News

Council sets aside £50,000 for wildfires after ‘elevated’ air pollution

30 Aug 2026 3 minute read

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

A council will put £50,0000 from a £1 million pot aside to fund its response to wildfires that have burned this summer.

Torfaen has been among the areas most impacted by fires during the multiple heatwaves that have contributed to record summer temperatures.

It also had one of the world’s highest carbon emissions per square kilometre due to wildfires in July, according to Save the Children.

The charity said it was concerned about possible health consequences after data, from the European Union’s earth observation programme, Copernicus, showed Torfaen behind Malanje in Angola, Spain’s Ávila and Annaba in Algeria in terms of wildfire emissions in July.

An area around the size of 300 football pitches burned on Mynydd Garnclochdy, between Abersychan and Blaenavon for more than a month from mid July, with people reporting smelling smoke as far as Cardiff, which is 30 miles away.

Torfaen council, which said it was unaware of the EU data but its own air quality monitoring showed “elevated particulate concentrations”, has identified the £50,000 sum from a reserve fund it has for community based projects.

It isn’t clear how the funding will be used as it is simply earmarked for “wildfire response” in a council report on how to spend a £1m fund carried over from the 2025/26 council budget.

Other schemes

Other schemes to be funded include refurbishment of memorials, bus stops and new signs while the largest allocation is £420,000 towards the anticipated £600,000 cost of a replacement skate park, in Pontypool, and a new pump cycling track at a yet to be decided location.

There will also be £288,000 put aside for making small to medium sized match funded grants and £100,000 for sporting grants.

The council established the £1.5m member policy choice fund at the end of the 2021/22 financial year with the intention it would be used for schemes to benefit the area identified by councillors.

The council transferred a further £445,000 into the fund at the end of the last financial year in March which meant, when taking account of commitments already made, the fund stood at £1m to be allocated this year.

It has spent, or committed, £970,000 from the fund over the past two years including a major “spring cleaning” blitz, resurfacing play areas and a 3G pitch in Blaenavon with the largest award being £232,000 for the roof at Cwmbran Stadium’s bowls club.

Funding towards highways and a small grants scheme has also been found from the fund.

A report for council leader Anthony Hunt, who is expected to approve the proposed spending in a decision to be taken on Thursday, September 3, said the fund is intended to support the council’s Deal programme, which aims to support voluntary and community groups, by “demonstrating the commitment to communities by spending money in areas that they have stated as a priority”.

The fund is also due to be renamed the ‘Strategic Community Fund’ and refereed to by that title in any future reports.

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