Category: Press Releases

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

The Grade A listed former temperance hall sits in the heart of the walled City of Derry~Londonderry. The building was closed since the start of the pandemic, but now with £181,000 from the Community Ownership Fund, the hall is brought back to its former glory.

The hall has been closed since the start of the pandemic and cannot currently be reopened due to the deterioration of the building.

Preparing for the future

The hall will be future proofed by:

• working with conservation specialists to improve accessibility and plan for future adaptations
• completing urgent works to make the building safe and accessible for the public

This will enable St Columb’s Hall Trust to begin generating income to secure the Hall’s long-term future.

Preserving the past

The funding will help to:

• capture oral histories and generate awareness of heritage significance
• work with groups to research the heritage of the hall and its future
• reactivate community connection with the Hall

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

The Pontycysyllte Aqueduct, area of outstanding natural beauty, has been awarded £13.3 million from the Levelling Up Fund.

The Pontycysyllte Aqueduct is a masterpiece of engineering and a popular visitor destination. The aqueduct is a main focal point on the 11-mile stretch of the World Heritage Site. This area of outstanding natural beauty has been awarded £13.3 million from the Levelling Up Fund.

The funding will help:

• secure its future as a prime heritage asset
• maximise the potential of the site

Trevor Basin plan to expand tourism benefits

The initial phases of the Trevor Basin Technical Masterplan will deliver:

• refocusing of the site around the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
• a range of visitor improvements

This will include investment to:

• develop a new walking route in Dee Valley and the area around the aqueduct
• set up a woodland activity and education area
• rewild former industrial land
• create a new arrival area

Upgrading the visitor experience

The investment will improve connectivity, including:

• improving links between Llangollen and the Wenffrwd Nature Reserve
• an active travel route for walking and cycling along a disused railway line
• a new public space at Llangollen’s Castle Street and Abbey Road junction
• new visitor facilities at Horseshoe Falls

Improved access across the site will deliver health and well-being benefits for future visitors.

Improvements to Corwen Station

Station and car park upgrades include:

• an active travel route along the former railway line between Corwen and Cynwyd
• electric vehicle charging points

These improvements will:

• bring the area back to life as a global tourist attraction
• provide a major boost to the local economy

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

£300,000 was allocated from the Community Ownership Fund to transform the Old Town Hall in Whithorn, Galloway. The funding will help the town hall become more accessible, functional and support working towards Net-Zero.

Plans for the building

The Grade B listed Georgian town hall is set to turn into a new social enterprise that will offer training to young people in:

• traditional stonemasonry
• joinery skills

It will also showcase energy efficiency innovation for hard-to-treat Georgian buildings.

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

£200,000 from the Community Ownership Fund has been awarded to the Wharf Community Hub in Marple.

The project will regenerate the Grade II listed building to create a local community hub.

The Wharf Warehouse

The Warehouse building has been a key part of the community since the early 1800s but is now in a poor state of repair.

Plans for the funding include renovating the building and creating a:

• health and wellbeing studio
• heritage centre
• canal side café

Benefits to the local community

The hub will provide a place for the community to come together and a chance for people to learn about Marple’s canal transport heritage.

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.