Time is running out for businesses and individuals in Mid Wales to help regenerate their town centres with financial support to transform buildings and breathe new life into the communities, one of the region’s architects has warned.

Businesses and property owners must act quickly if they want to take advantage of the Welsh Government's Transforming Towns Placemaking Grant scheme, run in partnership with Powys and Ceredigion County Councils, according to Doug Hughes, Principal Architect and Managing Director of Hughes Architects, an architectural and planning consultancy practice based in the region.

The funding programme, designed to breathe new life into the region's town centres, will end at the close of 2025, but many projects will need to create plans and planning applications which can take months to complete.

The Transforming Towns Placemaking Grant offers substantial funding for projects that rejuvenate Mid Wales’s town centres. Individual grants of up to £250,000 are available, with a total programme budget of £5 million.

Eligible projects must meet with existing town revitalisation plans and include initiatives such as refurbishment and renovation of properties; development of commercial and residential spaces; improvements to public shared outdoor spaces; installation and use of digital infrastructure.

"The funds provided by the Transforming Towns Placemaking Grant are a lifeline for revitalising our Mid Wales towns," says Doug Hughes, Principal Architect and Managing Director of Hughes Architects.

“However, projects such as renovations or repurposing buildings rarely happen overnight. Securing the grant is essential, but architectural design, planning applications, and the work itself will take time.”

He urged those interested to act sooner rather than later. The practice has already been involved in several Town Centre Regeneration projects in Newtown, Welshpool and Aberystwyth.

Beyond individual properties, the programme has wider benefits for local communities. "This grant is a catalyst for reimagining our town centres," Doug said. "It's about making them vibrant places to live, to work, and to attract new business. That's the kind of transformation that benefits us all."

“From concept to completion, redeveloping a property takes thoughtful preparation," added Richard Lewis, Architect and Director at Hughes Architects.