Welsh Government funding scheme ignores Mid Wales

The Welsh Government has announced £2.4m for 16 projects in Wales, but not a single one is in Mid Wales.

And the news has been attacked by Montgomeryshire’s Conservative Assembly Member Russell George who described the announcement as an example of a Welsh Labour-led Government exacerbating the rural-urban divide in Wales

In a written statement Deputy Minister and Chief Whip Jane Hutt AM announced support for communities under the Community Facilities Programme would not support a single project in Mid Wales, and only one in West Wales, with 11 of the 16 in the South.

Despite 7% of the population living in Powys and Ceredigion, no projects will receive funding, and only one project is going ahead in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire where 10% of the population reside. The project in Narberth will only receive 1% of the fund’s reserves.

Welsh Conservative and Montgomeryshire AM Russell George, said: “This is another perfect example of a Welsh Labour-led Government exacerbating the rural-urban divide in Wales, which has become worse on their watch.

“We are sick and tired of being ignored and short-changed. We pay our taxes, obey the law, and are as industrious as anyone in South Wales – are we not worthy of the same rewards?

“Despite having Kirsty Williams and Eluned Morgan in the Cabinet, it seems their influence does not extend far enough for them to champion projects in centre of our country.

“Just like with poor broadband rollout and regional economic inequality, Mid Wales has become a noisy problem for the Cardiff Bay Labour establishment. Well, we’re not going anywhere, we won’t be forgotten, and we won’t back down.”