Finding a hotel in Blaenau Gwent

Blaenau Gwent is a county borough in South Wales. The population is around 73,000 and its area is 109 km². The county town is Abertillery.

Geography

It borders the administrative areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar. It is an area of contrasting landscape dominated by rugged mountains looming peacefully over the valley communities. Forty five per cent of the land area of Blaenau Gwent is undeveloped and the greater part of this is defined as open countryside. A further fifteen per cent of the County is reclaimed land and an additional three per cent is recreational sites.

Industry

A dynamic and diverse industrial base has replaced much of the traditional heavy industry and the profile of businesses spans sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food processing, hydraulics, batteries and computer systems, electronics and high-tech engineering.

History

The borough was formed in 1974 as a district in the new county of Gwent. It was a merger of the Monmouthshire urban districts of Abertillery, Ebbw Vale, Nantyglo and Blaina and Tredegar, along with Brynmawr urban district and the parish of Llanelly in Brecknockshire. It was reconstituted in 1996 as a county borough, excluding Llanelly which instead was transferred to the reconstituted Monmouthshire.