Fund open to help Welsh communities start local projects

Community groups across Wales are being reminded that there is still time to apply for the Perthyn grant, which supports communities to develop social enterprises or community-led housing projects.

Grants of up to £5,000 are available from the Welsh Government’s Perthyn fund to help groups take their first steps in establishing their work and putting plans into action.

Since 2022, the scheme has supported Welsh-speaking communities, with 64 grants awarded to groups in Gwynedd, Conwy, Anglesey, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. This year, the scheme has been expanded so that communities across Wales can apply.

With support from the Perthyn grant, two community-owned social enterprises are being developed in the Bro Aberffraw ward on Anglesey to improve local services and strengthen the area socially, economically and culturally.

The plans include launching a community transport service using electric minibuses to reduce rural isolation and improve access to services.

The group also aims to redevelop Newborough’s public toilet facilities into a community centre, providing public toilets, a café, a bike hire service and a visitor information point. The Welsh language will be central to both projects.

Chair of Bro Aberffraw Alliance, Sara Spinks , said: “The Perthyn grant has given our community the opportunity to turn long-standing ideas into practical plans that will benefit local people. These projects will help strengthen services in the area while ensuring the Welsh language remains central to community life.”

Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Welsh Language, Mark Drakeford , said: “These exciting community projects, along with others supported by Perthyn grants in recent years, show how local action can strengthen communities and support the everyday use of the Welsh language.

“By expanding the Perthyn grant scheme across Wales, we are giving more communities the opportunity to take control of their future and place the Welsh language at the heart of their plans. I encourage community groups to apply before the deadline.”

Community groups must apply by 31 January 2026 through the Cwmpas site here.