The Welsh Government have announced the winners of grants of up to £10,000 to support the Welsh language in their communities. In a statement the Welsh Government said that 15 community groups have received funding as part of the Perthyn grantiau bach scheme. So far the programme has supported 62 projects since it started in 2022. The aim of the scheme is to aid Welsh speaking communities that have a high number of second homes by creating economic opportunities, providing affordable homes and funding projects that have Welsh as a key component.
Among those that have got funding is Llanrwst town who received £10,000 to help the community to buy the Bys a Bawd bookshop which has been a part of the town for 50 years. The aim is to buy and transform the shop into a space under community ownership that will serve as a literary centre.
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, Mark Drakeford, said:
“Small grants can make a big difference to our communities. It’s fantastic to see such a range of projects in this round of Perthyn funding, which includes a sustainable energy project, communities coming together to buy and run their local pub, shops, library and chapel which aim to benefit their community. We have also supported several community led projects to create affordable housing to enable people to live in their local communities.”
Jocelle Lovell, Director of Inclusive Communities at Cwmpas said:
“We are delighted to be working with the Welsh Government and Planed to deliver the Perthyn project. Perthyn works with the communities to identify ways to address the lack of affordable housing, protect community assets and create new cooperatives and social businesses. A real enabler for us has been administering a small grant scheme for the communities to help build local capacity and accelerate their business and housing ideas. We look forward to seeing the ideas develop and to working with more communities over the coming months.”
You can find out more about the programme by following this link to Perthyn’s website.
