Bringing Investment to Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire is punching well above its weight – attracting one and a half times the national average of Lottery funding to the county.

Thanks to the efforts of Carmarthenshire County Council from 1995 to 2011 a total of £30m over the odds has been attracted to the area – 144 per cent of the national average. This is equivalent to a £171 gain per resident over the national average.

The area has been highlighted by the Industrial Communities Alliance as being the third highest performing county in Britain in its list of Lottery winners and losers.

The all-party association campaigning on behalf of local authorities in the industrial areas of England, Scotland and Wales shows that only Gateshead and the city of Glasgow have done better than Carmarthenshire.

News of the Lottery success comes after it was revealed that Carmarthenshire County Council has gained £15 of outside investment in community programmes for every £1 the council has put in itself.

The council’s community regeneration division has secured almost £16million of external programme funding with a county council investment of about £1million.

This has created or assisted 154 enterprises, created or safeguarded 21.5 jobs, helped or advised 1,068 community groups, and improved 108 community facilities. It also helped to address issues of household debt of more than £1.4million.

The division’s achievements over the year to April include funding the Carmarthen Food Festival, tackling rural access to services and social exclusion, debt and benefit surgeries, the opening of Felinfoel Community Resource Centre, helping people to get online, and funding projects such as Garnant Family Centre, Burry Port Memorial Park, and Llandybie Public Memorial Hall.

The funding has come from a number of various sources such as the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-13, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development; the Welsh Government’s Communities First programme and Tidy Towns programme, European Funded programmes such as Collaborative Communities and a number of other sources.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Community Regeneration Manager John Wilson said: “This good news highlighting our record of success in attracting various sources of external funding and using the council resources to achieve an excellent return of investment for community projects in Carmarthenshire, shows what excellent value can be achieved with the regeneration department working in collaboration with others for the benefit of the county.”

The council’s executive board member for regeneration and leisure Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “It is great news that our success in attracting Lottery funding into Carmarthenshire is being recognised nationally.

“It shows that the county’s policy of working in partnership with others to attract investment into the county is working well. With the current difficult economic situation it is more important than ever to bring in as much funding as possible. The money is being put to good use.”