Ebbw Vale town centre: honest about the problems, serious about fixing them
Empty shops, the market, a town council, young people and jobs: where Ebbw Vale town centre stands and what I'm pushing for.
Jonathan Millard
11/10/20261 min read
A while ago I watched a YouTube film called "EBBW VALE: The Decline of a Great Town Centre". I'm glad someone took the time to go out and ask people what they think. A lot of what was said was hard to hear, and a lot of it was true.
Walk down the town centre and you'll see the empty shops and boarded-up units. Some of the reasons are big ones: the steelworks and the pits closing, online shopping, and the shift since COVID. Some, like business rates and rents, are set well above this council. That doesn't mean we shrug our shoulders.
The market. The market is now fully in council hands. That gives us the chance to make it work for traders and shoppers, starting with stall fees that bring traders back.
A town council. Tredegar, Brynmawr, Abertillery, and Nantyglo and Blaina all have one. Ebbw Vale doesn't. A town council can bid for grants and funding that we miss out on now. I think residents deserve to be asked again.
Young people. Boredom and drugs are a real problem in parts of our town. Youth clubs, sport and skills training give young people somewhere to go and something to aim for. I'll keep pushing for investment in them.
Getting people into town. Cheaper parking and good train links to Cardiff and Newport both bring footfall. Footfall is what keeps shops open.
Jobs. We lost the Circuit of Wales, TVR and the Ciner glass plant. Ebbw Vale needs well-paid work that fits our industrial history. I'll keep making that case to anyone who'll listen.
To everyone in that film: I hear you. If you've got an idea for the town centre, or a problem you want me to look at, get in touch through the contact form on this site.
Cllr Jonathan Millard, Unaligned Independent Councillor - Ebbw Vale South
