Tag Archives: Welsh Government

A training facility for young people with autism and special needs, a replacement bus shelter in an isolated area used by schoolchildren and the elderly and restoration work at a castle are amongst the projects to benefit from Rhyl Flats Wind Farm Community Fund. Rhyl Flats Wind Farm is operated by Innogy Renewables UK Ltd.

Creatasmile have been awarded £10,000 to expand the services they offer and develop a training tea room which will help young people with autism and special needs to gain skills and build confidence working with people from the local community.

The same amount will benefit Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust to support the next phase of work at the Castle which includes the Creation of a coppice in the woodlands and repairs to the Melon House roof.

Community and Voluntary Support Conwy will also benefit from £10,000 investment to support the role of a Programme Development Officer to pilot the Veteran Hub in Conwy.  The officer will provide a holistic and bespoke service to each veteran to successfully transition into civilian life.  

Sport Conwy is set to gain £9,860 funding to purchase adapted cycles to provide a range of cycling sessions for disabled people.

Benefits Advice Shop is to receive £6,300 in this financial year and again in 2018/19 to continue to provide a weekly outreach service to residents in Abergele and Colwyn Bay to access advice and advocacy.

Abergele Town Council will be supported by £2,257 funding towards the cost of providing a replacement bus shelter located on an isolated and exposed coastal bus route, used by schoolchildren and the elderly.

Funding of £1,900 will help Colwyn Bay Model Boat Club to help control and manage the widespread presence of invasive aquatic weeds at the new boating lake.

Community or voluntary groups, charities, and town and community councils in eligible areas of Conwy are being encouraged to apply to the Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm Community Fund, which is administered by the Welsh Government and provides grants of between £2,000 and £10,000.

Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, Carl Sargeant said:

“This funding will be a real boost to local communities in Conwy and help improve lives.

“From helping people gain new skills to supporting local services, the Rhyl Flats Wind Farm Community Fund is investing in projects which are an important part of the area. I encourage all groups interested in applying for funding to find our more about the scheme.”

Katy Woodington, Senior Community Investment Officer for innogy said:

“It’s exciting to see the Rhyl Flats Wind Farm Community Fund supporting such a wide range of projects again this year. I will be really looking forward to hearing more about how these projects use their fuding to make a positive difference for local people.

“This funding, which is administered by the Welsh Government, is available each year the wind farm is operational, so please think about whether the community groups you are involved with could benefit from applying for funding in the future.” 

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A training facility for young people with autism and special needs, a replacement bus shelter in an isolated area used by schoolchildren and the elderly and restoration work at a castle are amongst the projects to benefit from Rhyl Flats Wind Farm Community Fund. Rhyl Flats Wind Farm is operated by Innogy Renewables UK Ltd.

Creatasmile have been awarded £10,000 to expand the services they offer and develop a training tea room which will help young people with autism and special needs to gain skills and build confidence working with people from the local community.

The same amount will benefit Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust to support the next phase of work at the Castle which includes the Creation of a coppice in the woodlands and repairs to the Melon House roof.

Community and Voluntary Support Conwy will also benefit from £10,000 investment to support the role of a Programme Development Officer to pilot the Veteran Hub in Conwy.  The officer will provide a holistic and bespoke service to each veteran to successfully transition into civilian life.  

Sport Conwy is set to gain £9,860 funding to purchase adapted cycles to provide a range of cycling sessions for disabled people.

Benefits Advice Shop is to receive £6,300 in this financial year and again in 2018/19 to continue to provide a weekly outreach service to residents in Abergele and Colwyn Bay to access advice and advocacy.

Abergele Town Council will be supported by £2,257 funding towards the cost of providing a replacement bus shelter located on an isolated and exposed coastal bus route, used by schoolchildren and the elderly.

Funding of £1,900 will help Colwyn Bay Model Boat Club to help control and manage the widespread presence of invasive aquatic weeds at the new boating lake.

Community or voluntary groups, charities, and town and community councils in eligible areas of Conwy are being encouraged to apply to the Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm Community Fund, which is administered by the Welsh Government and provides grants of between £2,000 and £10,000.

Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, Carl Sargeant said:

“This funding will be a real boost to local communities in Conwy and help improve lives.

“From helping people gain new skills to supporting local services, the Rhyl Flats Wind Farm Community Fund is investing in projects which are an important part of the area. I encourage all groups interested in applying for funding to find our more about the scheme.”

Katy Woodington, Senior Community Investment Officer for innogy said:

“It’s exciting to see the Rhyl Flats Wind Farm Community Fund supporting such a wide range of projects again this year. I will be really looking forward to hearing more about how these projects use their fuding to make a positive difference for local people.

“This funding, which is administered by the Welsh Government, is available each year the wind farm is operational, so please think about whether the community groups you are involved with could benefit from applying for funding in the future.”

If your community group or project is interested in learning more about applying for funding please visit the Rhyl Flats website for further information – http://gov.wales/topics/housing-and-regeneration/regeneration/strategicareas/northwalescoast/communityfund/?lang=en  

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Welsh Government Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford and Scottish Government Finance Secretary Derek Mackay will also call on the UK Treasury to abandon its plans for a further £3.5bn of unallocated cuts in 2019-20.

Speaking ahead of today’s meeting between Devolved Administration Finance Ministers and the Treasury, Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said:  

“Our draft Budget was set against the backdrop of the longest period of sustained austerity in living memory – one which has seen our budget cut by 7% in real terms since 2010.   

“The UK Government’s failed and unnecessary policy of austerity continues to place unjustifiable constraints on public services in Wales. 

“After seven years of sustained austerity the evidence is clear – it is a failed policy and must be abandoned.  Public services across the UK are feeling the pinch and I urge the UK Government to change tack and invest.

“The threat of a further £3.5bn of unallocated cuts to public spending for 2019-20 continues to loom large. T his could mean a further cut of up to £175m to the Welsh budget, depending on where these unallocated cuts fall. 

“We have worked hard to protect devolved services from the worst of austerity in Wales but if the UK Government continues with the efficiency review it will place further unfair and counter-productive pressure on our already hard pressed front-line services.”

Scottish Government Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said: 

“We have repeatedly called for the UK Government to end austerity, invest in public services and reverse the cuts that are damaging our economy and hurting some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

“The UK Government will cut £2.9 billion or 9.2% from our discretionary Scottish budget in the ten years to 2019-20. And that is before taking account of the impact of the UK Government’s further planned efficiency savings of £3.5 billion in 2019-20 – which could cut another £350 million from the Scottish budget.

“While we have done what we can to mitigate the worst effects of UK Government austerity, the continued and sustained real terms reductions in our budget makes this increasingly difficult.

“The UK Government needs to abandon their obsession with austerity. The policy has failed and it is time to stimulate the economy by investing in this country’s future.”

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The Tourism Product Innovation Fund (TPIF) and Regional Tourism Engagement Fund (RTEF) will help the private and public sector work together to develop and deliver innovative destination and product led initiatives linked to Year of the Sea 2018  and Year of Discovery 2019 – and more than £1million is available to eligible projects. 

The Cabinet Secretary, Ken Skates, said: 

“We are looking for big idea projects which can make a real difference in making Wales a must visit destination and give people compelling reasons to visit Wales. For the Year of the Sea we want to challenge perceptions with new innovative 21st century products, events and experiences that tell the fantastic stories of our various coastal destinations. Our aim for the year is to celebrate Wales’ epic coast in order to make wales a stand out UK destination.”

Many projects from Denbighshire were successful in securing funding during the last three years and have included: 

• Mountain Bike Wales –  Denbighshire County Council has been instrumental in drawing down £35k TPIF funding to bring together all of the Welsh mountain bike centres to deliver ‘Mountain Bike Wales’, an innovative  one stop shop for cycling enthusiast of all abilities. Promoting facilities close to mountain bike bases, specifically Llandegla.  It is encouraging visitors to stay longer and contribute to tourism growth.
• MythFest Wales  – The Clwydian Range Tourism Group secured £40k of TPIF funding to deliver MythFest Wales, an original touring family festival celebrating North East Wales’s myths and legends and links to the Sea through immersion in traditional Welsh storytelling, music and sustainable crafts. 
• Cruise – In a collaborative project between Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham the Destination Management Partnerships have been able to develop itineraries to support regional strategic cruise operations. Developing relationships with tour operators working from the Port of Liverpool and Holyhead to bring more cruise business into the region. 

Expressions of Interest should be made by Friday 17 November 2017 for this 2018-2019 round of funding for both Tourism Product Innovation Fund (TPIF) and Regional Tourism Engagement Fund (RTEF) – with full spend to be completed by March 2019.  

Take a look at successful projects assisted through TPIF and RTEF and guidance for the funding. 

Both the Tourism Product Innovation Fund (TPIF) and Regional Tourism Engagement Fund (RTEF) are supported supported through the Welsh Government Rural Communities Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and the Welsh Government.

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At the first of two ‘Invest in Skills, Invest in Growth’ conferences, held in Cardiff Bay’s Exchange Hotel, the Cabinet Secretary will announce funding of £250,000 to run two pilot projects, working with the Welsh Government’s Valleys Taskforce.

The Welsh Government Valleys Initiative will focus on two key areas for the food industry. Focussing on the South Wales Valleys, the first will provide funding to allow for up-skilling of the workforce, helping to turn those already in the industry into technicians. 

The second will work with local communities and businesses to help raise the profile and attractiveness of careers within the industry. 

Speaking ahead of the conference, organised by the Welsh Government’s Food and Drink Wales Industry Board, the Cabinet Secretary said:

“Our Food and Drink industry is one of Wales’ largest business sectors and a Welsh success story. Over 222,000 people are employed within the whole supply chain and in 2016 we exported £337 million; around 20% growth on the previous year.

“We cannot, though, ignore the issues facing the sector. Brexit, for example, is not just a challenge in terms of the security of our supply chains and ability to export, it also presents a threat to the stability of our workforce.

“I want to ensure the momentum the industry has generated is maintained in the years to come.  Through the Welsh Government Valleys Initiative, which I am announcing today, I want to encourage young people to consider the food sector as a fulfilling career, reduce our reliance on migrant labour and, in turn, ensure Wales’ food and drink industry is ready for the challenges ahead.” 

Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language and Chair of the Valleys Taskforce, Alun Davies said:

“This initiative will build on the priorities highlighted in Our Valleys, Our Future. The Valleys Taskforce will work with people there, local businesses, local government, the third sector and civic organisations to promote the valleys as a region for investment and a place to live.”

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