Three major projects announced as part of Tata Steel transition support

A NEW £21.2 million package of regeneration funding will support more than 270 jobs in Port Talbot, with additional employment generated through construction and local business growth.

The investment—pending endorsement by the Tata Steel / Port Talbot Transition Board today (22 May)—will fund three regeneration projects expected to generate £119 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) for the local economy.

This announcement brings total investment from the Transition Board to over £70 million in just nine months, as part of efforts to support the area during Tata Steel’s transition to electric arc furnace steelmaking.

Projects supported by the funding:

1. Advanced Manufacturing Production Facility and Net Zero Skills Centre – Harbourside, Port Talbot

Investment: £12.5 million

Total project value: £35 million (with additional funding from the Swansea Bay City Deal)

Impact: Supports 170 jobs, engages 150 businesses, and generates £89.1 million in GVA

The centre will deliver low-carbon and net zero skills training and manufacture specialist equipment, helping to anchor an Innovation District in the Harbourside alongside the SWITCH project and Innovation Park.

2. Metal Box redevelopment, Briton Ferry

Investment: £6.9 million

Conversion and expansion of the former Metal Box site into modern business units.

3. Sandfields Business Centre upgrade, Port Talbot

Investment: £1.8 million

Expansion and modernisation of premises to support growing and start-up businesses.

Together, the Metal Box and Sandfields projects will support 101 jobs and deliver £29.9 million in GVA by 2035.

Cross-party and local support

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens, who chairs the Transition Board, said: “We promised to stand by the steelworkers, their families and the businesses of Port Talbot. This £21.2 million investment is a further step in delivering on that promise. The town’s future—through the Celtic Freeport, offshore wind and green steel—is full of potential.”

Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, added:
“This investment complements the Swansea Bay City Deal and opens up high-value jobs, especially in renewable energy and manufacturing.”

Neath Port Talbot Council Leader, Cllr Steve Hunt, welcomed the funding:
“It is vital we help local people and businesses seize the opportunities decarbonisation brings. These projects support that goal while driving growth and future skills.”

Further funding and support expected
This is the sixth major announcement from the Transition Board, funded through £80 million from the UK Government. Additional funding is expected in the coming months.

Previous allocations include:

£30 million for supply chain support and worker retraining

£13 million business start-up and resilience fund

£8.2 million for a growth project generating £87 million in economic benefit

£3.27 million for mental health support in Neath Port Talbot

The UK Government has also committed £500 million towards Tata Steel’s new electric arc furnace in Port Talbot, alongside a broader £2.5 billion pledge to rebuild the UK steel industry.

More than 50 major employers, including Fintech Wales, The Royal Mint, and RWE Energy, have also pledged to support displaced Tata workers with guaranteed interviews, training, and coaching.

For full details or to apply for funding, visit the Tata Steel Transition Information Hub.

INTERESTED businesses in eligible towns have until 30th June to apply for a shop frontage grant scheme via the 2025 Shared Prosperity Fund programme.

The new Street Enhancement Scheme is aimed at commercial properties in the town centre zones of Fishguard and Goodwick, Haverfordwest, Milford Haven, Pembroke, Pembroke Dock and Tenby.

Eligible owners and tenants/leaseholders with written consent from the property owner can apply for a grant of 80 per cent, up to a maximum grant value of £24,999, towards to total expenditure of upgrading external facades.

This new grant scheme is an extension to the previous paint scheme enhancement element for commercial properties which is continuing within the town centre zones of the above towns, and for St Davids, Saundersfoot, Narberth, Crymych and Newport.

It has also been successfully delivered in a number of our County’s towns.

The paint scheme enhancement will provide funding for 80% of the costs, up to a maximum grant value of £4,999, towards the repainting of street facing façade(s).

The aim of the grant is to help improve the attractiveness of our town centres and encourage footfall to support businesses.

Eligible works include replacement of signage, window and other building elements replacement or cleaning, external facade repairs and decoration.

This new grant scheme will run alongside the existing paint scheme which will be continuing.

The last date for receipt of applications under this call for projects is 30th June, and works must be able to be completed by 31st October 2025.

No expenditure should be incurred before grant approval, as the grants cannot be awarded retrospectively.

For more information and full scheme guidance see: https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/uk-shared-prosperity-funding/pembrokeshire-streetscape-enhancement-scheme or via email to [email protected]

A CALL to expand the licensed area of a Pembrokeshire community pub, recently hailed as one of the most friendly in Britain, has been given the go-ahead by county planners.

The White Hart Inn in St Dogmaels was ranked second friendliest pub in the UK in a study by security experts Get Licensed, which looked at Tripadvisor reviews and median crime scores around each pub to find the friendliest in the UK.

The 250-year-old White Hart, on Finch Street, reopened as a community pub in 2021 following a campaign after it closed in May 2019, when the last landlords decided to refocus to other activities.

The White Hart Community Inn Ltd was formed as a Community Benefit Society and a community share offer launched with the guidance of the Wales Co-operative Centre.

Two years of fund-raising and campaigning saw enough money raised through individual community shares purchases together with financial support from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government via the Social Business Growth Fund administered by Social Investment Cymru at WCVA, alongside a grant from Pembrokeshire County Council.

White Hart Community Inn (St Dogmaels) Ltd had asked Pembrokeshire County Council for permission the expand the licensed premises through a change of use of the former manager’s accommodation, vacant since early 2022.

The application was conditionally approved by planning officers.

This is the second application for works at the White Hart recently.

An application by White Hart Community Inn (St Dogmaels) Ltd to install solar panels at the historic pub was recently granted by Pembrokeshire County Council.

That proposal was backed by St Dogmaels Community Council, which said it “fully supports the application for the installation of photovoltaic panels”.

Receiving the recent Get Licensed award, the White Hart Inn received a top score of five on Tripadvisor, and 66.67 per cent of its reviews highlighted the pub’s ‘friendly’ and ‘welcoming’ atmosphere.