Council’s funding plan set to improve toilets, high streets and sports facilities

Toilets, sports facilities and high streets are set to benefit if a county council’s Cabinet approves a new Pride In Place spending plan.

The UK Government’s Pride in Place Impact Fund has given Flintshire £1. million to spend on improvements to the high street and spaces of ‘community value’.

On Monday, February 23 Flintshire Cabinet members will review the full list of spending proposals.

These include the refurbishment of public toilets at Talacre, Holywell and Mold at a combined cost of £240,000 – bringing them up to scratch before they are potentially transferred to the management of town and community councils.

There are also plans to spend £150,000 to replace the 2G sports pitch at Mold Alun School.

On the high street Buckley is the big winner, with £400,000 earmarked for investment in its broader strategic placemaking plan which aims to revitalise the town centre and make it a more suitable, useable space for today’s residents.

And across the county a £460,000 shopfront grant scheme will be available for businesses to apply for to improve the appearance of existing retail units and bring empty ones back into use, with the fund covering up to 70% of the cost of each shopfront project.

The remaining £250,000 will be held to cover any variance or overspend on these projects to prevent the need for Flintshire County Council to provide top-up funding.

The proposal has previously been welcomed by councillors on Flintshire’s Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee.

Cllr Mike Peers praised the proposed management of the funding, saying: ” I think it’s a good idea you’ve kept some back as mitigation.

“That’s that’s a sensible thing to do.​ You don’t want a project that’s almost complete and you have to then dip into the council loan fund to complete it.”