THE FIRST stages of delivering £20m worth of UK Government funding in Neath Port Talbot have been approved by the local council despite being considered by some council members as a “shambles”.
Those in attendance at a cabinet meeting in January 2026 made the decision which will now see funding from the UK Government’s Pride in Place Programme focused on the borough’s upper Afan Valley area.
It was the first phase of the plans where the authority needed to confirm the “specific neighbourhood” in the county that would receive the focus of the 10-year investment.
Councillors confirmed the upper Afan Valley as its chosen neighbourhood in an area which is known for its natural beauty, extensive walking, and biking trails, and valleys communities such as Cymmer, Croeserw, Glyncorrwg, Bryn, and Cwmavon.
The report said another two parts of the county borough in Briton Ferry and Neath East, and Sandfields and Aberavon, had also been considered for the funding.
While the move was approved unanimously some councillors did not think the process was reasonable given they were in a situation where they had to pitch one deprived area against another.
Cllr Scott Jones said even though he was pleased to see plans for the Afan Valley going forward he felt the funding was “a shambles” with criteria that made it difficult for some of the most disadvantaged communities in Wales to even take part.
The deputy leader of the council, Cllr Alun Llewelyn, said: “Overall this confused UK Government scheme is completely inadequate to tackle deprivation across Neath Port Talbot and Wales in general.
“It doesn’t fully replace our lost European funding and the criteria have been developed without the involvement of either the Senedd or ourselves as the local authority and in truth all three areas that are focused in the report desperately need this investment.”
Cllr Cen Phillips added: “All three of these areas, and more, are fully in need and fully deserving of the kind of help that this scheme should be offering and the idea of pitching them against one another in some sort of deprivation competition to pick one is a position which we as a local authority shouldn’t have been put in by the Westminster government.
“There should have been a more coherent funding scheme with a more sensible way of allocating the money to all of those areas that are in desperate need.”
The UK Government launched its Pride in Place Programme in September 2025. It is a 10-year programme to address disadvantaged neighbourhoods with up to £20m of support for communities at a “hyperlocal level” provided they meet certain criteria.
These includes being a single contiguous area within the local authority with a population of between 5,000 and 15,000 residents and a clear evidence base to identify the most in need.
The report given to members highlighted how the upper Afan Valley is considered as having “high levels of deprivation” in relation to employment, health, education, and income, particularly in Cymmer which the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation classifies as having “deep-rooted deprivation”.
