Councillors on Caerphilly Town Council have unanimously voted to donate £750 each to two different charities.

The money will go towards the Caerphilly Food Bank and Llamau, which supports homeless young people and victims of domestic abuse.

The decision was agreed on Monday (May 18), in what was the first town council meeting held since the coronavirus lockdown, and the first ever town council meeting to be held remotely.

Caerphilly Town mayor, Cllr Mike Prew, said: “We have unfortunately had to cancel the annual flower festival, while the cancellation of the Big Cheese has meant that we have funds available for other projects.

“We would love to hear from organisations in the Caerphilly town area who support people suffering as a result of the crisis. We would also love to hear from anybody with ideas on how we might raise the spirits of people during this crisis as well as how we might celebrate the end – whenever that occurs. 

Caerphilly Town Council’s deputy mayor, Cllr Huw Jackson, put forward the motion.

Cllr Jackson said: “I am really pleased we have been able to provide this funding. I believe it is a statement of intent from the council we are committed to doing what we can to for the residents of Caerphilly.”

Fellow town councillor Jamie Pritchard said: “Providing financial assistance to food banks and organisations who tackle domestic abuse is what town councils should be doing, so I supported the Notice of Motion by making the case that money donated should be spent within Caerphilly.

“We know there’s been a spike in domestic abuse since the lockdown, so services are really struggling under the pressure”.

Contact details for Caerphilly Town Council can be found at https://www.caerphillytowncouncil.co.uk/contact-us/