Council sets out £20 million Shared Prosperity Fund priorities

Anthony Lewis, local democracy reporter

A council is set to spend almost £20m towards town centre improvements, tackling crime, active travel, support for businesses and employment, arts and culture, and community groups next year.

Rhondda Cynon Taf’s (RCT) allocation from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for 2025-26 is £19.6m, or 19% of the regional allocation, but it’s a £6.8m reduction for RCT compared to this year.

Under communities and place funding is included for improvements to town centres and high streets including better accessibility for disabled people with a proposed budget of £10m to include a number of initiatives ranging from small-scale grants to improve town centre properties to strategic property and site developments.

It also includes funding for new, or improvements to existing, community and neighbourhood infrastructure projects including investment in locally-owned renewable energy generation and waste management by providing £648,000 for extending initiatives including grant support programme for energy efficiency measures and the installation of solar panels.

‘Design out crime’

Funding is also included for design and management of the built and landscaped environment to “design out crime” with a further budget of £873,000 to support measures which includes maintaining the presence of community wardens and safety officers within communities.

Support for active travel enhancement and other small-scale green
transport infrastructure projects is included with a further £1m for subsidised
public transport to encourage car free commuting throughout the county borough.

Funding is included for volunteering and/or social action projects to develop social and human capital in local places by providing a further £369,000 to support the neighbourhood network and community resilience hubs.

Support would be provided for local arts, cultural, heritage, and creative activities to encourage people to visit and explore the local area with a budget of £150,000.

Fuel poverty

Community measures to reduce the cost of living, including through measures to improve energy efficiency and combat fuel poverty and climate change are also included.

This includes the continuation of the community grant programme providing a further £2m for community groups and organisations across RCT.

In terms of supporting local business it includes strengthening local entrepreneurial networks and supporting businesses at all stages of their development including a further £364,000 for grants to new and existing business to encourage start up, expansion, and diversification and to support self-employment in the care sector.

And in terms of people and skills it includes employment support for economically inactive people including intensive and wraparound one to one support to move people closer to mainstream provision and to gain and retain employment.

Examples include apprenticeships, tailored and intensive support delivered through mentors and key workers, and referrals to local training, skills, and specialised support with a proposed budget allocation of approximately £3.5m.

The proposal is to spend more than £15m on communities and place, £364,000 on supporting local business, £3.49m on people and skills, £604,000 on management and admin (RCT), and £151,000 on management and admin for the lead team.

A report to cabinet said while the lower percentage reduction is welcomed this is still a significant decrease of £6.8m in comparison to the 2024-25 allocation of £26.4m

It added: “Funding for another year does however provide the opportunity to build on the significant progress achieved through UKSPF to date albeit at a reduced scale of delivery.”