South Wales Valley in top 1% of deprived areas to be awarded £20 million by Labour Government over ten years
The UK Government has today (5 February) confirmed that one of the most deprived regions of Wales, the Upper Afan Valley, will receive £20 million over ten years for local growth and regeneration, all part of the UK Government’s flagship Pride in Place Programme.
The area selection was guided by the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. Local MP for Aberafan Maesteg, Stephen Kinnock, has been working closely with the Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens and Neath Port Talbot Council to identify the most at need area for funding.
The Valley is home to nearly 5000 residents, dispersed across Cymer, Croeserw, Glyncorrwg and Gwynfi alongside the surrounding villages and includes an area in the top 1% of deprivation in Wales. The Pride in Place programme demonstrates how funding is now going to the most at need areas and giving long overlooked communities certainty and control to plan for the future.
Neath Port Talbot’s 60 councillors have also been allocated £25,000 each from the £1.5 million Pride in Place ‘Impact Fund’. This ward‑level investment will help breathe new life into high streets and tired public spaces.
Devolution and local growth funding are key priorities for the UK Labour Government, which is moving power and pounds out of Westminster and into local communities. To drive this forward, local leaders, MPs and MSs will now establish a Neighbourhood Board to oversee the investment package.
Stephen Kinnock, MP for Aberafan Maesteg said:
“This Labour Government is continuously showing it will invest and invest in deprived communities in Wales and the UK – something I have campaigned for since Brexit to stop EU funding being siphoned away from our rural communities.
From mountain biking to hiking, the Upper Afan Valley has so much to offer and I’m confident the community will reap the benefits of this £20 million for generations to come.
I will now work hard to assemble a Neighbourhood Board with the know-how to ensure this historic funding package is felt by our communities in Cymer, Croeserw, Glyncorrwg, Gwynfi and the Valley.”
Dr Brian Gibbons, long-standing resident and strong community voice in the Upper Afan Valley:
“The Upper Afan is home to a fantastic range of community-led organisations such as Cymer Afan Library, Afan Valley Swimming Pool, Noddfa Community Centre, South Wales Miners Museum and Gwynfi Miners Community Hall.
But these organisations, as well as the wider community and our high streets, have massively suffered in the face of 12 years of Tory austerity.
Pride in Place can make a massive contribution to turning things around with this UK Government’s investment going directly to meet our communities’ needs.”