Vale Council secures £19.8m for Barry Waterfront marina plans

The Vale of Glamorgan Council has secured £19.8m of funding for its Barry Making Waves – Y Barri Creu Tonnau project.

The plans, led and developed in detail by the Council and shaped by local residents and a number of local and regional partners, will provide a watersports centre at Barry Waterfront and a marina, along with a new park. It will also see the creation of new business space for the town. There will also be further investment into the town’s active travel network on the waterfront. The proposals have been developed in partnership with local community organisations and Associated British Ports who will also be providing match funding.

The new money comes from UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund which invests in infrastructure that improves everyday life, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets.

Cllr Lis Burnett, Leader of the Council, said: “I welcome today’s announcement. This funding will enable us to take the transformation of Barry, and in particular the Waterfront, to the next level.

“The Barry Making Waves project will be the next step on a regeneration journey that has seen significant investment in recent years. The Levelling Up funding will be used alongside the £20million Transforming Towns grant recently awarded to the Council to allow a whole-town approach to regeneration.

“At a time when the Council’s budgets are under significant strain, this additional funding will provide money for the longer-term to deliver improvements that otherwise we simply could not afford.

“With both we are thinking for the long-term. Jobs and education are what will drive prosperity in the Vale over the course of this decade. The two regeneration projects will focus on creating sustainable jobs, more opportunities for learning and training, improved public infrastructure, and through it a better connection between the town centre and Waterfront.

“The Making Waves initiative is one we have developed with local communities. To have a chance now to put into action plans that our residents have helped create is tremendously exciting.

“We will begin work on delivering this in the coming months and I am looking forward to seeing this work come to fruition over the next few years”.

The Council will be working with the UK Government to finalise the details in the coming weeks. The Making Waves project will be delivered over the next three to five years.