A £10m bid to help boost regeneration and invest in local communities is being put together by Cardiff Council and Adamsdown has been named as one of the areas to potentially benefit.
If successful in securing the money from Welsh Government’s Targeted Regeneration Investment Programme, then a number of areas in the city would benefit from regeneration projects and the further development of customer-focused, integrated community services.
Councillor Lynda Thorne, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said:
“We are committed to a range of interventions and investments to improve the quality of life for people in communities across the city. If we are successful in our bid for this new funding, then it offers us the opportunity to further build on good work already underway.
“Targeted investment in communities that need it most will support our ambition to address long standing and deep-seated inequalities in the city and improve the life chances of some of our most vulnerable citizens.”
The areas and projects that would benefit from the bid include:
- The South Riverside business area, including Tudor Street, Wellington Street and Cowbridge Road East where it is proposed an initial focus for investment could include a commercial property enhancement scheme, gateway improvements leading to key city centre destinations including Central Square, active travel measures and identification of new residential/mixed-use opportunities;
- The Adamsdown/Roath business area, including City Road, Clifton Street and the surrounding areas has also been identified as potential future target areas to benefit from similar improvements;
- Building on the city’s hub programmes (one-stop shop for community services) to to further develop services to respond to the needs of individual communities.
Cardiff’s hubs programme has been highly successful, investing in better facilities and bringing community services together in a sustainable and customer-focused way.
The Council plans to invest in the reshaping of existing hubs as well as integrating hub services in other community buildings with an emphasis on employability services and economic outcomes for young people. Proposals for partnership working with the health authority on wellbeing hubs are also included in plan.
Cllr Thorne, said:
“Cardiff’s initial submission for the regional plan will include investment in two business corridor/areas which are significant locations of economic activity and employment as well as important access routes into the city centre.
“We are also seeking more investment in our hubs programme which has proven to be a huge success with the public. We want to continue with the programme and build on it.”
The Targeted Regeneration Investment Programme (TRIP) is the successor programme to the Vibrant and Viable Places programme, under which the Council secured funding for improvements to Clare Road/Penarth Road district centre, Grangetown Hub and the extension to St Mellons Hub.
The aim of the new programme is to support projects which promote economic regeneration, with activities focused on individuals and areas in most need. The programme starts in April, initially for a three year period, with around £44m available for the South-East Wales region.
A requirement of the new programme is that it is aligned with regional working arrangements. Cardiff Capital Region is currently preparing a regional plan and considering processes and criteria for prioritising projects.
Cardiff’s initial proposals will be considered by Cabinet at its next meeting on Thursday, March 15.