Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent

Abertillery is the largest town of the Ebbw Fach valley in what was the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area. The surrounding landscape borders the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Blaenavon World heritage Site. Formerly a major coal mining centre the Abertillery area was transformed in the 1990s using EU and other funding to return to a greener environment. Situated on the A467 the town is 15mi north of the M4 and 5mi south of the A465 "Heads of the Valleys" trunk road. It is about 25mi by road from Cardiff and 47mi from Bristol. According to the 2001 Census and information gathered by The Welsh Language Board (Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg), 1, 146 (9. 9% ) of Abertillery speaks Welsh. In the 2011 Census, this figure dropped to 7. 2% , a 2. 7 percentage point drop. Town centreAbertillery's traditional-style town centre mainly developed in the late 19th century and as such has some interesting Victorian architecture. Spread over 4 main streets the town in its heyday had two department stores and a covered Victorian arcade linking two of the main shopping areas. These were all included in a Blaenau Gwent Borough Council remodelling and modernisation project using European Union funding in a £13 million programme spread over a 5-year period ending in 2015.

Abertillery is the largest town of the Ebbw Fach valley in what was the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area. The surrounding landscape borders the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Blaenavon World heritage Site. Formerly a major coal mining centre the Abertillery area was transformed in the 1990s using EU and other funding to return to a greener environment. Situated on the A467 the town is 15mi north of the M4 and 5mi south of the A465 "Heads of the Valleys" trunk road. It is about 25mi by road from Cardiff and 47mi from Bristol. According to the 2001 Census and information gathered by The Welsh Language Board (Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg), 1, 146 (9. 9% ) of Abertillery speaks Welsh. In the 2011 Census, this figure dropped to 7. 2% , a 2. 7 percentage point drop. Town centreAbertillery's traditional-style town centre mainly developed in the late 19th century and as such has some interesting Victorian architecture. Spread over 4 main streets the town in its heyday had two department stores and a covered Victorian arcade linking two of the main shopping areas. These were all included in a Blaenau Gwent Borough Council remodelling and modernisation project using European Union funding in a £13 million programme spread over a 5-year period ending in 2015.