THERE will be £20m spent on regeneration in the Rhondda Fach over the next decade.
Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council has confirmed a UK Government Pride in Place programme has been approved for the area which means funding of up to £20 million will be made available over 10 years, to focus on regeneration projects across neighbourhoods in Tylorstown, Maerdy, Ferndale, Ynyshir and Wattstown.
The UK Government has launched two programmes under its Pride in Place strategy, one of which is the impact fund that represents short-term £1.5 million funding to address issues that matter locally and the other being a larger £20 million Pride in Place programme that targets transformation over the longer term.
In December, the council’s cabinet discussed proposals for both programmes agreeing for the impact fund to be targeted to town centres and community organisations across the whole of Rhondda Cynon Taf.
For the Pride in Place programme, councils were required to select a defined neighbourhood for consideration for the investment and cabinet endorsed officer proposals to put the Rhondda Fach forward as an area that best fitted the fund’s criteria for selection.
The council then submitted its proposal to the UK Government’s Wales Office before the deadline in January, 2026, and has now received confirmation that this area has been accepted.
The council had to demonstrate the area had a significant socio-economic need and it drew on data from the Welsh index of multiple deprivation.
The programme will allocate £2 million per year for 10 years and there will be a dedicated structure to agree on how the funding is best spent.
A neighbourhood board will be formed, which will include local residents as members and will be responsible for producing a 10-year vision for the area.
This will be supported by a regeneration plan in partnership with the council, which will appoint an independent chair to provide leadership for the board, act as a champion for the area, and ensure decisions are community-led, the council said.
Membership of the neighbourhood board is set to be confirmed this summer, along with any proposed changes to the area boundary.
This will then be reviewed by the UK Government by the autumn of this year and the neighbourhood board will then submit its regeneration plan in the winter for assessment.
Once approved, with a target date of spring, 2027, the first funding payment will be made to the council to deliver the programme.
