County borough to receive £21.5m from UK Government ‘Pride in Place’ fund

Caerphilly County Borough has been named as one of the areas set to benefit from a multimillion pound UK Government fund aimed at improving communities.

Under the ‘Pride in Place’ programme, Caerphilly will receive £2 million a year for the next decade, alongside a one-off payment of £1.5m – taking the total to £21.5m. In total, Wales is set to get £214m.

The UK Government said the funding could be used to “save treasured pubs or libraries and clean up eyesores”, as well as support high street regeneration, tackle antisocial behaviour and improve local facilities.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the scheme as a “huge investment” that would put local people in charge of decisions.

He said: “What matters most is who decides how it’s spent: the neighbours, volunteers and parents who know their communities best – the people with real skin in the game.

“We’re choosing renewal over decline, unity over division. This is or Plan for Change in action – giving power and pride back to the people who make Britain great.”

Caerphilly is among nine areas in Wales newly selected to receive up to £20m each, joining five others where work is already underway. Every Welsh local authority will also share an extra £34.5m of capital funding for improvements to public spaces such as bus shelters, park toilets and leisure centres.

Caerphilly Council’s interim leader Jamie Pritchard welcomed the announcement, but said details on how the scheme will operate are still to be confirmed.

He told Caerphilly Observer: “The council’s chief executive will be getting information through about the criteria, but my understanding is it is £2m over the next ten years recurring, plus the local authority is going to get £1.5m for town centre regeneration as a one-off.

“The community, MPs, Senedd Members, a lot of people are going to be involved with this – that’s the main thing.”
Caerphilly MP Chris Evans said: “The best thing about this fund is that the Prime Minister has assured me that people in all areas of Caerphilly will play a key part in suggesting and deciding how to spend it, not people far away in London or elsewhere.”

According to the Wales Office, local authorities in Wales will be invited to propose the communities within their areas to participate in the Pride in Place Programme.