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Caerphilly County Borough Council has hit back over comments made by a councillor that more investment is needed in the north of the borough.
Cllr Carl Cuss, who represents Twyn Carno, called for increased funding and said that despite feeling “pleased” about levelling-up funding awarded to “the south of the borough” it was “about time” the north of the borough received more investment as “residents are rightly feeling ignored”.
His comments were made after the council was successful in a UK Government funded levelling-up bid of £20 million for a new leisure centre in Caerphilly town.
Cllr Cuss initially took to Twitter to voice his frustrations to council chief executive Christina Harrhy about the need for repairs to the A469 linking New Tredegar and Pontlottyn.
In response, Ms Harrhy and deputy council leader Cllr Jamie Pritchard said the council was in discussions with the Welsh Government over funding for the repairs.
In a more formal response, Caerphilly County Borough Council has since responded to the criticisms in a statement to Caerphilly Observer.
It said: “The council is committed to regenerating communities across the county borough and a huge investment package called the ‘Place Shaping’ programme is already delivering many positive improvements in many areas.
“The recent funding announcement for a new wellbeing centre in Caerphilly will deliver benefits for residents across the whole county borough and the development site has been specifically selected due to its close proximity to a key transport hub, which will see increased train services to the Upper Rhymney Valley in the near future.
“It is important to note that Welsh Government has identified Caerphilly town as an area of growth and investment, so it is important to maximise opportunities to regenerate the town and utilise grant funding.
“We are absolutely committed to delivering investment in the north of the county borough and recent examples include:
- Investment at Lawn Industrial Estate in Rhymney with £2.9m on the delivery of 15 new high-quality starter units.
- A major £5m investment in housing improvements at the Rowan Place regeneration scheme.
- 900k investment in a 3G pitch at Idris Davies School
- £6m on a new primary school in the Upper Rhymney Valley
- New two, three and four-bedroom homes proposed on the former Aldi site in Rhymney
“In terms of improvements on the A469 between Pontlottyn and New Tredegar, we continue to lobby Welsh Government to provide the funding to secure a new replacement road on the A469. £1m has already been committed from the council’s own funds and we are exploring options for future bids.
“We look forward to working with Cllr Cuss and other local representatives on these and other improvements in due course.”
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