DENBIGHSHIRE County Council have reacted somewhat flatly to the news that the Vale of Clwyd have been awarded £20million Levelling up Funding. 

The Journal reported earlier this week that the Vale of Clwyd had 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.

The local authority said, however, that the funding had been "provisionally awarded" and is for "specific projects only".

A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: "Denbighshire County Council’s project bid for Tackling Deep Rooted Denbighshire Deprivation through Pride of Place and Natural Environment has been provisionally awarded as part of third round Levelling Up funding.

"The project could potentially receive up to £19,973,283, to be used for a range of physical regeneration interventions in highly deprived areas of the Vale of Clwyd constituency to enhance the town centres, improve the sense of place and security, and support the visitor and retail economy to drive local growth.

"The provisional award of funding is for specific projects only, therefore the funds can only be used to support the activity outlined in the bid, and cannot be used to support activity that is substantially different to the parameters in the bid.

"This means the council is still facing the significant budgetary pressures that have recently been announced. It is estimated that delivering day to day services – including social services, waste collection and schools, will cost an extra £26m due to price increases, inflation, and pressure on demand. Despite an expected increase in funding of £5.6m (three per cent) by Welsh Government, this still leaves a funding gap of £20.4m for 2024/25.

"Like all local authorities across Wales, the council must find additional money through savings and efficiencies, charges for services, increases in Council Tax or by reducing or cutting services."

The bid was initially approved by Denbighshire County Council’s Cabinet on December 14 2021 and was submitted in August 2022.

In January 2023, the UK Government advised the local authority that the bid was unsuccessful.

The spokesperson added: "Due to the time that has passed since the application was submitted, there will be a short project validation check to ensure the bid will still benefit from Government funding, that it remains a local priority and is spent by March 2026."

Councillor Jason McLellan, leader of the council and Lead Member for Economic Growth and Tackling Deprivation said: “Whilst I welcome the news, this one-off capital payment will not address the huge pressures our core services are under after years of austerity. 

"Due to the parameters of this funding, it will not be able to be used towards the significant funding gap that we as a council are currently facing. Ahead of the UK budget announcement imminent this week I would call on the UK government to properly fund Wales.

"The award is conditional, so I will be working with key officers to ensure that this achieves our aims in tackling deep rooted deprivation within our county.”

Speaking positivity, Dr James Davies, Vale of Clwyd MP, said: "The £20m which has been announced 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.

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“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."

When the £20million bid failed earlier this year, Dr Davies and Cllr McLellan clashed. 

Cllr McLellan claimed Dr Davies 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.