Abersychan RENEWAL AREA NOVEMBER 2009 former industrial community A which had seen better times, NOW Abersychan was once referred to as ‘the worst village in Torfaen’. 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 Pontypool 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 County Borough 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 Snatchwood 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 Talywain 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.