Torfaen

Torfaen County Borough

Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen

Geography
Area - Total - % Water	Ranked 20th 126 km² ? %
Admin HQ	Pontypool
ISO 3166-2	GB-TOF
ONS code	00PM
Demographics
Population: - Total (2007 est.) - Density	Ranked 17th 91,100 Ranked 3rd 723 / km²
Ethnicity	99.2% White.
Welsh language - Any skills	Ranked 19th 14.5%
Politics
Torfaen County Borough Council http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/
Control	NOC
MP	Paul Murphy
AM	Lynne Neagle

Torfaen (Welsh: Tor-faen) is a county borough in Wales within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It was originally formed in 1974 as a district of the county of Gwent and in 1996 it was reconstituted as a unitary authority.

Education

Secondary schools in the area are: St Albans RC High School, Pontypool West Monmouth School, Pontypool Croesyceiliog School, Cwmbran Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw, Pontypool (Welsh-language) Abersychan Comprehensive School, Pontypool Fairwater High School, Cwmbran

Trevethin Comprehensive, once on the site of Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw,was home to years 7 and 8 before joining up with years 9, 10 and 11 at the former County School For Girls, Penygarn in 1991. The building has since been demolished and the school closed.

Further education, vocational training and some higher education is provided at the Ponytpool Campus of Coleg Gwent, formerly Pontypool College.

Etymology

The name Torfaen is corrupted Welsh language for rock breaker and refers to the river that flows through the county borough from its source in Blaenavon. The river in question is now known as the Afon Llwyd (English: grey river).

Location

Torfaen borders the city of Newport to the south, the county of Monmouthshire to the east and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the west and north-west.

Area characteristics

The area has a population of around 91,000. Much of the southern parts of the county borough are now urbanised around the Cwmbran New Town conurbation. The north of the county borough is greener and retains vast acres of countryside, especially on the route to Blaenavon.

The administrative centre is Pontypool in the centre of the county borough. Most of the administration of Torfaen County Borough Council is conducted from the Civic Centre here, although facilities at the County Hall in Cwmbran are shared with Monmouthshire County Council.

Local landmarks

Torfaen, although a relatively small area, has a number of notable landmarks:

Pontypool Park

• Pontypool Park is the name given to the former principal residence of Pontypool (now a secondary school) and the 160-acre (0.65 km²) park that surrounds it. The park contains Pontypool Leisure Centre and sports facilities and is the home of Pontypool RFC. The park includes a folly, shell grotto and ornamental ponds. Much of the area is given to woodland but there is extensive open grassland. The American Gardens were open to the public in 2008, after being closed to visitors for many years, and a restoration project is underway. Torfaen County Borough Council is currently mapping all the trees from the park to remove and then replant the dying and diseased trees^[1].

Cwmbran Shopping Centre

• Cwmbran Shopping Centre is advertised as the largest under-cover shopping centre in Wales. The centre includes many familiar high-street stores.

Blaenavon Booktown

• The former mining town of Blaenavon in the northern part of the county borough is now a recognised UNESCO World Heritage Site and booktown.

Politics

Torfaen is historically a safe Labour Party seat. At present the MP is Paul Murphy. Constituents in Croesyceiliog North, Croesyceiliog South, Llanyrafon North and Llanyrafon South wards are served by the Monmouth MP, Conservative David Davies. Torfaen is also a Welsh Assembly Government constituency, presided over by Labour AM, Lynne Neagle.

In local elections on May 1 2008, the Labour majority of Torfaen County Borough Council failed to win 16 of its 34 seats and lost overall control. However, an agreement was reached with Plaid Cymru and 2 independent members to maintain a stable regime with Labour control.

Famous residents

Torfaen resident and trainee teacher Rachel Rice came to national attention in 2008 when she won Big Brother 2008 in the UK. Similarly, hairdresser Helen Adams from Cwmbran came second in Big Brother 2001.

Big Brother aside, the county is also famous for producing celebrities such as world champion boxer Joe Calzaghe,, Sean Moore, and international rugby union player Mark Taylor.

References

External links

• Torfaen at the Open Directory Project
• Torfaen County Borough Council
• American Gardens, Pontypool Park
• Cwmbran, A Short History
• Blaenavon, World Heritage Site
• Torfaen constituency breakdown, 2001
• Council and Democracy in Torfaen