‘Hard ask’ to turn town into tourist hotspot, councillor says

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

Turning a south Wales town into a magnet for visitors has been described as a “hard ask” by one of the area’s own councillors. 

Nathan Yeowell also suggested Pontypool and other towns in Torfaen would struggle to compete with Abergavenny in upmarket Monmouthshire. 

He was speaking as councillors were briefed on an economic plan for Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent which has been put together by senior officers who work for both councils under a federation model. 

Priorities 

The Labour councillor for Panteg said the councils will need to back the priorities for different towns and areas identified in the blueprint for growth that is being developed, even amid competing voices locally. 

Conflicts between different areas and prioritise could also arise over where investments are made and Cllr Yeowell said: “What we are going to do and crucially not going to do.”

He said for 30 or 40 years, in Torfaen, there has been a view “Cwmbran gets everything” and Pontypool and Blaenavon are “left out”.

He said: “To turn Pontypool, into more of a destination town, it’s possible but it’s a hard ask and we need to think about hospitality and how we link it to the park. But we’re not going to be able to do that if Blaenavon says, ‘we are a World Heritage Site why are you ignoring us to prioritise Pontypool?’” 

Cllr Yeowell said decisions would be needed to made across two boroughs and “ensuring everything has to be doubled up to tick boxes across two boroughs” wouldn’t be the strategic approach the blueprint is intended to be, as well as consider neighbouring areas. 

“What is the relationship going to be with Newport and Monmouthshire considering they are on our doorstep? Abergavenny exists, if you want that sort of semi-rural, not quite heavy industry, retail and a bit of shopping offer it’s already there, trying to turn one of our towns into that is going to be difficult.” 

Cllr Yeowell said his examples were about “trade offs” and whether the council would be prepared to “stick to the lines” identified in the blueprint “once it gets sticky”. 

Christina Harrhy, acting director of economy for both councils, said officers will use data to support where they believe they can make interventions “and ultimately it’s a political choice. 

“But I will tell you now, we can’t do everything and anything. It’s like trying to spread a single sheet over a double bed, it just doesn’t fit. We’ve only got finite resources.” 

Back to life

Ms Harrhy had said the plan is also intended to work with other areas in Gwent and the Cardiff Capital Region. 

She described Pontypool Park as central to efforts to bring the town centre back to life. 

“We need to work out the role of our town centres and work out their unique selling points. 

“Pontypool for me is the park, how can we open up the opportunities for the town, and what does that look like? 

“Cwmbran is retail, with its location off the M4 and its retail offer is well used. Similarly in Blaenau Gwent we are beginning to identify what the unique selling points are. In Blaenavon we have the World Heritage Site, are we really selling that nationally and internationally? I would say no. 

“There’s also a considerable offer in Blaenau Gwent. We’ve got the history of Nye Bevan, we’re very proud of that, and the link with the NHS. Are we making the most of that? I would say no.” 

Nye, or Aneurin, Bevan was MP for Ebbw Vale from 1929 to 1960 and as health minister, following the 1945 Labour landslide introduced the National Health Service based on the medical aid contributions system that operated in Tredgar. 

Pontypool Park, sometimes known as ‘the people’s park’, covers 64 hectares on the edge of the town centre and was originally developed as a private estate in around 1703 and came into public ownership in the early 20th century. 

Torfaen council is currently redeveloping public toilets overlooking the park’s Italian Gardens to a restaurant as part of an £11m regeneration project, backed with £7m from the previous UK Government’s Levelling Up fund, that could be completed by 2027.