A new co-working space has opened at Emporium in Cowbridge following a successful trial period last year.

Cowork Local, which supports venues to open available room for people who want to work within their communities, has opened the space alongside more locations across the Vale of Glamorgan, Swansea, and Denbighshire.

The company is now calling for more venues in Cowbridge and the Vale to sign up and offer space for flexible working and business support to local communities.

Venue owners who apply before June 2022 may be eligible for a grant of up to £5,000 to cover the cost of setting up, including marketing and photography, before they are ready to welcome co-workers and generate extra income.

The Cowork Local team will also provide ongoing support to venues from getting up and running to managing bookings as a fully operational site.

Last year, the initial trial in the Vale of Glamorgan saw locations such as Fonmon Castle in Rhoose and Dyffryn Gardens in St Nicholas transform into collaborative workspaces for remote and hybrid workers.

Gareth Jones, chief executive officer of Town Square Spaces Ltd (TownSq) which manages Cowork Local, said: "The primary objective of Cowork Local is to help reduce long commutes and to provide local, flexible working options for workers across the Vale of Glamorgan.

"We want to help make sure that venues in communities benefit from this new workstyle and see cafes, pubs, old town halls or even castles and manor houses turning into great places to work closer to home.

"When people work locally, they shop locally. They buy lunch, they grab a coffee, they do a bit of after-work shopping – it's all a part of reclaiming our economy. If we truly want to 'level up', it must start from the grassroots.

"The growth opportunities increased footfall and boost in revenue will hopefully inspire venue owners to sign up. More than that, it's a chance for our communities to thrive again."