The Leader confirmed that he recently attended the House of Commons to address the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, about the unprecedented impact that closing the Ford Engine Plant will have on our County Borough.

The Ford engine plant has generated directly £1.3 billion for the Welsh economy in recent years. It is an anchor company not just for Bridgend; not just for Wales, but for the UK. Together with the plant’s trade union representatives we urged Ford to stay in Bridgend and to stay in Wales to at least keep some of the 1700 highly skilled jobs here. 

Ford have announced a £1 million fund for the community. If Ford, which has received over £140 million in government support over recent years, are closing the plant then they their legacy to the wider community and workers, that has built millions of cars for Ford for over 40 years, has to be much, more than just £1 million.  We will be meeting with the Director of Ford UK next month and making that case.

The scale of the loss of jobs is unprecedented, and therefore, an unprecedented response is needed from both UK Government and Welsh Government. He stressed that we will lose £250m a year from the economy, and that urgent investment and rapid action is essential.

The Leader cited to the committee, some of the infrastructure projects that could be brought forward to generate new jobs and give some confidence to the businesses, communities, families and residents.

The Council had written to both Minister for Economy and Transport at the Welsh Government and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy at the UK Government, outlining the proposals. We are also making the case at Taskforce meetings and with officials.

Cardiff Capital City Deal office is of course prioritising Bridgend for potential investment.

Colleagues will recall that he announced at the last Council meeting, that we were re-launching our Special Regeneration Fund and extending our Kick Start fund to support small and new businesses in Bridgend County Borough. This afternoon we are proposing that we set aside in the capital programme a £2 million Investing in Communities Fund that we can use flexibly potentially to match fund investment opportunities in Bridgend in the next year. We are also proposing in the capital programme to improve the junction of Heol Mostyn on the A48 at Pyle. This has become vital as it will enable us to further develop the Village Farm Industrial Estate where we have a shortage of accommodation for small and medium size businesses. These are just some of the steps we are taking to respond to the proposed closure.

The Leader advised, that last weekend saw the opening of Bryncethin’s new Community Centre.

The old sports pavilion has been converted into a new two-storey building which overlooks the rugby pitch.

It features modern changing rooms, kitchens, an IT suite, a meeting room, a large hall area, a patio area and balcony, and as a dedicated car park.

Bryncethin RFC became the first sports club in the County Borough to complete a ‘Community Asset Transfer’ deal and take over the ownership of their playing field and pavilion.

As well as agreeing a 35-year lease, the rugby club secured more than £500k funding from our Community Asset Transfer Fund, the Rural Communities Development Fund, the Communities Facilities Programme, Welsh Rugby Union, National Lottery Community Fund, and Section 106 money.

This has enabled them to completely transform the pavilion into a facility for the whole local community to treasure, and it offers a fine model of what can be achieved through the Community Asset Transfer programme.

Arrangements such as this can give community assets a fresh lease of life, and the Leader was delighted that this Council has supported Bryncethin RFC with this transformational project.