AN ARTS-led regeneration project, designed to change people’s perceptions of Haverfordwest, has won a £450,000 funding boost.

Confluence – a creative consortium initiated by practitioners from spacetocreate community arts and iDeA Architects – has joined forces with Transition Haverfordwest, PLANED and Pembrokeshire County Council to devise a high quality arts development programme, supported by partners including Haverfordwest Civic Society, Haverfordwest Town Museum and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.

The three year programme aims to create a unique and distinctive identity for the county town, improve its vitality, encourage more people to visit, and promote inward investment.

The financial award is the result of Confluence’s year-long public consultation and application process, which included a series of activities designed to encourage people and organisations to think differently about their town, and come up with creative ideas for making the most out of disused spaces, the river and its immediate surroundings.

The funding comprises £405,000 from the Arts Council of Wales and £45,000 partnership funding from Pembrokeshire County Council.

Twenty eight groups from across Wales initially bid for money from ‘Ideas People Place’, an Arts Council scheme which seeks to test new models of regeneration and collaboration through the arts.

That number was then whittled down to just six successful applicants.

“We are delighted with the award, which represents a major vote of confidence in Confluence’s arts-led approach to regeneration – an approach driven by high quality arts development and which aims to connect and empower communities, seeing them as important contributors to the regeneration process,” said Guy Norman, co-director of spacetocreate.

Councillor Elwyn Morse, the County Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, praised the “great deal of hard work” that had gone in to putting together the successful application.

For more information visit www.confluencewest.org.uk, e-mail Guy Norman on guy@spacetocreate.org.uk or ring 01437 760375.