Today, Blaenau Gwent's Cabinet Committee approved a funding application for £20million to the UK Government's Pride in Place Fund.
In September 2025, the UK Government announced a Pride in Place programme with up to £20 million invested over a 10-year period to support those communities identified as most in need.
To receive funding, the community should meet the following criteria:
- Be a single area within the local authority boundary.
- Not be located within a UK parliamentary constituency that has already received Phase 1 Pride in Place funding
- Contain generally between 5,000 and 15,000 residents.
- Be supported by clear evidence to identify need, drawing on the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) as the primary data source.
Last week, councillors on an all-member scrutiny committee discussed the Pride in Place funding application and recommended ranking three preferred options for funding as follows:
- Option 1 (Rank 1): County Borough wide area
- Option 2 (Rank 2): Heads of the Valley area
- Option 3 (Rank 3): Sirhowy Valley
Christina Harrhy, the council's Director for Economy and Place, said:
"Last week, the scrutiny committee recommended a ranked order of funding applications to be presented to the Cabinet, and Cabinet Members had offered their informal support for these recommendations.
"However, following subsequent detailed discussions with the UK Government, it was communicated both verbally and in writing that Options 1 and 2 did not meet the funding criteria and would therefore be rejected if formally submitted. Following further engagement with the UK Government, it was confirmed that only Option 3 is eligible and has the best chance of securing approval."
The Leader of Blaenau Gwent Council, Cllr Steve Thomas, said:
"This Pride in Place programme is fully funded through UK Government, and the funding is one element of a wider package of UK and Welsh Government regeneration grant funding that will help us spread regeneration activity across the county borough, including our Transforming Towns and Shared Prosperity funding programmes.
"Given the update provided to Cabinet, Cabinet have today agreed that Option 3 for the Sirhowy Valley is formally submitted as the council's preferred area for investment, or we risk losing the investment in the borough altogether. The Council was given a very small window and a short deadline to bring options forward, and that was made even tighter by the need to wait for the updated 2025 Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation which wasn’t published until the 29th November, before informed choices could be made. Ultimately, the parameters of the programme — including how eligible areas are defined — are being set nationally and are not within the Council’s control.
“Members did raise, politically and consistently, that deprivation in Blaenau Gwent is not confined to one place but exists, to different degrees, across all of our communities. Whilst that point was made clear, the Government has chosen to apply the programme strictly in line with its own rules and criteria, which has been disappointing for many Members locally given how real and widespread the need is and how uncomfortable it feels to single out only one part of the borough.
“We're now putting forward the strongest possible case for Blaenau Gwent within the framework we've been given."
If the UK Government approves the funding application, a Pride in Place Board made up of local representatives will be appointed to oversee the delivery of the programme. The board is made up of local residents, businesses, and community groups. The Council will support the Board and oversee the decisions being made to ensure they meet UK Government requirements.
Christina Harrhy added:
"This latest funding will also support the council's emerging Blueprint for Growth Strategy, corporate plan, and aligns with the Blaenau Gwent Deal which will see the council work differently within communities. The emerging Blueprint for Growth will provide a strategic approach to economic prosperity for the borough that maximises government grant funding plus private sector investment over the medium to long term."
The WIMD is the primary data source local authorities are required to use, when selecting the Neighbourhood area.
The data gives an overall index of deprivation for each Wellbeing area within Blaenau Gwent, which is then broken down further into the following categories:
- Income
- Employment
- Health
- Education
- Access to Services
- Housing
- Community Safety and
- Physical Environment
The 2025 WIMD overall index results show that Blaenau Gwent had the highest percentage of areas in the most deprived 50% in Wales.
The data also identifies 22 small areas across Wales with ‘deep rooted’ deprivation, which are areas that have remained within the top 50 most deprived for the last 6 publications of WIMD (2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2019 and 2025).
One area identified in Blaenau Gwent, is the Tredegar Central and West 2 area (Cefn Golau and elements above the Town Centre).
Option 3 was initially agreed by a professional board with representatives from the Council and other local partner organisations, which considered data and information for defined well-being area across the borough, i.e. Ebbw Fawr Valley (Ebbw Vale), North Ebbw Fach (Brynmawr, Blaina & Nantyglo) and South Ebbw Fach (Abertillery and Llanhilleth).