Carmarthenshire organisations benefit from UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Carmarthenshire County Council has approved funding for a wide range of projects within the county, under the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). SPF is part of the UK Government’s ambitious Levelling Up agenda.

Five Anchor Programmes have been set up by the Council to distribute funding for a variety of businesses, clubs, organisations, societies, and schemes within the county. The Anchor Programmes target themes have been identified as a priority within the County’s Strategic Investment Plan and include:

Sustainable Communities Programme
35 organisations across Carmarthenshire have been successful in gaining funding from the Sustainable Communities Fund, which has been created to provide the necessary support to help strengthen the social fabric of communities, building pride in place whilst also delivering direct and indirect economic benefit.

The successful applicants have been awarded grants that range from £10k to £250k to focus on themes that include Tackling poverty, Circular Economy, Wellbeing & Leisure, Access to Services, Environment and Green, Tourism, Culture & Heritage and Community Engagement.

Rural Programme
This is split into 3 strands.

1. Rural Innovation Fund
To date, 9 organisations have gained funding from the Rural Innovation Fund, which is designed to get local businesses and communities involved in delivering sustainable solutions to address challenges facing rural areas.

2. Hwb Bach Y Wlad
Carmarthenshire County Council has extended its range of support and advice available in rural communities across the county with the introduction of Hwb Bach y Wlad.

The new customer service model will make it easier for residents in more rural areas to access a range of services already delivered by the Council online, on the phone and in the county’s three customer service Hwbs in Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford.

3. Ten Town Initiative
Carmarthenshire County Council’s Ten Towns initiative has been set up to support the economic recovery and growth of rural towns across the county. Supporting the recovery and growth of rural towns and their surrounding areas.

Developing Place Programme
This programme is split into 3 sections.

1. Events Fund
This fund aims to increase the number of visitors to town centres. The Developing Place team will work closely with Town Councils and Business Improvement Districts within the 3 main towns in Carmarthenshire, being Llanelli, Ammanford and Carmarthen. To date, 8 events have been supported using this funding.

2. Vacant Property Fund
This funding seeks to unlock as many vacant properties as possible with the main town centres as possible. Successful applicants will receive funding to facilitate works on vacant properties, bringing the buildings back into use.

3. Tackling Town Centres
The Tackling Town Centres will support the delivery of reintegration plans for Llanelli, Ammanford and Carmarthen through small necessary interventions as highlighted at the local level.

Supporting Local Business
This support is split into 4 strands.

1. The Business Start- up and Growth Grants
The start- up grants range between £1K- £10K as part of the ongoing commitment to supporting economic development. The aim of this grant intervention is to strengthen businesses at all stages of their development to start, sustain, grow, and innovate. To date, a total of 16 start up grants and 52 growth grants have been offered.

2. Business Renewable Energy Fund
The fund will aid businesses, helping them to grow and prosper whilst on their net- zero carbon journey. A total of 13 organisations have received this funding to date. This programme is rolling and will continue if funding is available.

3. Property Development Fund
This fund will assist developers in the construction of industrial and commercial buildings that aim to create employment opportunities. Grants of up to £750K are available through this fund and to date 2 grants have been awarded.

People and Skills
The final anchor is split into 3 strands.

1. Skills and Employability Fund
The aim for this fund is to provide targeted support to organisations that work with individuals furthest away from the labour market that have complex barriers and need specialist intervention. The aim is to skill and upskill individuals in areas where job opportunities and skills gaps exist. 6 projects have been funded to date.

2. Employability Support
3. Youth Support – young people who are Not in Education or Training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET.

The teams that specifically look at Employability Support and Youth Support will help people to get them back into work and provide individuals with voluntary opportunities to gain work experience.

In addition to this, an adult numeracy programme, Multiply, has received £5.5 Million funding to work with adults with low numeracy skills. The aim is for programme participants to attain Level 2 Maths qualifications and to grow and upskill our Carmarthenshire workforce .Two projects have been awarded grants under the Multiply programme to date. They will deliver a blended learning approach to numeracy and skills training that recreate real life contexts and boost confidence levels. These projects will support vulnerable members of the public as well as individuals furthest away from the labour market.

Carmarthenshire County Council have identified local priorities that are not covered by the Anchor programmes. 20 Stand- Alone Projects have successfully been awarded grants, following a competitive application process. The Stand- Alone Projects currently cover programmes that include issues around digital, health and fitness, environmental change, circular economy, net- zero, volunteering support, social enterprise support, local food models, active travel and rural transport, education, strategic tourism/ culture/ heritage.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda and will provide funding up until March 2025. It’s a mix of revenue and capital funding that can be used to support a wide range of interventions to build pride in place and improve life chances.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund Prospectus provides a comprehensive overview of the fund.

Click here to find out more about how the UKSPG will be delivered in Carmarthenshire.
Cllr. Hazel Evans, Cabinet Member for Regeneration Leisure Culture and Tourism said:

I am delighted that so many clubs, societies and organisations within Carmarthenshire have been successful in gaining this funding as it is a very exciting opportunity to work with local partners to grow Carmarthenshire’s economy and ensure that the funding received makes a real difference for our people and businesses. I am looking forward to seeing the variety of projects that come to fruition in light of this grant money.