Ebbw vale is the largest town within the county of Blaenau Gwent in South eastern Wales, with a population of 18,300. The town is 20 miles north of Newport and 20 miles North East of Cardiff. The area is characterised by densely urbanised communities, surrounded by large open tracts of countryside. The town had a rich heritage of coal mining; however, the issues with the British Steel Industry in the late 1970s led to such works closing down with the Ebbw Vale Steelworks closing in 2002, leading to large job losses. However, the closing of these sites has led to an influx of urban regeneration schemes including regeneration of The Steelworks, a new hospital, learning zone, leisure centre, and an extension of the Ebbw Vale rail link.
Extracts from the adopted development plan up until 2033 for Blaenau Gwent show the future investment planning for Ebbw Vale:
“Ebbw Vale has been identified as a strategic hub which is the focus of public sector investment. Proposals include: Tech Valleys – automotive and technology, employment space, residential development and digital. The Ebbw Vale Enterprise Zone is one of eight enterprise zones launched in Wales by the Welsh Government in 2012. The Ebbw Vale Enterprise Zone focuses primarily on the advanced materials and manufacturing sector. The Ebbw Vale Enterprise Zone comprises of four areas totalling 40 hectares of developable land. The main objectives for Ebbw Vale Enterprise Zone is business growth and job creation. The incentives available are of a fiscal nature with a planning scheme that offers a fast track application service and no preapplication advice fee. A Strategic Plan for the Enterprise Zone was produced in 2018 which makes recommendations for future direction and strategy”
“Ebbw Vale Northern Corridor – The site fans out from the town centre in a north westerly direction to the Heads of the Valleys Road. The Vision for the site is to create a series of developments that complements and enhances the vibrancy of Ebbw Vale as a sustainable community. Key aspects of the corridor will be to support a vibrant town centre with sustainable residential development and provide improved economic opportunity and leisure facilities centred to the north capitalising on the opportunities presented by the Heads of the Valleys dualling. It is intended that all the developments will achieve high sustainability and urban design standards. The development will capitalise on the opportunities presented by the environmental setting of the area through high quality public realm and green infrastructure. A key focus will be to complement the educational opportunities presented at ‘The Works’ with suitable employment space and create additional opportunities in market sectors such as tourism”
Further additional investments in Ebbw Vale:
- Blaenau Gwent (council for Ebbw Vale) has been awarded £5 million for the connected communities in the rural economy (CoCoRE) project with a focus on the benefits of 5G technology
- Rassau Industrial Estate Business Improvement District (BID) will start for 5 years from April 2020 with focus on regeneration on the area to create business growth
- Great road links via the A465 heads of valleys road, which is currently undergoing a £225 million upgrade, linking the Northern heads of the South Wales Valleys
- TVR car manufacturer setting up factory in the Rassau Industrial estate, creating 200 jobs
- Ebbw Vale part of the Welsh Government Enterprise Zone, which is a Government backed scheme to support business growth with property and development opportunities an financial incentives.
- Welsh Government and Thales working together on £20 million cyber project in Ebbw Vale with goal to position Wales as global player in technology industry
- New rail link being completed between Abertillery and Ebbw Vale due for completion in 2022 with park and ride for 100 vehicles
- New Metro transport system to transform travel around the Cardiff Capital region and improve employment and business opportunities for Ebbw Vale workers
- Feasibility study underway to increase number of trains to 4 per hour from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff by 2024
- Ebbw Vale train station is a popular statin with 80,000 journeys annually
- Direct service from Ebbw Vale to Newport by 2021 with future goal for 4 trains per hour
