Small grants making big impacts in North Wales

Last year local authorities in North Wales were awarded a total of £966,000 to deliver small Property Development Grants (PDGs) to improve commercial units and empty buildings in their town centres.

The PDGs were delivered through the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns Programme to support regeneration and enhance town centre properties.

The grant awards have supported property owners and occupiers alike to make improvements to their premises and bring vacant, commercial floor space back into beneficial business use.

The total investment for the Property Development Grants in the region is £1.536m.

Across 10 towns a total of 45 properties were improved, with 12 of those properties returning to active use.

The Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning, Jayne Bryant, said: “Through our Transforming Towns programme we are providing invaluable support to towns and city centres to create employment opportunities for local people and bringing vibrancy to our high streets.

“It’s wonderful to see the huge impacts these small grants are already having across North Wales and I hope by improving our town centre offers in Wales we can help safeguard and develop Welsh based businesses and encourage economic growth.”

One of the projects that benefitted from the grant was the external refurbishment of a former Woolworths building in Denbighshire.

The building is a prominent fixture of Rhyl High Street and thanks to the grant funding has seen extensive external improvements to the windows, shutters, tiles as well as a full re-paint of the building.

Palas Print in Caernarfon has received repairs to its shop front and roof, new windows and paint work to the shopfront.

In Wrexham, Henry’s Barbers has also had a refresh, making the business more inviting and attractive to new and returning customers.

In addition to the exterior improvements, the internal updates have reduced running costs and safeguarded existing jobs.

The Dinorben Arms Hotel, a prominent grade II listed building in Amlwch, has also received a new lease of life including restoration works to restore the main elevation wooden sash window.

In Flintshire, the internal and external refurbishment of a vacant commercial unit in Shotton has provided additional shop floor space and a storage area.

The property owner said: “I’m really pleased with how the project has turned out. With the help of a grant from Welsh Government to contribute towards the costs of the project, we have managed to significantly improve the building.”