COUNCILLORS wish they had a “magic wand” to get all the funding needed to turn a blueprint to revitalise a town in Blaenau Gwent, into reality.

Next Wednesday, December 7, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Cabinet will decide to go ahead or not, with the Tredegar Placemaking Plan.

Earlier this month, (November 8) the council’s Place scrutiny committee discussed a draft of the plan which has eight distinct areas for work to improve the town to take place.

At that meeting Blaenau Gwent regeneration team manager, Amy Taylor explained that the council were given funding by the Welsh Government in 2020 which allowed them to employ consultants, Austin-Smith Lord, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Tredegar and produce a future vision for the town.

Similar plans are already in place for Ebbw Vale, Brynmawr and Abertillery and a similar plan for Blaina will be drafted once funding is available.

Ms Taylor said: “This is one of five towns we have in Blaenau Gwent, and it is facing significant challenges as a result of the shift to online retail and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.”

The plans will cover the town centre from Lidl and Gwent Shopping Centre in the north along Commercial to Castle Street and down to Tredegar Town Clock at the heart of The Circle, Coronation Street, Iron Row and Tredegar Business Park.

Ms Taylor said: “The plan aims to provide a new vision for Tredegar and identifies the type of projects and investments we want to attract to the town centre.

“What we are suggesting is that we maintain and improve Tredegar as a convenience and community centre but overlay this by developing a speciality town signature where the anchor is not just retail.”

Part of this could include trying to encourage more tourism by stressing the town’s links to Aneurin Bevan the founder of the National Health Service.

An obstacle to the success of this plan is money, especially with the cost-of-living crisis putting a squeeze on public finances.

Cllr John Hill said: “It’s very exciting.

“In the financial climate we’re in, there may be money available, but nothing like what we want, should we prioritise these eight areas?

“Then when money comes in, we can be ready for it.”

Ms Taylor explained that this is when Tredegar residents will be asked what their priorities for the town are.

Ms Taylor said: “Figuring out the priorities is another stage of work; we’ll have a healthy pipeline of projects and will need to decide which are the most important and their sequencing.”

Committee chairman, Cllr Malcolm Cross: “You’ve done a remarkable job, and this is another step in the right direction.

“I wish there was a magic wand we could wave and have all the funding to implement the schemes.”

Councillors voted to endorse the plan and this recommendation will be included in the report to cabinet.

Eight areas to improve Tredegar have been identified in the plan:

1 – Gateway Enhancements to the Northern and Southern Entrances to

Tredegar including the creation of a new southern entrance to Tredegar Business Park.

2 – Gwent Shopping Centre work to restore buildings and shopfronts to attract and create more shops, business, workspaces, leisure, and home. Creation of an area for outdoor events.

3 – Commercial Street and Castle Street – improve the street, enhance buildings and links between the historic and modern and improve routes for walking and cycling.

4 – Church Square – Highway redesign to establish a central public space at the heart of the town.

5- Coronation Street/Iron Row – improve access to Tredegar Business Park and new site entrance to the southern part of Tredegar Town centre and

housing proposals.

6 – New Bus Station

7- Improved cycling and pedestrian infrastructure between the town centre and Tredegar Business Park.

8 – Sirhowy River Embankment – improvements to river corridor and

embankment connecting Tredegar Business Park and the town centre with new leisure and recreational facilities.