Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

A triple celebration was held at Llangadog Post Office last weekend. Richard and Win Morgan held the event to mark the official unveiling of their new-look shop front following an RDP Sir Gâr grant of £8,735. It is also 10 years since the Post Office became part of their shop, and their son Dafydd has now left the Royal Marines to join the Morgan family business, established in 1934. The building comprises of Morgan newsagent and Post Office plus CITE (Cadog IT enterprise), a social enterprise aimed at raising funds to support training and help local people get online. The Post Office has won a number of awards including Countryside Alliance’s ‘Best Village Shop and Post Office’ and were winners for the Most Innovative and Heart of the Community Categories in the national Post Office awards. The Morgans received an RDP Sir Gâr Village Improvement grant for the renovation of their shop front through the Village Enhancement scheme. The project was funded by the Rural Development Plan (RD...

RDP (Rural Development Plan) Sir Gar will be hitting the road to let residents of rural Carmarthenshire know what grants and assistance might be available for them. If you're an individual, farmer, business or community group they may have something for you. To find out more about where the RDP Grants Roadshow will be call (01267) 242 319 or visit www.wwec.org.uk This project is funded by the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007 - 2013 which is funded by the Welsh Government and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

Llanllwni Community History Project has received a Developing Identity and Distinctiveness grant of £16,500 from the Rural Development Plan (RDP). The grant is to transcribe the St Luke’s Church register from 1739 to 1812 and undertake research on the administration of the poor law in the parish in order to have an extensive overview of rural life in the parish from the 17th Century to the 19th century. The Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and you can find out what grants may be available for you by visiting the West Wales European Centre’s website www.wwec.org.uk

The Gwili Railway in Bronwydd has received a Developing Identity and Distinctiveness grant of £12,000 from the Rural Development Plan (RDP) for new crossing gates. The funding was to erect timber lockable gates at the station in order to extend the passenger service for future development. The Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and you can find out what grants may be available for you by visiting the West Wales European Centre’s website www.wwec.org.uk

A new website to keep council tenants living in the Towy, Teifi and Taf areas of the county will be launched next week. www.3tn.co.uk will provide a one-stop-shop for the three tenant networks in these areas. It will include advice and information, as well as contacts for the council’s housing officers. Tenant networks are set up in all areas of Carmarthenshire. They allow council tenants to feed back to the authority’s housing division, as well as giving them the opportunity to shape future services. All council tenants in the 3T’s areas are being invited to the website launch at Model School, Carmarthen, on Tuesday, February 22, from 11am until 2pm, when the website will go live for the first time. The website has been funded by a Rural Development Plan grant.

A £150,000 cash pot is up for grabs for businesses in rural Carmarthenshire. Grants are being offered to firms wanting to improve their shop fronts and create more of an impact in the community. The county council is behind the scheme, aimed at creating jobs and regenerating rural parts of the region. Project leaders say it will improve the appearance of buildings in key villages and market towns and act as a catalyst for further business investment. It is part of a multi-million million package of schemes to have received Rural Development Plan funding, which is worth around £800 million to Wales up until 2013. Under the scheme grants will be offered to the private sector to enhance the front of their properties. Priority will be given to applications that work in partnership with surrounding properties, creating more of an environmental impact. The grants will be available to micro enterprises in rural parts of the county. Applicants will be able to secure up to 50 per cent of projec...