Big cash handout for Denbighshire youth projects

TWENTY-NINE youth projects across Denbighshire have been awarded a share of a £736,500 funding package.

The Denbighshire Children and Young People’s Partnership invited submissions for a portion of the Welsh Assembly’s Government’s Cymorth funding pot, with the cash giving priority to Communities First areas of West Rhyl and South West Rhyl, together with Upper Denbigh, Meliden, Bodelwyddan and rural outlying villages in the Corwen and Llangollen areas.

However, the majority of funding bids came from the north, with £450,000 allocated to initiatives in Rhyl.

One group that will be allocated a large portion of the cash is Menter Iaith in Denbigh, which has been given £50,000 to spend over the next two years.

“We’re ecstatic about this,” said chief officer Dylan Jones. “This will go towards funding a Young People’s Officer for the Cymorth areas.

“This will be vital to us.”

Councillor Morfudd Jones, cabinet member for Children and Young People, said: “The Partnership is delighted that so many groups in Denbighshire will benefit from funding that will allow them to deliver improved services for children and young people in the county.

“The Partnership support team will be working with successful projects to ensure that service level agreements which will identify how projects will be delivered will be in place by April, 2009. Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council will also be working with projects that Cymorth was unable to support, to investigate alternative funding streams.”

Vale of Clwyd MP Chris Ruane welcomed the announcement, and said: “This is excellent news for all those communities which will benefit from this funding.”

For more details about Cymorth contact Jan Juckes-Hughes, Cymorth Projects Support Officer, on 01824 706283.

justine.bailey