Islwyn provided one of the biggest shocks of the last National Assembly election. HELEN MORGAN profiles the former mining area

The traditional Labour stronghold of Islwyn was considered by many to be a safe seat for the party to win in 1999.

So, along with Rhondda Cynon Taff, it was one of the shock defeats of the first Assembly election when Labour lost to Plaid Cymru candidate Brian Hancock.

And it is one of the constituencies that Labour is extremely keen to regain next month.

Since the Assembly came into being four years ago a number of projects have been completed in the Islwyn area.

It has helped to fund the infrastructure for the Oakdale Business Park, including the roundabout and the widening at the bottom of Kendon Hill.

The business park is now complete, new units are being constructed and General Dynamics has begun working from the site.

Improvements to Newbridge town centre and also to the centre of the nearby village of Crumlin have also been carried out, courtesy of Assembly cash.

The Newbridge to Maesycwmmer bypass has been built and the planned Sirhowy Enterprise Way - formerly known as the Blackwood bypass - will be dependent on credit approvals from the Assembly, though it will be funded through a Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

The Ebbw Valley railway is due to open in 2005, subsidised to the tune of £2.44 million a year, by the Assembly - which will pass through Islwyn on its route from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff or Newport.

The Argus is campaigning to have the Newport link opened at the same time as the link to Cardiff. Designs for new stations at New-bridge and Risca have already been drawn up.

Cwmcarn Forest Drive has had £400,000 from the Assembly to create the Twrch trail, part of the network of world-class mountain bike centres across Wales.

It is forecast that the five new centres will bring in £16 million a year for the Welsh tourist economy.

The project also helped unemployed youngsters to acquire new skills as they helped to build the trail. Small firms have also benefited from Assembly money.

Blackwood's Eclipse Vehicle Adaptions, for example, was given £30,000 last year to update its facilities so it can make more equpment for disabled people.