RENEWAL AREA NOVEMBER 2009

former industrial Awhich had seen better times, NOW Abersychan was once referred to as ‘the worst village in ’. While a strong community spirit and the natural beauty of the valley gave local people a reason to stay, the air of dereliction and neglect that had permeated the village by the late 1980s was undeniable. The highly visible main shopping area was dilapidated and the poor condition of many older homes added to a general appearance of decay and neglect. Vacant commercial properties, a poor road infrastructure, parking problems and a lack of facilities for young people contributed to the spiral of degradation, which in turn affected local morale. A significant number of homes needed repairs and improvements, others stood empty.

We don’t always appreciate Abersychan, but you only have to walk up the top and down the cycle track to see outstanding natural beauty. On the whole, it’s a lovely little place to live. I moved here 54 years ago and I’m welded here now. Councillor Denise Nicholls (Abersychan and Cwmavon ward, THEN Community Council) The turnaround began in 1999 when two successful funding bids marked the beginning of Abersychan’s physical Other major issues affected Abersychan: transformation. • A lack of a usable centre to the village In April, just months before Renewal Area Status was • The narrowness of footpaths, providing real or perceived announced, Torfaen council was successful in its Welsh Capital danger for pedestrians Challenge bid and secured grant funding to regenerate the • Low economic activity town over three years. • High unemployment and high dependency of state Renewal Area Status injected further cash into Abersychan benefits to improve local living conditions and stimulate the local economy.

INSIDE: • Ten years of investment • New look for village shops • Look at our homes now • Looking ahead Ten years of investment

Foreword “The improvements to Abersychan over the past ten years have uplifted everyone. The village once again has its own identity – something that was perhaps lost for a long time. Visitors want to stop and look around the village whereas they used to drive straight through. “Renewal Area Status attracted much- needed investment to the village and, though very welcome, investment on this scale does bring inevitable disruption to local people. In this respect, the people of Abersychan have been tremendous, particularly the traders, without whose commitment and dedication to the village as a whole we wouldn’t have even got the scheme off the ground. NOW “As well as established shops, we also have excellent health services here now. We have a dentist on Broad Street and our GP surgery is introducing new services which will contribute to everyone’s health and well- being. “At the end of ten years, just look at what we’ve achieved in Abersychan.” THEN

Councillor Gwyneira Clark Executive member for Housing, Planning and Public Protection Torfaen Council NOW

THEN 2 Ten years of investment

bersychan councillor Gwyneira Clarke and former Abersychan Comprehensive has been completely rebuilt and Acouncillor Doug Davies, who represented the now boasts one of Torfaen’s three new school-based Learning Abersychan ward for 14 years, worked hard to secure Plazas, piloting innovative approaches to learning. Renewal Area Status and other grant funding to “Abersychan now is very different to when I started practising regenerate the former industrial village. in the area.” said Dr Doug Dare, senior partner at Abersychan Since 1999, over £17 million has been spent on capital Surgery. “The improvements are vast and long overdue and schemes in Abersychan, including £4.6 million in housing I’m sure they will give local people a feel-good factor.” grants. The investment has vastly improved the appearance of the main road through the village. Dilapidated old buildings have been I remember the state of the roads. “As a local lad, I remember demolished, some In the first year I lived in Abersychan Abersychan as a thriving shopping shop premises have there were six serious accidents on my centre, and I’m delighted that the been rebuilt and housing renewal project is helping new car parking road. There’s no problem any longer to restore and regenerate the spaces have been with shopping. In the last five or six village in a highly successful way. created by replacing years, I can’t recall ever going down to I sometimes shop in the village the cobbles at the myself, so have seen first-hand the old station entrance Abersychan and being unable to park. improvements. All credit goes to the with asphalt. There Dr John Cox, former Torfaen councillor traders, local people and Council for are new junctions the efforts that they have put in.” at either end of the village and pavement-widening has made pedestrians feel safer as they walk between shops.

Paul Murphy , MP for Torfaen

3 Renewal Area Status

A Renewal Area is one identified as having poor housing conditions, coupled with social, economic and environmental needs. The aim is to halt the decline of an area and to increase public confidence by improving housing conditions, renovating and maintaining properties and creative attractive places in which to live. An improvement to the infrastructure and environment brings benefits to a wider area. Renewal Area Status usually lasts ten years.

Group Repair Schemes target owner-occupied homes (owners are required to contribute up to 25% of the overall cost of the work based on their income). Group repair has the advantages of economies of scale and encourages owners to carry out further investment in their properties. Enveloping Schemes concentrate on small pockets of mixed commercial and residential properties and are funded by public investment. Numerous environmental improvements in Abersychan include: • The renovation of over 400 properties NOW • Improved and safer car parking • New roofs, windows and shop fronts for shops • Rear of buildings in Broad Street have been dramatically improved • The repainting of yellow bays in Road

THEN

Over ten years, improvement THEN work has carried out in: • Snatchwood Road • Snatchwood Terrace • High Street NOW • Glansychan Lane • Glansychan Houses • Lewis Street • Manor Road • Mount Pleasant • Pleasant View • Broad Street • Club Row • North Road • Owendale Terrace • Prospect Plan • Station Street NOW THEN • Sychan Terrace

4 New look for village shops

here was a time when the hustle and Tbustle of shopping centred round Gerald Nicholas, and his wife, Joan, have been running Pets & Abersychan High Street. The huge old Gardens in Broad Street for 31 years, from the same premises Co-op store employed around 30 staff in which his father originally set up a hardware stall in 1937. and boasted its own bakery, pharmacy, Gerald said the area had been lifted generally. butcher’s shop (with on-site slaughter- “Renewal Area Status house) and shoe shop. has been a positive “It was a big enterprise,” said Wilf Bridges, for Abersychan and who was born in and moved down has tidied things up a the mountain to Abersychan 57 years ago. bit,” he said. “We have “In those days, Abersychan was a flourishing received lots of good place.” comments about how nice it’s looking, in particular around the We have some very reasonable back of the property. shops here. We have a jolly Fair do, they did a good butcher’s shop, a ladies good job – visually it’s much better and babies clothes shop, an here and people excellent Post Office and a high seem to respect grade fish and chip shop. their environment more.” Wilf Bridges, Abersychan resident

The old Co-op buildings have long been empty and the majority of the village shops are located on Broad Street; however the village still boasts good local shopping where you can buy almost anything. Gerald and Joan Nicholas

Judy Burgess, 69, is Abersychan born and has traded as Jody’s on Broad Street for 33 years from five different premises. She is now back in shop two after shop four was demolished to widen the road. “I didn’t really want to get out of my old shop next door to the Old White Hart but it’s done me a good turn,” said Judy. “This is smaller but it’s a more modern shop. Abersychan is a lovely little community – I love it. You can buy nearly everything here. The general outlook has improved and Broad Street is looking good; there’s more that could be done but it’s money at the end of the day.” Judy Burgess has traded on Broad Street for three decades

5 New look for village shops

Dress-maker Diane Roynon has lived in Abersychan for 38 years and ran her business from the old Co-op building for five years. “I like living in Abersychan and I’ve never wanted to go anywhere else,” she said. “I think some things have improved in the village and some of the shop fronts look really nice. Most of it is okay now but the main road is still very busy.”

Diane Roynon at work

Brigitte and Jon King, and son Simon, run the mini market on High Street. They moved to Abersychan from the East End of London in July 2006. “Abersychan reminds me of when I was a kid in the old East End of London,” said Brigitte. “The friendliness and helpfulness we’ve encountered here – we couldn’t have asked for better, nicer people than in Abersychan. The other thing that’s struck us is that most of the kids still have manners – they still say please and thank you here. I’m not worried about walking outside either – I have walked our old dog in the middle of the Londoners Brigitte and Jon King love living in Abersychan night and I would never, ever do that in London.”

6 New look for village shops

Syran John has lived in Abersychan since she was 14 and has run a hairdresser’s in the village for 11 years. She has been in her current shop for six years. “I’ve seen loads of changes,” she said. “All the buildings which were once empty are now occupied and the shops by the post office look nice and modern now - ten years ago they looked a wreck. When we took this building over, it needed a new roof and new shop front so it’s been brilliant for us as a business. All the back of the property was rendered and painted – it looks fabulous now.”

Stylist Charlotte Baker attends to customer Rhiannon Jones

Wayne Randall opened his Abersychan shop in 1990 although there has been a butcher shop on the premises for more than a century. Mr Randall’s father, Jack, and uncle, Glyn, were slaughter- men in the village. “The look of the village has definitely picked up. Renewal Area Status has tidied Abersychan up no end and has given the village a breathing space, “he said. “The way it was going it was going to be derelict. There is convenient car parking now and it’s looking pretty tidy now compared to how it was going. We can only hope

that trade picks up.” Butcher Sean Casey behind the counter at Randall’s

7 Look at our homes now

ifty-four years ago it was possible to buy a D W May Building Contractors has renovated house in Abersychan for £625 as community F many of the properties in Snatchwood Road councillor Denise Nicholls knows. and others in Club Row. “I bought a three-bedroom house and I paid £1/15s “The five we finished at the end of last year are a week,” she said. “It was still a struggle, even then.” absolutely superb,” said founder Dennis May. Back then Abersychan was what Denise, who “We’ve worked to conservation standards – it originates from the Forest of Dean, calls ‘a hive of hasn’t made it harder. We pride ourselves on activity’. Half a century later, trade is quieter, and doing a good job, we always have,” he said. “We house prices, while somewhat higher, still represent are particularly proud of the overall finish – it’s a good value for money. Unfortunately, in estate delight for us as well as the community. agent’s Janet Jones’ view, house hunters are not “We’ve created some storage places for wheelie always fully appreciative of what the village has to bins on Snatchwood Road to keep them off the offer. road,” said boss, Nigel Cook.

People are pleased to be having these grants – the overall response is everyone is chuffed to beans really. Dennis May, local builder

“Some of the houses here are really, really nice,” she said. “People are asking realistic prices, but possibly house-hunters don’t realise what Abersychan has and it needs to be promoted outside the area a little bit more.” Many of the properties in Manor Road have seen their exteriors transformed by local building company Hedlyn. Owner Ted Stephens said his team had enjoyed doing the grant work. “It’s all been exterior work,” he said. “We’ve done roofs, rendering, new windows, garden paths and walls. Everyone has been very good and has been pleased with the work. It’s really brightened up Manor Road and the use of different colour schemes makes the houses look quaint.” Enid Palser was one of those who took advantage of the Group Repair Scheme and her home has benefited from a new roof and front door. “The front of the roof wasn’t too bad but the back had been done a good many years ago and the slates were going,” she explained. “The front door wanted doing and I have a nice smart UPVC door now. The roofers were excellent workers and it’s all been done lovely.”

Carpenter Adrian Mansfield works on a property in Club Row

8 Look at our homes now

Most of the work Nancy Carter, 74, and her husband Malcolm, 76, had done was on the back of their High Street home. “We’ve had the wall rendered, new windows and a new door,” she said. “We also had a nice, new wall built and had paving slabs put down in the front and back gardens. It’s a lot easier for us to keep the garden tidy now because we couldn’t cope with cutting the grass. We’re pleased with the work.”

Nancy Carter is delighted with her new patio and garden walls

Alan Morgan and his wife Myrna have had their home of 40 years renovated by D W May under the Group Repair Scheme. “I’m really pleased about the scheme,” he said. “We wouldn’t have been able to have the work done otherwise.”

Builder Nigel Cole talks to Snatchwood Road resident Alan Morgan

9 Club Row is transformed

THEN

The old rendering on Vanessa Love’s Club Row home has been completely removed and a new weather- proof monocouche rendering has been applied. She’s also had a new roof and chimney, new windows and doors and new rain goods. “I’m really pleased with the work,” she said. “We’ve been here six or seven years and the house really needed the work done but without the scheme we couldn’t have afforded to do it.” NOW Several homes in Club Row have been renovated

10 Looking ahead

hose who have stuck with Abersychan through thick and thin have Tplenty of reason to be optimistic about the future of the village. Years of investment have seen many residential and commercial properties dramatically improved and the majority of parking and pedestrian problems have been resolved. The majority of dilapidated buildings have been demolished, renovated or are the subject of future development plans. Registered social landlord Melin Homes is building new affordable homes in the area and Bron Afon Community Housing is currently carrying out essential Doug and Ann Davies are delighted maintenance at Afon Court. with Abersychan’s transformation

As someone who was born here and has lived in Abersychan most of my life it gives me great pleasure to see a complete transformation has been made. We can now be proud of our village. Ann Davies, local resident

“Pride of place must go to the ‘Plaza’ at which promotes new ways of learning using modern technology,” said Councillor Ray Williams. “It came about when money was made available to the school at very short notice – there was one month to transform the old mining school into a state of the arc facility and it’s a tribute to the staff at the school and the council’s Building Tomorrow’s Torfaen team that we were able to make this happen.”

New facilities for Pentwyn £350,000 of Heads of the Valley funding has been secured by the council to complete phase two of the new cricket club and wellbeing centre in Pentwyn. Construction of the environmentally-friendly scheme is due to start soon and the new community sports facilities and health centre will include changing rooms, fitness room, IT meeting/training room, function room and small kitchen. An open veranda will allow people to watch cricket or simply enjoy the view. Pentwyn Cricket Club Chair, Brian White, said: “These fantastic new facilities will attract people to the game of cricket and hopefully encourage them to embrace a healthier lifestyle too.”

11 Looking ahead

The improvements in Abersychan Glansychan Park An organised clean-up of Glansychan Park in June proved so successful are the result of a decade of –16 volunteers turned up – that a second was held in September. commitment and hard work from Local people have also been involved in drawing up plans to the council’s Housing Renewals develop design ideas for a play area for Team; they provide visible children and young evidence that Renewal Area people in Glansychan Park – their work will Status – and the grant funding support a Heads of the it attracts – has a significant Valley funding bid. part to play in regenerating “It’s a beautiful park, communities, revitalising absolutely lovely, and commercial enterprise and our plan is to restore it to somewhere where improving people’s quality of life. people enjoy going Neil Howell, Head of Housing with their families,” said Torfaen Social Care and Housing Services Councillor Gwyneira Clark. New Homes Melin Homes is investing heavily in Abersychan, providing affordable homes of mixed tenure and helping to sustain local jobs and businesses. Around £6.5m has already been spent on housing schemes in Abersychan - Cwrt yr Porth Mawr, Bryn Amlwg (phase 2) and British School Close, with another £8m earmarked for ongoing developments. Four flats and ten houses are being built on former waste land at Albert Road. The redundant St Francis Church has also been demolished and 16 affordable homes will be ready for occupation next summer. Derelict housing demolished by the council is now being replaced with nine new homes on the Bryn Amlwg site New housing is transforming the (Fairfield), which are due to be ready in March 2010. built landscape in Abersychan The former brickworks site at Pentwyn Road is also being redeveloped with 35 new homes available next summer. Affordable housing is being build on the former St Francis Church site Garnsychan Partnership ‘putting your ideas into action’ From a relatively small project to support community needs, the Garnsychan Partnership has grown dramatically over the past decade. The vegetable box scheme, introduced five years ago, has been so successful that the old chapel building is being transformed into a new Growing for the Veg Box distribution and education centre, surrounded by large raised growing beds and with a fully fitted training kitchen. Fit4Life gives people an opportunity to attend a range of health and fitness classes free for ten weeks. Classes range from art, pole fitness, belly dancing, gardening, legs, bums and tums, aerobics, street dance, walking and cycling. Classes are held in , , Growing for the Veg Box has a new distribution centre Talywain, Victoria Village, Abersychan, Cwmavon and Pentwyn.

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