Welsh town centre to receive makeover as council awarded grant
A Welsh town is to receive a £70,000 makeover for improvements and to 'add to its appearance' after a funding bid by Powys County Council was successful.
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Bulith Wells Town Council is to receive up to £69,472.08 towards the cost of refurbishing nine business frontages on High Street, Broad Street, Groe Street and Garth Road.
The funding is being provided by a Welsh Government Placemaking Grant, through its Transforming Towns programme - in this instance, for up to 70 per cent of the total cost.
The Transforming Towns programme has provided £100 million to towards town centre regeneration in Wales, and is dedicated to 'serving and connecting the people who live, work, learn and spend leisure time in them'. It aims to develop green infrastructure and support vibrancy of town centres, enabling job creation, and improving community facilities and access to services.
Mid-Wales has been allocated £7 million since 2022 to deliver town centre Regeneration projects, and Bulith Wells Town Council is working as a facilitator for the scheme, in partnership with Powys council.
Powys Council says the town's council applied for the Placemaking Grant on behalf of the nine businesses, and that it "will not be retaining any of the money, only holding it until paid invoices for the work have been received."
Powys County Council's Cabinet Member for a More Prosperous Powys, Councillor David Selby said: "We all want our Powys town centres to thrive and get plenty of footfall.
"These improvements will enhance the appearance of Builth Wells' High Street, and we hope that results in more trade and an added sense of pride.
"This work has been made possible thanks to our five town centre liaison officers who are supporting economic development across the county in 18 towns."
Builth Wells Town Councillor Mark Hammond added: "The successful bid of nearly £70,000 in funding is a tremendous boost for the town and is hopefully the beginning of a process of making Builth even more appealing for residents and visitors.
"Builth is a unique and vibrant market town, but we need to future-proof it, to ensure that future generations get to enjoy all it has to offer. The Transforming Towns programme is key to making this aspiration a reality."
The Transforming Towns programme in Mid-Wales is supported by both Powys and Ceredigion County Councils' Economic Development and Regeneration Teams.
The council says the Placemaking Grant is "designed to be flexible, and delivered through the local authority, to support smaller scale interventions (up to £250,000 grant) that help improve town centres."
