A COMMUNITY transport organisation that works in the Amman and Swansea valleys will be going electric after winning funding.

DANSA (Dulais, Afan, Neath, Swansea and Amman valleys) has been given £468,000 Welsh Government funding after working with the Community Transport Association (CTA) Wales.

The money will allow for two EV charging points in the Dulais Valley as well as buying two electric multi-purpose vehicles and two fully accessible electric minibuses. It will also allow for the creation of solar panels and battery storage as well as an electric food vehicle which will be able to deliver nutritious meals throughout the area.

DANSA is a membership-based not-for-profit organisation that is backed by Neath Port Talbot Council, Swansea Council and the Welsh Government.

It will use fully accessible community transport to support people and families living on low incomes across Wales, through the £25m household support fund.

Cllr Wyndham Griffiths, Neath Port Talbot Council’s cabinet member for strategic planning, transport and connectivity, said: “This is great news for the valley areas served so well by DANSA especially at a time when public transport is coming under severe financial pressures.”

Susan Evans, DANSA transport manager, said: “This funding shows a commitment from Welsh Government to support communities and organisations as we emerge from the pandemic. I’m particularly pleased we have secured the EV food van, which will not only allow us to extend our deliveries from the Cwtch Café, but also support the Dulais Valley Foodbank, which has become increasingly important during these difficult times.”

Jeff Davies, DANSA business development coordinator, said: “I’m delighted we’ve been successful in our application, after months of work developing the project.

“Following a lockdown delay, it was great to see the bid resurrected and this now gives us an opportunity to support communities using the best and most modern vehicles. This investment in our communities comes at exactly the right time as we seek to improve our services and help as many people as possible.”

The CTA has worked with four of the main operators delivering services in the target communities across the Western Valleys region – including DANSA – to explore the ways the original proposal could be adapted and developed to support communities as they recover and move beyond the impact of covid-19.

The focus is to develop new services and enhance existing ones to provide support to communities through accessible and inclusive decarbonised transport services connecting people with work, education, health and social activities.