Town Hall’s £50k grant to plot its future

Welshpool Town Council has secured a whopping £50,000 grant to help with the initial planning stages to transform the Town Hall and make it fit for the 21^st Century.

The topic has been identified as one of MyWelshpoolTV’s ‘big five’ stories to follow in 2024, and councillors will be celebrating the news that the feasibility study won’t be costing the town’s tax payers a penny.

On announcing it as one of 11 Powys projects that will receive a total of £1.24 million from the Shared Prosperity Fund (Levelling Up), the Powys Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) Local Partnership Board announced that Welshpool Town Council has been awarded £50,000 “for a feasibility study that will look at the best way of turning it (Town Hall) into a modern and sustainable facility”.

Recently, it was revealed in the council chamber that architects working on the planning phase estimated that the project would cost in excess of £4 million, and that wouldn’t include the vast cellar space which won’t be considered in the plans due to cost.

The SPF is responsible for deciding how the just-over £26 million allocated to Powys for 2022-25 by the UK Government as part of its Levelling Up programme, should be spent.

The Powys SPF Local Partnership Board is supported by Powys County Council’s Economic Development and Regeneration Team.

“Our objectives under the Communities and Place theme are to strengthen our social fabric and foster a sense of local pride and belonging, and to build resilient, healthy and safe neighbourhoods,” said Cllr David Selby, the council’s Cabinet Member for a More Prosperous Powys and Chair of the Powys SPF Local Partnership Board.

“This would ideally be achieved through investment in activities that improve physical, cultural and social ties and access to amenities, and in quality places that people want to live, work, play and learn in.”

The Powys SPF Local Partnership includes Powys County Council, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority, Powys Teaching Health Board, NPTC Group of Colleges, Business Wales, Mid Wales Regional Skills Partnership, Mid Wales Tourism, Mid Wales Manufacturing Group, Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations, Wales YFC, NFU Cymru, Farmers’ Union of Wales, Chambers Wales, and One Voice Wales.

The projects that have been successful under the Communities and Place theme are:

• Welshpool Town Hall, £50,000, to Welshpool Town Council, for a feasibility study that will look at the best way of turning it into a modern and sustainable facility.
• Powys Cultural Tourism Feasibility, £30,000, to Powys County Council’s Economic Development and Regeneration Team, to design a project that will tell stories of significant events in the county’s history.
• Wyeside Works, £14,091, to Wyeside Arts Centre, for a feasibility study to look at plans for improving the cinema, theatre and exhibition facilities at the venue in Builth Wells.
• Elan Valley Lakes – Visitor Centre, £50,000, to Welsh Water, to draw up detailed plans for an improved visitor centre.
• Community Buildings Energy Efficiency, £83,378, to Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority, for the second phase of a project delivering reduced energy bills and CO2 emissions for community buildings.
• Rebuilding Community Foundations, £78,315, to Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations, to provide support to those managing community buildings so, they can make them self-sustaining.
• Making a Difference in Powys, £553,172, to Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations, to run a small grant scheme that will support charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups.
• Pavilion Mid Wales Development Plan, £21,198, to Grand Pavilion Events, for a feasibility study to look at options for further developing the entertainment venue.
• Machynlleth Wellbeing Centre – Outdoor Health, £48,673, to Coed Lleol, for a feasibility study on developing an outdoor health programme for staff, in-patients, out-patients and the wider community.
• Caru Powys, £115,929, to Keep Wales Tidy, for schemes that will benefit people and wildlife, by preventing littering and supporting community clean-ups.
• Powys Community Growing Support, £204,910, to Social Farms and Gardens’ Wales Team, to help develop community vegetable and fruit growing sites and social enterprises across Powys.