MORE than £1.1 million in funding has been granted by Welsh Government for a new community hub serving the Magor and Undy areas of Monmouthshire.

The scheme is expected to cost between £1.4 million and £1.6 million, but £800,000 had already been secured.

Now the £1.15 million economic stimulus funding from Welsh Government brings the total to nearly £2 million for the project.

Last November Monmouthshire County Council’s cabinet granted a lease of the Three Fields site in Magor – where the hub is planned – to the Magor and Undy Community Hub (MUCH) group. The lease runs for 25 years.

The council has said the project follows years of consultation with the residents of Magor and Undy.

The council, in partnership with the MUCH group, has now entered the pre-construction phase of development.

Work is expected to start in early 2022 and will take around eight months to complete.

The cabinet member for resources, Cllr Phil Murphy, said: “We are delighted to announce this exciting project has taken a step forward and we would like to take this opportunity to thank the MUCH group and residents of Magor and Undy for their continued support.

“It is our shared vision to create a community hub that the residents of Magor and Undy can be proud of, a place where local communities can come together to socialise, take part in leisure, sporting and cultural activities and to be a place for meetings, events and support networks.”

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Cllr Murphy had previously said improving community facilities in the area has been a priority for Monmouthshire council since it was created in 1996.

Planning permission for the community hub has already been granted by the council.

The community hall, measuring 19 by 28 metres, will provide sports facilities, changing rooms, a hall, kitchen and toilet facilities all on a single level.  The hub will be run by MUCH once its established, with a team of directors and residents drawn from the community.

The facility “will be designed for social, culture, leisure, sporting and other community activities” and the aim of the project is to “create a high quality, energy efficient community facility, by the community, for the community”.

The new hub will  support the delivery and establishment of the Magor and Undy walkway train station, which has been proposed next to the site.