enterprise Zones supported over 10,700 jobs to the end of the last financial year at a cost per job of less than £6k per job,  and whilst the pace of delivery has varied between the Zones, this very much reflects each Zone’s economic context and starting position.

All eight Enterprise Zones have made significant progress, and  are continuing to deliver value for money by laying the foundation for future prosperity and creating the right environment to support the development of sustainable job opportunities in communities right across Wales, both  in the short and longer term.

And this is something that is very much in line with the focus of my recently launched Economic Action Plan, which seeks to empower all our regions in Wales to become more productive.

Projects such as the Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute on Deeside, which will deliver game changing skills and innovation support to business –  and Tech Valleys, which will lead the development and delivery of emerging technologies in Ebbw Vale, very much support that commitment to regional empowerment and have emerged from the work of the Boards. They will only add to the Zones’ reputation for delivery.

The changes I have outlined today are about streamlining bureaucracy and utilising  other governance structures where I believe  that represents the most  sensible way forward. They have also been made as part of  a wider review of advisory architecture across my portfolio.

The views of the Chairs of the Enterprise Zones  have been invaluable in shaping my decisions and I am pleased to have their broad support for the changes.

The Minister attended a special event at Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan in Ebbw Vale, where she met some of those helped by the programme and their mentors. Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has been a major collaborator on the project in the Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly areas and, across its various sites, has provided around 100 opportunities to people on the programme.

Delivered across nine areas in Wales, Lift provided dedicated one-to-one support to people from households where nobody has worked for at least six months who face employment barriers. Mentors worked with people to identify reasons why they are not in work and to provide support to help overcome those issues. Mentors remain in contact with participants for up to twelve months after they start in their new job or training placement to offer ongoing support.

The programme met its target two months early and by the end of the scheme in December 2017 had provided 5,174 training and employment opportunities, including helping 1,099 into work.

While the programme has come to an end, the learning from it will be taken forward in to Communities for Work Plus, a £12m per annum programme which will provide intensive mentoring and support to those furthest from the jobs market from April 2018.

The Minister said:

“It has been a pleasure to celebrate the success of Lift and to meet some of the people supported by the programme. It is particularly pleasing that some have moved on into employment with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and that others are about to do the same.

“I am delighted that Lift has exceeded its target of supporting 5,000 people into job and training opportunities. As I have seen today, the programme has had an incredibly positive impact on people’s lives, giving them the confidence, skills, experience and information they need to succeed.

“This is an excellent example of how we are working across Welsh Government departments and with many partner organisations to support people to gain skills, training and employment. I want to thank our partners in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board for their vital contribution.”