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DYFATTY: Want a say in how £20m transforms your neighbourhood? Applications open for the board that decides

People across a swathe of north-central Swansea are being invited to apply for the board that will decide how £20m of UK Government money is spent in their neighbourhoods over the next ten years.

Applications opened today to join the area’s new Pride in Place Neighbourhood Board, which will draw up a ten-year vision and investment plan.

“North Gate Swansea” is the name given to the programme area, covering North Hill, Upper High Street, Dyfatty, Hafod, Brynmelyn, Waun Wen and surrounding neighbourhoods — the cluster of communities north of the railway station selected earlier this year for up to £20m under the UK Government’s Pride in Place programme.

The board will be chaired by Thom Lynch, co-founder of the High Street charity Matthew’s House, whose appointment was announced last month.

Anyone who lives, works, volunteers, studies or has a strong connection to the area can apply, and no previous board experience is needed. Applications can be made in writing or by video, with a deadline of 12pm on Thursday 16 July.

Mr Lynch said more than forty local people had expressed an interest before applications had even opened.

“We are looking for people who care deeply about this area and want to play an active role in helping it thrive,” he said. “What matters most is your passion for the community, your willingness to work with others and your desire to create lasting positive change.”

Swansea West MP Torsten Bell said people in the area deserved “not only to see investment to strengthen their communities” but “a voice in what those investments should be”.

“I fought for this funding because it gives us the chance to show that no part of Swansea can be written off,” he said. “Please do get involved.”

Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart said the board would ensure local people helped shape priorities and decisions, adding that he looked forward to “a wide range of people stepping forward”.

Places on the board are limited, but applicants who miss out will be encouraged to join a wider North Gate Swansea Changemakers Network supporting projects across the area.

Anyone wanting to find out more can meet Mr Lynch at an informal drop-in session at Matthew’s House on High Street this Friday, 10 July, between 11am and 1pm.

Application packs are available at northgateswanseapip.co.uk or by emailing [email protected].

The area has seen a run of recent investment activity, including a row of long-empty High Street units reopening as the Dyfatty Junction community space last month, as police reported falling crime in the neighbourhood.

North Gate Swansea is one of three Pride in Place areas locally. In Llanelli, where an equivalent board is steering the town’s own £20m programme, applications close today — while the Afan Valley’s £20m drive is chaired by former Neath Port Talbot Council chief executive Karen Jones, who was recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours last month.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

DYFATTY: Swansea homelessness charity boss to lead £20m drive to transform city neighbourhoods
Thom Lynch’s appointment as chair of the North Gate Swansea board.

SWANSEA: Empty Dyfatty shops reborn as community hub in neighbourhood’s turnaround
Long-shuttered High Street units reopen as the Dyfatty Junction community space.

LLANELLI: Residents wanted for board steering town’s £20m, 10-year transformation
The equivalent Pride in Place board across five Llanelli wards.

HONOURS: ‘An incredible honour’ — MBE for the council chief now leading the Afan Valley’s £20m revival
Karen Jones takes on the Afan Valley’s Pride in Place programme.

DYFATTY: Swansea homelessness charity boss to lead £20m drive to transform city neighbourhoods

A Swansea charity leader who has spent years helping the city’s most vulnerable people has been handed a central role in deciding how £20m is spent transforming neighbourhoods north of the city centre.

Thom Lynch has been named independent chair of the Neighbourhood Board overseeing Swansea’s £20m Pride in Place funding.

The money is a 10-year investment targeted on the city’s Gateway Communities — a cluster of neighbourhoods just north of Swansea railway station that takes in Brynmelyn, Waun Wen, North Hill, Dyfatty and Hafod.

They are areas long identified as among the most overlooked in the city, despite being passed through daily by thousands of commuters and visitors arriving in Swansea.

The funding can be spent on a wide range of community-led projects, from saving threatened pubs and libraries to improving community safety, reviving local high streets and restoring green spaces — with residents helping to decide where it goes.

Lynch is the co-founder and project leader of Matthew’s House, the High Street charity that provides a base and support for vulnerable people, including those experiencing homelessness.

The charity’s work has been recognised nationally, including with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

His appointment followed an open recruitment process, with the role designed as a community-rooted voice at the top of the board rather than a council or government appointee.

Lynch said one of his first tasks would be to build the Neighbourhood Board itself, and he urged local people to step forward.

“I’m honoured to take on this role and grateful for the opportunity to work even more with local people to shape the future of our communities,” he said.

“Pride in Place is about putting residents at the heart of decision-making, and I’m excited to build on the strong community work already happening across these neighbourhoods.”

He added: “I’ll be looking for people from local communities to get involved, share their ideas and help deliver projects that make a real, lasting difference. We’re going to need a real team effort to get this right.”

Swansea West MP Torsten Bell, who secured the funding, described it as a once-in-a-generation chance for the area.

“Pride in Place is a landmark 10-year, £20 million investment in Swansea communities that have too long been overlooked,” he said.

“It is a huge opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives. Thom is exactly the right person to get as many residents as possible involved in making that happen.”

Council leader Cllr Rob Stewart said the appointment was a major step forward.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the people of Dyfatty to shape their own future, backed by £20 million of UK Government investment over the next decade,” he said.

“Thom has a proven track record, is well-known in the community and will be an outstanding chair for the Neighbourhood Board.”

Stewart said the money would add to more than £60m of council investment in housing improvements in the area, alongside wider work to create a safer, stronger community.

The regeneration drive comes after a targeted police crackdown on crime and anti-social behaviour in Dyfatty, which saw crime fall 12% and anti-social behaviour drop 69% in its early months — work the longer-term investment is intended to complement.

In neighbouring Neath Port Talbot, a separate £20m Pride in Place award is regenerating the Upper Afan Valley, with former council chief executive Karen Jones chairing that board as a volunteer.

The council has not yet set out which individual projects will receive money, or when residents will see the first changes on the ground.

But with the board now taking shape, decisions on how the £20m is spent are expected to follow in the months ahead.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Swansea neighbourhood handed £20m boost
How the decade-long Pride in Place investment was first announced for the city.

Community champion sought to lead £20m drive
The chair’s role as it was advertised earlier this year — now filled by Thom Lynch.

Llanelli handed £20m lifeline in same scheme
The Carmarthenshire town’s own Pride in Place award.

Matthew’s House and the Swans big sleep out
The High Street charity Thom Lynch co-founded.