A “town board” for Cwmbran will be set up to develop a plan on how to spend £20m from the UK Government and then local people will be asked for their views.

Cwmbran is one of 55 towns across the UK that will share £1.1 billion from the UK Government.

Torfaen Council will be given the cash and set up a “town board” made up of community leaders, employers, local authorities and politicians, cultural and sports organisations, and businesses to deliver a long-term plan for their town and put it to local people for consultation. A government statement said: “Under the new approach, local people, not Whitehall-based politicians, will be put in charge, and given the tools to change their town’s long-term future.” The money is described as  “a ten-year £20 million endowment-style fund to be spent on local people’s priorities, like regenerating local high streets and town centres or securing public safety.”

Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “Towns are the place most of us call home and where most of us go to work. But politicians have always taken towns for granted and focused on cities. The result is the half-empty high streets, run-down shopping centres and anti-social behaviour that undermine many towns’ prosperity and hold back people’s opportunity – and without a new approach, these problems will only get worse. That changes today. Our Long-Term Plan for Towns puts funding in the hands of local people themselves to invest in line with their priorities, over the long-term. That is how we level up.”

Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove said: “We know that in our towns the values of hard work and solidarity, common sense and common purpose, endeavour and quiet patriotism have endured across generations. But for too long, too many of our great British towns have been overlooked and undervalued. We are putting this right through our Long-Term Plan for Towns backed by over £1 billion of levelling up funding.

“This will empower communities in every part of the UK to take back control of their future, taking long-term decisions in the interests of local people. It will mean more jobs, more opportunities and a brighter future for our towns and the people who live and work in them.”

The Long-Term Plan for Towns

The Long-Term Plan for Towns will require town boards to develop their own long-term plan for their town and look at issues that local people want to solve the most.

Wrexham, Merthyr Tydfil and Barry will also each receive £20 million.