Government awards £25,000 to Llangollen's 2020 project

* The 2020 project is looking at easing traffic flow in the town centre.

Llangollen is to get £25,000 from the Welsh Government towards the cost of a traffic improvement scheme.

The cash, which comes as part of a £32.9 million allocation to improve transport across Wales, will go to the Llangollen 2020 project.

The 2020 Group, headed by local county councillor Graham Timms, has had consultants produce a range of proposals to ease town centre parking.

These include widening the pavements, narrowing the road, introducing trees and, most controversially, removing the on-street parking in Castle Street and also the pedestrianisation of part of Market Street.

llanblogger understands the £25,000 will be put towards the cost of preparatory work for the project. 

The sum is one of nine grants made available to schemes in Denbighshire totalling almost £1 million.

Making the announcement on Thursday, Economy and Transport Minister Ken Skates said the allocation of local authority grants will help fund schemes which support the Welsh Government’s economic priorities for jobs and growth, promote economic activity through improved access to employment, encourage active and sustainable travel and connect communities.

All local authorities were invited to submit applications for funding and over 100 applications were received.

The Local Transport Fund of £28.8 million will assist 52 schemes across 21 local authorities and the Local Transport Network Fund of £4.1 million will support 14 schemes across 12 local authorities.

The grants include over £20 million to improve integrated public transport. 

In north Wales, £3.6 million will go to improve public transport and active travel on the B5129/A548 through Flintshire and on to Deeside Industrial Park, while more than £3 million will benefit local authorities across mid and south west Wales to enhance public transport corridors and interchange.

Speaking at a visit to the Deeside Industrial Park where he had gone to see some of the improvements being carried out, Transport Minister Ken Skates said: "These grants are a substantial investment to support sustainable local economic growth, enhance public transport facilities, create and improve routes that will encourage more people in Wales to walk and cycle.

"The successful projects, such as this in Deeside, are prime examples of the practical solutions we have asked the local authorities to design in order to make it easier for residents to connect with their places of employment and businesses, and to do so more sustainably.

"This investment in local transport schemes further boosts the grants announced by the Deputy Minister Lee Waters last week.

"These included the allocation £19 million from the Active Travel Fund, and £10.9 million for the creation of Safe Routes in Communities and road safety schemes.

"Today we publish the schemes benefiting from £12.7 million, which will create opportunities to make every-day journeys by bike and on foot for many more people, and the share each local authority will receive from the £6.3 million to undertake design and feasibility work and fund minor improvements on their networks."

* Wales's First Minister Mark Drakeford paid a visit to Llangollen yesterday (Thursday) evening. He was attending a Labour Party event at St Collen's Community Hall along with the area's Assembly Member Ken Skates.