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Five new co-working spaces are being created across Caerphilly County Borough as part of a project to give unused spaces a new lease of life, and provide valuable income to established venues.

Caerphilly-based TownSq, which runs numerous co-working spaces across Wales and England, is behind the project, which aims to help places offer flexible working.

The new workspaces are part of previously established venues including hotels, rugby clubs and business centres.

The venues involved in the project include Oxford House and the Community Volunteers Wales-run The Pantri, both in Risca.

Newbridge Hotel, Tredomen Business and Technology Centre, and Machen RFC are also being used as part of the scheme.

A grant of up to £1,800 was made available to each venue to cover the cost of setting up, while support was provided by TownSq to get the working spaces up and running.

The funding comes from TownSq, and Caerphilly-based co-working space and business start-up hub Welsh ICE, alongside money from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.

It follows on from TownSq‘s previous successful projects in Swansea, the Vale of Glamorgan, and Denbighshire.

TownSq’s chief operating officer, Mandy Weston, said: “The project aims to get more people working closer to home, helping reduce commutes and providing flexible working options outside city centres.

“Having people work within our communities is an important part of boosting the local economy, as when more people work local, they shop local, which helps support businesses in and around the county borough.”

Ms Weston continued: “Cowork Local has been something we have continually developed as part of TownSq, with the pilot projects across other parts of Wales being a big success.

“Since then the platform has grown to enable venues to offer and manage availability, bookings and payments – helping them to increase revenue and footfall into their spaces.”

Tara Holloway-Scott, founder of Community Volunteers Wales, praised the “fantastic initiative”, which is running at The Pantri in Risca.

She said: “We’re thrilled to be part of this fantastic initiative, which will not only help bring in essential funding to support The Pantri, but also provide a much-needed, affordable workspace for local people.

“The support from TownSq has been invaluable in getting us set up, and we’re excited to see how this will benefit the community.”

Visit the Cowork Local website to view the venues in your area and book a workspace.