Community-led projects across the rural areas of Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy are benefitting from a new £1.3 million fund. 

The Fund provides money to kick-start sustainable across the region and is being administered by rural development agency Cadwyn Clwyd.

It is funded by the Welsh Government Rural Communities Rural Development Programme paid for by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and Welsh Government.

The fund allows groups like the Holt Community Gardeners to install a wind turbine at their site. 

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They have a solar panel and are installing a wind turbine, both feeding a battery system which is also being upgraded, with the help of a grant from the £1.3 million Green Communities Fund.

The £10,000 they have received from the environmental fund, administered by rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd, is also paying for their eco-hub, which houses the battery system, to be refurbished, a new polytunnel and a workshop.

The award-winning Holt Community Gardeners has 50 members since starting three years ago after a conversation between local residents Bob Campbell and Peter Bostock.

The Leader: Haf Roberts, left, and Cara Roberts, of Cadwyn Clwyd, with Holt community gardeners Peter Bostock, left, and Bob Campbell.Haf Roberts, left, and Cara Roberts, of Cadwyn Clwyd, with Holt community gardeners Peter Bostock, left, and Bob Campbell.

Now they’re banking on renewable energy to power them on and Peter said: “The new batteries will power our heated beds which will help our flowers bloom earlier and we’re getting help from Glyndwr University renewable energy students on how to make best use of the system.

“It’s amazing when we started we thought we were simply going to put a few hanging baskets around the village and now we’ve got green energy and this grant will mean we have heated beds right through the winter so we can grow the flowers we have been buying in."

The Leader: Cara Roberts of Cadwyn Clwyd’s Green Communities Project, at the Holt allotments.Cara Roberts of Cadwyn Clwyd’s Green Communities Project, at the Holt allotments.

Cadwyn Clwyd’s Green Communities Lead Haf Roberts said: “This is very community oriented and very much community led and using green energy means lowering their carbon emissions.

“They are bringing people together to grow their own flowers, fruit and food and they’re doing it in a very sustainable way.

“We’re delighted that Holt Community Gardeners are one of the first to benefit from our funding and we can’t wait to see their ideas develop.”

Communities with an idea for a project within the eligible counties can declare an interest by filling in the form available on the Cadwyn Clwyd website, by clicking here.