Councillors welcome £2 million European boost to major regeneration project

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

Senior councillors have welcomed a European funding award of up to £2 million that will dramatically reduce the local authority’s spending on a new container-style market.

Caerphilly Council deputy leader Jamie Pritchard told colleagues the new market, Ffos Caerffili, was a “cornerstone” of the regeneration plan for the town.

The market, off Cardiff Road, is due to open on Friday April 5 after a series of delays.

A successful application to the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) means the project will receive a grant of up to £2m, potentially bringing the council’s contribution to the market down from £1.25m to £150,000.

The grant will also cover some of the money the Welsh Government has spent on the market – but the funding hinges on its re-allocation to other parts of the wider Caerphilly 2035 regeneration project.

The final WEFO award for the project will be announced in three or four months’ time, according to a council report.

Excited

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday April 3, Cllr Elaine Forehead told colleagues she was “excited” for the launch of the market, which would “encourage job creation” in the town.

The council owns the new market, which will be run by Brigadoon Ffos Ltd.

Hamish Munro, Caerphilly Council’s placemaking programme manager, told the meeting there had been keen interest from traders looking to open in the market, with 25 of the 28 units set to be occupied on launch day – something he said the council was “very happy about”.

Most of the traders setting up in Ffos Caerffili will be “independent and local”, Mr Munro said, adding that the council hoped 45 to 50 jobs would be created at the market.

Cllr Pritchard, who is also the cabinet member for regeneration, faced criticism from the council’s Plaid opposition following the most recent delay to the market’s opening. He told the meeting the new attraction in Caerphilly would mean more people “coming to the town and enjoying themselves”.