CWMBRAN is to receive £20 million from the UK Government in a bid to improve its long-term future.

Cwmbran is one of three Welsh towns, as well as Wrexham, which was made a city last year, that will share £80 million.

Merthyr Tydfil, Wrexham and Barry will also receive £20 million from the UK Government as part of a long-term investment plan for towns the government says "have been overlooked and taken for granted".

The funding will be spent on reviving high streets, tackling anti-social behaviour improving transport and growing the local economy.

Welsh secretary David TC Davies said Cwmbran will "hugely benefit from this significant investment in their future".

Mr Davies said: “Merthyr Tydfil, Cwmbran, Wrexham and Barry are all fantastic places and will hugely benefit from this significant investment in their future.

In total the prime minister has announced that 55 UK towns each to be given £20 million endowment-style funds each over 10 years to invest in local people’s priorities 

The money will be provided directly by the UK Government to the relevant local authority.

Prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “Towns are the place most of us call home and where most of us go to work. But politicians have always taken towns for granted and focused on cities. 

 “The result is the half-empty high streets, run-down shopping centres and anti-social behaviour that undermine many towns’ prosperity and hold back people’s opportunity – and without a new approach, these problems will only get worse. 

“That changes today. Our Long-Term Plan for Towns puts funding in the hands of local people themselves to invest in line with their priorities, over the long-term. That is how we level up.”

Local people will be put in charge and given the tools to change their town’s long-term future. They will:  

  • Receive a ten-year endowment-style fund to be spent on local people’s priorities, like regenerating local high streets and town centres or securing public safety.  ;

  • Set up a Town Board to bring together community leaders, employers and local authorities to deliver the Long-Term Plan for their town and put it to local people for consultation.  

The Long-Term Plan for Towns will require town boards to develop their own long-term plan for their town, with funding over 10 years and aligned to the issues that research shows people want the most, such as: 

  • Improving transport and connections to make travel easier for residents and increase visitor numbers in centres to boost opportunities for small businesses and create jobs.    

  •  Tackling crime and anti social behaviour to keep residents safe and encourage visitors through better security measures and hotspot policing   

  • Enhancing town centres to make high streets more attractive and accessible, including repurposing empty shops for new housing, creating more green spaces, cleaning up streets or running market days  

The Government has also announced a new ‘Towns Taskforce, sitting in the Department for Levelling Up and reporting directly to the Prime Minister and Levelling Up Secretary. This will help town boards to develop their plans, and advise them on how best to take advantage of government policies, unlock private and philanthropic investment and work with communities.