TOWNS in Flintshire and Wrexham are identified as a ‘priority’ as a funding programme has been announced.

Wales’ towns are to receive £90m of additional investment as part of a new Welsh Government approach to transforming town centres across the country.

The Transforming Towns package, announced by Delyn AM Hannah Blythyn, will include aim to ‘bring new life into town centres’.

Today the Town Centre First approach was unveiled, which means locating services and buildings in town centres wherever possible. As part of this approach, all Welsh Government departments will put the health and vibrancy of town centres as the starting point for their location decision-making processes.

It has been revealed that despite towns being ‘vital’ to Wales, many are ‘struggling’ in the wake of declining retail sales and a change in use. Wrexham, Holywell and Shotton have been identified as priority towns.

In Holywell, funding is being used to support the regeneration of the town centre via a co-ordinated programme of interventions to support vibrancy and football and an Active Travel Scheme that improves cycle and pedestrian links and enhances access to employment opportunities.

A grant of £474,000 is supporting a range of interventions to the value of £1.625m, developed in partnership with a very active town centre partnership.

Hannah Blythyn AM said: “Towns are incredibly important to the people and places of Wales, and they are incredibly important to me personally.

“We have great towns in Wales – towns with inspiring histories and unique assets. But we want our towns to have great futures as well as great pasts, and we know that some of our towns are facing challenges.”

In Wrexham, grant Funding of £750,000 is supporting a £2.8m project to enable the renewal and relocation of Techniquest Glyndŵr, establishing a new offer in Wrexham town centre, and helping the town to address the challenge of a declining retail focus and bringing new footfall.

The funding will enable the purchase of the former TJ Hughes Store, Henblas, as well as building improvement works to enable the site to be utilised effectively as a science education centre.

This investment builds upon previous funding given to the recent development of Ty Pawb Arts Hub.

Funding of £1.5m will also be used to enhance as many as 25 properties across Wrexham Town Centre and will bring vacant commercial, residential and retail floor space back into beneficial business use via applications from individual property owners and occupiers. This will lead to new employment opportunities and contribute to the vitality of the area.

The Delyn AM added: “The retail sector has shrunk dramatically, and this trend looks set to continue. This is why we need to refocus our efforts on town centres, transforming them to be to be fit for the 21st Century.

“The Transforming Towns package I am announcing today will help towns do just that – giving them a much-needed boost.

“As part of this package, we’re taking action to bring empty and derelict properties in our town centres back into use and our Town Centre First Principle will help bring increased footfall and vibrancy.

“Taken together these measures will make a significant contribution to the health of our town centres. It signals that this Government is serious about transforming towns right across Wales.”

The £90m investment includes £36m for town centre regeneration projects, £13.6m to tackle empty and dilapidated buildings and land, £10m of additional funding for town centre loans and £5m for Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity.

Utilising this approach, the public sector is also being encouraged to support towns by locating offices, facilities and services within them in order to drive footfall and create or sustain vibrancy.

The £90m Transforming Towns package builds on the £800m investment in our towns as a result of significant Welsh Government investment since 2014.