Community Regeneration – Welsh Assembly Government and Council Support

Community regeneration work is supported by both the Welsh Assembly Government and by the Council itself. The following explains the key thrusts of our respective approaches:

Welsh Assembly Government Support

There are two nationwide Community Regeneration programmes in Wales. In Wrexham’s rural areas the Welsh Assembly Government’s Rural Development Plan is providing focussed support for 28 key projects through Northern Marches Cymru.

In the five areas of Wrexham that suffer the most acute levels of multiple deprivation – Caia Park, Queensway, Plas Madoc, Gwenfro (Brynteg and Southsea), and Hermitage (Hightown) the Welsh Assembly Government provides additional support via its Communities First programme. Each area has a formal Partnership and a small paid team of workers led by a Coordinator. The programme also funds a range of key projects, many of which are young people related. The partnerships in Plas Madoc and in Caia Park and Queensway are independent limited companies with charitable status. They are self managed organisations that report directly to the WAG. The partnerships in Gwenfro and Hermitage are hosted and managed by the Council.

The Council has an important role to play in responding the two national programmes above, particularly in taking action to bend its programmes where appropriate, and the Economic Development department works to influence this.

Council Support

Given that the extent of national support for community regeneration is limited the Council has to invest its own funds to ensure that inequalities across Wrexham can be reduced. In doing so the Council provides support as follows:

In the non-Communities First areas, the Economic Development department employs a small team of Community Development Officers who work with residents, community groups and organisations to develop and implement area action plans. Until 2008 the department hosted the West Wrexham URBAN II programme covering Brymbo, Broughton, Llay, Gwersyllt and Coedpoeth. Since 2005 it has been looking ahead to a time where community regeneration would become less dependent on significant capital investment for new buildings and more reliant on effective engagement of the community, and hence the team’s work has become more people focussed. The team is also currently expanding its coverage to include Acton, Rhosddu, Pant, Johnstown, Chirk North, Ponciau, Penycae, and Ruabon.

Across all of the target areas the department takes a proactive role in influencing the range and quality of adult community learning opportunities, which are seen as key steps in resident’s development. The department is working to secure external funding to increase this range of opportunities and to help focus it even more effectively on individual’s development needs. It is taking a similar approach to ensuring that it can provide support to community groups who are endeavouring to grow into full social enterprises – organisations that provide services of social benefit to their community who trade in a way that generates income to fund the services.

In two areas (Caia Park and Cefn Mawr) the department is seeing through the Council’s historical commitment to the establishment of sustainable community development organisations. In Caia Park the Council is continuing to provide partial core funding to Caia Park Partnership Ltd, an independent limited company with charitable status. This organisation delivers a range of services that tackle economic and social issues in the area on behalf of the Council and other organisations, and the Council’s core support helps to lever in more than £1m of non-council funding per year.

In Cefn Mawr and Plas Madoc the Council is continuing to provide partial core funding to Dee Valley Community Partnership Ltd, also an independent limited company with charitable status. DVCP is a key partner in the ongoing physical regeneration of Cefn Mawr and plays an important role in bringing additional services and a renewed commercial and social vibrancy to the area. The Council’s funding of both organisations is reducing on an annual basis as part of structured agreements that emphasise their need for reduced grant dependency.

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