Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 17 January 2023.

The Community Ownership Fund allocated £124,258 to the CANA Resource and Training Centre. The centre is in a converted nineteenth century chapel in the Pen-y-Waun estate in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

The funding will:

• equip locals with appropriate skills and qualifications
• set up a training centre

Equipping local people for local jobs

This training centre will help local people gain the skills needed for jobs in the area, and those expected to be in demand in the future.

The investment will help regenerate the physical structure of the building. It will also provide a facility that generates an income. This will ensure the centre’s sustainability in the long term.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 17 January 2023.

£240,000 from the Community Ownership Fund to support the reopening of The Prince of Wales pub in Newtown-in-St-Martin, Cornwall.

The Prince of Wales pub in Newtown-in-St-Martin closed in November 2020. The financial impacts of the pandemic led to the shutdown of this pub in Cornwall. Now £240,000 from the Community Ownership Fund has supported the purchase and reopening of the 17th century inn.

Community plans to put pub at the heart of the town

Community ownership of the pub is being led by a community group: Friends of the Newton St Martin Pub Limited. The community group are hoping that by reopening the pub, it becomes the focal point of the town again.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 17 January 2023.

Over £2.9 million of Levelling Up Funding has been allocated to build on Northern Ireland’s global reputation as a prime location for the film and TV industry.

This funding will be used to purchase ‘Flexible Virtual Production Studios’ and support the landmark Studio Ulster project by Belfast Harbour, Ulster University and NI Screen as part of the Belfast Region City Deal.

The investment from the Levelling Up Fund will:

• unlock the potential to create new businesses in this area of technology within Northern Ireland
• promote the use of virtual production methods within Northern Ireland businesses
• support the growth of the local film industry

Opportunities for young people

The project will also give young people the opportunity to:

• be mentored by industry professionals
• gain valuable work experience
• work on a film production

Professor Frank Lyons, Associate Dean of Research at Ulster University, said:

Studio Ulster is a step change for the screen industries in Northern Ireland. It brings capabilities and access to cutting edge, real-time, virtual production technologies previously unavailable to the Belfast Region and in short supply globally. This new technology and expertise will transform the types of productions that can be made in Northern Ireland and the types of jobs that will be created here; a genuine levelling up of capability in the region.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 17 January 2023.

The Community Ownership Fund will help upgrade the community-owned New Galloway Town Hall with £175,000. The listed building stands at the physical and emotional heart of New Galloway.

It provides a space for people in the community for:

• meetings
• activities
• events

Plans for the future of the building

Plans for the town hall include:

• renewable energy sources to replace the current heating system
• improved insulation
• disabled toilets
• a lift

The repairs and refurbishment will make the building fit for future use.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 17 January 2023.

The John Jenkins stadium in Portsmouth was allocated almost £1 million from the Community Ownership Fund. The funding will help to provide a new home for several sports teams and visitors.

A new home for sports teams

The stadium will provide a new home for:

• Moneyfields’ men, women and youth teams
• Portsmouth in the Community teams
• Portsmouth women

Improved stadium and new pitches

The improved stadium will include:

• a pitch with a capacity of 1,180
• a new two storey clubhouse
• two artificial pitches
• a grandstand

Portsmouth in the Community

During term time the stadium will be used by Portsmouth in the Community to deliver coaching and training sessions to over 36,000 individuals each year. The new stadium will provide the facilities they need to deliver their vital education and outreach programme.

A facility for the whole community

The John Jenkins stadium won’t simply be a football facility, it will also provide:

• a café and clubhouse
• boxing facilities
• a dance studio
• classrooms
• a gym

John Jenkins

The stadium is named after John Jenkins, a D-Day hero and lifelong Portsmouth fan. John volunteered at the club from the age of 14 and was still a boardroom steward at 96.

In March 2022 the first brick was laid at the new stadium, setting the path to success for this new state of the art facility.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 17 January 2023.

The Levelling Up Fund has awarded £3.5 million to support a new transport hub in Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf. The new hub will be an integrated bus and rail interchange, located in the railway station.

What the new transport hub brings to Porth

It will improve:

• links between bus and rail services
• the experience for travellers
• journey times

The new hub is designed to provide seamless travel between bus and rail.

Features will include:

• a new and improved public realm Station Quarter
• upgrades to the local active travel network
• electric vehicle charging points
• a new taxi rank
• cycle storage

Transport hub timeline

Construction on the hub began in spring 2022 and is expected to last around a year. It will open before high frequency fast trains start running. From 2024, these trains will run four times an hour in Porth via the South Wales Metro.

Further regeneration in Porth

The new interchange will serve as an anchor for further regeneration in the town.

It will attract investment and development into the town centre.

Councillor Mark Norris, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, said:

The transport hub will make a huge difference and greatly improve public transport links in Porth, which is strategically situated as a gateway to both the Rhondda Fach and Fawr. The council has ambitious plans for the wider regeneration of the town centre, of which this scheme is a focal point, and we have successfully secured £3.5 million of funding from the Levelling Up Fund to contribute to this.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 17 January 2023.

The George Pub in Bethersden, Kent has been allocated £250,000 from the Community Ownership Fund.

The pub is a seventeenth century building that needs an upgrade after been closed since October 2020.

The George’s future plans

Once it reopens, the pub will provide facilities for the community. This will include support to combat social isolation for vulnerable groups and a place for local groups to socialise.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 17 January 2023.

Residents of Carmarthen and Pembroke will benefit from an investment of over £19 million from the Levelling Up Fund. The investment will create two new community hubs in the town centres.

A benefit to all

The hubs will benefit:

• residents
• businesses
• visitors

The hubs will make it easier for local people to access the support they need.

Carmarthen hub

The Carmarthen hub will be developed in the former Debenhams building in St Catherine’s Walk.

Proposals for the hub include space for:

• health and tourist information
• culture and exhibitions
• a state-of-the-art gym
• university facilities
• customer services

Pembroke hub

A similar hub will also be delivered at South Quay in Pembroke. This will be a modern community facility that hosts a day centre for older people and people with disabilities.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 17 January 2023.

The Council of the Isles of Scilly have been provisionally allocated £48.4 million from the Levelling Up Fund to provide better sea link services on the islands.

The planned improvements will:

• provide a more accessible passenger service
• respond to the needs of the community to protect access to work, education and health services
• sustain economic activity on the Islands and encourage new investment in the local economy
• offer affordable travel for residents

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 17 January 2023.

Over £10 million from the Levelling Up Fund will help bring improvements to transport infrastructure in Bridgwater, Somerset.

Infrastructure improvements

The funding will see:

• improvements to the A38 Dunball roundabout and Cross Rifles roundabout
• extension and improvement of walking and cycle routes including signal-controlled crossing points

Benefits for Bridgwater

The investment is expected to:

• provide better employment opportunities to local people through improved journey times and access to the town
• create additional capacity for traffic, cutting journey times and congestion
• boost the transport connectivity in and around Bridgwater