Additional funding for highways, parks and schools to be considered

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet will shortly consider recommendations proposing an additional one-off funding of £6.540m across road and footway resurfacing, highways structures, parks improvements and upgraded school facilities in 2021/22 over and above the normal capital programme.

The report being considered by Cabinet Members at their meeting on Thursday, April 29, sets out the investment opportunity following recent additional funding allocations from Welsh Government to the Council. A further allocation from earmarked reserves is also proposed to supplement this, bringing the total new funding to £6.540m.

In line with the priorities set out in the Council’s Corporate Plan 2020-24, the report proposes that the additional investment is allocated to the following areas for the current financial year – Highways and Roads (£1.26m), Highways Structures (£1.4m), Parks (£300,000) and Schools (£3.58m).

The Highways and Roads investment would fund 27 carriageway and five footway resurfacing schemes identified in the report. It would also allocate £200,000 for various drainage and road marking/coloured surfacing schemes.

For Highways Structures, the report identifies three schemes – Imperial Bridge, Darren Ddu Bridge and Ynys Meurig Bridge. Funding has also been allocated for major retaining wall refurbishment (£360,000), confined space culvert repairs (£300,000) and advanced preparation work (£150,000).

The additional Parks funding will further contribute to the Council’s ongoing programme for the refurbishment of sports pavilions, the upgrading of sports pitches and repairs being carried out to existing parks infrastructure.

For Schools, the funding will support the long-term investment programme to modernise school environments and ensure they meet communities’ needs – including teaching areas (£700,000), improved ventilation (£300,000), toilets and hygiene areas (£600,000), roofing works (£500,000), general repairs (£680,000) upgraded classrooms (£500,000) and windows/doors (£300,000).

Councillor Andrew Morgan, Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, said: “I’m pleased that this significant £6.540m funding has been proposed, which is over and above the Council’s existing three-year Capital Programme (2021/22 to 2023/24) – using external funding secured from Welsh Government in March 2021 and supplemented by the use of existing reserves earmarked for investment in our infrastructure.

“On several occasions in recent years we’ve been able to bring forward specific ‘one-off’ investments to further support key areas, in line with our Corporate Plan priorities. The funding to be considered by Cabinet on Thursday is the latest example of this, and, if agreed, will provide significant additional resources for Highways, Parks and Education services this year.”