Council backs multi-million pound neighbourhood improvement funding

Lewis Smith, Local Democracy Reporter

Members of a Welsh council have approved the allocation of millions worth of funding from the remainder of their Neighbourhood Improvement Programme covering the period from 2025 to 2028.

Members at a Neath Port Talbot cabinet meeting held on March 18, heard how an initial sum of £5m had been granted as part of the scheme with £500,000 already given for urgent works to playgrounds across the borough.

This meant a sum of £4.5m was still left to be allocated by the cabinet with plans for it to support a number of small‑scale capital improvements in the area.

These will include £250,000 to be set aside for the neighbourhood services and rights of way teams to buy plant and equipment such as towable salt spreaders, flail, and mowing equipment.

A sum of £300,000 will be given for new street furniture and bus shelters following a condition survey that showed 31 bus shelters in the county that need a full replacement.

A further £1m will be given to create a community investment fund where councillors can apply for funding for local projects that improve community spaces or facilities.

However the largest amount of the funding, worth around £2.9m, will be used for highway repairs and traffic and road safety schemes which will include permanent pothole repairs, surface patching, and resurfacing.

Speaking at the meeting Cllr Scott Jones said: “I’m sure this will make a considerable difference across the communities of Neath Port Talbot with the investment that we’re looking to go in to the communities under the visible services.”

A council spokesman added: “This investment programme is expected to deliver visible and lasting improvements in neighbourhoods across the county borough and to support better-connected, safer, and more resilient communities.”

The approval was given unanimously by members in attendance with a further report on any remaining allocation expected to be brought back in the autumn.