ABERYSTWYTH are the big winners in mid Wales when it comes to Levelling Up money, announced by the UK Government last week, but Welsh politicians claim the country will be worse off to the tune of £1billion.
“Levelling up” is the UK government’s plan to reduce the differences between richer and poorer parts of Great Britain.
It was announced late last year that Ceredigion County Council had secured £10.9 million in funding to regenerate the old college and marina in the town.
Ceredigion County Council has also been successful in securing nearly £3 million in funding through the Community Renewal Fund, which will benefit 12 projects in the county.
Added to that, £110 million of funding from both the UK and Welsh Governments was approved for the Mid Wales Growth Deal in January.
The eight-figure Levelling Up funding will contribute to realising Aberystwyth University’s plans to bring new life to the Old College along with revitalising the promenade and creating what the council calls a ‘living harbour’.
The bid was put forward by Ceredigion County Council in June 2021 following input by local stakeholders and partners and it forms part of the council’s vision for boosting the economy.
Ceredigion County Council says the investment will be ‘an opportunity to kick start a programme of investments that will help improve Aberystwyth as a destination to live, visit, work and study.’
The council added: “The scheme in Aberystwyth is a comprehensive regeneration proposal for an area that has a rich cultural heritage, but which has become overlooked for too long. The schemes will drive new investment to generate new opportunities and give the area a renewed confidence.”
Cllr Ellen ap Gwynn, leader of Ceredigion County Council, welcomed the announcement, saying: “This is a significant investment in our local economy that will help improve the long-term prospects of Aberystwyth and the town centre through ensuring investment in economic infrastructure and assets that will help drive jobs opportunities, skills, inward investment and recreation.
“Thanks must go to all our partners and the local community for all their effort and support in ensuring the bid was strong, and ultimately successful.
“Along with other potential developments in the county and across Mid Wales with the emerging Mid Wales Growth Deal, there is a lot happening in Ceredigion.
“We look forward to working closely with Governments and stakeholders at all levels to realise the full potential of this investment.”
Dr Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Director of Welsh Language and External Engagement at Aberystwyth University said: “This announcement today is most welcome and is excellent news for Aberystwyth and Ceredigion.
“It is also another important step towards delivering on our vision to transform the Old College into a vibrant cultural centre with outstanding facilities for the university, the local community and visitors to the area.”
If this all seems like good news, there’s the reality that the Welsh budget will be nearly £1 billion worse off by 2024 as a result of the UK Government’s failure to honour its commitment that Wales would not lose “a single penny” as a result of the UK leaving the EU, Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, has said in response to the Levelling Up announcement.
The Minister said the ‘drift and indecision’ that has characterised UK Government Levelling Up plans is now costing Wales jobs and development projects.
He, said: “More than two years on from the grand promises made by the Prime Minister, it is now clear that Wales is being left with less say, over less money.
“Drift and indecision in Whitehall is costing our least well-off communities jobs and projects at the worst possible time. Last year’s Spending Review confirmed that the UK Government has broken its promise to replace EU funding for Wales in full and there is no sign that the White Paper will change this.
“If the UK Government had kept its promise, Wales would have been receiving £375m in new money each year from January 2021. Instead, Wales‘ share of post EU funds stands at just £46.8m in 2021/22.
“Our own analysis shows that the Welsh budget will be £1 billion worse off by 2024.
“This is not “levelling up”, it’s levelling down.”
At last year’s Spending Review, the UK Government confirmed the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) to replace EU funding would “over time” amount to £1.5 billion per year UK-wide.
However, in 2022/23, the SPF will be worth only £400m UK-wide. Had Wales and the UK remained in the EU, Wales would be set to receive at least £375m a year.
But in 2021/22, Wales has received just £46.8m from the pilot Shared Prosperity Fund – the Community Renewal Fund (CRF) – for 165 projects.
Welsh Government analysis shows the UK Government’s approach to replacing EU funds means Wales will lose around £750m over three years (2021-22 to 2023-24) for the Structural Funds.
Taken together with the loss to farm funding of £242m, it means since the UK Government took over allocating replacement EU funds, to the end of this spending round period in 2023-24, the UK Government will have netted-off or otherwise not replaced close to £1 billion of EU funding for Wales.
The Minister added: “Any plan worthy of credibility would have been published last year with clear priorities for stronger local economies in a rebalanced UK economy. In its place we have half baked, incoherent funding pots hatched in isolation in Whitehall.
“Difficult decisions have already been taken here to protect priorities like our commitment to deliver 125,000 apprenticeships in this Parliament. Filling a hole left by lost EU funds promised to Wales restricts our ability to support strong proposals that would bolster our economic strengths.
“The unconstitutional Internal Market Act is being used to override democratic devolution by stopping decisions about Wales being taken in Wales.
“My message to UK Ministers is clear – respect devolution and restore the missing £1 billion promised for Wales.
“It is not too late for the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, to offer a way forward based on co-design and co-decision making. It is not too late to compromise in good faith.”
Ceredigion MP and Plaid Cymru Treasury spokesperson Ben Lake MP said: “The gulf between the promises of 2016 and 2019 and the reality of this paper couldn’t be wider. With no new funding announced today, people are right to be sceptical of these plans.
“There is welcome recognition in this paper of the importance of devolution, albeit for regions of England. While the paper gives more powers and resources to English regions, the UK Government continues to undermine Welsh devolution and roll back Wales’ powers.
“Wales needs greater powers and funding, not for power’s sake, but to address the chronic under-performance of our economy. We have to ask ourselves why Scotland’s government, even when it doesn’t want it, can get more support and investment from Westminster than Wales.”
Projects across mid Wales did receive funding from the Community Renewal Fund announced in early November,
Twelve Ceredigion community projects have been granted a share of nearly £3 million in funding.
University of Wales Trinity Saint Davies’s Canolfan Tir Glas development, or the Lampeter food village, has been given £488,000 in funding for its planned network of co-dependant units.
£213,126 in funding is going to Enterprise Ceredigion, a project by Business In Focus supporting people in self-employment.
The AberInnovation Mid Wales Challenge Led Launchpad Series, a new programme aimed at developing novel solutions to public sector and societal issues through research and innovation whilst offering new market opportunities for businesses and low skilled people in mid Wales, has received £560,187 in funding.
AberInnovation has also received £441,500 in funding for its Productivity Accelerator project, which will deliver manufacturing and productivity related guidance, to enterprises of all sizes in the Biotech, Agritech, and Food and Drink sectors, and circular economy.
The third AberInnovation project receiving £214,050 in funding is BioAccelerate, an investor readiness programme designed to help early-stage companies and start-ups develop their business plan and technical development strategies.
Antur Teifi has received £226,500 for its New Skills New Start project, which hopes to empower individuals to acquire transferable skills through participation in a project delivering basic business skills.
Ceredigion County Council will receive £239,905 in funding for their Enabling the Recovery of Ceredigion Towns project, to develop six Ceredigion towns where individuals, communities and businesses can thrive.
Tir Coed’s AnTir Feasibility project, which is an action-based feasibility and pilot project for AnTir – a six-year training programme – will receive £166,923.
£99,559 in funding will go to Menter a Busnes’ Lle I Weithio project, a pilot project forming a group of like-minded employers to collectively explore and trial initiatives to enhance job creation and retention of younger generations in Ceredigion.
Area 43’s project ReVerb, which is receiving £73,737, is part of a wider Youth Café project, which hopes to pilot a training and employment scheme which will be offered to currently economically inactive, unemployable young people from their client group, enabling them to gain skills and experience within a safe supported environment.
The council will also receive £50,000 for their Rural Community Engagement and Outreach Project, enabling individuals to live healthily as possible, improving their independence, resilience and autonomy, supporting them into sustainable employment, training and or education.
Llwyddo Gyda’n Gilydd, a project by Cered developing the resilience of Ceredigion’s historic visitor attractions, has received £7,050.
1,400 new jobs target from deal
The £110 million Mid Wales Growth Fund is a project that aims to create up to 1,400 new jobs in mid Wales and was given the go-ahead last month
Officials from the UK and Welsh governments signed off on the final deal agreement of the Mid Wales Growth Deal – a combined project by Ceredigion and Powys council.
The Mid Wales Growth Deal will bring a combined investment of £110m from UK and Welsh Government, which is expected to lever in significant additional investment from other public and private sources maximising the impact in the Mid Wales region.
In addition, the programmes and projects supported by the Growth Deal will be expected to produce wider social and economic benefits, such as enhanced quality of life, creating business opportunities following the impact of Covid-19, decarbonisation in industry and consideration of climate change impacts.
The deal’s aim is to create between 1,100 and 1,400 new jobs in mid Wales by 2032 through supporting a number of projects.
The projects included in the growth deal are:
• Innovation Park – Led by Aberystwyth University, estimated investment of £30m for 10,000 square metres office and research and development spaces space.
• National Spectrum Centre – Led by Aberystwyth University estimated investment of £17m.
• Food Manufacturing Innovation Centre – Led by Food Centre Wales, which is part of Ceredigion County Council, this is a £4.4m project to deliver a state-of-the-art food manufacturing innovation centre at Horeb, Llandysul.
• Canolfan Tir Glas/University of Gastronomy – Trinity Saint David’s University in Lampeter hopes to establish a centre for rural enterprise that will promote the local food industry, cost estimated to be £8m.
• Ceredigion harbours – cost of between £20m to £30m is an outline proposal for two major marina/harbour developments in Aberystwyth and Aberaeron.
• An estimated £24.2m for the Centre of Alternative Technology in Machynlleth to create an “immersive learning experience” to produce skills for workers needed in the renewable energy, “sustainable” construction, food, land use and tourism.
• An estimated £12.7m for an Elan Valley Lakes project – there Dŵr Cymru would investing in facilities for leisure, sport, and nature activities, including visitor accommodation.
• An estimated £24.4m to restore the Montgomery Canal for tourism and leisure.
Other Mid-Wales wide projects include improving digital connectivity which would cost £3.6m and identifying areas to provide business/industrial units.
Funding for Gwynedd
While Gwynedd didn’t receive funds from the new Levelling Up money, nine projects across the county are to receive funds, announced in November, from the Community Renewal Fund. They are Digital Gwynedd (£157,993), Enterprising Communities (£463,203); Feasibility Study of a multi-vector Smart Local Energy System in Gwynedd County (£107,100); Gwynedd Digital and Net Zero Business Academy (£340,077); Llwybrau Mawddwy Cymru [Mawddwy Trails Wales] (£45,900); Prosiect Net Zero Gwynedd (£600,987); Sesiwn Fawr Development Project (£45,900); Team Around the Young Person (£387,600); Training and experience in the outdoor sector in Gwynedd (£512,420).