COUNCILS in Gwent have been given £1.6 million in loans as part of a £27.6 million Welsh Government scheme improving town centres in Wales.

The Town Centre Loan Funding scheme has handed out cash to local authorities to use for projects regenerating town centres by bringing derelict buildings back into use, redeveloping them into shops, homes and leisure facilities.

And new figures have revealed Newport City Council has been given £750,000 through the scheme, while Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council has received £764,286 and Monmouthshire County Council has been handed £91,229.

A Newport council spokeswoman said the loan had been used for work regenerating the city centre.

"The funding has been allocated to provide a loan facility to support the redevelopment of a property in Upper Dock Street, which will create new homes and additional office space," she said.

"It is an ancillary scheme to the former King’s Hotel, one of the most successful regeneration projects in the city centre in recent years.

"Subject to agreement, the loan will be repaid in full within three years."

A Monmouthshire council spokesman said the authority had used the money it had been given through the scheme, part of the Vibrant and Viable Places programme, to offer loans to individuals or companies with empty or under-utilised properties in Abergavenny town centre.

"The council advertised the scheme widely but, despite initial interest, only one project materialised," he said. "We allocated this scheme a loan of £91,000 and the monthly repayment receipts go into a recyclable pot from which further loans can be offered.

"Any unspent money has been returned to the Welsh Government."

Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council used its share to hand out seven separate loans. A council spokeswoman said: "The majority of the loans have been issued to act as private sector match funding to support the Tredegar Townscape Heritage Initiative.

"The intention is to reduce the number of vacant, underutilised and redundant sites and premises in Tredegar Town Centre and to support its diversification by encouraging more sustainable uses for empty sites and premises, such as residential and key services."

In total 17 local authorities were given a share of the funding.

The largest single amount was given to Denbighshire County Council, which received £2.89 million, while Powys County Council was given £2.85 million, Pembrokeshire County Council £2.75 million, and Wrexham County Borough Council £2.5 million.

The figures were revealed by the Welsh Government's housing and regeneration minister Rebecca Evans following a written question from Conservative AM Janet Finch-Saunders.

In her response Ms Evans said: "These allocations have been undertaken over a four year period, and the projects being funded are at varying stages of development with some completions.

"Currently there are 52 projects either under development, with commercial in confidence issues around negotiations and procurement, or complete.

"All completed projects involved refurbishment or redevelopment of empty or derelict properties.

"All local authorities submit quarterly monitoring reports to the Welsh Government which officials will monitor over the long term 15 year period of the loan allocation."