The Tidy Towns Fund, announced by First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno on Saturday, June 28, will provide £5 million to support improvements in cities, towns, and villages throughout the country.
Ms Morgan said: “When our surroundings feel cared for, we feel cared for too and our new Tidy Towns Fund is a direct investment this year in the places we call home.
“Tidy Towns is about more than just bricks and mortar.
“It’s about belonging and pride of place, because when a town centre feels alive, a street is tidy or a park is looked after, pride in our places means pride in ourselves.”
The funding will be distributed to all local authorities in Wales and could be used for a range of projects, including footpath repairs, replacing signage, refurbishing bus shelters, and maintaining street furniture.
Other potential uses include litter removal, clearing fly-tipping, tidying overgrown areas, and painting community murals.
The fund builds on the Welsh Labour Government’s ongoing investment in community spaces.
Since 2015, the £63 million Communities Facilities Programme has supported the creation, improvement, or preservation of more than 450 community spaces across Wales.
It also complements the existing £100 million Transforming Towns programme, which focuses on bringing underused or derelict properties back into use as businesses, housing, leisure facilities, commercial space, or community hubs.