An initial funding bid worth £453,000 to transform Rhayader businesses has been successful

An initial funding bid worth upto £453,000 for Rhayader businesses to improve their shop fronts has been successful.

Some 38 properties have signed up to a grant scheme to enhance their shops and have sent in their quotes for work.

The work would total an approximate £453,000 if it all got completed with possible grants for about 70 per cent of that value.

The bid for the shop frontage improvement scheme is part of the Transforming Town Grant Scheme.

But there is still a lot of work to do as all applications for work will now need to achieve planning approval.

Rhayader County Councillor Angela Davies said: “Rhayader Town Council have been working closely with business and property owners on a bid for “The Transforming Towns Placemaking Grant”.

“The grant provides capital funding for local businesses, social enterprises, and public bodies to enable a broad and flexible programme of support for a wide range of projects that can help to rejuvenate town centres across mid-Wales.

“We have 38 properties in our application submitted as part of the Shop Frontage Improvement Scheme which, if all go ahead, will make a positive contribution to the visual impact of our town.

“Whilst we are delighted to have been informed the initial bid has been successful – there is still much work to do as all applications will need to have achieved planning approval”.

Town Council Clerk Mrs Julie Stephens added; “This is a very exciting opportunity, it has been a huge amount of work, a true collaborative project between the town council, the local authority and our business owners.

“If all goes to plan this will be a significant and unprecedented financial investment into the Rhayader High Street”

The scheme gave local businesses the chance to apply for a grant of upto £20,000 to refurbish and enhance their shops.

The work could include repairing, repainting or replacing doors and windows, painting or re-coating facades, repairs to brickwork, masonry or timber, repair or replacement of awnings or shutters and repairs or replacement of signage, lighting or other fixtures.

The grant application would have to be managed by Rhayader Town Council.

If the planning applications got the go-ahead the businesses would have to pay the contractors and then claim the money back and Powys County Council would give the grant money to Rhayader Town Council for them to distribute it to the individual businesses.

It is a two year grant scheme and it ends finally at the end of December 2026.

A total of £4 million has been allocated towards town centre regeneration projects across Mid Wales (Powys and Ceredigion) over the next two years (2025-2027).

Welsh Government has made the award to Powys County Council, working in partnership with Ceredigion County Council, as part of its Transforming Towns programme.