Environmental and biodiversity projects benefit from more than £1million of Welsh Government funding

22 May 2019 10:25 AM

Projects improving access to parks, developing walking and cycling routes and boosting biodiversity across Wales are set to benefit from more than £1.1million of Welsh Government funding.

Twenty projects across Wales will receive funding as part of the Enabling Natural Resources and Well-Being in Wales grant scheme. The funding is being announced as Wales celebrates International Day for Biological Diversity (22 May) today. 

The grants predominantly support developments making improvements in and around the places where people live, delivering benefits for people, businesses and their communities.  

The funding scheme is made up of £1.1million of Capital and Revenue Grants and more than £200,000 of match funding from applicants. Revenue Grants will support the development of new strategic cross-sector projects, with funding of up to £40,000 available for a maximum duration of 12 months. 

Capital Grants will support small scale infrastructure on an environmental or recreational basis. Funding for capital grants will be capped at £160,000, made up of 80% Welsh Government funding and the rest match funding from the lead applicant. 

Projects supported under the capital grant scheme will include improving local facilities and access to, and use of them, by the community. These grants will be are available for up to three years. 
Projects that will benefit include:

• walking and cycling routes across Rhondda Fawr and Fach with £128,000 of support and £32,000 of match funding from Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
• the redevelopment of a bowls pavilion in Grangetown to create a biodiverse, environmentally rich and sustainable outdoor space with £128,000 of support and £27,042 of match funding from Cardiff University.
• new, increased and improved public access to The Great Meadow Bishop’s Park in Abergwili with £100,156 of support and £25,039 of match funding from Tywi Gateway Trust.
• back from the Brink Cymru will develop a partnership project to recover suites of threatened species in strategic landscapes across Wales with £39,764 of support and £22,421 of match funding.
• the Dyfi Biosphere Outdoor Health Network project aims to build a collaborative network of health, environmental and tourism practitioners in the Dyfi Biosphere area with £39,955.83 of support.
• the ‘Parciau i Bawb / Parks for All’ project will bring local communities, the third sector and Conwy County Borough Council together to look at how their Play Parks can be accessible to all with £40,000 of support.
• a project creating 600m of long-life boardwalk infrastructure at the Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve in north Pembrokeshire and south Ceredigion will benefit from £77,328 of support and £19,332 of match funding from The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. 
• Further projects set to benefit from grant funding as part of the scheme will be announced in the near future.

Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths said:

These grants will make a difference, not only to the environment and biodiversity of the land around us, but also the wellbeing and mental health of the communities and businesses who utilise and enjoy them”. 

We need to ensure people can access the wonderful resources they have around them and grants like these will help make it easier than ever to do that.

As well as improving infrastructure and access to local facilities, these projects will also bring a broad range of environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits by supporting new collaborative developments. 

It is important we preserve and protect the environment around us for future generations to enjoy.”