The Denbighshire countryside can still cash in on over £626,000 of European funding over the next two years – despite looming Brexit negotiations.

That’s the amount of money left in the coffers of the Denbighshire Local Action Group, one of three voluntary organisations covering the counties of North East Wales.

The money is from a pot of almost £8 million of funding which is being administered by Corwen-based agency, Cadwyn Clwyd and from part of the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. The cash is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Welsh Government as part of a six-year plan to revitalise rural communities and their economies.

To date Cadwyn Clwyd has allocated over £5 million on LEADER projects across Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham and liaising with local action groups which have had the final say on funding.

Lowri Owain, the manager of Cadwyn Clwyd, said: “The LEADER projects launched over two years ago are already having a major impact and because local people are part of the process it means the money can really be targeted very effectively.”

To date £1.6 million has been committed in Denbighshire on a wide variety of schemes.

A project to find new uses for red telephone boxes has run across all three counties and a number of the iconic structures are now back in use as local information points and even to house defibrillators to treat heart attack victims.

Denbighshire schemes include a pilot to provide hands-on training in rural skills at Pen y Pigyn Woods, near Corwen, a study into the conservation of Ruthin Castle, and training for the county’s tourism ambassadors.

Gwyneth Kensler, from Denbigh, a Denbighshire county councillor and chair of the Denbighshire LAG, said: “The Local Action Groups are made up of volunteers with a range of expertise and experience from every sector of the rural communities and we decide if a project is viable and then Cadwyn Clwyd makes it happen.

“Our shared expertise and enthusiasm encourages and supports micro businesses and community enterprise.

“Cadwyn Clwyd has a real will and the expertise to bring jobs, innovation, community cohesion and visitors to keep the rural economies of Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham healthy."

Since 1995 Cadwyn Clwyd has attracted over £20 million in European funding for North East Wales’s rural areas and has also successfully rolled out the Prince of Wales’s favourite charity, Pub is the Hub, across eight counties of Wales, bringing new life to many rural pubs and their communities.

They have also run the Welsh Government’s Glastir agri-environment scheme with partner organisations Menter Mon, from Anglesey, and Planed, Pembrokeshire, which ploughed £35m into the Welsh rural economy between 2011 and 2015 to help farmers and graziers on common land.

Lowri Owain added: "We work in partnership with the three county councils representing Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham and with organisations like the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.”

Cadwyn Clwyd has helped secure the future of major local events like the Hamper Llangollen and Mold Food Festival as well as encouraging local food producers, launching the award-winning Pwllglas Community Shop near Ruthin, while their bursaries have given a kickstart to small businesses and young entrepreneurs in Flintshire and Denbighshire as well.

They have helped Corwen set up its own hydro-electric power station and they funded a Strategy and Action Plan which secured the Europarc Charter Status of sustainable Tourism for the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB.

For more information about Cadwyn Clwyd contact them on 01490 340500, email: admin@cadwynclwyd.co.uk or go to http://cadwynclwyd.co.uk/