The Traffic & Highways Community Works Fund (CWF) provides an opportunity for Town/Community/City councils to submit bids for small, transport-related highway schemes which have a cost of up to £10,000. Particularly schemes which do not have a recognised process in place already or would not score highly within the Minor Works Fund can be included. The fund has a maximum PCC contribution allowance of £10,000 per scheme with a minimum 30% match-funding.
Please note that the Community Works Fund is subject to settlement funding decisions from Pembrokeshire County Council.
*Please note that traffic calming measures can not include hard or vertical measures, nor the introduction of speed limits
Projects also need to meet one of Pembrokeshire Council’s corporate goals, which are structure around five well-being objectives identified within the County Councils Corporate Plan (2020 – 2021).
The objectives are as follows;
In addition, projects should show the following:
* Protected characteristics are designated under the Equality Act 2010 and include people of different abilities, ages, ethnic backgrounds, genders and religions.
In total, the Traffic & Highways Community Works Fund is approximately £100,000.
PCC will consider funding up to 70% of total eligible project costs up to a maximum contribution of £10,000 per project. However, the greater the proportion of funding which comes from non- PCC sources the more favourably the proposal will be viewed, all other things being equal. The greater the Town/Community/City Council input the more favourably the proposal will be viewed.
Successful applicants will be required to commit to the financial contribution stated in their bid submission before any approved scheme is taken forward. That contribution will be made upon scheme completion. Delivery of any Works will be by PCC and its appointed contractors.
All monies awarded through the CWF will need to be committed within the financial year it is allocated.
The process for the CWF is set out in the workflow diagram.
The process comprises of 5 key steps:
The CWF is open to City, Town and Community Councils only. Elected Members are encourage to raise requests through the Minor Works Fund (MWF). Elected Members are requested to provide written support for CWF Schemes.
Funding is available for capital costs necessary for the allowable highway scheme of short footway connections, information signing schemes, visibility improvements, bus stop improvements, and awareness or educational measures contributing to traffic calming schemes.
Funding for capital costs can include:
Other activities, which can’t be funded include:
Previously, PCC has supported the implementation of VAS within areas where traffic calming measures were required within the CWF. However, given the upcoming 20mph Scheme by the Welsh Government, a decision has been taken to no longer implement VAS schemes until after the 20mph Scheme has been implemented, and a period of monitoring has been concluded. Any VAS already in place will automatically be recalibrated to the lower speed limit and monitoring will continue to ensure good traffic behaviour.
The CWF requires a match-fund contribution from each City/Town/Community Council of a minimum of 30% of the project total. This has increased from previous years’ requirement of 10% to account for the increased cost of raw materials and inflation levels. The CWF has not had an overall funding increase in the total amount of funds available since its inception. City/Town/Community councils may wish to contribute more than 30% in match-funding to increase the overall project budget.
City/Town/Community Councils should also be aware that the actual total cost of works may vary from the initial estimate cost of works. City/Town/Community Councils will be kept aware through the process of any budgetary increases arising to the cost of works, but will be expected to contribute a percentage of that additional cost when the invoice is sent for the Match-Funding contribution at the completion of works.
The Improvement Identification Form (IIF) is available from communityworks@pembrokeshire.gov.uk or on the Pembrokeshire County Council website.
Please fill in the IIF with as much information as is available. If you do not have details of your scheme or you are unsure of likely costs, please fill in the form with as much information as possible and return it to the Community Works Fund Team. We will get in touch with you and arrange for a possible meeting to discuss your scheme and the best way forward within the confines of the Community Works Fund.
If you have details of your scheme and know exactly what the issue is you want to solve, please fill in the Community Works Fund Application Form. Forms are available from communityworks@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
You can only make one application per City/Town / Community / Council per year per project. Traffic & Highways Community Works funding may potentially be used to fund different stages of a project, with a further application being made once a phase has been completed (see Frequently Asked Questions below).
Applications must be submitted via email to communityworks@pembrokeshire.gov.uk and should include the scanned signature of relevant people in the organisation.
On submission of an application, an acknowledgement will be issued by the Infrastructure Division and Community Works Fund Team. All officers will work with the organisation applying to ensure that all necessary information is provided.
Evidence of consultation on the scheme within the City/Town/Community Council must be provided to support this application. This can consist of a list of supporting signatures, scheme details advertised within any City/Town/Community or Parish newsletter or local newspaper and/or evidence of publication on an appropriate City/Town/Community of Parish website. It is the responsibility of the Applicant to demonstrate that appropriate consultation has taken place prior to submitting an application.
Other evidence may be required in the form of liaison with Heritage, Listed Buildings, Landowners/Landlords, Statutory Utilities and Environment. A more complete list can be seen in Section 10, below.
Support from the relevant County Councillor needs to be demonstrated in the form of written evidence and submitted along with the application
Applications need to be received by March 31, 2023 for works to be committed in the 2023/2024 financial year.
The Application will be assessed by officers and determined by a panel including the Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services and Leisure.
Where relevant, advice from other appropriate officers / experts will be considered. In some cases, advice may be sought from other appropriate officers from within the Council or partner organisations, or other relevant experts. Where further evidence is needed, you may be contacted by a member of the Community Works Fund Team prior to the deadline date.
Publicity and acknowledgements – all organisations in receipt of Traffic & Highways Community Works Funding must acknowledge Pembrokeshire County Council in all publicity and media generated about their successful project. Additional requirements for projects in receipt of capital funding will be outlined in the offer letter.
Unsuccessful – unsuccessful applicants will receive feedback and, if appropriate, be invited to re-submit or provided with information on alternative funding sources where applicable. There is no right to appeal.
A reserve list is available for works which are not successful for the current years funding but could be included in the following year or combined within a Minor Works scheme. The reserve list is monitored, and may be updated as necessary.
Depending on the type of scheme the following may also be required:
The Town, Community or City Council, reflecting the wishes and aspirations of their community decide what to bid for. A Panel, including the Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services and Leisure, will decide what schemes are funded.
Pembrokeshire County Council has allocated a total of £100,000 to be spent in 2023/2024 across all Community Work highway schemes with a maximum £10,000 PCC contribution to any one scheme. A 30% match-funding element will be required.
Applicants are advised that any application must be supported by evidence of consultation. City/Town/Community Councils are advised to notify their constituents of their intent to apply for the scheme prior to submitting an application. Schemes can be held-up by lack of proper consultation.
Pembrokeshire County Council Highways Design Team will manage the delivery of the approved schemes in partnership with the City, Town or Community Council.
Once the scheme works are complete an invoice would be raised for the City, Town or Community Council.
The approved bids will be designed by the PCC Design Team which will include determination of the scheme cost. If that is materially different from the bid cost then that may impact on the contribution required. Before proceeding with the scheme the town, community or city council would be approached to get agreement for the revised contribution before proceeding.
There are set policies and processes for the development of Traffic Management, Speed Limit and hard Traffic Calming measures within Pembrokeshire County Council. These involve stakeholders such as the Police and are subject to statutory consultation. They are thus not within the gift of the Authority to approve as part of an annual CWF scheme bidding round.
As a Council we are determined to make the services we provide for you as effective as possible. We value your comments and want to work together to achieve this aim. We recognise it is important to learn from what you say, not only to deal with your particular issue, but to ensure that we improve our services.
You can submit a complaint, compliment or comment in a number of ways:
The information in this document is intended for guidance in relation to the Traffic & Highways Community Works Fund. It is not suitable for professional advice and we cannot accept any responsibility for loss occasioned as a result of any person acting or refraining from acting upon it.