National Lottery money to help make great things happen in rural Wales

The Big Lottery Fund has announced that it is awarding a £2 million community development grant that will tackle poverty in rural parts of Wales.

Severn Wye Energy Agency, in partnership with BRO Partnership, receive £2,044,849 over seven years to support up to 30 communities in Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Powys, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Monmouthshire to tackle poverty in their areas.

The grant has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players’ tickets purchases.

The partnership will also be working with Professor Paul Milbourne Head of the School of Geography and Planning, whose research focuses on the rural dimensions of poverty, social exclusion, and welfare in Wales, the UK and internationally.

A recent study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on poverty in Wales showed that approximately 700,000 people, about 23% of the Welsh population, were in poverty in the three years leading up to 2014/15.

The partnership will support communities to address issues that could include employment and income, transport and access to services, poor broadband and digital exclusion, housing and fuel poverty, and demand for welfare and advice services.

Welcoming the grant, Simone Lowthe-Thomas, of Severn Wye Energy Agency, said: “This grant provides us with an excellent opportunity to support communities to consider the challenges and opportunities in their area and find ways to tackle rural poverty and improve quality of life for all. SevernWye and the BRO Partnership have considerable experience in supporting communities across Wales through programmes such as through Create Your Space and Cynefin.

“We are very excited at the opportunity to support communities to take a bit more control over their futures and improve wellbeing. We will not replicate existing provision, but rather support communities and local organisations already working in these areas, to build on what already exists and explore new approaches to tackling issues that adversely impact rural communities in Wales.”

Rob Roffe, Senior Policy and Learning Manager at Big Lottery Fund Wales, said: “The Rural programme will support rural, Welsh communities to identify, and tackle the issues that are most important to them.

“By supporting and engaging with communities to create opportunities, and develop solutions to issues that they face, we are delivering on our promise to put people and communities at the heart of what we do, and it’s thanks to National Lottery players that this is being made possible.”