Five of Gwynedd’s rural communities have been successful in receiving support through the Sustainable Communities project in order to develop community ventures which will ensure new opportunities and services for local people.
Twenty applications were received in total from communities across the county, as part of an open competitive process, the work on projects in Dyffryn Ogwen, Y Felinheli, Botwnnog, Penllyn and Dinas Mawddwy will start in early January 2012.
The Sustainable Communities is an exciting and innovative project which is financed through the Wales Rural Development Plan (2007-2013) and coordinated by Gwynedd Council on behalf of the Gwynedd Economic Partnership.
Gwynedd Watkin, Chairman of Gwynedd Economic Partnership’s Rural Development Sub Group, said:
“This is an innovative and new project for the partnership to coordinate, but the fact that so many have expressed an interest in the support available proves the need for this type of project. The hope is of course that this project will improve the economic health and quality of life in Gwynedd’s rural communities in a sustainable way.”
Sioned Morgan, Sustainable Communities Project officer added:
“These communities will receive in depth support for a period of two years, gaining also from practical and financial support firstly to assess the current situation in their area, community assets and to develop plans for community enterprises.
“The aim of the project will be to enable these communities to strengthen the long-term sustainability of their communities by increasing the ability of local people to remain living and working in the area by, for example sharing community assets, discovering new ways of providing services or developing employment opportunities.
“What’s really exciting about each project within the communities is that the foundation for their success originates from local people and their aspirations for the area – we hope these areas will also, in turn, inspire other communities in Gwynedd to follow their example.”
The various plans the five communities have a wide-ranging:
Y FELINHELI
Councillor Sian Gwenllian, who represents Y Felinheli on Gwynedd Council said: “This is an exiting time for the village, and we take pride in our success in ensuring the practical support offered through the project as well as the opportunity to apply for financial investment of around £100,000 which will enable us to realize our vision for the village.
“We are currently looking into the possibilities of developing a community transport project which will combine various elements including; service to transport local people to the local surgery and various clubs and societies within the village, delivering fresh local products to people of the village as well as ensuring that the vehicle will be run on green energy.”
DYFFRYN OGWEN
Morfudd Roberts, Llanllechid Community Council Clerk on behalf of Dyffryn Ogwen Partnership said: “We are extremely proud that we have been able to secure practical support for Dyffryn Ogwen through the Sustainable Communities project, as well as the chance to apply for funding of approximately £100,000 which will enable us to realize our dreams for the community’s future.
“In the first instance, the work will begin to look into the possibility of working with the police force and the Credit Union in order to ensure the presence of the police and bank back to Bethesda High street.”
BOTWNNOG
One idea that has risen in the Botwnnog area is the possibility of developing part of a building as a resource to trail, process and sell new products – building a new bespoke kitchen as a resource which will give local producers the opportunity to trial, develop and produce new products, also sharing good practice and expertise amongst other producers.
“We have a vision to see Llyn’s products being processed and sold in a central location in Pen Llyn, which in turn will expand to other markets,” said Meinir Jones, the area’s Communities First Coordinator.
“We believe that the practical and financial support available through the Sustainable Communities project will enable us to realize this vision, and we believe that this type of project could also act as a catalyst for the Llyn peninsula area in the field of processing food and local products.”
PENLLYN PARTNERSHIP
Penllyn Partnership is keen to work in collaboration with voluntary and counselling services such as Age Concern, Gwynedd Ni, Youth services, ambulance service and many more in order to ensure the availability of these services to the local community.
Alun Price, the Partnership’s chairman said: “The partnership was formed due to the increasing concern within the area that services are being provided from afar – or not at all – and therefore don’t meet the needs of the community. The partnership believes that services are best served locally where practically feasible, and our aim is to realize this in a number of different fields with as many organizations as possible.”
The project will support the partnership to identify a suitable building that will be able to provide a locality and centralize these organizations in the area.
DINAS MAWDDWY
Elwyn Jones, Chairman of Dinas Mawddwy’s Regeneration Group acknowledged that the next two years will be a very exciting time for Dinas Mawddwy, with Arfon Hughes the group’s chairman adding: “We take great pride in our success in securing the practical support available through this particular project as well as the opportunity to apply for financial investment of £100,000 which will enable us as a community to develop a community venture which will ensure a steady income for the future.”
Councillor John Pughe Roberts, who represents the area on Gwynedd Council noted: “We have an enthusiastic group who are eager to ensure the sustainability of our area, as well as many ideas. Being able to receive support through this project to prioritize and develop ideas which will be realistic and feasible to implement will most definitely increase the community capacity for the future.”
