People and Places in the Rhondda show how green their valley is

Area:

Wales

Programme:

People and Places

Release date:

2 5 2008

A total of £3,195,150 has been awarded to sixteen projects throughout the country which all aim to bring people together to make communities stronger and to improve rural and urban environments. Rhondda Cynon Taff benefits from a total of over £800,000 awarded to four projects in the county.

In contrast to the dark undertones of the 1940’s Academy Award winning film, How Green Was My Valley, people in the Rhondda are looking forward to a brighter, more colourful and greener future. Two of the four projects funded will spend the money on developing community gardens that people of all ages and abilities will be able to enjoy together.

Thanks to their award of over a quarter of a million pounds (£254,541), the Bryncynon Community Revival Strategy Ltd in Abrercynon will transform a 4 acre derelict piece of land in the Cynon Valley into a vibrant and productive community space. The site will grow organic fruit and vegetables; provide training opportunities for local people; extend access to recreation and health activity; promote biodiversity; and encourage outdoor learning and healthy eating in schools. Since 1999, the organisation has benefited from nearly £660,000 in funding from the Big Lottery Fund. They were one of the successful groups that scooped £50,000 in the People’s Millions competition on ITV Wales News last year.

Aberdare Girls’ School are also ploughing into action, thanks to their award of £14,415. The money will be spent on developing and sustaining a community garden that will involve school pupils, members of the community and volunteers. Activities surrounding the promotion of the Welsh Language also benefit youngsters in the area. In partnership with the Urdd Gobaith Cymru and RCT Council, Menter Iaith Rhondda Cynon Taf will use the £78,763 they were awarded to provide activities and opportunities through the medium of Welsh for young people between the ages of 11-25 years old. Part of the grant will be used to employ a Youth Co-ordinator.

The village of Wattstown will literally become a centre of attention. With  their award of £467,068, Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council, in partnership with Ynyshir & Wattstown Communities First, will refurbish and improve access to the upper floor of a day centre in Wattstown. The centre will provide a venue for a variety of social clubs including a youth club, mother and toddlers club, pensioners club, and for statutory agencies such as Want to Work, Early Years, Flying Start and a satellite office for the Communities First Team. The centre will offer a wide range of activities and services including school holiday activities, formal and informal training in basic skills, arts and crafts, cookery classes, intergenerational and health and wellbeing activities, police surgeries, debt counselling and a credit union. It will be fully accessible to people with disabilities and will provide opportunities for them to participate in inclusive activities to enable them to become more integrated with the community. The centre will fill a gap in provision for this type of facility in Wattstown and will be available seven days per week.

Commenting on the positive impact the award has had so far, Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee Member and Chair of the People and Places Committee, Janet Reed, said: “Programmes like People and Places are making a difference to the lives of so many people in communities across Wales. People and Places delivers on our promise to use Lottery funding to regenerate and revitalise communities, tackle disadvantage head on and leave a lasting legacy. These awards will have a positive impact on the lives of many people in the communities and I’m sure they will continue to do so for years to come.”

For further information about the People and Places programme and how you can apply for funding, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and use the ‘Wales’ specific search facility.

Contact information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Oswyn Hughes: 02920 678 207
Out of hours contact: 07760 171 431
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102 030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.

Notes to Editors:

• In Wales, the Big Lottery Fund is rolling out close to £1 million a week in Lottery good cause money, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across Wales most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
• The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to Good Causes. As a result, over £20 billion has now been raised and more than 250,000 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

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