August 28, 2026 - 222 views
More than £500,000 of Welsh Government funding is being invested in cultural services across Conwy, with new facilities at Colwyn Bay Library and a major digital project among the initiatives being supported.
Conwy County Borough Council says the investment will help modernise the county's cultural, library and archive services while making them more accessible to residents and visitors.
A total of £501,935.50 has been awarded for two projects.
The first will see a new annexe developed at Colwyn Bay Library, providing modern, energy-efficient storage for library collections used by community libraries, outreach services, the mobile and home library service and wellbeing initiatives.
The council says improving the storage facilities will help protect the collections and ensure they can continue to support communities across Conwy in the years ahead.
The second project, Conwy Creative Culture FutureWorks, will create a bilingual and fully accessible digital platform bringing together information about the county's culture, heritage, archives, learning opportunities, events and creative activities.
The aim is to make it easier for people to discover what's happening across Conwy and access cultural and heritage resources online.
Welsh Government Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport, Heledd Fychan, said the investment would make a difference to how people connect with culture, heritage and learning.
She said the Colwyn Bay project would help safeguard important collections while supporting outreach and community services, while the digital project would make it easier for people to discover Conwy's cultural heritage in both Welsh and English.
She added that modernising museums, libraries and archives, while making them more accessible and sustainable, was an important priority.
Councillor Dilwyn Roberts, Conwy's Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Governance Services, said the council was “delighted” to receive the funding.
He said the projects would help protect community assets, expand access to culture and learning and strengthen digital services.
The investment comes at a time when councils across Wales are under significant financial pressure and are having to examine how public services can be delivered more efficiently.
For Conwy, the challenge will be making sure investment in cultural infrastructure translates into services that people continue to use, particularly as more information and resources move online.
At the same time, libraries and cultural venues continue to provide important physical spaces for communities, including access to books, computers, learning opportunities, activities and support services.
The council says the two projects are intended to complement each other – improving the physical infrastructure behind its library services while creating a stronger digital gateway to Conwy's cultural and heritage offer.
The £501,935.50 funding has been provided through two Welsh Government schemes: the Transformation Capital Grants Programme, supporting the Colwyn Bay Library annexe, and the Local Sector Investment grant scheme, which is funding Conwy Creative Culture FutureWorks.
The council says the projects will help ensure Conwy's libraries, archives and cultural services remain sustainable and accessible for future generations.
