THE Vale of Clwyd is to receive nearly £20m as part of the UK Government Levelling Up Funding.

The constituency missed out on funding earlier this year and a number of project were said to "at risk".

Now the Vale of Clwyd has been successful in Round 3 of the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF) and have secured £19,973,283.

The money is expected to help regenerate Rhyl, Prestatyn, Bodelwyddan and Denbigh, with key project locations likely to include Rhyl Town Centre, Rhyl Promenade, Prestatyn Town Centre and the former North Wales Hospital in Denbigh.

Dr James Davies, Vale of Clwyd MP, has been working with Denbighshire County Council, the Department of Levelling Up and senior ministers to progress the bid.

He said: "The £4.8 billion ‘Levelling Up Fund’ is the Government's major regeneration programme, providing £3.8bn of grants to support capital investment projects across the United Kingdom since 2021.

“The £20m which has been announced today for the Vale of Clwyd will bring many welcome changes to local communities.    

“The projects which will benefit will support economic recovery, through regeneration and growth.

“The Vale of Clwyd’s successful bid follows hot on the heels of the county's success in Round 2 of the LUF earlier this year, when the Government awarded £11m to support the development of 10 projects intended to protect Ruthin’s unique heritage, support rural communities and well-being.

“Llangollen and surrounding areas also benefited from LUF funding in Round 1, when Denbighshire was awarded £3.8m.”

“I call that a hat-trick for Denbighshire."

The region missed out of £20million of funding earlier this year. 

A group of Conservative members hit back after the leader of Denbighshire County Council, labour councillor Jason McLellan, criticised Dr Davies, claiming the politician had "let down" the people of Rhyl and North Denbighshire.

Denbighshire Conservative Group said, at the time, that comments made by the council leader could "put at risk" the chances of funding being secured in the next round.

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Dr Davies said: "The Levelling Up Fund has already been incredibly positive for North Wales, with the region having received more financial support per head of the population than virtually any other area of the United Kingdom. Now Denbighshire has had successful bids approved in all three rounds.   

“The County was also allocated £2.9m from the Government’s UK Community Renewal Fund and £25.6 million from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund – other levelling up schemes. The Salusbury Arms in Tremeirchion has been able to reopen thanks to a £175,000 investment from the UK Government’s Community Ownership Scheme (COS), and the Llandyrnog Community Shop is also set to reopen thanks to £200k from the same fund.

“In total, Denbighshire will have received £63.7m in levelling up funds since 2019.

“All this investment in North Wales will make the region a more prosperous place to live, work and visit and will benefit generations.

“I thank all those involved in ensuring the success of the Levelling Up Fund bid for the Vale of Clwyd. It has been a long and arduous process – and the Department rightly has to ensure value for money for the taxpayer - but the hard work has paid off and there is much to celebrate in the Vale of Clwyd today. 

"There is now much work to do to firm up investment choices and deliver those by April 2026 and I look forward to working with the council to achieve this.”     

Funding received or allocated to level up North Wales in recent years amounts to more than £1.4billion.

  • £20m Vale of Clwyd LUF
  • £17m Holyhead LUF
  • £18.8m Gwynedd Slate Landscapes LUF
  • £18.6m Conwy Valley LUF
  • £13.3m Corwen and Llangollen LUF
  • £20m Wrexham - Long Term Plan for Towns
  • £10.8m UK Community Renewal Fund
  • £126.5m UK Shared Prosperity Fund
  • £625,000 UK Community Ownership Fund
  • £120m North Wales Growth Deal
  • £26m Anglesey Freeport
  • £1bn North Wales Mainline Electrification

In addition, other allocations for Grassroots Sports, Holyhead Breakwater, Holyhead Hydrogen Hub and Safer Streets Funding.