A £1.4m project is being launched to regenerate rural Carmarthenshire.

Financial support will be given to given to groups in rural areas to help support their local heritage and improve access to services including leisure facilities.

Carmarthenshire County Council secured the money from the Rural Development Plan (RDP) for two separate projects – the £530,168 Developing Distinctiveness project and the £871,130 Access to Services scheme. The initiatives will receive £424,134 and £691,903 respectively from the RDP, with the council making up the remainder.

Developing Distinctiveness aims to encourage local communities to promote their local culture or heritage in a way that helps them become more sustainable and eligible projects could include festivals and local history groups.

The Access to Services scheme aims to improve access to employment, training and leisure facilities.

The council’s community regeneration manager John Wilson said: “These projects will bring many benefits to rural communities across Carmarthenshire and will hopefully begin to address the issues around the loss of services that many communities are currently facing.

“Both projects will run for two years and the benefits for rural areas will be far reaching.”