Share of £1.5m for community groups that ‘make a real impact’

A share of £1.5 million community funding will be divided between 22 groups across Caerphilly County Borough.

The UK Government’s Pride in Place Impact Fund will support a wide range of recipients ranging from rugby and tennis clubs to churches and wellbeing groups, the council has announced.

“The Pride in Place Impact Fund has provided a real opportunity to invest directly in community led projects that make a real impact in their communities,” said Cllr Eluned Stenner, the council’s cabinet member for finance, who chaired a cross-party board overseeing the nominations.

She said each expression of interest the council received “was carefully considered to ensure that the funding strengthens community assets and public spaces across the county borough”.

Each recipient will go through due diligence checks before the money is awarded.

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, who leads the local authority, praised the board’s work to sort through the bids “at pace”.

The board included both cabinet members, as well as Labour’s Cllr Mike Adams, independent Cllr Bob Owen, and Plaid Cymru’s Cllr Colin Mann.

Cllr Pritchard said the group accepted “a very good spread” of recipients from “across the county borough”.

He added: “In total, £1.5 million in this financial year and the next financial year is now fully committed, and we worked extremely quickly and hard on this to get this money out of the door.”

The money, he said, will help groups “who are doing very good things in the whole of the borough”.

The fund is a direct link between the UK Government and local authorities, and Cllr Pritchard said the process in Caerphilly was a positive example of “councillors working together, knowing their areas, thinking about the best interests of the borough”.

Cllr Mann added: “I hope the fund will really benefit the projects that have been selected. They all appear to have considerable merit and it is now up to the sponsors of the various projects to make them a success.”

The 22 organisations set to receive a share of the funding are:

• Bargoed YMCA
• Bedwas Workmen’s Hall
• BeeWell Dan y Graig Community Wellbeing and Education Site
• Bethania Church
• Blackwood Little Theatre
• Blackwood Rugby Club
• BTM Brass Band Hall
• Caerphilly Tennis Club
• Friends of Sir Harold Finch Memorial Park
• Helping Hands (Rhymney Cancer Self Help Group)
• Libanus Lifestyle (Wales) CIC
• Little Lions Events
• Nelson Institute
• New Life Christian Church (Nant Pennar Project)
• Newbridge Memo
• Pontygwindy Allotment Association
• Pontywaun Spiritualist Church
• Senghenydd Community Centre
• The Sycamore Centre, Ty Sign
• Trethomas Life Centre
• Trethomas Lower Allotments (One Planet Matters CIC)
• Wattsville Community Clubhouse