Plaid Cymru says rural Wales ‘excluded by design’ from UK Government flagship scheme

Plaid Cymru has accused the UK Government of sidelining rural communities in its flagship Pride in Place regeneration scheme, warning that the funding model is “excluding rural Wales by design”.

Ynys Môn MP Llinos Medi raised the issue in the House of Commons during a debate on the scheme, which promises up to £5 billion over ten years to revitalise local areas across the UK.

The programme will provide up to £20 million each for 250 “hyper-local” neighbourhoods, each covering populations of around 10,000 people, chosen according to Office for National Statistics data on deprivation and community need.

Councillors and MPs will sit on boards to decide how the money is spent, with a focus on improving high streets, restoring public spaces, and tackling antisocial behaviour.

Limited reach

In Ms Medi’s constituency of Ynys Môn, only Holyhead meets the population threshold, highlighting the limited reach of the programme in rural areas, particularly in Wales.

Speaking in the Commons, she said “The Government is presenting the Pride in Place programme as a win for communities across the UK. But the focus of this particular scheme is on neighbourhoods of around 10,000 people.

“On Ynys Môn, only one town even meets that population threshold. This isn’t unique to my constituency – it’s the case across much of Wales.

“Can the Minister explain why rural communities are being excluded by design from this specific programme?”

In response, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said: “We are investing in rural communities – whether in Somerset, Wiltshire, or elsewhere. We’ve used clear metrics based on deprivation and the Community Needs Index to focus on the areas that need it most. But this is part of a bigger strategy: empowering communities to reclaim their high streets, supporting local government investment, and working with regional mayors to drive economic prosperity.”

Funding

The exchange comes after the UK Government confirmed £214 million in new Pride in Place funding for Wales last month.

Nine local authorities – including Caerphilly, Carmarthenshire, Cardiff, and Swansea – will each receive up to £20 million for targeted neighbourhood projects.

In addition, all 22 Welsh councils will share £34.5 million of capital funding to improve public spaces, ranging from fixing broken bus shelters to revamping run-down leisure centres.

Bridgend will receive £3 million as the authority judged most in need.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the scheme as “a huge investment” that would give local people control over improvements to their communities. “We’re choosing renewal over decline, unity over division,” he said.

Critical

Despite the funding announcements, Plaid Cymru council leaders remain critical of the scheme. Darren Price (Carmarthenshire), Bryan Davies (Ceredigion), Nia Jeffreys (Gwynedd) and Gary Pritchard (Anglesey) said in a joint statement: “This programme specifically targets neighbourhoods with populations of around 10,000, of which there are only a handful in the four western local authorities we control. This approach highlights continued disregard for rural communities, which have been disproportionately underfunded over the years.”

They argued that while funding is welcome, the scheme is “a political panic button pushed by Labour ahead of a difficult election” and fails to address the structural challenges of smaller rural communities across Wales.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “The Pride in Place programme delivers a total of £280 million to fourteen communities across Wales, including rural areas such as Carmarthenshire and Conwy. On top of this, every single local authority in Wales is receiving a share of £34.5m from The Pride in Place Impact Fund. It is simply wrong to say that rural communities are excluded.

“These Pride in Place programmes give communities right across Wales the control and the financial firepower to tackle the issues that they want to see fixed.”