THE AMOUNT of money set to be spent on things like roads, schools, regeneration and coal tips in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) next year has been revealed.
As part of its wider £225.31m capital programme covering the next three years, the council has laid out its infrastructure spending plans for the next financial year (2025/2026).
In a report going before full council on Wednesday, March 5, the programme includes £6.26m next year (2025/2026) for corporate estates including the management and remediation of Asbestos and Legionella and for energy efficiency an carbon reduction measures.
A budget of £13.93m for 2025/26 has been allocated to support the next phase of regeneration of the county borough which includes projects such as the completion of the former Bingo Hall site and redevelopment of the former M&S, Burton and Dorothy Perkins site, property improvements across town centres, the completion of the former rates building and redevelopment of the Rock Grounds in Aberdare and the local investment plan for the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) projects.
There’s £112,000 allocated for next year towards schemes which improve the countryside.
A budget of £26.42m has been set aside next year for private sector housing schemes including things like disabled facilities grants, maintenance repair assistance grants, renovation grants in exceptional circumstances, delivery of the Welsh Government’s national empty homes grant scheme, Shared Prosperity Fund heating grant and solar panel grant, affordable housing through the social housing grant and the tackling poverty fund.
A budget for 2025/26 of £18.41m has been allocated to the next phase of the council’s highways improvement programme.
It includes £7.7m of road surface treatments and resurfacing, £40,000 of car park improvements, £9.95m of major repairs to structures such as bridges and walls, £270,000 on parks structures improvements, £330,000 on street lighting replacement and upgrades and £120,000 on traffic management.
Additional spending of £6.57m on highways maintenance, £200,000 on unadopted roads, £3.5m on highways structures, £500,000 on flood alleviation, £250,000 on parks structures improvements and £1.5m in parks and green spaces is also included for 2025/2026.
A budget for 2025/26 of £11.23m has been set aside for strategic projects which is made up of £9.15m for major economic transport infrastructure spend and associated transportation improvements and £2.08m for drainage improvements and land reclamation schemes.
Bids have also been submitted for small scale flood alleviation schemes with the upper limit of funding for individual schemes over two years set at £350,000.
On coal tips safety, £25m extra funding was announced for Wales in the UK Government autumn budget and RCT Council has submitted a bid totalling £11.33m but the council is still waiting for confirmation of this funding for 2025/26 from Welsh Government.
The £11.33m has been included and this will be updated when confirmation from Welsh Government is received, the report said.
Parks infrastructure spend in 2025/26 totals £1.77m for a rolling programme of improvements to drainage, pavilions, buildings and other infrastructure such as seating, fencing, paths and walls.
The budget for waste strategy in 2025/2026 is £670,000 which relates to the feasibility of options for efficiency savings wile the council’s fleet of vehicles has been allocated a three year budget of £7.09m.
There’s £51.12m of planned capital spend for education services in 2025/2026 with the school modernisation programme involving council funding and Welsh Government Sustainable Communities for Learning funding.
Key school projects include works at Ysgol Afon Wen and Pontyclun Primary School, a new additional learning needs school in Clydach Vale and a new primary school in Glyncoch.
The planned capital works programme for schools next year is £4.47m which includes things like kitchen refurbishments, window and door replacements,
electrical rewiring, fire alarm upgrades, toilet refurbishments, boiler replacements, roof renewals and asbestos remediation works.
Funding of £18.63m is being set aside for community and children’s services as well as extra funding of £230,000 for multi-use games areas (MUGAs), £400,000 for play areas, £350,000 for skate parks, £500,000 for leisure centres and £1.5m for the Park and Dare Theatre.
There is £14.98m allocated for adult and children’s services in 2025/26 which will fund essential refurbishment and improvement works to the council’s adult and children’s services establishments including the extra-care programme and additional costs associated with telecare services are also included.
Public health and protection has a budget of £3.64m in 2025/26 which will fund ongoing rolling programmes for cemeteries and community safety measures.
