Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies is inviting community leaders and business people keen to be involved in the regeneration of Rhyl to apply to become Chair of a new Town Board.
In his Spring Budget in March, Chancellor of the Exchequer the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP announced that Rhyl is to receive an additional £20 million as part of the levelling up agenda.
The Government is expanding its ‘Long Term Plan for Towns’ to 20 more places, of which Rhyl is one.
This provides each place with £20m of endowment style funding to invest over 10 years, empowering them to develop a plan for the long term, not just a plan for the end of the financial year.
The difference with this funding compared to funding packages from governments in the past, is that it is putting towns back into the hands of local people, so that they can decide on local priorities and what’s best for the long-term future of the places where they live.
Each town will have a new Town Board made up of local community leaders and employers, who will draw up their town’s Long-Term Plan for the next 10 years.
The search is currently on to find a Chair for the new Board, and James is urging eligible people to consider applying.
James said:
“This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate, who will be someone passionate about Rhyl and with the relevant experience to ensure that the funding is used to its full potential to help regenerate the town.
“The guidance from the UK Government states that the Chair of the Town Board should be regarded as independent, well-placed to convene partners and a respected figure in the community, with an obvious passion for the place”.
“The Chair should act as a champion for the town and provide leadership for the Town Board, ensuring it is community-led and embedded within the local area.
“Elected representatives, such as MPs, MSs or local councillors, must not chair the town board.
“Ideally, I believe the Town Board should be compact and made up of people with lived business experience. Past regeneration efforts in Rhyl have not had the benefit of this and that is arguably why they have not always been as successful as hoped.
“With such substantial sums of money having been allocated to the town through the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda, the town is on the cusp of a much-needed major transformation, but it is essential that we get it right and the money is invested in the right areas. It is therefore crucial that we have knowledgeable and high calibre people on the board, and particularly in the position of Chair.
“This is an opportunity to be involved in helping to shape the future of Rhyl and to leave a lasting legacy.
“There is no time to waste: timescales for setting up the new Town Board are tight, so I urge anyone interested to put your name forward as soon as possible.”
For further information on “The Long Term Plan for Towns” visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-long-term-plan-for-towns
Anyone wishing to apply for the position of Chair, should contact Dr James Davies MP: Email: [email protected], Constituency office: 198 High Street, Prestatyn, Denbighshire, LL19 9BP.
