PLANS for a £10 million redevelopment of Caldicot town centre have moved a step closer after a Welsh Government funding application was approved.

The proposals submitted by Monmouthshire County Council aims to capitalise on the end of the Severn Bridge tolls by investing in infrastructure and encouraging footfall.

The scheme, which forms part of a wider regeneration plan for authorities within the Cardiff City Capital Region Deal, was backed by cabinet in September.

Last month the Welsh Government approved an application for support in partly developing the project using its Targeted Regeneration Investment programme (TRI).

READ MORE: Ambitious £10m revamp of Caldicot town centre

The most ambitious of the project’s five schemes is the Caldicot Cross Destination Space which proposes the creation of a “civilised street”.

The space feeding into Sandy Lane, Chepstow Road and Church Road, would be made more pedestrian-friendly by “reducing the dominance of vehicles” – while accommodating public transport.

Bus stops on either side of Sandy Lane would be repositioned and enhanced green infrastructure planted to help “de-clutter” the existing area’s “cold, hard landscaping”.

A report says: “The proposal will seek to enhance the Cross area as a space that supports local well-being, enterprise and as a destination that links the town centre with its immediate neighbourhoods, and the Caldicot Castle and Country Park.”

Other schemes include an extensive refurbishment of the existing shops in the town centre, 27 new homes on the Jubilee Way car park and a new co-working space within the council’s community hub.

Funding for the Cross Destination Space and co-working space is currently being drawn up ahead of consideration at the National Regeneration Investment Panel on November 20.

A feasibility cost estimate of £1.2 million has been given for both projects, though a report says full costs will be confirmed once the contracts are tendered.

Over the next two years the council will pay £328,000 towards the projects using capital funding and money from section 106 agreements.

The remaining £949,000 will come from the Welsh Government’s TRI programme and the Local Transport Fund.

A further £1 million could be drawn from TRI funding to improve shop exteriors within the town centre.

The funding proposals will be considered by cabinet members on November 7.