Caerphilly councillors back £1m boost for town centres

Senior councillors have approved a £1million boost to town centre businesses.

The Community Enterprise Fund (not be confused with the similarly named Community Empowerment Fund) will support new and established businesses with money available for websites, marketing, and business plans.

Caerphilly town centre is also set to see an additional £75,000 for “cleansing”, which means more bins, weed control and benches.

Councillor Jamie Pritchard, deputy leader of the council, said cleaning up the town centre was an issue “frequently raised by residents”.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet approved the spending as part of a wider £4.1 million at a meeting on Wednesday, June 29.

What is Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet?

A council’s cabinet is made up of councillors in charge of different policy areas – such as education, environment, local economy, etc – and a leader.

It is separate to the council’s corporate management structure, which is headed up by its chief executive and various directors. Cabinet is made up of councillors, who are elected and have the ultimate say.

Typically, cabinet members are councillors from the party with the most elected council members.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet is made up of:

Cllr Sean Morgan (Nelson) – Leader
Cllr Jamie Pritchard (Morgan Jones) – Deputy Leader; Prosperity, Regeneration and Climate Change
Cllr Nigel George (Risca East) – Corporate Services and Property
Cllr Eluned Stenner (New Tredegar) – Finance and Performance
Cllr Carol Andrews (Gilfach) – Education and Communities
Cllr Shayne Cook (Morgan Jones) – Housing
Cllr Elaine Forehead (Van) – Social Care
Cllr Philippa Leonard (Risca East) – Planning and Public Protection
Cllr Chris Morgan (Machen and Rudry) – Waste, Leisure and Green Spaces

Corporate management is made up of unelected employees of the council and has responsibility for day-to-day management of services, such as making sure the bins are collected. Corporate directors work with cabinet members to come up with policy which is then agreed upon by the cabinet.

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The money should be coming from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) which is part of its “levelling-up” agenda. However, if the UK Government turns down the council’s bid, the cabinet has agreed to cover the cost from council reserves.

Projects included in the £4.1m plans include increasing security in areas targeted by fly-tipping; improving antisocial behaviour prevention measures and expanding the events programme in Caerphilly County Borough.

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The cost-of-living crisis fund will also see £250,000 worth of investment to support food banks, encourage uptake of energy efficiency measures, and tackle fuel poverty.

Leader of the council, Sean Morgan, said his new administration was showing its “intentions” with the funding.

He said: “These programmes are going to make a significant and positive impact to our residents.”

Caerphilly County Borough has been allocated more than £28 million from the SPF, which will need to be spent before March 2025. An additional £5.9m is also being provided for the adult numeracy scheme, Multiply.

Investment bids have to be presented to and approved by the UK Government before the money can be spent.

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Senior councillors back £1m town centre boost

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